Hurricanes in recent memory have hammered home no message more important than: Don't count on immediate help from emergency crews, charities or the government. Be ready to take care of yourself at least for a few days, maybe longer. Here's a checklist to help you:
• Cash up. If power is lost, ATMs will not work, nor will credit card networks.
• Get your car ready. Gas up. Inflate the tires. Check the spare. Know where your jack and lug wrench are. Stow an empty gas can. Stash a cell phone charger in the glove box.
• Charge cell phones and cordless tools that may come in handy.
• Have a land-line phone. (In case the cellular network goes out and a power outage makes cordless phones that require electricity useless.) Have change or a phone card available in case a public pay phone is your only alternative.
• Take photos of your house and yard before the storm. Be ready to photograph storm damage after the hurricane passes.
• Store important paperwork. If you have to evacuate, you'll want to take necessary and hard-to-replace documents. Here's what you should store in a waterproof, lockable container:
• Checkbook, savings passbook, credit cards
• Safe deposit box key
• Birth, death, marriage certificates, divorce decree
• Will and power of attorney
• Social Security card and records
• Medical records (living will, health surrogacy, etc.)
• Insurance policies and cards
• Retirement account records
• Recent pay stubs, in case you have to document employment to collect benefits
• Tax returns
• Car titles and registrations
• Mortgage deeds or rental agreements
• Warranties and receipts
• Passports, green cards
• Food stamp, WIC or other benefit cards, paperwork
• Important phone numbers (relatives, bank, insurance company)
• Disc or flash drive on which you back up computer files just before you shut down the computer and evacuate
• Home inventory (on paper, disc, flash drive or video; you should keep another copy in a safe place, maybe at work or at the home of a relative out of state)
• Bring in outdoor furniture, potted plants, garbage cans, accessories.
• Trim loose branches and overgrown shrubbery. Harvest fruits and vegetables that could do harm if wind-borne. Bundle the cuttings and put them in a garbage can in an enclosed area.
• If you have window protection — plywood, shutters, fabric — install it now.
• If you have a large permanent propane gas tank for heating and cooking, tie or chain it to a fence or other anchored object. Propane is lighter than water, so the tank could float away in flooding.
• Prepare to turn off supply valves, appliance pilot lights, control valves and manual shutoff valves on gas or oil-related items.
• Gas grills may be your only cooking option if power is out, so refill those tanks. Secure the grill to a post or fence so it doesn't blow away. The Propane Education & Research Council strongly discourages keeping grills and their fuel supplies in the garage.
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