Before the Hurricane
Step1
Buy a generator if you can afford it. A generator can cost from $400 to $4,000 and up, but is a great investment if you live in "hurricane alley". Your state may offer a tax-free holiday for hurricane supplies, which would save you money.
Step2
Buy a grill. Cooking food without electricity can be much easier if you buy a charcoal or gas barbecue grill. Don't forget the utensils, charcoal, lighter fluid and matches. Cans of Sterno will heat a can of soup or a cup of instant coffee. A fondue pot can heat cans of beef stew or other canned foods. The grill can boil water for cooking and drinking or grill meat.
Step3
Install a hand pump if you have a well; it fits into the well itself. It will cost about $400 and is labor intensive to hand pump water. If you do not have a hand pump then you must store water before the hurricane hits. You will need a minimum of one gallon per person per day. Keep at least a seven-day supply. You will also need extra water for toilet flushing and clean-up jobs. Fill the tub, fill the washing machine, fill as many jugs with water as you can. Clean the outdoor garbage cans, place them by a door and fill them with water, too. You can use this water for flushing and cleaning jobs as well.
Step4
Buy a few coolers for food preservation. Lining the ice chests with aluminum foil will help to keep foods cold. Keep one cooler for frozen foods, one for food from the refrigerator and one for drinks. Freeze blue ice packs and several plastic jugs of water to place in the coolers. When the ice melts in the jug, it can be used as drinking water.
Step5
Stock up on batteries, lots of batteries. You will need batteries for flashlights, radios, battery-operated tools, cell phones and portable lights. A battery-operated fan may be hard to find, but is worth the time looking for one. It gets very hot and humid after a hurricane.
After the Hurricane
Step1
Keep the food in your refrigerator and freezer for about 3 hours. The refrigerator and freezer themselves are great coolers during those three hours. Place the frozen food in one cooler and take the food from the refrigerator and put into the freezer. The freezer will still be cold enough for a few hours to act as a refrigerator. Place the frozen water jugs and blue ice in one cooler. Keeping all the frozen food in one chest and all the ice in the other, at this time, keeps it frozen.
Step2
Move the food out of the freezer section and place into the coolers after about 6 hours. This will keep your food cold and save the ice from melting too quickly.
Step3
Store your flashlights and batteries all in one place. Keep a battery operated tap style or fluorescent light in each room, mounted as high as it can be. The higher it is mounted, the more light you will get.
Step4
Remove hurricane shutters after the storm danger has passed, which will aid in air flow and help to reduce the chance of mold build-up. Close window blinds and curtains when the sun enters a window; this will help keep your house cooler.
Step5
Fill the tank of your toilet with water so you can flush normally. Keep a bucket in the tub that has been filled with water for flushing or a large garbage can filled with water close by.
