THE HURRICANE TIPS YOU REALLY WANT TO KNOW

ABOVE: Stock photo of unknown storm.

Every year, Florida residents hear the standard basics of hurricane preparedness-- 'fill up your gas tank,’ ‘buy batteries or 'get cash from the ATM'.  Below are the lesser known, yet important ways, to prepare for a hurricane:

1. Hand sanitizer & baby wipes:  Imagine no running water, no A/C and 90+ degrees outside.  Need we say more?  If you have no running water, it’s the best way to wash your hands.   Keep them in the kitchen and in every bathroom.
2. Gasoline additive:  When filling up gas cans for generators, be sure to include the necessary additive so the gas doesn’t go bad.   Yes, gas goes bad sitting in gas cans.
3. Peanut butter & jerky:  Forget the jelly.  Non-perishable proteins are hard to find.  Grab a few, but no need to eat them together!
4. Cold brew coffee:  When the power is out, cold brew is the easiest way to enjoy a perfect cup of joe in the morning.  Big bottles are usually available at your local grocery store or Target.
5. Frozen jugs:  Fill empty plastic jugs, Tupperware containers or Ziplock bags with tap water and store in freezer.  They can serve as ice packs to keep your freezer cold and then become your drinking water. Be sure to leave space in the containers for expansion in the freezer.
6. Paper plates & cups:  If you lose running water, these are essential to bypass the pile up of dirty dishes.
7. Chainsaw:  Make sure you have fuel.  If you don’t have a chainsaw, quickly make friends with someone who does and keep their phone number handy.
8. Battery-operated candles:  Put these lights in the bathrooms, on nightstands and everywhere else to remove the risk of fire that regular candles pose.
9. External phone batteries:  We can’t imagine you’ll forget, but remember to charge all of your external phone batteries.
10.  Alerts: Sign up for your county’s emergency push-alerts to be texted to your phone.  That way when power is out, you’re still in the loop.
11. Be a shutterbug:  Take photos of the interior and exterior of  your home for insurance purposes. Then upload onto your cloud storage for safe keeping.
12. Gasoline availability:  A good way to stay up-to-date- on which local station have gas is www.gasbuddy.com .
13. Stash important papers:   After putting your insurance policy and other important documents in a ziplock bag, put them in your dryer for elevated safe keeping.  
14. Do  all your landry: You know those 5 loads of laundry piling up?  Now is the time.   Remember, you may not have water or power after the storm.
    

“Photos are an easy way to show the condition of your home and to create a home inventory;  you can also complete a written inventory with forms available from your insurance company,” said Lynette Barba of Allstate Insurance in Mount Dora.  “Also, have valuable papers like your home and auto insurance with you in case it is necessary to file a claim off site.”

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