Every year at the beginning of hurricane season, I repack my hurricane emergency kit. Living along the coast of South Carolina, you never know when a storm is going to hit and how much time you’ll have to prepare.
That’s why it’s best to have an emergency kit ready all the time. If you don’t have a lot of time to grab it, you want it ready to go.
A hurricane emergency kit is a pre-determined container that holds items for you that you would need in an emergency evacuation or short term loss of power in you home resulting from a hurricane.
While you may be able to easily get to a location out of town that will have everything you need, you might not. Traffic could end up being too bad and you’re stuck on the highway. Roads could be washed out and you have to camp on the side of the road.
It could also be that you stayed in your home during a hurricane and didn’t evacuate and the storm ended up worse than expected. Now you don’t have power or water and you don’t know what to do.
It’s always good to be prepared with a hurricane emergency kit if you live on the coast, so let’s make sure you have everything in it that you need.
The essential items for your hurricane emergency kit
Make sure you create a hurricane emergency kit for your family at the beginning of hurricane season. While hurricanes generally take a long time to develop and you have a lot of time to prepare, it’s always good to have this in your back pocket. Plus, you’ll have plenty of other things to do to prepare your home that will take up your time.
An emergency kit should be kept ready to go and in your car or garage throughout the season. This kit will help you get by if you have to leave last minute (especially if you didn’t heed official warnings) or if you can’t find a good place for your family to go immediately.
The essential items to include in your emergency kit are:
Consumables for your emergency kit
Each emergency kit needs to have consumable supplies for each member of your family. These include:
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Water (one gallon, per person, per day)
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Medication and over the counter medicine
These consumable items are going to be hard to find in a storm-ravaged area after the storm has past. You might have a hard time accessing grocery stores or even have any that have food left. So it’s best to be stocked before.
If you’re trapped on the road, you want to make sure you have these items as well so you can eat on the road if you need to. Always have your medications and over the counter medicines as well.
And please please please remember to take items for your pets. This includes their food, water for them, and any medications they need.
Personal items
Make sure that your hurricane emergency kit contains personal items for each person in your family. These include:
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Change of clothes (per person, per day)
You might not be able to wash clothes after a storm, so make sure you have several sets of clothes ready to go. If you end up evacuating last minute, these might be the only clothes you have to cycle through until you can return home.
Make sure you’re stocked up on items to take care of yourself as well. You may need to wipe down in lieu of a shower and use facilities you wouldn’t normally use.
Tools and supplies
You should also have certain tools and supplies that you take with you to make sure you are ready for certain situations. These include:
If you’re on the go or stuck at home without power, you might find that certain items can be used for ways you wouldn’t have thought of, so it’s good to have certain items like safety pins, utility knife, rope, duct tape or trash bags available.
Always have a flashlight to see and an emergency radio so that you can get updates on the storm if cell towers are out or your phone can’t charge.
Stationary items
Finally, make sure you have these additional paper products with you in your emergency evacuation kit.
Take any important documents that you can’t afford to lose if something happens to your home. This includes birth certificates, insurance information, passports, titles, etc.
You’ll also want to have maps on hand in case your phone dies or if electronic maps don’t reroute to accommodate for closed roads after storms. And have some cash with you as well, just in case stores are unable to operate card machines with no power or loss of wifi access.
How should I store an emergency evacuation kit
Your hurricane emergency kit should be stored in your car or garage all season long. The best containers for your kit could be a large plastic storage bin, large duffel bag, or a large suitcase.
It’s best to start by gathering all your items and seeing how much room you’ll need, then finding a container to fit it all.
In conclusion…
I really hope you don’t need to use your hurricane evacuation emergency kit, but I hope you have one. It’s very important to keep this up to date each hurricane season so you’re ready to go at a moment’s notice.
After you make your hurricane emergency kit, make sure you are up to date on all the ways you need to prepare if a hurricane is on its way.