If you’ve been watching the news, you already know that hurricane Sandy is gaining strength and she’s headed toward the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast US coastal areas.
If you live in an area that may be impacted by Sandy—anywhere from Virginia to Boston— check your emergency kits and fill your car with gas so you can be prepared to evacuate if the time comes that you’re asked by the authorities to do so. And stock up on supplies that will keep you warm, fed, and hydrated if you have to evacuate or shelter in place without utilities for a while.
Some supplies we suggest having on hand:
- NOAA weather radio
- Emergency Kit(s)
- Car kit
- Water and food storage (both for sheltering in place at home, and portable storage in case you have to evacuate)
- Goal Zero Lighthouse LED Lantern and Nomad 7 Combo (for light and solar power in case of outages)
- LED Flashlights and/or headlamps
- Light sticks
- Hand warmers
- Portable heater(s) and propane to fuel them
- Fill your tank. Keep your car’s gas tank at least half full so you can evacuate quickly if needed—lines at the gas station will be long, and stations can quickly run out of gas if deliveries are interrupted.
- Evacuation location. Reach out to anyone who has agreed to host you in case of an evacuation to see if they are still on board.
- If you don’t have a host already in place, reach out to family and friends out of the hurricane area to see if they would be willing to let you stay with them if you’re required to evacuate
- Stock up on water and food storage if you don’t already have them.
- Prepare for disrupted utilities. Get alternate sources of light, warmth, and communication in case utilities are cut off.
- Extra clothes. Put some extra changes of clothes in your kit so you’ll have warm, dry clothing options if you have to go out in the storm.
- Coordinate. Talk to your family members, roommates, or neighbors about your evacuation and sheltering-in-place plans—coordinate any neighborhood efforts that may have already been established to be sure everyone is still on the same page.
There are several resources available to track the path Sandy is following—and your local authorities will certainly be keeping you up to date if you live in Sandy’s potential path.
[Click here] to check the predicted path hurricane Sandy will follow. (weather.com)
You can also [click here] to see a Google map of Sandy’s path and locations of active shelters in your region.
Are you in an area that could be affected? What are you doing to prepare? We’re praying and crossing our fingers that Sandy heads back out to sea, but do everything you can to get ready—it will give you more confidence should a crisis occur.
For more information on Hurricane Preparedness, check out the mini-series we published earlier this year:
--Sarah
