Storm readiness and planning (SRP)

Fireside Gear
Jul 15, 2020
9 min read

Updated: Jul 22, 2022

7/14 Marks is the start of hurricane preparedness week here in Massachusetts. While our week is a while behind our southern neighbors it's still important. Today we are going to talk about the importance specifically of SRP. For a general outline, we will cover all common storm types.

I'll break it down into specific storm categories....see what I did there? And then into items and proper plans and procedures. I am going to provide links per usual at the bottom for some items.

Hurricanes/Tropical depressions:

The Mother of all storms, The big one, etc. Hurricanes can range from mild storms to monsters such as Katrina, Bob, and so on. Most states in the U.S can experience these coastal storms in some form. Life can be disturbed or destroyed ranging from a few days to months, with some areas never fully recovering. A major thing to understand here is if you live coastally, waterfront, low elevation (near, at, or below sea level) you NEED to prepare for the worst possible outcome. The chance of flooding is much higher in these areas, ponds, rivers, and ocean water can rise quickly. REMEMBER- NEVER DRIVE THROUGH A FLOODED ROAD!! weather.gov has some great articles and info that could be life-saving. I'm going to incorporate a lot of that into this post as I've taken over 15 hours on this subject. let us start with planning.

Plan: Your household should have a plan in place and everyone who is old enough to help needs to know it. also, someone in your neighborhood should have 2-way communicators with you in case you do leave. Plans should include things such as:

Evacuation: Both high roads and back roads to get out of your area and where to meet. What to take and what to leave behind. Who goes in what vehicle and what they are responsible to bring.

Storm preps: THIS is a major area of debate and may vary from family to family. See the master list for gear.

Fortification: Pre-cut Plexiglas or plywood for windows and doors. sandbags or water dams, shutting off of unities prior to evacuation or structural damage. Securing outside furniture and other objects so they do not become projectiles. protection of escape vehicles.

storm monitoring: someone should always be keeping an eye and ear to the storm. NOAA radio, local and or national news and weather services, and local and regional emergency services alerts (reverse 911 or code red app).

Communications: Have your cell phones charged full and ready to go, house phones charged or plugged in. If you have radios have them also charged and ready.

Non-Replaceable items: Household documents such as titles, deeds, and such in a fire and waterproof bag and in a place they can not be forgotten. Drivers' licenses, IDs, passports, Pet tags, and other identifiable papers for your whole family.

Tornadoes:

Fast, Dangerous, and quick to form. The Major issue with these is the Time given before impact. Unfortunately predicting is sporadic and given with very short notice.

Evacuation: Shelter in place in the basement, Storm shelter, or most interior rooms of your house. Both high roads and back roads to get out of your area and where to meet. What to take and what to leave behind. Who goes in what vehicle and what they are responsible to bring.

Storm preps: THIS is a major area of debate and may vary from family to family. See the master list for gear.

Fortification: Pre-cut Plexiglas or plywood for windows and door (If time allows, Tornadoes move quick and are pretty sudden). shutting off of utilities prior to evacuation or structural damage. Securing outside furniture and other objects so they do not become projectiles. protection of escape vehicles.

Communications: Have your cell phones charged full and ready to go, house phones charged or plugged in. If you have radios have them also charged and ready.

Floods:

while usually part of another storm or natural disaster or accidentally man-made error these can happen quickly:

Evacuation: Both high roads and back roads to get out of your area and where to meet. What to take and what to leave behind. Who goes in what vehicle and what they are responsible to bring.

Storm preps: THIS is a major area of debate and may vary from family to family. See the master list for gear.

Fortification: Pre-cut Plexiglas or plywood for windows and doors. sandbags or water dams, shutting off of utilities prior to evacuation or structural damage. Securing outside furniture and other objects so they do not become projectiles. protection of escape vehicles.

Communications: Have your cell phones charged full and ready to go, house phones charged or plugged in. If you have radios have them also charged and ready.

Mud slides / avalanches:

unfortunately, these happen within a blink of an eye. The best practice for every aspect of this is to have your preps Ready to go at any point so you can rapidly evac or shelter in place.

Blizzards:

This one hits home for me being a New Englander. most storms that will produce significant snow are seen coming days ahead. Blizzards are a little different in such the storm may last a day or two but the snow can persist for days on end.

Plan: Your household should have a plan in place and everyone who is old enough to help needs to know it. Have a plan to dig out as well. Also, someone in your neighborhood should have 2-way communication with you in case you do leave. Plans should include things such as:

Evacuation: Both high roads and back roads to get out of your area and where to meet. What to take and what to leave behind. Who goes in what vehicle and what they are responsible to bring. Most snow storms are not worth evacuation.

Storm preps: THIS is a major area of debate and may vary from family to family. See the master list for gear. special Considerations: snow shovels or snowblowers.

Fortification: Protection of escape vehicles. shutters are closed to prevent window cave in.

Communications: Have your cell phones charged full and ready to go, house phones charged or plugged in. If you have radios have them also charged and ready.

https://firesidegear33.wixsite.com/firesidegear/post/fire-fire

Wildfires/firestorms: Plan: Your household should have a plan in place and everyone who is old enough to help needs to know it. also, someone in your neighborhood should have 2-way communication with you in case you do leave. Plans should include things such as:

Evacuation: Both high roads and back roads to get out of your area and where to meet. plans for multiple ways out due to road closings from fire. What to take and what to leave behind. Who goes in what vehicle and what they are responsible to bring.

Storm preps: THIS is a major area of debate and may vary from family to family. See the master list for gear.

Fortification: protection of escape vehicles. If you live in areas prone to wildfires you should also have separate plans in place for these. a buffer zone around your house without fuel for the fire. turning on your irrigation system to try and protect your property. garden hoses with sprinklers, at least a 2 way split as many as possible to put on and directly against your house. I've provided some links below for equipment to get a basic idea of what you should have. I'll be doing a full article on houses and wildfires soon.

storm monitoring: someone should always be keeping an eye and ear to the storm\fire. NOAA radio, local and or national news and weather services, and local and regional emergency services alerts (reverse 911 or code red app).

Communications: Have your cell phones charged full and ready to go, house phones charged or plugged in. If you have radios have them also charged and ready.

Dust storm/ sand storm:

Plan: Your household should have a plan in place and everyone who is old enough to help needs to know it. also, someone in your neighborhood should have 2-way communication with you in case you do leave. Plans should include things such as:

Evacuation: Most of the time you would be sheltering in place. Both high roads and back roads to get out of your area and where to meet. What to take and what to leave behind. Who goes in what vehicle and what they are responsible to bring.

Storm preps: THIS is a major area of debate and may vary from family to family. See the master list for gear.

Fortification: ventilation from outside shutoff, protection of escape vehicles.

Communications: Have your cell phones charged full and ready to go, house phones charged or plugged in. If you have radios have them also charged and ready.

tidal wave or tsunami:

Evacuation: Immediate evac to the highest ground possible. Both high roads and back roads to get out of your area and where to meet. What to take and what to leave behind. Who goes in what vehicle and what they are responsible to bring.

Storm preps: THIS is a major area of debate and may vary from family to family. See the master list for gear.

Communications: Have your cell phones charged full and ready to go, house phones charged or plugged in. If you have radios have them also charged and ready.

Other:

these could be microbursts, hail, Gail, etc. while each presents its own danger most of the time you can use a generic plan to help prep for these.

Notes: Shelters, bunkers, and basements should have tools to egress if trapped. A portable toilet or such is a good idea as well. Remember, at least 2 meals and 1 gallon of water per person per day. If you need to shelter in place, contact a responsible adult away from the directly affected area to check up on you in given intervals i.e: every 3 hours until you are out of harm's way. Your family should practice your emergency evac or shelter-in-place plans at least 2 times a year. Rotate or check your supplies when you check your Fire alarms(daylight savings time)

check your fire, CO, security, and other alarms 2 times a year minimum.

Gear list:

Food:

https://amzn.to/2OpfJIL **buy 2 - 2 weeks of food for 1 person or 1 week for 2, awesome deal.

https://amzn.to/2Om3ufY personal favorite. 8-day supply "Emergency Tabs 4 flavor pack"

Water:

https://amzn.to/2Ool6rk collapsible 5.3-gallon container 8pack *1gal per person a day

https://amzn.to/3fvz8n1 5 gallons stacking water jug 6 pack

https://amzn.to/3eucVEH sawyer straw water filtration 4 pack

Heat/cold:

https://amzn.to/32phtKh indoor outdoor 4k to 9k BTU buddy heater

https://amzn.to/3etClT0 5000 mah 40-hour fan