5 Essential Items You Will Need to Prepare for Hurricane Florence

9/11/2018 (Permalink)

Hurricanes are natural disasters that can cause a significant amount of damage. Don't wait--start preparing for Hurricane Florence now!

Hurricane Florence has dominated headlines lately, but that’s no surprise—it’s set to be one of the worst hurricanes on the East Coast in decades. At the time this was written, the storm was classified as a Category 4 and was set to hit North Carolina. While it’s still not certain how much damage the western part of the state will see, officials are saying to prepare for the worst. So if you still haven’t prepared Hurricane Florence, make sure you at least have the 5 items below.

• Water. Whether you’re on well or city water, it’s never a guarantee that you’ll always have running water during a hurricane. It is recommended that you have at least 1 gallon of water per person per day for a minimum of 3 days. (For example, if you have 3 people in your home, you should have at least 9 gallons of water.)

• Non-perishable Food. As with water, it’s never a guarantee that you’ll always have power in your home. That’s why it’s important that you have enough non-perishable food to last for at least 3 days. This includes, but is not limited to, canned meat, crackers, trail mixes, peanut butter, and more!

• Non-electric light source. When the power goes out—especially at night—you’re going to wish you could see. Some options include candles, flashlights, and battery-powered lanterns. Just be sure that you have the items to fuel them (either batteries or matches).

• First-Aid Kit. When wind and road conditions begin to deteriorate, it will be important that you stay indoors. But when there is an injury or accident, you’ll want to be able to react. In addition to bandages, your kit should also include sterilizing pads, antiseptics, hand sanitizer, necessary medication, and more!

• Battery-powered TV or Radio. We now rely on our phones to remain connected with the world, but when the power goes out and cell towers are damaged, you won’t have any way of remaining current with formal weather updates. That’s when a battery-powered TV or radio becomes essential. Just make sure you’ve bought enough batteries!

The jury’s still out on what kind of damage Hurricane Florence will cause in Lenoir and other areas of western North Carolina, but there’s no reason why you cannot start preparing now. After all, they say an ounce of preparation produces a pound of cure!