Originally posted 2017-08-26 08:41:48.

It’s just after 2 AM in Denver, Colorado – and as typical, I haven’t been able to sleep soundly through the night.  Luckily for me, my insomnia is merely from within and it’s not due to circumstances out in the world keeping me up – but naturally with a blog like Survivaljunk.com, I’m sitting up, very awake, and watching the havoc that hurricane Harvey is wrecking on the coasts of Texas and Louisiana.

Now, what’s a Denverite worried about with hurricanes?  It’s not like we can have extreme weather here… (that’s a joke)  Well, extreme weather can happen anywhere, and many aspects of a hurricane share similarities with one of our most dangerous types of storms, the blizzard.    So, it’s important to consider some items that can help save your home (or your ass) in a hurricane!

Hurricane Survival Gear Ideas

Before the storm – boarding up

Now this may seem like common sense, but to someone who’s never faced a hurricane before it might not occur to you that you should board up your doors and windows if there’s an impending storm brewing.  The best tool for the job – plywood, and lots of it.   You’ll also want to take count of any sliding glass doors, skylights, gables and vents on your roof – any potential area that could get ripped open and allow water in.

you  may also want to look into reinforcing the glass in your home with some shatter film – this nifty invention is a clear film that attaches to windows, preventing them from exploding if they crack or shatter.  This film can prevent nasty glass shards from flying all over the place.

Food and Water

Like  any disaster scenario, food and clean drinking water are paramount to being able to survive.  Since the power’s likely to be out, and high winds may make cooking over a camp fire difficult and dangerous, you may want to look into Meals ready to eat, or another food source that doesn’t require any actual cooking.  Military style MREs might be great for such a purpose.

No hurricane survival gear kit is going to be complete without some way to filter water – flood waters are notorious for being full of nasty stuff, chemicals, gasoline, even dead bodies floating in it – common sense dictates that you’re not going to be able to drink that.  If you’ve hunkered down at home, fill your bathtubs with fresh water and turn them into a cistern.  I’ve done an article specifically on the WaterBob, which is a great little device that you put in the bathtub and can seal around 100 gallons of water that will stay fresh and free of debris.  Otherwise, you’ll want at least to have some sort of water filtration system that you can create potable water with.  At a bare minimum, have a couple LifeStraws handy.

Power and Communications

In a hurricane I wouldn’t expect the power to be up, so in  order to be able to hear what;s going on you’ll want some sort of independently powered radio.  I really love the little IRONSNOW hand crank radio – it doubles as a flashlight and a power hub as well as an FM / AM / NOAA radio.  You can charge it via the sun or using the hand crank.  You’ll also want some form of emergency lighting to be able to see and navigate yourself around in the dark.

 

Abandoning ship

If you’re riding the storm out, and waiting for the fall out (thanks REO Speedwagon) but things get bad and the house gets flooded, you may want to have some sort of vehicle that you don’t end up drowning.  This means some sort of raft – there are many available, and I wouldn’t skimp on a cheap one as the more expensive ones are going to have a tougher material and will be less prone to getting popped.  Probably a good idea to add this into your list of hurricane survival gear.   Of course, the most important thing you can do to prepare and survive a mega hurricane is to get the hell out of dodge before it hits land – material possessions can get replaced, but your life cannot.

 

If you’re in the path of hurricane Harvey, I wish you safe passage and be careful out there!  Don’t risk your life.