Prepare: Traveler Hurricane Preparedness

This post will be dated soon, but the information will always be relevant.

Hurricane Earl is barreling down on the east coast of the United States. We might see landfall anywhere between the Carolinas to Maine.

This comes as we "celebrate" the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina - the big one which desimated the Gulf Coast and cost billions of dollars. Remember what happened then? Remember the stranded people, the floods, the looting, the deaths? Good, time to get ready for Earl and the next hurricane which will most certainly come afterwards.

I heard today that there were several late summer vacationers on the Carolina coasts. Many came from the MidWest. Not many hurricanes make it out there, so you folks had better get ready. There is also a number of business travelers up and down the coast as well.

While the weather outside may be nice now, it will change later this week. When the storm is approaching, the local .gov may call for voluntary evacuations. Residents in the area are already doing what they have known to do for years; they are stocking up at the local grocery stores and gas stations.

What should you - tourist, newcomer, or visitor - be doing now with a hurricane approaching?

Fuel - If you are driving, go fill the car up now. Don't let it fall below three quarters of a tank for the rest of the week. Not only will you have evacuation insurance, you will save money. The gas prices will be going up in the next 24-48 hours. At landfall, the gas stations will be closed.

Go buy at least one five gallon gas container at the hardware store now. I won't tell you to fill it up and stick it in the trunk (that's dangerous and dumb), but I will tell you to keep it handy when the evacuation does happen. Gulf coast residents were running on fumes in multi mile long evacuation routes and forced to pay $20 per gallon for gas. Get a backup!

Money - Hurricanes mean big winds/flooding/storms which equal power outages. Credit and ATM cards won't work. So go thee now to an ATM and get a couple of hundred bucks. Cash is accepted everywhere American Express and Visa are, so you have nothing to lose. Imagine having the ability to purchase bottled water and gas fifteen miles inland as you evacuate during the storm. Priceless.

Water - The last segment made me thirsty. Storms mean no running water. Go get at least one case (24 bottles) of water. If you have an ice chest, fill it with the post-hurricane coin of the realm, ice, and load it up with the case of bottled water. You are now ahead of the crisis curve.  Hotels and motels have ice machines available, by the way.

Food - Nobody wants to haul around a bunch of perishable groceries, but it cannot hurt to get 1-3 days worth of long lasting emergency snack foods. Suppose you get trapped at the hotel unable to evacuate? The cook is not going to show up and make you a club sandwich and the mini mart down the street will have the bars down and windows boarded over. What are you going to eat then?

Pick up the following victuals -

Nuts, crackers, canned tuna fish, jerky, hard candy, gum, protein bars, instant coffee or tea, peanut butter. Also grab a small bottle of bleach for water purification if available.

Lighting - If you have a flashlight in the car or perhaps a small one in your bag, get some extra batteries. If you don't have a flashlight, of course get one with batteries. It might be smart to pick up a candle or two from the hotel bar (along with matches), but only if you have a safe place to keep and use an open flame - somewhere with little chance of an open flame starting a fire, with no gas leaks and with fire fighting apparatus (extinguishers) nearby.

If you have to evacuate, get a local map and soft sided atlas. Multiple routes for escape are always good.

If you find yourself trapped, move to a secure shelter. The biggest threat is falling debris, unsafe shelters (like flimsy trailers or boats) and flooding. I read a great story once about a fellow who rode out Katrina in downtown New Orlenas by checking into the nicest hotel in town and getting an upstairs, center of the building, room.

High rise hotels are above flood waters and since they are hotels, they have stuff, like food and water. Yes, the power may go out, but at least the building should be reasonable secure.

Regarding the man in Katrina, he stayed at the nice hotel for another reason. The nicest hotel had the best paid staff who, incidentally, stayed at their post and looked after the welfare of their guests. The budget hotels abandoned ship and left their guests to the mercy of the city. 

Take important papers, such as drivers license, and make sure they are with you at all times and kept dry. It makes sense to get ahold of a large, resealable plastic bag and put one outfit, with shoes, in it. Dry clothes are a life saver.

If you flew and have no car, contact the airlines now about alternate arrangements to get home. Find out their schedule and what they will do in the event the airport is closed. That same fellow in New Orleans five years ago ended up getting a first class ticket on the first available flight out because he called ahead.

Speaking of contact, keep the cell phone charged. They have backup power chargers for most cell phones which run on common batteries. It makes sense to get one. Also, do you have a transistor radio?

If it were me, I would be leaving the east coast NOW and heading for home and calm skies. But if you have to stay, at least make some preparations now and avoid becoming a victim.