Originally Posted by velociabstract
Hurricane Irene came through P.R. Sunday night/Monday morning. Power was restored about 30 minutes ago. The eye passed right over us which was a trip. One minute 75 mph winds and then next almost nothing. A little later they picked up again but from another direction. A few hurricane tips. All the cars full of gas, fill the freezer with 2 liter bottles of water. When the power goes off you can bring down 2 a day to keep the fridge cold for several days. I prefer LED flashlights with a flat bottom, they last forever and stand up. It's worse to be without water so be sure to have plenty for drinking and fill a tub for flushing just in case. I have a few propane bottles to make coffee or heat up food. I mostly eat bachelor food (cookies too!) wine and cheese.
It sure helps to have a generator, I'm thinking of buying one.
I almost forgot, cash is good, no Credit Cards or ATM's without power.
Les
All good points Les.
We always keep at least five milk jugs full of water and frozen. If you don't open the frig, it'll last for days. If you have a freezer full of16 OZ water bottles one can keep a cooler iced for along time and drink the water when it melts.
48 bottles of ice will keep a lot of things cold. And provide emergency water. (enough for two people for 6 days)
This lets you keep milk and softdrinks, wine and beer (neccesities of course) cool and available without opening the frig.
A chest freezer will sustain itself for some time, even if you open it frequently for fresh bottled cubes. I cover mine with a thick blanket and it last even longer.
On another note, a 16" X 16" solar charging panel can be found for about $30.00. Plug it into a 12 volt car battery and it will run a host of useful appliances. 12 volt fans, radios and some TVs. A 1200 amp inverter (under $40.00) can give you 110volts for brief usage of appliances, including your computer.
A simple nite light system can be afforded by having a set of solar landscape lamps set aside solely for this purpose. Again, Lowes and Home Depot have them for about $6,00 apiece and they make great emergency lamps which operate for free.
Real handy in the bathroom which in many houses has no window or ourside light source. Chose lights with some sort of on/off switch which is very usefull.
BTW, I have and use all of these things and they work out real well in both emergencies and when camping.