Hurricane Preparedness: 10 Things to Do Before a Storm Is Headed Your Way
The worst time to start preparing for a hurricane is when everyone else decides to start preparing too.
Once a storm appears on the forecast cone, grocery stores get crowded, bottled water disappears, gas stations develop lines, generators sell out, and people begin making important decisions under pressure.
Good hurricane preparedness starts earlier.
You don’t need to prepare for every possible disaster. You just need to handle the predictable problems hurricanes create.
Here are 10 things you can do before a storm is headed your way.
1. Know Your Hurricane and Evacuation Risk
Start with the basics.
Do you live in an evacuation zone?
Are you vulnerable to storm surge?
Is your neighborhood prone to flooding?
Do you live in a manufactured home or another structure that may require evacuation during stronger storms?
Many people focus almost entirely on wind speed, but hurricanes can create serious problems through:
- Storm surge
- Flooding
- Tornadoes
- Falling trees
- Power outages
- Road closures
- Extreme heat after the storm
- Loss of water or communications
Understanding your local risks makes every other preparedness decision easier.
Don’t wait for an evacuation order to learn whether you live in an evacuation zone.
2. Decide Where You Would Go
If you had to leave tomorrow, where would you go?
That’s a question worth answering long before hurricane season becomes active.
Possible destinations might include:
- Friends or family outside the affected area
- A hotel farther inland
- Another city or state
- A hurricane shelter
- A pet-friendly shelter
- A special-needs shelter
Ideally, have more than one option.
Your preferred hotel may be full.
Your normal route may be congested.
Your family member may be evacuating too.
A simple Plan A, Plan B, and Plan C can remove a lot of uncertainty when conditions begin changing.
3. Plan More Than One Evacuation Route
The route you normally use may not be the route you want during an evacuation.
Interstates and major highways can become heavily congested as thousands of people leave at the same time.
Look at several possible routes before you need them.
Identify:
- Primary highways
- Alternate highways
- Inland routes
- Fuel stops
- Rest areas
- Possible overnight stops
- Hospitals or urgent care locations
- Areas that commonly flood
Download offline maps to your phone as well.
Cellular service can become unreliable during major storms, and knowing how to navigate without a constant internet connection is a valuable backup.
4. Keep Your Vehicle Ready
Your vehicle may become one of your most important pieces of hurricane equipment.
Don’t wait until an evacuation order is issued to discover that you need tires, a battery, an oil change, or other maintenance.
Check:
- Tires and tire pressure
- Spare tire
- Battery
- Fluids
- Windshield wipers
- Headlights and brake lights
- Brakes
- Emergency roadside equipment
Keep useful vehicle supplies available too, including:
- Jumper cables or a jump pack
- Tire inflator
- Tire repair kit
- Flashlight
- First aid kit
- Phone chargers
- Drinking water
- Basic tools
During hurricane season, consider keeping your fuel tank above half full whenever practical.
Waiting until an evacuation begins to search for fuel can create an unnecessary problem.
5. Build Your Basic Emergency Supply Kit
You don’t need to buy everything at once.
Start with the basics.
Your emergency supplies should help you deal with several days of disrupted utilities and limited access to stores.
Consider having:
- Drinking water
- Shelf-stable food
- Flashlights
- Batteries
- Weather radio
- First aid supplies
- Medications
- Hygiene supplies
- Phone charging equipment
- Power banks
- Cash
- Important documents
- Basic tools
Build your kit gradually.
Buying one or two useful items during normal shopping trips is much easier than trying to purchase everything the day before a hurricane arrives.
6. Create a Bug Out Bag
Your emergency supplies and your bug out bag serve different purposes.
Home supplies help you remain at home during disruptions.
A bug out bag gives you essential items you can quickly take with you if you need to evacuate.
Your bag might include:
- Identification
- Copies of important documents
- Medications
- Water
- Snacks
- Flashlight
- Battery bank
- Charging cables
- Basic first aid
- Change of clothing
- Toiletries
- Emergency contact information
Each person’s bag will be different.
A family with young children will have different needs than someone traveling alone.
Someone with medical requirements will need additional supplies.
The goal isn’t to create the heaviest backpack possible.
The goal is to have the right essentials ready to move.
7. Prepare for Losing Power
Power outages are one of the most common hurricane problems.
They can last a few hours.
They can also last days or longer after a major storm.
Consider how you would manage:
- Lighting
- Refrigeration
- Phone charging
- Medical equipment
- Fans
- Cooking
- Internet access
- Communication
Useful equipment might include:
- LED lanterns
- Flashlights
- Battery banks
- Portable power stations
- Rechargeable fans
- Solar chargers
- Generator systems
If you use a generator, understand how to operate it safely before you need it.
Never operate a generator inside a home, garage, enclosed porch, or other enclosed area where carbon monoxide can accumulate.
8. Protect Your Important Documents
If you had to leave your home quickly, could you access the documents you might need afterward?
Consider organizing copies of:
- Driver’s licenses
- Insurance policies
- Vehicle information
- Homeowner or rental documents
- Medical information
- Prescription information
- Emergency contacts
- Pet records
- Important account information
Keep important physical documents protected from water.
Digital backups can also be extremely useful.
Store copies somewhere you can access even if your computer at home is unavailable.
9. Make a Family Communication Plan
During an emergency, everyone may not be together.
Children may be at school.
Adults may be at work.
Family members may live in different cities.
Cell networks can also become overloaded.
Decide ahead of time:
- Who contacts whom?
- Where will everyone meet?
- Who picks up children?
- Who handles pets?
- Who checks on elderly relatives?
- What happens if phone calls don’t work?
- Is there an out-of-area contact everyone can reach?
Write important phone numbers down.
Most of us rely entirely on the contacts stored in our phones. A simple paper backup can become surprisingly valuable if a phone is lost, damaged, or dead.
10. Decide What Would Make You Leave
This may be one of the most important decisions you make.
Don’t wait until you’re exhausted, anxious, watching changing forecasts, and hearing conflicting opinions to decide what would cause you to evacuate.
Think about it beforehand.
Your decision might depend on:
- Mandatory evacuation orders
- Storm surge risk
- Flooding
- Storm strength
- Your home’s construction
- Medical requirements
- Family members
- Pets
- Power dependence
- Transportation
- Distance to safety
If authorities issue a mandatory evacuation order for your area, take it seriously.
But even without one, personal circumstances may make leaving the safer choice.
The key is recognizing that evacuation becomes harder the longer you wait.
Fuel becomes harder to find.
Hotels fill up.
Traffic increases.
Weather deteriorates.
Your options begin disappearing.
Preparation Creates Options
Hurricane preparedness isn’t about fear.
It’s about giving yourself options.
When you already have supplies, you don’t have to fight crowds at the grocery store.
When your vehicle is ready, you don’t have to schedule emergency repairs.
When your evacuation route is planned, you don’t have to figure it out while sitting in traffic.
When your bag is packed, you don’t have to decide what matters while rushing around your house.
And when you’ve already discussed the plan with your family, everyone knows what happens next.
That’s what preparedness really provides:
time, options, and clarity.
Start With One Thing Today
You don’t need to complete this entire list today.
Pick one thing.
Check your evacuation zone.
Fill your gas tank.
Buy a flashlight.
Download an offline map.
Organize your insurance documents.
Start your bug out bag.
Then do another.
Small steps taken before hurricane season becomes urgent can make an enormous difference when the next storm starts moving across the Atlantic.
Prepare early. Evacuate smart. Recover safely.
Hurricane Bug Out — From Prep to Recovery, We’ve Got You Covered.
Mark Laymon