The Other Side of the Road

We have entered hurricane season here on the Gulf Coast, and everyone is very concerned about it after the devastation of Hurricane Harvey.  It's hard to believe that Harvey was almost a year ago.  I would say the neighborhoods are about 75% rebuilt, and almost everyone has moved back in on our street.  Many folks think that rebuilding after a disaster is just a matter of constructing your house, but it is really a long process.  We still have friends who are struggling with contractors, insurance, mortgage companies, HOA's and utilities.  Tough, tough situation.

But that is not what this post is about.  The newspaper ran a special section a few weeks ago about preparing for a storm.  I learned a lot after going through Harvey and decided to write a post based on the newspaper article and my own experience.  

The newspaper article was about preparing for hurricane season, but I think many of these tips are useful for any disaster.  No one wants to think about a tornado, fire, or flood hitting their house, but being prepared can help in the days after a disaster. 

We had done some preparation, but also had to scramble at the last minute for many of these.  Maybe this can serve as a mental checklist for you.  I hope you'll find it helpful!

HOME

*Know your evacuation routes.

*Have a full tank of gas.  Keep extra gas in a safe container.

*Set freezer and fridge to lowest setting.  Put containers of water in your freezer.  

*Fill bathtubs with water, which can be used for cleaning or flushing toilets.

*Bring in loose objects from outside.

*Charge your phone and any extra batteries you have.  Program emergency numbers.

*Collect flashlights.

*Have some cash on hand.

*Other supplies:  matches, lighter, candles, trash bags, wet ones, battery or hand-crank radio, bug spray, work gloves, paper and pencil, bucket, utility knife, tools, duct tape, paper cups/plates, paper towels

DOCUMENTS

Store the following documents in a waterproof container you can take with you.

*Passport

*Social Security Cards

*Birth and marriage certificates

*Account numbers for banks and credit cards

*Insurance policies (car, home, flood)

*Know where your valuable jewelry is located in case of evacuation.

*After the flood, I spent 2 weeks managing our life from my phone - transferring money between accounts to put a deposit on a rental house, filing FEMA claims, contacting our insurance, paying bills, writing a letter to the landlord about why we should get the house, and more.  It made me realize how much of our life is online which is convenient, but also how you need to have all your details straight to conduct your life from your phone.  Here are the app's I keep on my phone now just in case.  Previously, I did all of our transactions from the home computer.

2018 Tuesday Talk