Karishma Bala I know a lot of you are locals and some of you are brand new to FL and the whole new world of hurricane season. Just a reminder that hurricane season is June – November with the peak months usually being August and September! With Tropical storm Fred looking to hopefully not end up being a hurricane in Florida, this definitely served as a friendly reminder to be prepared for hurricanes! Here’s a few tips on hurricane prep from someone who grew up here and has had her fair share of hurricanes!
- Know the status of your house or apartment building. How old is the building, do they have hurricane proof windows or do you need to have shutters? Does it have a generator and emergency exit? The first thing is to know the status of where you live to figure out what things you need, whether it be simple things water bottles or things like shutters
- Make a grocery list and stock up ahead of time, not right before hearing of a hurricane. If you ever are caught with a really bad hurricane about to come to your area, you will see how hard it is to get anything from the grocery store during that time. The shelves are usually all empty! Off season, usually around the month of May time is when I always stock up on things I need – lots of cases of water bottles, canned food, those milk boxes that don’t need to be refrigerated, flashlights, batteries and battery packs etc. These things have a long shelf life and if you get it early it will last the entire hurricane season. If for some reason you are caught around the time of a major hurricane coming and need to get stuff, always ask the grocery store employees if there are certain days or timings to go to the store to get the replenished inventory. I remember one hurricane season we had asked a Publix employee at my local store and he told us to come to that store at 7am. We did the next day and were able to get waters! The employees are very helpful.
- Some things you need to prep closer to a potential hurricane. For example, stocking up on gas or some refrigerated favorites if you have a generator. But definitely don’t forget to make the time to search for and get gas!
These are just a couple of quick tips and a reminder to prep for hurricane season! I’m sure there are many things I missed talking about but just wanted to get out the main quick reminders! Are there any tips you have to prep for hurricane season? Let me know in the comments below!
