We've been traveling a fair amount the past few weeks so I haven't had time to update ya'll on our travels. Check back soon to read about our road trip to NYC and RI, a weekend getaway to visit family on the North Carolina coast, and more beach adventures experienced in August!
As we prepare for Hurricane Irene, I want to share with you how ready we are.
1. We aren't candle users, but we do have a bunch of votive candles if necessary.
2. A few years ago we lost our headlamps and bought new ones. While unpacking a box that had been in storage, we found our old ones. So now we have 4 headlamps in addition to 2 energy powered flashlights. You shake the light to give it energy to work. If we lose power, we'll have plenty of lights available.
3. We also received a hand-crank flashlight/radio combo. It takes a lot of cranking to keep the radio and/or light going, so it might not get a lot of use, but is helpful if our other means of achieving news fails.
4. Our laptops are fully charged and will give us about 12 hours of use (between 2 laptops) while not plugged in. We can listen to music, watch programs on the internet, and keep up with the news on the world wide web, even if we lose power.
5. If we cannot use the stove (ours is electric), we've got a propane tank hooked up to the grill and a mini-propane tank for the camping stove ready to go. We'll have to cook up our fresh food before it goes bad in the refrigerator.
6. In preparation for our trip to the Outer Banks in June, we bought quite a few canned beans and other non-perishables that can be used if our fresh food goes bad during a prolonged power outage, or if we eat it all before the power comes back on.
7. We just bought Darwin a new 30lb bag of dog food. So he should be good to go.
8. Another awesome backpacking item we purchased was a water purifier. I have never experienced contaminated water after a storm, but if that happens, we can remove all bacteria with our water filter.
The threats for us in the interior of North Carolina are for high winds and rain. Power outages are possible. Since this will be the first major storm in our new house, I'm hoping we don't experience flooding, a downed tree, or other major catastrophe. We've prepared the best we can and hope the storm reduces in intensity before it can wreck havoc on us or any of our friends and family. I wish all my friends and family in the path of the storm stay safe in the upcoming days.
How do you prepare for a major storm?
Are you worried about Hurricane Irene?
