By Ruth Ann Ruiz
The Post Newspaper Features Editor
By Haskell Moore
Contributing Writer for The Post Newspaper
Deciding on what items to obtain for hurricane season can be a daunting task for most people. Based on my personal experience living in the Houston-Galveston area for nearly 50 years, as well as having taught hurricane preparedness since 2005, I’ve put together a list of recommended items that I believe everyone should have on hand. These items are the basic essentials for safety, but you’ll need to customize this list to fit your needs and add other items for your personal situation.
Planning Resources
As a good foundation for your preparedness activities, I’d recommend everyone obtain a copy of my book, Hurricane Preparedness for The Home and Family, which is available in paperback ($19.95) or Kindle format ($9.95) on Amazon. This book describes in detail how to prepare your home, vehicles, children, and pets for a hurricane, tropical storm, or flood. All profits from the sale of the book are donated to the Louisiana Cajun Navy to assist in their high-water rescue, clean-up, and assistance for victims of hurricanes in the United States. For a comprehensive overview of hurricane preparedness, including extensive checklists, visit my free website at www.HideFromTheWind.com.
Weather Radios
Keeping up with the latest news and weather information is essential in an emergency situation, and a combination weather/AM/FM radio is one of the best ways to receive this information. News regarding road closures, evacuation orders, and hurricane status information can mean the difference between life and death. I’ve tested numerous radios over the years, and my favorite is the Midland ER310. This radio not only allows you to receive local broadcasts, but also the NOAA weather information. The radio has a solar panel on top to allow sunlight charging, as well as a crank to charge the internal battery manually. It also has a charging port to charge a cellphone, and a very useful flashlight.
Emergency Lighting
Emergency lighting is a high priority not just for hurricanes, but for all natural disasters. I tested over 200 flashlights, and determined the MAGLITE ML300L 4D LED Long-Running Flashlight is the best I’ve seen for these types of situations. It features a 1,000-lumen output on high, and casts a beam over 500 yards. This is very useful for looking for a lost pet, watching for rising water, or signaling for rescue assistance. There is a medium level output, which is useful for close-up work, such as making repairs or just walking through your home during a blackout. And in ECO mode, the light will function as a nightlight for two weeks continuously on just one set of batteries. It is rugged, reliable, water and drop resistant, and assembled right here in America. Just search for “long running flashlight” on the MAGLITE website where, for a limited time, you can get 10% off your entire purchase by entering HURRICANE10 in the discount code box upon checkout.
Water and Water Storage
Another essential item everyone should have on hand for a hurricane is water. For drinking and food preparation, you should have about one gallon of water per person per day. When making your calculations, be sure to include water for your domestic pets. For your pets, this value will vary depending on the size, diet, activity level, and environment conditions, but a general guide is one ounce (30 milliliters) of water per pound of body weight per day. Based on my experience, the best source for this type of water is 16.9-ounce bottled water. I also recommend having a Sharpie marker on hand so every person can mark their bottle in order to find theirs when they’ve only drank part of the bottle and returned it to the cooler. The bottles can also be frozen and used as ice in the freezer or portable cooler. As an added bonus, as they start to melt, you can consume them and have a really refreshing cold bottled drink. For planning purposes, keep in mind that a case of 24 16.9 ounce bottles equals just over three gallons of water.
For personal hygiene, two-to-three gallons of water per person per day is a pretty good estimate for the average person. You wouldn’t want to use bottled water for personal hygiene, so I recommend the WaterBob Bathtub Emergency Water Storage Container. This giant, BPA-free food grade water bladder can store up to 100 gallons of water, limited only by the size of your tub. It includes a hand pump that lets you siphon off any amount, from a glass of drinking water to a bucket for flushing the toilet. Before an anticipated storm, I always fill one of these in the spare tub of our home. Unfortunately, they cannot be reused, so they must be discarded after use.
Your Lifeline: Cellphones and Tablets
During any type of natural disaster, your cellphone is often your lifeline. You can check the latest news, weather, and even use your phone for music or playing games for entertainment while the power is off. However, without a way to charge your phone, it will quickly become an expensive paperweight. One solution to this problem is to purchase one or more power banks to keep your phone charged over an extended period of time. These power banks come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and most importantly, capacity. I’ve personally had very good luck with the Anker power banks, and even keep one in each of our cars as an emergency power supply. My favorite is the Anker Power Bank, 26,800 mAh External Battery. Every phone’s power requirement will vary depending on make, model, and the amount of time you use the phone. When I tested this power bank on my phone, it lasted for over five days. However, if you’re using your phone frequently during and after a hurricane, you’ll probably exhaust the battery much more quickly. It’s always a good idea to have plenty of capacity when it comes to emergency power for your phone, since your phone may be essential should you need to call for emergency assistance.
One item many people overlook is the power cables needed to charge up your phone or tablet. Again, I’ve had very good luck with Anker products. Be sure to have a cable for each device you plan to charge and test your battery and cable before you need it. You should always check that you have the right charging cable, and test the power bank over several days to determine how long the battery will power your phone based on your usage profile. You should also be aware that to charge the power bank, you may need a power supply and proper cable to fit the charging port on your power bank.
If you want to have a battery backup with a lot more capacity to charge both phones and tablets for several days, I recommend a power station. I’ve used my Jackery Explorer 240 to power my phone for over a month without having to recharge it, and you can even charge multiple devices simultaneously. It can also be used to power small 120 volt devices, such as a lamp, a portable television, or even a laptop computer. As an added bonus, Jackery makes higher capacity models that can be used not only for phones, tablets, and laptop recharging, but can even power a CPAP machine overnight. However, you need to carefully check the manufacturer’s specifications for anything you plan to power with the power station to ensure it has enough capacity for your individual needs. Always keep in mind that purchasing either power banks or power stations should be done well in advance of hurricane season so you will have time to adequately test them thoroughly before you need them in an emergency.
To ensure you have your phone properly configured with everything you need in a disaster, you should also research which apps you will be useful, such as weather radar or maps for evacuation, and get them loaded before the arrival of the storm. This also applies to any websites or social media sources you may depend on. This is especially true for applications like Facebook, where important community information may be shared, and sometimes you may even seek assistance or emergency help from neighbors in your neighborhood. Prepare for potential cellular service outages by downloading any music or offline games (like Solitaire) before the storm, so they will be available when needed.
Full disclosure: The author is a MAGLITE Brand Ambassador and receives a commission on the sale of MAGLITE flashlights. He has no financial interest in any of the other products recommended in this article.
