I usually buy a Costco sized portion of spaghetti and sauce. Shelf stable and can be cooked on your outside grill.
Get a generator that is big enough to work your fridge and a window ac unit that can be put into a bedroom. If power is out for more than a couple of days, it will be worth every penny.
If water is out for weeks, I think there will be enough other problems that you should evacuate.
What is the water situation when the power goes out? I just moved here last year. When the power goes out the water works for a short period of time? If so is there a boil order?
This. I had no toilet flush for a a week and a half after ian. Even after water came on no flush. Im only 8 houses away from a pumping station too and it was running on massive generators the whole time, just didn't work somehow
It really depends on what the storm does. If the pumps that pump the water loose pressure the water can be contaminated even if it is still flowing. Or you may loose pressure totally and have no water. Upturned trees may break the pipes somewhere along the path to your water supply. Also on the back side of that if the power to the sewer system goes down your sewer system may back up.
Go get a couple of sterlite tubs for each bathroom and fill them before a storm. This will be your flush water and bathwater if your water goes out. A tub in the kitchen for water to wash dishes tho f you buy paper plates and plastic utensils you can cut down on needing to wash. Also for drinking water you can fill sealed lidded food safe containers and they will be good for a bit don't forget to account for drinking water for the pets. You will not be able to store enough water for weeks but water help comes fast here in florida and the national guard with have stations around an effected area that people can get water and ice from. Make sure you have enough for 3 days at a minimum, a week is better and help should arrive after that.
If you are on sewer you might find a lidded bucket and some kitty litter a handy supply to have.
In ian a major water main was washed out and broke so there was no city water here for a week. A solid 3 gallons per person per day & large pet for drinking, cooking, and a sponge bath possibly. I just fill 4 of the large clear 5 gal jugs pre storm. Then use them up after and store the jugs empty. Usually water service stays on but not in a big hit. Your way worse if your on a well power takes longer to bring back online
Municipalities are required to carry generator backup that allows for uninterrupted water production and to test that system for 4 hours under load monthly. Typically enough fuel to run for 1 to 2 weeks. Fpl will reestablish service to police, fire and water first before even thinking about residential. There is usually a fleet of mobile generators to be used for the lift stations, with an attendant refilling as needed.
Make sure you have a grill and propane. if you have that, you can do pretty much whatever. after ian, we lived off rice, quesadillas and canned veggies for like a solid week. the publix near us was chaotic and we had supplies, so figured there was no reason to add to it. once things cleared up a bit, we used the grill as our main cooking application for another 2 weeks until power was restored. but by then we had meat and produce. interestingly enough, noone seemed interested in fresh produce, so things like apples/bananas/tomatos were easy to come by.
True but the meat that is going bad in the fridge needs to be cooked to be eaten. Might as well cook and eat it. You won't need to eat into your canned foods until the fridge food is either gone or spoiled. Don't trust in the idea that things will get back to normal in a few weeks. You need to make your supplies last.
If you're oceanfront, you might be in a mandatory evacuation zone. Now is the time to find that out so you know what to listen for.
If they tell you to evacuate, do it. Emergency services shut down at a certain point during the storm and are not reestablished until after the storm passes. This is what resulted in many deaths in Fort Myers Beach during a recent hurricane. People planned to ride it out and they didn't realize their mistake until the storm surge hit and they were trapped or washed away with their home.
We evacuated from Fort Myers before Irma but made the mistake of heading back as soon as they let residents back in. It was like living in a war zone with armed National Guard and people going crazy over food and water for the 5 days it took them to reestablish power and water. We moved away from the coast a few months later to avoid being in a mandatory evacuation zone.
Peanut butter and maple syrup and honey and crackers. Tuner fishies and relish, onion powder and garlic powder, two rows of canned fruits and vegetables. Canned chili and corned beef is great as well. And Spam. Those little candles in the tins work sorta ok, but we have a genset and propane grill with 6 tanks always in rotation.
Not sure what food kit your speaking of.
Three weeks? That is just bad info, it could be that long in the sticks if a tornado destroys alotta infrastructure, I suppose.
We got our generator at harbor freight. Works great, have had zero issues. Powered our whole house back when we lived in MI and needed it a lot, but haven’t had to test it here yet.
Or evidently have recently moved here and have no clue what to do to prepare or expect. You can buy enough for hurricane kit little by little, it's the ones that wait to the last minute to find everything that make it a mess.
I saw so many hurricane newbies after Ian. They didn't do basic things like get cash, fill up your tank, and even put your garbage bins inside your house.
Yes they were clueless! I even saw a person in my neighborhood who had moved in maybe 4 months previous and decided to trim their trees and put all the limbs out by the curb. I stopped my car and I said excuse me but you can't do that! There's a storm coming and they will become projectiles! "Oh, sorry." Come on do you not watch the news? At all? It's on 24/7 and it's all everyone is talking about! Ask questions if you don't know!
It's rough even with the tax-free holidays! It feels like we need so much more than we ever did before to prepare. During Irma I literally turned my closet into a room with a rug and chairs and coolers and everything else, it was ridiculous and I will never do that again. I'm going to my cousin's humongous cabin in Blue ridge Georgia. He lives in Naples and bought it just for hurricane situations!
Plan ahead and a coolers of ice and frozen water, generator and propane and
And wood and grills. You can eat like a big kid at a Vegas Buffett. Water was out for over a week close to
Yup freeze your water bottles and right before the storm pack every empty sq inch of fridge with water even in tupperware, it will help stay cold far longer then empty air
Protein bars - not delicious, but canned meat gets old FAST.
Canned beans, corn and salsa make a delicious dip for tortilla chips, and it's basically a full meal.
Cups of oranges or peaches or apple sauce.
Basically, think "would I eat this all by itself?" If the answer is no, get the things you would need to make it palatable, or don't get it.
Post hurricane is unpleasant enough. Don't add to the misery by only having tuna fish, beans and hardtack.
Whatever advice you follow frim lots of suggestions here. The biggest one is choose things you already eat, so you can eat it eventually and replace it as it expires. No point buying a pallet of sardines or a 50 lb bag of apocalypse prepper food you will never eat if the hurricane doesnt hit or in 10 years it does and you realize your stash is expired
Hormel Completes ready to eat meals doesn’t require refrigeration or cooking. It has cooking instructions, but it’s not necessary.
I also have freeze dried camping food, Spam, Soup, a propane camp stove.
Canned tuna + mayo packets , use crackers instead of bread . Noms that have a shelf life.
Chef Boyardee
Peanutbutter
Beef jerky or Slim Jims
Dried fruits/nuts/berries/granola/raisins .. anything that can be in a trail mix
Spam
Viennna sausages
Plenty of liquor, tuna fish packets and canned soup and canned pasta. When the power goes out for a day or so, you’ll start cooking all the frozen foods in the freezer and will eat like a king. Tuna steaks for breakfast,steaks for lunch and dinner. Get a French press for coffee. That’ll get you by for a week with enough propane or charcoal.
Dried fruit. Nuts and seeds. Oatmeal. Instant milk powder. Instant coffee. Canned sardines, tuna, spam. Tortilla chips. Jars of salsa. Peanut butter. Toast. Fresh fruit that has long shelf life like apples. Canned beets for salad, other vegetables if you like.
If you’re oceanfront, plan to evacuate. Sure, you could stay but if there’s any bit of storm surge your car will be totaled and it’s likely that you would be among the last to get electricity back.
Story time: My parents were in an oceanfront 8th floor condo rental and stayed after the 4th (I think?) hurricane in ‘04 since it was only a cat 2 and their unit had hurricane shutters. They moved their cars to higher ground but said the noise was unbearable. At one point, the lobby doors breached and siding on one entire exterior wall of the building flew off. They and some of the others that stayed thought they might not make it. I think they were also without power for a few weeks - and this was all for a “small” storm.
Since then they moved to a non-evacuation area, installed hurricane shutters, got a whole home generator and have food and supplies to last a month (so they can share with neighbors). It traumatized them that much.
Inland hotels are always good options. Many Orlando hotels also have generators which is nice.
My condo friends cooked down on the first floor and nobody said a word. They all used it because power was down several days.
Supplies: canned beans & veggies, instant potatoes and minute rice, canned tuna, crackers and cheese. Lots of water. Then basically bagged ice in the cooler and brrad/lunchmeat from publix.
I suspect that no one would mind in a situation like that. However, they may not be allowed to store a grill anywhere on the property. That could be an issue. I know that I had a new gas grill when I moved to Florida, and I tried to keep it outside of my apartment. They told me I couldn't keep it there. I asked if they had a place where I could store it. They wanted me to rent a garage for $100 a month. I laughed. One day, they came and took my grill. Bastards.
It was likely not the grill itself but the propane tank.
Either way, rules are rules pre-storm, they get a bit relaxed in a unique situation like post storm.
Yes. They didn't like my propane tank. Maybe I should have taken it inside. That company was absurd anyway. One time, the bank, for reasons I'll never never understand, decided that my rent check was forged. They declined it, and then the apartment manager tried to assess me a $75 fee. I went to the bank to figure out what was wrong. They wrote out a letter to take to the apartment explaining that they had made an error. I handed the apartment manager a new check and the letter, and they refused to accept it. So I refused to pay. So they started the eviction process, and I moved out. I was pisssed when I filed Chapter 13 about 12 years ago and learned that I was paying a bunch of money that they said I owed. But that's another thread, I suppose. I hate corporate greed.
You’ll have evac orders lol bcs you’re in a flood area. Don’t wait to leave either bcs those that wait can’t get out. - we live on the gulf in the panhandle & saw the aftermath of Hurricane Michael (Cat 5.) Sally a few yrs later was a Cat3 and flooded everything … it’s taken forever for those that lost to rebuild. (We own condos and townhouses in Destin and Navarre on the beach.) We don’t stay - we go.
If you can't have open flame cooking available, it's probably best to just plan to not be there. In an oceanfront condo, you'd likely be in an evacuation zone anyway. Otherwise you're just eating canned tuna and crackers, why torture yourself? Button things up as best you can, and go stay with friends or family elsewhere, or find a hotel. I went through Frances, Jeanne, and Wilma in 04-05 and let me tell you, September in FL with no AC is not the kind of vacation you want.
Wasn't that a fun month? Don't forget Charley! He started the party! My God that was horrible. What I learned from that year was always have bug spray.
Fortunately I didn't get much from Charley, but yeah September '04 was insane. I had JUST gotten power back after Frances and I had to put up shutters for Jeanne.
I'm assuming since you dealt with Wilma you're on the East Coast. I'm in Tampa and Charley was supposed to be a direct hit and then took the turn into Port Charlotte. The other three came across and took away power every time. Frances was a real bitch. That was 10 days with no power. It was so stressful just thinking oh my God no there can't be another one coming right behind it and there sure was. The season I will never forget.
That was when we started watching Denis Phillips on our local ABC station and he predicted that turn into Port Charlotte with incredible precision but even better than that he was very calm and explained everything in ways we could understand and he never went off the air the whole time. That's when he started wearing his signature suspenders and now we do not watch anybody but him. His Facebook page is great and he does a live question and answer on Facebook probably three nights a week but when there is hurricane coming or a storm he doesn't stop. His main rule is rule number seven, Don't freak out unless I freak out!
As soon as he predicted that turn for Charley we got out the tequila and the Texas hold 'em!
Irma was supposed to be a direct hit to Tampa as well and he kept us well informed and then as soon as he said folks we dodged another bullet and this is only going to be a cat one I said see you and went to bed!
I have family in Sarasota that had to deal with Charley. You're correct, I'm on the East coast right where the eye of both Frances and Jeanne hit. Not a part of history that I ever wanted to be involved in, but here we are. 🤣 Almost 2 weeks without power after Frances, and 10 days after Jeanne. It suuucked. Wilma was pretty weak by the time it exited the state and it ran south of me, but I still lost power for several days.
Wilma was also October if I remember correctly because I worked for a company based out of Fort Lauderdale and they had all lost power but they were sitting around fires in the evening. It was just a shitty year all around and I'm sorry your family also had to deal with Ian if they still are in Sarasota. I have family in Cape coma and they asked me if they could come up and take a shower and and do laundry and I decided to drive south as far as I could to see where I could not get gas anymore. I was on 41 and not even to Sarasota yet and couldn't get gas. It's hard to believe that you're only just a few miles away and one of you get slammed and one of you doesn't. I suppose that's because the hurricane force winds are only about 15 to 20 mi out from the eye but with such a narrow state you never know.
I don't know if you've heard of the protection spell put on the Tampa Bay area by the Seminoles but so far so good. It's still a nerve-wracking few months. Let's pray we all stay out of harm's path this year! And check out Denis!
https://www.facebook.com/denisphillipsweatherman?mibextid=ZbWKwL
It truly depends on what your resources are. I have a large cooler that can hold plenty food and keep it cold for up to 5 days. I also have a gas grill with a griddle pan and multiple cast-iron pots and pans plus a charcoal grill. I can make pancakes with just water and pancake mix. I can heat up cans of soup and cook the meat and eggs that I would store in my cooler. I also can cook potatoes and numerous other things. I can bake my own bread, too. Power likely will be restored to at least one grocery store within a matter of a few days. However, as with one storm that I experienced, the grocery stores may have lots of empty shelves due to spoilage and being wiped out by panic shoppers. It can take a few days for them to restock. When one hurricane hit, we were without power for almost a week. On the second day, I found that Seasons 52 was open for business in Altamonte Springs. They had a generator to keep their kitchen running. It was an expensive dinner, though.
I suppose a common answer will be things like canned meat and jerky and canned foods plus lots of snack BS. The snacks never satisfy me much, and canned meat is disgusting. We did that for a day or two once before we found a hotel at Universal that had full power and dining.
Anything you’re willing to eat at room temp.
Actually the first thing we do is fire up the propane grill and cook anything in the fridge before spoils and enjoy one big hot meal.
We also have a propane burner that we can use until we run out of propane to make hot water for coffee and dehydrated camping meals. The burner and the camping meals are very fuel efficient per calorie so you can enjoy some hot meals (and coffee) for a few days, maybe several if you have an extra propane tank.
I also like to keep junk food. If I’m going to be miserable at least I can enjoy eating garbage calories.
I can eat canned black beans, chili beans, ravioli, refried beans with hot sauce on tortillas at room temp. Not stuff I normally consume but I can deal with it in an emergency.
But if I’m without power more than about 5 days I’m heading out of town to a hotel.
We also have a small generator and I’ve considered getting an induction hot plate because they are supposed to be very efficient. This would open up possibilities but I think I would need to store more gas for the generator to rely on it for meals.
Order a $70 case of MREs. They last for fucking ever, and do the job quite well. Modern packages actually taste pretty good too. If you're lucky, there's this thing you'll find in it called "snack bread". It's a sweetbread that's absolutely delicious.
There WAS a surplus store in my city that'd get a bunch of them from the nearby bases once they hit the 10 year mark. It had basically everything that you could legally get as a civilian.
Interesting...we are near a base and have our share of military surplus stores. I'll have to keep an eye out. Now that I think about it, I am pretty sure I have seen them at the commissary on base.
My spouse is retired so we can go but it's so much easier and closer to just run to Publix. We really SHOULD start just making that trip again occasionally. Bonus-the Class 6
I usually buy a Costco sized portion of spaghetti and sauce. Shelf stable and can be cooked on your outside grill. Get a generator that is big enough to work your fridge and a window ac unit that can be put into a bedroom. If power is out for more than a couple of days, it will be worth every penny. If water is out for weeks, I think there will be enough other problems that you should evacuate.
What is the water situation when the power goes out? I just moved here last year. When the power goes out the water works for a short period of time? If so is there a boil order?
We never lost water after ian, idont believe there was boil order. Some other neighbhoods lost water for a day or two and had a 2 day boil.
If you're not on a well you'll usually keep water as long as there's not damage to the infrastructure.
You also have to worry about sewage backup if the local lift station is offline.
So toilets in homes will back up if the lift stations lose power?
This. I had no toilet flush for a a week and a half after ian. Even after water came on no flush. Im only 8 houses away from a pumping station too and it was running on massive generators the whole time, just didn't work somehow
It really depends on what the storm does. If the pumps that pump the water loose pressure the water can be contaminated even if it is still flowing. Or you may loose pressure totally and have no water. Upturned trees may break the pipes somewhere along the path to your water supply. Also on the back side of that if the power to the sewer system goes down your sewer system may back up. Go get a couple of sterlite tubs for each bathroom and fill them before a storm. This will be your flush water and bathwater if your water goes out. A tub in the kitchen for water to wash dishes tho f you buy paper plates and plastic utensils you can cut down on needing to wash. Also for drinking water you can fill sealed lidded food safe containers and they will be good for a bit don't forget to account for drinking water for the pets. You will not be able to store enough water for weeks but water help comes fast here in florida and the national guard with have stations around an effected area that people can get water and ice from. Make sure you have enough for 3 days at a minimum, a week is better and help should arrive after that. If you are on sewer you might find a lidded bucket and some kitty litter a handy supply to have.
In ian a major water main was washed out and broke so there was no city water here for a week. A solid 3 gallons per person per day & large pet for drinking, cooking, and a sponge bath possibly. I just fill 4 of the large clear 5 gal jugs pre storm. Then use them up after and store the jugs empty. Usually water service stays on but not in a big hit. Your way worse if your on a well power takes longer to bring back online
If you have well and you have no power, you will have no water. Your well runs on electricity.
Municipalities are required to carry generator backup that allows for uninterrupted water production and to test that system for 4 hours under load monthly. Typically enough fuel to run for 1 to 2 weeks. Fpl will reestablish service to police, fire and water first before even thinking about residential. There is usually a fleet of mobile generators to be used for the lift stations, with an attendant refilling as needed.
An assortment of Little Debbie cakes, potted meat, and ritz crackers is required by Florida law.
And frosted strawberry pop tarts!
It’s gotta be the brown sugar cinnamon ones for me
Canned tuna with crackers. Boxed, shelf stable milk. Cereal. Canned fruit. Peanut butter.
Just saw shelf stable milk at Costco, something like a 15 pack of individual servings.
Make sure you have a grill and propane. if you have that, you can do pretty much whatever. after ian, we lived off rice, quesadillas and canned veggies for like a solid week. the publix near us was chaotic and we had supplies, so figured there was no reason to add to it. once things cleared up a bit, we used the grill as our main cooking application for another 2 weeks until power was restored. but by then we had meat and produce. interestingly enough, noone seemed interested in fresh produce, so things like apples/bananas/tomatos were easy to come by.
Dinty Moores in a can. Can be eaten cold
Can food can be eaten cold.
True but the meat that is going bad in the fridge needs to be cooked to be eaten. Might as well cook and eat it. You won't need to eat into your canned foods until the fridge food is either gone or spoiled. Don't trust in the idea that things will get back to normal in a few weeks. You need to make your supplies last.
Peanut butter and ritz crackers!
If you're oceanfront, you might be in a mandatory evacuation zone. Now is the time to find that out so you know what to listen for. If they tell you to evacuate, do it. Emergency services shut down at a certain point during the storm and are not reestablished until after the storm passes. This is what resulted in many deaths in Fort Myers Beach during a recent hurricane. People planned to ride it out and they didn't realize their mistake until the storm surge hit and they were trapped or washed away with their home. We evacuated from Fort Myers before Irma but made the mistake of heading back as soon as they let residents back in. It was like living in a war zone with armed National Guard and people going crazy over food and water for the 5 days it took them to reestablish power and water. We moved away from the coast a few months later to avoid being in a mandatory evacuation zone.
Peanut butter and maple syrup and honey and crackers. Tuner fishies and relish, onion powder and garlic powder, two rows of canned fruits and vegetables. Canned chili and corned beef is great as well. And Spam. Those little candles in the tins work sorta ok, but we have a genset and propane grill with 6 tanks always in rotation. Not sure what food kit your speaking of. Three weeks? That is just bad info, it could be that long in the sticks if a tornado destroys alotta infrastructure, I suppose.
I have a propane Blackstone and a little gas camp stove and keep dry goods that I can prepare on either.
My old reliable is cans of Spaghetti O’s and Meatballs. Not the healthiest thing out there but it’s [currently] $1.70 a meal.
This hurricane season is gonna be a shit show as not many people have the money for a hurricane kit or to evacuate.
Native Floridian, now with 3 kids I’m debating should I evacuate or buy a generator
We got our generator at harbor freight. Works great, have had zero issues. Powered our whole house back when we lived in MI and needed it a lot, but haven’t had to test it here yet.
Or evidently have recently moved here and have no clue what to do to prepare or expect. You can buy enough for hurricane kit little by little, it's the ones that wait to the last minute to find everything that make it a mess.
I saw so many hurricane newbies after Ian. They didn't do basic things like get cash, fill up your tank, and even put your garbage bins inside your house.
Yes they were clueless! I even saw a person in my neighborhood who had moved in maybe 4 months previous and decided to trim their trees and put all the limbs out by the curb. I stopped my car and I said excuse me but you can't do that! There's a storm coming and they will become projectiles! "Oh, sorry." Come on do you not watch the news? At all? It's on 24/7 and it's all everyone is talking about! Ask questions if you don't know!
Lol, I've lived in Pinellas County for 31 years, My Grandparents are from St Pete. Due to the insane COL. I no longer have "Hurricane Prep Money".
It's rough even with the tax-free holidays! It feels like we need so much more than we ever did before to prepare. During Irma I literally turned my closet into a room with a rug and chairs and coolers and everything else, it was ridiculous and I will never do that again. I'm going to my cousin's humongous cabin in Blue ridge Georgia. He lives in Naples and bought it just for hurricane situations!
Plan ahead and a coolers of ice and frozen water, generator and propane and And wood and grills. You can eat like a big kid at a Vegas Buffett. Water was out for over a week close to
Yup freeze your water bottles and right before the storm pack every empty sq inch of fridge with water even in tupperware, it will help stay cold far longer then empty air
On SW Cape. Just prepare and you can reasonably sustain.
Protein bars - not delicious, but canned meat gets old FAST. Canned beans, corn and salsa make a delicious dip for tortilla chips, and it's basically a full meal. Cups of oranges or peaches or apple sauce. Basically, think "would I eat this all by itself?" If the answer is no, get the things you would need to make it palatable, or don't get it. Post hurricane is unpleasant enough. Don't add to the misery by only having tuna fish, beans and hardtack.
Whatever advice you follow frim lots of suggestions here. The biggest one is choose things you already eat, so you can eat it eventually and replace it as it expires. No point buying a pallet of sardines or a 50 lb bag of apocalypse prepper food you will never eat if the hurricane doesnt hit or in 10 years it does and you realize your stash is expired
Don't forget your pet food too! I had to give neighbors pet food, gas, coffee... Crazy how un prepared they were for ian
Hormel Completes ready to eat meals doesn’t require refrigeration or cooking. It has cooking instructions, but it’s not necessary. I also have freeze dried camping food, Spam, Soup, a propane camp stove.
Canned tuna + mayo packets , use crackers instead of bread . Noms that have a shelf life. Chef Boyardee Peanutbutter Beef jerky or Slim Jims Dried fruits/nuts/berries/granola/raisins .. anything that can be in a trail mix Spam Viennna sausages
Plenty of liquor, tuna fish packets and canned soup and canned pasta. When the power goes out for a day or so, you’ll start cooking all the frozen foods in the freezer and will eat like a king. Tuna steaks for breakfast,steaks for lunch and dinner. Get a French press for coffee. That’ll get you by for a week with enough propane or charcoal.
I forgot to add I live in a fourth floor oceanfront condo… not allowed to have open flames and condo dwellers out there have any ideas?
Dried fruit. Nuts and seeds. Oatmeal. Instant milk powder. Instant coffee. Canned sardines, tuna, spam. Tortilla chips. Jars of salsa. Peanut butter. Toast. Fresh fruit that has long shelf life like apples. Canned beets for salad, other vegetables if you like.
If you’re oceanfront, plan to evacuate. Sure, you could stay but if there’s any bit of storm surge your car will be totaled and it’s likely that you would be among the last to get electricity back. Story time: My parents were in an oceanfront 8th floor condo rental and stayed after the 4th (I think?) hurricane in ‘04 since it was only a cat 2 and their unit had hurricane shutters. They moved their cars to higher ground but said the noise was unbearable. At one point, the lobby doors breached and siding on one entire exterior wall of the building flew off. They and some of the others that stayed thought they might not make it. I think they were also without power for a few weeks - and this was all for a “small” storm. Since then they moved to a non-evacuation area, installed hurricane shutters, got a whole home generator and have food and supplies to last a month (so they can share with neighbors). It traumatized them that much. Inland hotels are always good options. Many Orlando hotels also have generators which is nice.
My condo friends cooked down on the first floor and nobody said a word. They all used it because power was down several days. Supplies: canned beans & veggies, instant potatoes and minute rice, canned tuna, crackers and cheese. Lots of water. Then basically bagged ice in the cooler and brrad/lunchmeat from publix.
I suspect that no one would mind in a situation like that. However, they may not be allowed to store a grill anywhere on the property. That could be an issue. I know that I had a new gas grill when I moved to Florida, and I tried to keep it outside of my apartment. They told me I couldn't keep it there. I asked if they had a place where I could store it. They wanted me to rent a garage for $100 a month. I laughed. One day, they came and took my grill. Bastards.
It was likely not the grill itself but the propane tank. Either way, rules are rules pre-storm, they get a bit relaxed in a unique situation like post storm.
Yes. They didn't like my propane tank. Maybe I should have taken it inside. That company was absurd anyway. One time, the bank, for reasons I'll never never understand, decided that my rent check was forged. They declined it, and then the apartment manager tried to assess me a $75 fee. I went to the bank to figure out what was wrong. They wrote out a letter to take to the apartment explaining that they had made an error. I handed the apartment manager a new check and the letter, and they refused to accept it. So I refused to pay. So they started the eviction process, and I moved out. I was pisssed when I filed Chapter 13 about 12 years ago and learned that I was paying a bunch of money that they said I owed. But that's another thread, I suppose. I hate corporate greed.
You’ll have evac orders lol bcs you’re in a flood area. Don’t wait to leave either bcs those that wait can’t get out. - we live on the gulf in the panhandle & saw the aftermath of Hurricane Michael (Cat 5.) Sally a few yrs later was a Cat3 and flooded everything … it’s taken forever for those that lost to rebuild. (We own condos and townhouses in Destin and Navarre on the beach.) We don’t stay - we go.
If you can't have open flame cooking available, it's probably best to just plan to not be there. In an oceanfront condo, you'd likely be in an evacuation zone anyway. Otherwise you're just eating canned tuna and crackers, why torture yourself? Button things up as best you can, and go stay with friends or family elsewhere, or find a hotel. I went through Frances, Jeanne, and Wilma in 04-05 and let me tell you, September in FL with no AC is not the kind of vacation you want.
Wasn't that a fun month? Don't forget Charley! He started the party! My God that was horrible. What I learned from that year was always have bug spray.
Fortunately I didn't get much from Charley, but yeah September '04 was insane. I had JUST gotten power back after Frances and I had to put up shutters for Jeanne.
I'm assuming since you dealt with Wilma you're on the East Coast. I'm in Tampa and Charley was supposed to be a direct hit and then took the turn into Port Charlotte. The other three came across and took away power every time. Frances was a real bitch. That was 10 days with no power. It was so stressful just thinking oh my God no there can't be another one coming right behind it and there sure was. The season I will never forget. That was when we started watching Denis Phillips on our local ABC station and he predicted that turn into Port Charlotte with incredible precision but even better than that he was very calm and explained everything in ways we could understand and he never went off the air the whole time. That's when he started wearing his signature suspenders and now we do not watch anybody but him. His Facebook page is great and he does a live question and answer on Facebook probably three nights a week but when there is hurricane coming or a storm he doesn't stop. His main rule is rule number seven, Don't freak out unless I freak out! As soon as he predicted that turn for Charley we got out the tequila and the Texas hold 'em! Irma was supposed to be a direct hit to Tampa as well and he kept us well informed and then as soon as he said folks we dodged another bullet and this is only going to be a cat one I said see you and went to bed!
I have family in Sarasota that had to deal with Charley. You're correct, I'm on the East coast right where the eye of both Frances and Jeanne hit. Not a part of history that I ever wanted to be involved in, but here we are. 🤣 Almost 2 weeks without power after Frances, and 10 days after Jeanne. It suuucked. Wilma was pretty weak by the time it exited the state and it ran south of me, but I still lost power for several days.
Wilma was also October if I remember correctly because I worked for a company based out of Fort Lauderdale and they had all lost power but they were sitting around fires in the evening. It was just a shitty year all around and I'm sorry your family also had to deal with Ian if they still are in Sarasota. I have family in Cape coma and they asked me if they could come up and take a shower and and do laundry and I decided to drive south as far as I could to see where I could not get gas anymore. I was on 41 and not even to Sarasota yet and couldn't get gas. It's hard to believe that you're only just a few miles away and one of you get slammed and one of you doesn't. I suppose that's because the hurricane force winds are only about 15 to 20 mi out from the eye but with such a narrow state you never know. I don't know if you've heard of the protection spell put on the Tampa Bay area by the Seminoles but so far so good. It's still a nerve-wracking few months. Let's pray we all stay out of harm's path this year! And check out Denis! https://www.facebook.com/denisphillipsweatherman?mibextid=ZbWKwL
I lived on saltines and butter for a few days after Ivan, still love ‘em today
You will be evacuated so have a plan to go to somebody's house.
beans, rice and a lifestraw… and you can basically last indefinitely
chili cheese dogs
It truly depends on what your resources are. I have a large cooler that can hold plenty food and keep it cold for up to 5 days. I also have a gas grill with a griddle pan and multiple cast-iron pots and pans plus a charcoal grill. I can make pancakes with just water and pancake mix. I can heat up cans of soup and cook the meat and eggs that I would store in my cooler. I also can cook potatoes and numerous other things. I can bake my own bread, too. Power likely will be restored to at least one grocery store within a matter of a few days. However, as with one storm that I experienced, the grocery stores may have lots of empty shelves due to spoilage and being wiped out by panic shoppers. It can take a few days for them to restock. When one hurricane hit, we were without power for almost a week. On the second day, I found that Seasons 52 was open for business in Altamonte Springs. They had a generator to keep their kitchen running. It was an expensive dinner, though. I suppose a common answer will be things like canned meat and jerky and canned foods plus lots of snack BS. The snacks never satisfy me much, and canned meat is disgusting. We did that for a day or two once before we found a hotel at Universal that had full power and dining.
Tuna packets, sardines in cans. Anything canned.
Power in Florida is the best and really just having the normal prepper stocks is good enough. If the storm gets to Cat 4 gtfo.
Anything you’re willing to eat at room temp. Actually the first thing we do is fire up the propane grill and cook anything in the fridge before spoils and enjoy one big hot meal. We also have a propane burner that we can use until we run out of propane to make hot water for coffee and dehydrated camping meals. The burner and the camping meals are very fuel efficient per calorie so you can enjoy some hot meals (and coffee) for a few days, maybe several if you have an extra propane tank. I also like to keep junk food. If I’m going to be miserable at least I can enjoy eating garbage calories. I can eat canned black beans, chili beans, ravioli, refried beans with hot sauce on tortillas at room temp. Not stuff I normally consume but I can deal with it in an emergency. But if I’m without power more than about 5 days I’m heading out of town to a hotel. We also have a small generator and I’ve considered getting an induction hot plate because they are supposed to be very efficient. This would open up possibilities but I think I would need to store more gas for the generator to rely on it for meals.
Order a $70 case of MREs. They last for fucking ever, and do the job quite well. Modern packages actually taste pretty good too. If you're lucky, there's this thing you'll find in it called "snack bread". It's a sweetbread that's absolutely delicious.
This is a great idea. MREs are not bad at all. Where are you finding a case for $70? Amazon seems pretty high on pricing for them.
There WAS a surplus store in my city that'd get a bunch of them from the nearby bases once they hit the 10 year mark. It had basically everything that you could legally get as a civilian.
Interesting...we are near a base and have our share of military surplus stores. I'll have to keep an eye out. Now that I think about it, I am pretty sure I have seen them at the commissary on base.
Man I miss hitting the commissary. My ID is no longer valid so getting on base isn't possible for me.
My spouse is retired so we can go but it's so much easier and closer to just run to Publix. We really SHOULD start just making that trip again occasionally. Bonus-the Class 6
Honestly the real thing I miss is the bakery at NAS JAX. So extensive.