Hurricane Sandy dealt the east coast a devastating blow. Here on Long Island many people lost their homes to the water or the wind. I consider myself very very lucky to have been without power for only 4 days — but no other significant damage. Even so, it was difficult.I didn’t exactly prepare myself as well as I could have. Don’t do that if you have a storm coming to your area. Here are some tips for the next storm.
Here are some photos I took of my neighborhood. There were so many trees down and of course the Great South Bay washed ashore and flooded many homes. The photo above is the view of Fire Island. The water level is still very high and still flooding the streets.
My heart goes out to those who are still dealing with loses due to this storm. Many thanks to my readers for their emails and well wishes — it really means a lot to me.
This is the house across the street. Luckily the roof was not damaged. The force of the wind was incredible.
This is the front yard of my other neighbor. That tree was blocking the road for a while.
This tree brought the street light down and with it the power lines.
Many of the roads were blocked. Some of the trees that fell seemed very strong and healthy. I guess they just couldn’t stand up to the wind.
Here’s why I love living on the Great South Bay. It’s still rough but on a clear day you can see Fire Island and if you have a boat you can go there. Or you can take the ferry to a fabulous beach. I’ve been to many beaches and Long Island has the some of the most beautiful beaches in the world.
Things are slowly getting back to normal. For some people things will never be the same.
Another challenge we have right now is the problem of getting gas for the car. It’s not really a gas shortage — but they had to stop pumping gas off shore last week when the storm was predicted, in order to avoid any gas spilling into the water. Now the gas stations are either sold out of what they had or they can’t pump because they still have no power.
So many thing rely on electric power…
Here are some tips for the next storm
- Make sure your car(s) have a full tank of gas. The pumps at the gas station will not work without electricity.
- Make sure you have cash. In an emergency situation many stores will only accept cash because they need electricity to authorize credit card purchases.
- Make sure you have extra batteries for all your flashlights and have several assorted lights. Camping lamplights are convenient as they can stand up by themselves and shed a large circle of light. Many people like to burn candles but I have to say that I am not a fan of candles at all. They have too strong a scent and most importantly, they are a HUGE fire hazard. I personally know of two different families whose houses burned down from candles. Use a battery operated light instead.
- Make sure you have some bottled water on hand. They recommend a three day supply and about 1 gallon per person per day. If you have pets include their needs too.
- Be sure to fill the propane tank in your grill. If you use charcoal, be sure to have a good supply on hand.
- Make sure you have food that doesn’t have to be cooked such as canned fish, dried meats, nuts, dried fruit, baked goods, etc. Jars of home canned foods would be great. Fermented items can stay outside of refrigeration for a few days.
- If your freezer is not full, fill containers or freezer safe jars with water and keep them in there. When the freezer is full, it will stay cold longer. Some folks will turn down the temperature control in the freezer and refrigerator for a day before the storm to get things really cold.
- If the power goes out, keep the freezer and refrigerator doors shut. When you open them, they lose cold air.
- The day before the storm cook a few meals that can be eaten as leftovers and do not necessarily need to be heated.
- Before the storm charge all your electronics like cell phones and laptops.
- Purchase a fuel efficient generator and learn how to use it. You will have lots of friends.
- Think about what alternatives you would have if your power goes out and prepare to use them.
I’m keeping this list for myself for the next storm because, you know, there will be another one. I didn’t do all the things on the list. I would have felt a little more prepared if I would have.
Have you ever survived a bad storm? What did you do that helped? Leave a comment a let me know!
This post is shared at: Sunday Celebration, Monday Mania, Barnyard Hop, Traditional Tuesday, Health & Soul Hop, Sustainable Ways, Mommy Club, Real Food Wednesday, Healthy 2Day, Creative Juice Thursday, Simple Lives THursday, Pennywise Platter, Tasty Traditions
The owner of this website is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon properties including, but not limited to, amazon.com, endless.com, myhabit.com, smallparts.com, or amazonwireless.com. Disclaimer
Tropical Traditions Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil
Tropical Traditions Gold Label Coconut Oil is a product I use every day.
{ 33 comments… read them below or add one }
These are great tips – I for one never thought about cash and a full tank of gas. I just started an ‘emergency bin’ that’s easily accessible where we’re keeping paper plates/cups/bowls, plastic silverware, most of our flashlights/camping lanterns/headlights/spare batteries, and at least one jug of water (has to be switched out every few mths). What I found this storm was that all our battery-operated lights were spread all over the house and had to be found – not fun in the dark.
Hi Sage,
Yes, rummaging around in the dark for flashlights would not be fun.
Look into a solar charger for those electronic devices. Mine more than paid for itself during the 12 days without power after Hurricane Ike in the Gulf a few years ago.
Headlamp style LED lights are also useful as they are hands-free.
A friend of mine suggests buying glow sticks after Halloween when they are cheap. They can be used to put on flashlights, pets, and other items that you may need to find/see in the dark.
If you are storing canned goods it goes without saying that you need to store a can-opener, most experts suggest storing an extra one with the emergency canned food supply.
A battery operated radio is important to that you can tune in to news.
Also consider storing some space blankets. They are very thin but insulating. If there is no heat they can help to keep you warm.
Glad you are okay and hope the recovery continues to go as quickly as possible.
Glad that you’re safe and warm. Not to be the bearer of bad news, but another Nor’easter is on its way, more than likely following the path of Sandy. Won’t be anything like Sandy, but your area is very vulnerable right now, so you could have power outages again along with a lot of rain and possible flooding. Reports are saying it should hit Tuesday or Wednesday.
This is a good list. We have a weather radio which is especially helpful if a storm carries a lot of tornados. I guess, though, our smart phones might have an app for that. I too would add mylar blankets (don’t forget some for pet crates – they insulate them really well, and they double insulate coolers) along with good sleeping bags and wool socks (wool stays warm even if wet). Everyone up North should have a set of winter underwear. We’ve been through a lot of hurricanes (Charley hit us the worst), but we’ve never had cold to deal with, so staying warm is so key. Also, to your list, I’d add several roof tarps and roofing nails to cover any roof damage as quickly as possible. And, a camera to document damage before starting repairs/clean-up. I wouldn’t rely on your cell phone camera as you would need that charged for communication (unless you might have solar charger). Another important thing is to keep important papers such as insurance policies close at hand. You mentioned extra water for pets; we also keep an extra month’s supply of pet food on hand all during hurricane season as the food that we feed them is not readily available in all stores. And have crates or carriers/ leashes handy to keep them safe. As far as water, I would highly recommend a Berkey filter system (no affiliation). We have a Big Berkey and use it year round, but they have small travel sizes and filter water bottles. Also, fill a tub or buckets and extra bottles with tap water for washing up and flushing toilets, but have one tub available as a safe spot in case of a tornado – bathrooms without windows are usually the safest place if a tornado spawns. Many during Hurricane Andrew hid in their tubs with a mattress or blanket pulled over them. If we’re ever threatened with storm surge, we pull out old blankets, pillows, dog towels, …, to soak up water should it start coming under the door. Of course, if the surge were really bad, they would do pretty much nothing, but I guess it helps me feel that I’m a bit more prepared. Our house gets turned upside down in preparation as we are very close to water, and each storm teaches us something new. One more thing – keep all of your photos in one place always – then, if a storm threatens, have a big plastic tub lined with a garbage bag – throw the photos inside, close it up and put it as high as possible up in a closet or somewhere safe. Oh, and contractor’s bags are especially handy for clean-up as well as tall rubber contractor’s boots.
I should have listed this in a more orderly fashion, but I hope that it helps.
Use this storm as an initiative to focus more on ensuring your food supply beyond the refrigerator and freezer, and even beyond the stove.
Live fermented foods can stay out of the refrigerator indefinitely. The microbial activity will continue, but slowly, if you keep them in a cool, dark place.
Dehydrated foods require only water to reconstitute. When you dehydrate at a temperature of less than 105F, you retain all of the minerals and vitamins of the food. What you can dry is limited only by your imagination. For example, dehydrate leafy greens and squashes. Then when you want to use them, simply rehydrate. If you plan ahead, you can put foods in water overnight to be good and soft by morning. You can also speed up the process by using warm or hot water, but as we’re operating in the spirit of no electricity, plan ahead. Then, when hydrated, simply season and enjoy as a cool soup, in the soaking water. You can also make ‘fruit leather’ by dehydrating mashed fruit. Great way to preserve your fruit.
Sprouting and soaking is a great way to access your grains, nuts, and legumes, even without the impetus of losing electricity. This process begins the germination process. So imagine all the potential of a seed to create life, and now you’ve awakened that potential.
And, as mentioned in the post, canning is a great way to preserve foods that you would cook the crap out of anyway. We reserve canning for condiments and foods that are not our main nutrient source, such as jams, jellies, relishes, chutneys, sauces, etc. Of course, canning only works if you have ample access to boiling water.
Look to the raw foods community for inexhaustible recipes, techniques, and ideas about foods that don’t require fossil fuels to store or prepare.
Karin
In Texas when a hurricane hits there is no cool dry place
It is usually 100 – 105. We used our dutch oven and cooked in the ground. Another thing to consider is that they usually institute a burn ban.
Living here in Phoenix it’s hard to imagine such a devastating natural disaster such as this. The photos are beyond belief and my thoughts and prayers are with all of you who were affected. Regardless of living here in the desert, putting together a disaster plan has been on my bucket list far too long. Thank you for this helpful list!
this is great advice – especially about the freezer. I didn’t know it stayed colder with more things inside of it. Good to know – and hope you are staying dry and safe. sending positive vibes your way.
If your water could be cut off, it would be a good idea to have a couple of five gallon buckets with lids, a bag of mulch or dry leaves, a toilet seat and ample TP. Being unable to flush is the pits. Also, it saves the water you’ve filled the tub with for washing hands, faces, dishes, whatever… The nice thing about the buckets is that they can just go in the garbage–I know, not so green but sometimes we gotta do what we gotta do.
These are all excellent ideas. Thank you all so much for contributing! @Karin, great ideas for food — I was wondering how my ferments (which I keep in the refrigerator) would manage. I guess they will all be OK.
Jill – I thought of you and your family and I am so glad to know you are safe!
Happy to know that you are safe. You were in my thoughts.
I’m glad you are safe. During hurricane Rita, I lost power for a couple of weeks. I had prepared with food, water, flashlights, radio, filling up the gas tank in the car, etc. But I got sick of my shelf stable food pretty quickly (tuna, crackers and dried fruit get old fast). I need more variety. After that, I also got some canned fuel for my fondue pot so I would be able to heat up food if needed. Mostly, I remember how hot it was in Texas with no air conditioning for 2 weeks. Miserable! I do need to review what I have and stock up on some more things. I’m pretty sure I need more batteries.
Some great tips Jill – here in NH we lost power for three days. I had put away some water, but not enough, really scary when you want/need a drink and no water from the tap…. My chest freezer was completely full with good meats, bone broth stock, etc. and it did just fine – I never opened it. Hope you are back to normal soon!
Thanks for sharing these cool tips from you Miss Jill! Water is really very important especially in times of disaster. I think everyone should consider safe water storage as part of disaste preparedness. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
Hi Darcy,
Yes are you so right — I will be looking into the Berkey filters as well!
I just wanted to let others know of a very inexpensive way to have some sort of low lighting that is battery-solar powered. I’ve bought several of those small outdoor sidewalk type lights that are on an arm that you drive into the ground. Those arms make it easy to carry around the house, on some models the arms can be removed and can be given to children (age appropriate) safely without worrying about them getting burned, etc. and I’ve taken them and put them in a large glass bowl on the table and they work great in radiating light around that area. You can pick those up many times at a local hardware store, Kmart, Menard’s, Lowe’s, Wal-Mart, for a dollar or more when they’re on sale. Just put them outdoors to recharge or in a window during the daylight hours. I bought five of those little dandies five years ago and put them around the front of my house and they’re still going strong with no battery changes.
Hi L,
Thanks for that tip — great idea! I will be looking into that — I could some some of those around my house as well!
I filled empty plastic containers with water and put them in the freezer. After Rita we put everything in the freezer in garbage bags. That way if we loose the freezer we can just pick up the garbage bags and throw it away. We also empty the freezer in the refrigerator after we lost it and everything leaked on the floor. We were without electricity for three weeks after Rita. The eyewall went over our home and it looked like a bomb went off in the neighborhood. When we came back home I found some dolls I had cut out and it provided much entertainment for my children as the decorated and glued.
I’m so glad to hear you came through the storm okay! It’s great that you’re using it as a learning experience and working on being better prepared next time. I’d add two things to the list of things to do before the storm hits. Make sure all of your dishes and laundry are done, as it may be a few days until you can do them again. And enjoy a long hot shower or bath, and make sure everyone in the family does too, because again, it may be a while before water and power are restored and it really sucks to be filthy in your last pair of underwear for days running.
Hi Jill,
So glad you are well and recovering nicely in your area!
These are great tips and I will copy/paste them and print them out.
We live in Las Vegas, so we don’t have many weather challenges, except for some flooding that occurs when it rains hard here, because we have no sewer street drains.
The tips for power failures are great! Thanks to everyone for taking the time to post their ideas.
Blessings to all!
Great tips! I’m sharing!
You’ve included some great tips in this post. I would not necessarily have thought of all of those points – especially the gas and cash ones! We regularly get very high winds in the UK (the perils of being an island) but the only really serious storms I have experienced were on holiday in the USA. I remember there was a hurricane in Florida when we were there back in 1976 (I was quite little so very scared!) and also one when we visited as a family in 2008. The latter time we fled up the coast to Savannah, and then headed back to Florida when the storm moved up the coast. We were very lucky to miss the worst of it!
Hi April,
What a bummer to be on vacation and have to evacuate from a storm!That must have been scary!
I didn’t get a chance to read all the comments, so I’m not sure if someone mentioned it or not: fill up all of your bathtubs with water and keep filled until power is restored. Use this to flush toilets, wash dishes etc.
as a FL panhandle native, I’ve lived through my fair share of hurricanes and the aftermath. Praying for all of y’all up there and glad you are safe.
Our thoughts are with all of you in the Northeast.
Ironically, just on the heels of Hurricane Sandy, we attended a community gathering focused on (ta da!) emergency planning. One of the organizers was from our local FEMA chapter and he had an idea that is so simple and accessible to most of us, I’d like to pass it on. If you have a hot water heater in your home, you likely have access to roughly 40 gallons of water which you can use as a water source during a power outage. Even by brainy engineer partner slapped his forehead and said, “I NEVER thought of that”. Hope this is helpful for others undergoing an extended power outage.
Our family has lived thru Hurricanes Erin, Opal, Ivan, and Dennis. A lot of good ideas have been mentioned here. Did anyone mention garbage bags? Also, when my kids were little I had something new put back for such a time. Usually a book or game picked up at a yard sale to help keep them busy. Kids like their own flashlights, too. Candles, I found out during the first hurricane, Erin, are a bad idea with kids. Extension cords are needed for the generator, and a hot plate is nice to use with the generator. Have your house as neat as possible before the power goes off. That way you can find things and won’t stumble over things in the dark. Also, it is going to get very messy, so it is good to start off as neat as possible.
If you end up evacuating, put an ice cube in a ziploc bag in your freezer – if it is still a cube when you get back, your food is fine. In addition to the water heater, the tanks on toilets hold water (assuming, of course, that you haven’t flushed them). Sounds icky, but it is on the “clean side” of the toilet process, and could certainly be boiled. When you’re thirsty enough, it probably tastes great! Make sure you have enough of any medicine you need before the storm hits. Most importantly, if they even suggest evacuating, DO IT!
Hi there, I discovered your web site via Google at the same time as looking for a comparable topic,
your site got here up, it appears to be like great.
I’ve bookmarked it in my google bookmarks.
Hello there, simply became alert to your blog through Google,
and found that it’s truly informative. I am gonna be careful for brussels.
I’ll appreciate in the event you continue this in future.
Numerous folks might be benefited out of your writing.
Cheers!
In the past A-list celebrities like Courtney Cox,
Jennifer Anniston, Eva Longoria, Andi Mc – Dowell,
Liz Hurley and even Katherine Hepburn have all had their images
and persona associated with an international skin care brand – with big bucks in advertising it.
The average person, however, does not have this luxury. ‘Oh, she looks amazing in that dress,
but I would never be able to pull it off because of my ____________ ________
‘ (insert excuse here).
Everyone else aswers the question or fills in the blank by
passing one White Card, face down, to the Card Czar.
Ashley also presents the information on range of
adult sex toys like strap on toys, male masturbators
and many more to enhance sexual pleasures for men and
women. Made with the safest of materials like medical
grade Silicone and Plastic or Glass, customer’s safety is of
utmost concern.
When using such a solution, you will be asked to talk about the events that affected you
in the year, marriage, new baby, move to a new house, started college, changed employment status, etc.
You need to seek Tax Filing Help if you would like stay away from
Tax Levy complications like a Wage Levy or Bank Levy.
This method pts are crucial inside working with a defined talent management
strategy.
{ 1 trackback }