All About Hurricanes

Preparing for a Hurricane

General Preparations

When we change our clocks to and from Daylight Savings Time in the Spring and Fall, local fire departments encourage us to change out the batteries in our smoke alarms. When June rolls around in New Orleans, we regularly do things to get ready for the coming storm season:

• Check flashlights and their batteries.
• Check battery-operated radios and televisions
• Make sure large antennas, satellite dishes, and other outdoor objects are easily moved or secured
• Check the integrity of roofs
• Review maps and double-check evacuation routes
• Make sure one or more of the family's cars is ready for an out-of-town trip
• Start saving plastic half-gallon and gallon milk containers for emergency water storage.
• Review the status of your flood, home and automobile insurance policies.

When a hurricane forms

Things get a bit more tense than just general readiness when a storm actually develops. The general attitude is not one of panic, but the storm becomes one of the topics for lunch time conversation, such as “Is the storm moving towards us? Has it picked up speed or strength?” When that talk starts, we increase our interest in things around the house and neighborhood:

• Call your momma and make sure things are OK over there
• Check the windows and shutters on the house, making any repairs necessary.
• Make arrangements for pets in the event you have to evacuate
• Get the oil changed in the car and make sure it’s ready.

When the hurricane enters the Gulf of Mexico

The Gulf is a small body of water compared to the hurricane’s spawning ground in the ocean. When a storm enters the Gulf, it can turn in just about any direction and hit any part of the coast. Now the interest in the storm’s location changes from looking up at the noon news to people checking the every-other-hour updates from the NWS on the radio. This is when many folks also start recording the storm's location on a hurricane tracking chart. Hurricanes usually move at a rate of 10-15 miles per hour, so most areas have a bit of warning as to when a storm is coming. Some storms have been known to move at speeds almost double the typical rates, and others creep along at less than 10mph. Still, a storm that forms 300 miles out in the Gulf is going to take 10-20 hours to make landfall on the coast. That's an eternity compared to the warning Californians get for an earthquake. By this point, you should have the following things done:

• Eat things that are in your refrigerator and freezer (so they won't
• spoil if you lose power after the storm)
• Start to secure things around the house
• Check on boats, rental property, etc., to make sure everything is secure
• Make provisions for pets in case of evacuation
• Start to mentally think out your evacuation route
• Keep a full tank of gas in the car (service station lines get long
• during a Hurricane Warning)

You'll also want to make a trip to the grocery and/or the hardware store to pick up the following:

• Fresh batteries for flashlights, radios, and televisions
• A two-five day supply of canned food for the family (in case you lose electricity)
• Bottled water (there will be a run on it if you wait until a Hurricane Warning)
• Everything you need to take care of infants and small children (diapers, formula, food, etc.)
• Manual can opener (amazing how many households don't have one of these)
• Small AM Radio. You're going to find that the boom box will really eat up the batteries.
• First Aid Kit. Be ready to handle small cuts, scrapes, and bruises, as well as things a bit larger.
• Film for the camera (you never know if you'll take a classic picture)
• Candles and matches, in case you lose power. Save flashlights for going outside, etc.
• Games, books, puzzles, and other non-electric activities for the kids, in case you lose power.

Hurricane Watch

When the NHC issues a "Hurricane Watch", this means the storm will make landfall within a certain area, normally within 24 hours of the start of the Watch. The areas listed in a Hurricane Watch are fairly wide, such as Lake Charles, Louisiana to Pensacola, Florida. If your neighborhood is included in a Hurricane Watch area, you can count on some bad weather at a minimum, gale-force winds (30+mph), high water/flash flood situations, and possibly tornadoes that are spawned by the hurricane. In other words, you may not get 100+mph winds, but you're going to have a nasty time of it. You still have time to get the checklist items up to now done, but you have to get moving. You now should also do the following:

• Change out the batteries in flashlights and radios. You don’t want to fool around with this in the middle of the storm.
• Remove small boats from marina slips or other anchorage. Secure larger boats as best as you can.
• Bring in any outdoor garden and patio fixtures and furniture.
• Get ready to board up and/or tape up windows around the house.
• Close off outside gas lines, such as those running to outdoor lamps, barbecues, etc.
• Trim tree branches that may be getting close to power lines.
• Pull out a map and review your evacuation route.
• Top off the gas tank.

Hurricane Warning

As the storm nears the coast, the NHC issues a "Hurricane Warning." This is it--you're getting a significant piece of the storm if you're in this area. Low-lying areas (such as Grande Isle) are ordered evacuated. If you haven't hit the grocery and/or the hardware store, you're going to have to wait in line. The storm is less than 24 hours away, and you've got lots still to do:

• Check on older relatives, or other folks on their own who may need your help.
• Keep pets that wander the neighborhood close to home.
• Board up windows around the house, or tape them up with lots of masking tape to stop flying glass.
• Secure TV and satellite antennas.
• Do a final "walk-around" of the house to pick up loose items, etc.
• Explain what's going on to young children, and make sure they're aware of how serious the situation is.
• Review what to do in case a tornado hits with every family member.
• Plan meal menus for the next two days in the event you lose power.
• Keep the TV and/or radio on regularly for weather and evacuation updates.
• Write down the names and locations of evacuation shelters close to your home.
• Make one last check of evacuation routes and the car.

Move On to "Evacuating vs. Riding the Storm Out," the next file in this series.

Back to New Orleans Weather

Back to the VNO Home Page

This World Wide Web document is provided as a public service by Yatcom Communications, Inc. Yatcom Communications is a consulting/public relations company dedicated to using computer technology to promote the City of New Orleans, Louisiana, USA.