Hurricane Preparedness Blog

Preparing emergency food supplies doesn’t have to be difficult; to help, we’ve put together some basic guidelines on what to keep in mind while putting together your non-perishables.   Perhaps you have a  list of what should be in your hurricane food supply kit, but suppose you want to know how many days you should be stocking up for, how to keep the food fresh, or what kinds of foods are best to purchase.   These are important things to consider while compiling what will be one of the most essential components of your hurricane supply kit.   To help build your food stockpile with ease, follow the key points below:

• Make sure that your emergency food supply will last every member of your family for 72 hours- buy special foods for the elderly, babies, and those members of your family with special dietary needs. Take into account the unique tastes of your family, especially those of children. Don’t forget to purchase non-perishables for pets.
• Purchase food that is ready to eat and easy to prepare.  After a hurricane or tropical storm strike, the power will probably be out for some time.   You may not be able to cook, but you’ll still have to eat!
• Stock up on foods that are high in calories and nutrition.
• If possible, purchase food that can be eaten in its container.   Electricity is not the only modern convenience affected by a hurricane, oftentimes water supply is affected as well.  Water for washing dishes may be unsafe or unavailable.
• If you must cook, you may be able to cook outside with a charcoal grill or a camp stove.
• Don’t forget to place a can opener and utensils in your hurricane supplies kit.
• To ensure that your supply is fresh, do not store canned items in the garage, or any other place that the temperature can fluctuate.   It is best to keep your items in a fairly cool environment:  the temperature should be above freezing, but below 70 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Rotate your food supplies:  place new items in the back of your storage location, and older items up front.  Note the item’s “use by” date with a permanent marker, and use items before they go bad, replacing them as necessary.
• If your power goes out, certain food in the refrigerator and freezer will keep longer than other food.  Therefore, don’t rely on refrigerated items to get you and your family through the storm.  For further information, access OneStorm’s free resources regarding preparing your refrigerator and freezer for a hurricane and how to know which foods are safe following a power outage.
• If you have not created one already, OneStorm can help you personalize an emergency food supplies checklist. What better way to make sure that everyone has their food needs and tastes accounted for?

Hurricane Gustav should make its approach into the Gulf this weekend, so shortly after Fay departed.   Perhaps you are thinking what we are:  not again!

All citizens along the Gulf coastline should be concerned-  the latest advisory shows that many areas of the U.S Gulf Coast could be affected.  And, the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico could spell rapid intensification.   The only plus is that we still have some time to prepare.

As you are finishing your hurricane plans and collecting the resources you need, we are prepared to help you out as the storm approaches.   Due to the great response we received from our last storm resources blog, Tropical Storm Fay Resources, we’ve started another:  Hurricane Gustav Resources.

As Gustav closes in and reaches the U.S. coast, we will be posting everything from road closures to boil water notices, from each affected county. Much of this important information can be spread throughout the web, and difficult to find, which is why we’ve decided to build a blog for every major tropical cyclone that threatens the U.S.  As soon as we create each blog, we will post the announcement on the main OneStorm home page under “Hurricane Headlines,” and, of course, we’ll inform you of the new site here on the Hurricane Preparedness Blog, too.

Although we won’t officially start posting information until Gustav starts into the Gulf, we already have some valuable tools on the site for you to use.   Visit Hurricane Gustav Resources, then check the upper right corner of your screen.   Notice the tab, “Track the Storm.”  This will allow you to track Gustav as it travels.   Next, look under “Send Me Your Questions.”  We would love to hear from you before the storm, during the storm, and after the storm.   We’ll be available at all these times to answer any specific preparedness or Gustav-related questions we can help you with.

March 13, 1993, was a day unlike any I had ever known before.

I stepped out of my bed into water a few inches deep. Overnight, the No-Name-Storm had landed in central Florida, and for many unsuspecting Floridians, things were not looking good.

For my family, the Gulf of Mexico was no longer a friendly neighbor in the distant backyard of our home, it was now an uninvited guest that had found its way under our doors. We watched hopelessly as the gray water seemingly approached us from all directions. This was some serious trouble, and we had no clue what to do.

We evacuated shortly after we awoke, but we had nothing together- no important documents, no treasured valuables, no overnight clothing. Our family of six was forced to leave the house with only the clothes on our backs.

Hours later, after the floodwaters had subsided, we journeyed home to retrieve a few belongings. When we arrived, we found that our home was on fire. An electrical socket had short-circuited.

When all was said and done, nearly everything we owned was ruined by soot, water, or fire. Had we been prepared for the storm and turned the electricity off when we left, perhaps the fire would have never happened at all.

For the past fifteen years, I’ve thought about these moments and things we could have done differently, had we known better, or more importantly, had we taken the time to know better.  Preparation could have saved our home.  Hopefully, by writing for OneStorm, I can help inspire families to get prepared so that disasters may not have to be so devastating.

In my personal experience, I know the power of preparation.  If you wait until the last minute, it will most likely be too late. Some areas of the country, particularly Florida, haven’t been majorly affected by hurricanes in some time. Sure, we’ve been lucky. But while we’re considering that a blessing, we should also be using that time wisely- we should use that time to prepare the best we can.

Hope to see you at OneStorm.

-Heidi

Prepare your family for a hurricane with OneStorm.org.

Click here to create your customized plan now
It only takes 15-20 minutes and is absolutely free

Publix Super Markets is a proud community partner to OneStorm.org, the Internet’s most comprehensive, user-friendly hurricane preparedness, response and recovery resource. OneStorm’s advisors include former National Hurricane Center Director Max Mayfield and CBS’s Hurricane Expert Bryan Norcross. In the Build a Plan section of OneStorm.org, your family can create a free, personalized hurricane plan including:

• Custom solutions for evacuation or staying home
• Create and print a shopping checklist of preparedness items
• Identify family meeting places and emergency contacts
• Personalized preparation for every member of the family, including pets
• plus much more!

OneStorm.org is also a valuable resource for storm recovery — access an educational network of articles in the Learn to Prepare section.

The information on OneStorm.org is recognized by FEMA, The American Red Cross and state and local emergency management agencies.

Chris Bennett, Florida Monthly’s Most Intriguing Floridian (2006), is the Founder and CEO of both OneStorm, a free hurricane planning tool, and Ah-Ha! Media, an e-learning company. He is a graduate of Harvard University’s Technology, Innovation, Education master’s program, ranked first in the world for its kind. At Harvard, Chris focused on the design of e-learning environments, making the important connections between theory, design and practice. His expertise lies in the creation of online training and professional development programs, where he has over ten years of hands-on experience as the former CLO of Virtual Advisor.Prior to his learning experience at Harvard, Chris studied management and marketing at The Wharton School of business, graduating first in his class. Chris took a specific interest to e-business at Wharton where he gained the skills necessary to later create web-based educational programs timed accurately with market needs. During his three-year appointment as the Multimedia Design Program Manager for The Chubb Institute, Chris achieved over 13 professional certifications, including Certified Technical Trainer (CTT+).

Mark Sudduth is the founder and operator of both HurricaneTrack.com, a hurricane preparedness web site, and the Hurricane Intercept Research Team, a mobile field unit that observes and records various tropical cyclone measurements.  He has been studying hurricanes for over 12 years.

He has worked with Lowe’s Home Improvement stores as their hurricane preparedness expert, and Sprint has sponsored Mark’s research efforts since 2001.  Sprint provides Mark and his team with cutting edge mobile-broadband technology, enabling them to send live weather video and up-to-the-minute weather data.

Among numerous other awards and recognitions, Mark won the Project Impact Award from FEMA in 1999, from his work to educate North Carolinians about hurricanes and hurricane preparedness.  Click here to read Mark’s full autobiography.  

Heidi VanderVelde is a graduate of the University of South Florida, holding a B.A. in Literature and Writing with a minor in Biomedical Sciences.  She plans to continue her education further, as she currently takes additional courses in creative writing, psychology, and English.     Her professional background is mainly in education, however, her passion has always been for writing.   She has work published in USF’s literary journal, “The Thread,” and is currently working on several creative projects.

As a contributing editor of OneStorm, her mission is to inspire people to prepare for hurricanes and disasters.  Her interest in hurricanes comes from personal experience: at age 9, her home was flooded by the No-Name Storm.   The house then caught on fire due to an electrical  shortage, and everything was ruined by soot, water, or fire.   Her family had done little to prepare for storms, and had they been prepared, her home may have been saved.   Luckily, everyone in her family was unharmed by the flood and fire, but as she grew older, she began to realize that preparation is key to many things in life.