Every home and business needs a hurricane preparation plan, a basic emergency kit, and a hurricane preparation kit. The needs will vary from household to household, so start thinking NOW about what you might need.
While the forecast tracks were reasonably accurate during the 2017 season, the intensity forecasts were not. A minor storm can become a major hurricane much faster than expected. Don’t count on a small storm staying small. It is better to be over prepared than under prepared.
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A Basic Emergency Kit
Every home and business should have a basic emergency kit year round. This is not enough to prepare for a major hurricane, but it should be the bare minimum kept on hand. For more information on basic emergency kits, please click here.
3 Days Drinking Water
3 Days Non-Perishable Food
First Aid Kit
Method of Communication
Hurricane Preparation Kit
A basic emergency kit is the bare minimum, a hurricane preparation kit should be more extensive.
Consider your emergency kit as three parts – a grab bag containing the bare essentials (medication first aid, water, snacks, important documents, cash, communication) and a large plastic waterproof box within the shelter containing three days of supplies. The remainder of the supplies can be divided around other safe and dry areas of the house.
Remember that friends and family may lose their homes or their supplies. If you can have extra, do it!
Hurricane Preparation Kit:
Water: Plan to have at least ten days potable water on hand. (1 gallon per person, per day.) Fill bathtubs, buckets and pots before the storm so you also have enough water for your hygiene needs. Ensure cisterns and water tanks are full. Don’t forget that the water companies will also want to keep their water tanks full to help protect them during a storm, so don’t leave filling your cistern to the last minute.
For longer term resilience, consider having a water filter on hand. Life Straw makes an individual straw, as well as a gravity fed family filter. The straw requires the user to be able to suck adequately to draw the water up through the filter. It is extremely small and light, and can be stored indefinitely. It does not work in salt water, so a method of collecting and storing rain water would also be required. The Life Straw is designed to filter out 99.99% viruses, 99.9999% bacteria and 99.9% protozoan cysts.
As an alternative to filtering water, you can follow the EPA advice for disinfecting it by boiling (rolling boil for longer than 1 minute) or adding two drops of 6% bleach per quart of water. Remember that scented bleach or color-safe bleach is not safe to use. Like filtering, disinfecting water does not remove dissolved solids like lead or salt.
Food: 10 days is a good start. Stock up on food that doesn’t require refrigeration. Have a good amount that doesn’t require heating. Canned food (and a can opener) can get you by until you have time and the means to cook. If you include items that need to be cooked, don’t forget to stock up on gas and a safety lighter for your BBQ or cooker, and have enough water to prepare your meals. Don’t forget that BBQ’s should never be sued indoors. Make sure you cover the dietary needs of all members of the family – from adults to babies to pets.
Frozen Food: Packing ice, or zip-lock bags filled with water and then frozen, into a freezer can help keep it frozen for 24 hours without power. (Or up to 48 hours if it is completely full and frozen.) Try to refrain from opening your fridge or freezer until the power comes back on.
Communication: Don’t forget to take the AM/FM radio into your place of shelter. Even if it doesn’t work within the shelter, you will want it safe, dry, and easily accessible for after the storm. We like this one from Amazon because it also has a flashlight as well as the ability to charge a USB device via a hand crank or a small solar cell.
Don’t flatten your cell phone battery, and make sure you have enough credit before the storm hits.
If you have alternative means of communication, keep them safe, dry, and charged. These may be UHF truck radios, VHF boat radios, or even satellite phones.
Consider having one contact person off island who can pass on messages and who knows your emergency plan. (Including how to put credit onto your phone.)
Medication: Don’t forget prescription medication and any over the counter products that your family or pets use.
Important Documents: Passports, ID’s, insurance information, prescriptions, drivers licenses, and medical information should all be kept in a waterproof container.
Light: Flashlights and spare batteries, hurricane lamps, and solar powered dim lights are all useful. Don’t use candles, they are a fire hazard.
Entertainment: Some storms are quick, some seem to last forever. Help pass time with low tech games like cards, puzzles, play-dough, or sticker books. An iPad with earphones can help insulate kids from the worst of the sounds and sensations. However, entertainment isn’t just for kids – adults can benefit from a distraction too. What helps you get through a difficult situation? A good book? A favorite song? Prayer? Meditation?
Personal hygiene: Paper plates, disposable cutlery, heavy duty garbage bags, bleach for sanitation, paper towel, and toilet paper are all essentials. Also, don’t forget female sanitary items, diapers, and wipes for any babies in the household. Wet wipes can freshen up the whole family and hand sanitizer is a good alternative to hand washing.
Clean Up Supplies: Thick gardening gloves and heavy duty brooms and dustpans can help with most of the debris. Don’t forget there is likely to be lots of broken glass, sharp nails, and plants with thorns. A bow saw (aka frame saw) can be useful if you need to remove fallen trees or branches.
Tarpaulins, tape, and basic hand tools: Can be used to secure your property after the storm. Keep duct tape and large pieces of plastic to secure your car.
Fuel: Make sure your vehicle’s fuel tank is full. Don’t forget spare fuel for generators and gas for cooking.
Cash: ATM’s are unlikely to work for awhile. Keep some cash (in small denominations) for purchases once stores start opening again.
Clothes: A change of dry clothes per person, and towels. Don’t forget to wear sturdy shoes.
Other Considerations: Do you know where your fire extinguisher is (and how to use it?) Do you know how to turn the power and water off at the mains?
Special Considerations with Kids: Do you have somewhere safer than the car to keep the children’s car seats? If you leave them in the car, consider covering them securely to protect them from broken glass. Do you have somewhere safe and dry to contain a baby (portable crib, stroller, car seat) while you tend to an urgent matter? Do you have a baby carrier so that you can wear baby after the storm?
Some Additional Comfort Items
While not essential parts of an emergency kit, some items can make life more comfortable. They also come in handy during the frequent power cuts we experience in the Caribbean!
Rechargeable Fan: A USB powered rechargeable fan can keep you cool, provide white noise, and help keep the mosquitoes away.
Rechargeable Bedside Light: Using a USB powered rechargeable light as a bedside light means you always have a light source easily accessible when the power goes out.
Mosquito Net: A canopy mosquito net large enough to cover your sleeping area helps keep mosquitoes and flies at bay. Mosquitoes, and the diseases they carry, are responsible for more deaths worldwide than any other animal.
Backup Power Bank: Provides backup power for USB charged devices.
Disclaimer: This website contains affiliate links. We may be compensated (at no cost to you) should you decide to buy online using one of our links. However, for our St Maarten / St Martin visitors we encourage you to shop local.
Part of a series:
Basic Emergency Plan
Hurricane Preparation Plan
Basic Emergency Kit
Hurricane Preparation Kit
Permaculture and Emergency Preparation
