With Tropical Storm Edouard coming to the Texas Coast, what provisions do I need?

Question

what items am i supposed to have besides water,a tank of gas and candles? what kind of dry cold foods should i get?

Answer 1

well get canned foods, and bread. and candles can easily go out if there is water! so get flashlights and tons of batteries. good flashlights not the little $2 ones. also, make sure you have warm clothing incase you are forced to leave your home. also, i dont believe you are stupid, but many people believe that when the storm calms down, it is over. IT IS THE EYE OF THE STORM! the worst is still to come. if you think you have enough time, leave, drive as far away as you can inland. the storm weakens as it moves over land because it gets its power from the  evaporating water over the equators warm water [haha i learned that in earth science]  

Answer 2

I don't think this storm will be bad -- you just need to have enough food to stay in for a day. If you have small items like wind chimes on a balcony or patio, you may want to remove them.

In general, though, when a hurricane makes landfall, you need to have one gallon of water per person per day. It took FEMA half a week to get to the needy in New Orleans, so you should probably have four gallons per person in your home. That's 30 half liter bottles of water!

Remember that water pressure may go out, so fill your bathtub and buckets with water. No water pressure means you can't flush your toilet like you normally do, but if you pour some water from a bucket in fast enough, it still works. If it's just urine, just don't flush.

Power may go out, so you should have batteries for flashlights and a battery-powered radio. Candles or propane torches or stoves are generally not a good idea because natural gas pipes can rupture and lead to explosions.

Charge your phone and and fill up your car beforehand, if you have a chance. Should the power go out, unplug bigger appliances like fridges, and turn the air conditioning off -- when the power comes back on, all the appliances in the city drawing power again could lead to a brown-out of the power grid.

Make sure you have enough of the prescription drugs you need before it gets bad. Also get some bandages, anti-biotic ointment, medication against diarrhea, bug spray, and sun lotion. Also go to the ATM to get some extra cash.

For food, you should mostly depend on canned food. It will last the longest. However, if power goes out, start eating your food in the freezer and the fridge. It will go bad the fastest. I personally go for pork'n'beans. Make sure you have a can opener.

Keep your window blinds closed and stay away from the windows -- the biggest danger in a moderately strong storm is that something smashes your window, and you cut yourself on broken glass. If you know that it will be a strong hurricane, try to get plywood and nail it to the outside of your windows, but in my experience, once you realize it's bad, the plywood is all sold out. Some cardboard and big trash bags taped to the window can also help minimize the risk of broken glass flying into your rooms.

You may want to put expensive items like computers or TVs in plastic bags and move them to an internal room. You should also have a list of things you own for your renter's or home-owner's insurance. Take pictures of your belongings.

Pack a bag with a change of clothes, something to eat and drink, and some of your medical supplies in case you need to leave. However, you should really only evacuate if an evacuation was ordered for your flood zone. What the mayor of Houston did with Rita, encouraging everyone who could leave to leave just lead to gridlocked highways. The most destructive force of a hurricane is the storm surge, the water that gets pushed onto land and then rushes back. That usually determines if an evacuation is ordered.

If you stay in your home and it gets bad, also go into an interior room. Often, a bathroom is best. In the worst case, drain your bathtub (if you put water in it), lie down in it and put a mattress on top of yourself.

All of this may sound scary, but it's really mostly common sense. You should have most of the supplies anyway.

Answer 3

I am in Florida and we prepare for hurricanes every year, besides canned foods and bread, get charcoal, do all your laundry, stock up on water, and get a solar powered cell phone charger.  Total Eco Store sells them online and they deliver fast http://www.totaecostore.com