hurricane survival tips

Hurricane season is already upon us but peak hurricane season is just around the corner. There are many parts of America that do not experience hurricane season. That doesn't mean they are free from natural disasters, some areas of the country have fire seasons, earth quakes, tornados or blizzards. Living in the United States can feel like a toss up on picking which seasonal natural disasters you'd rather live through.

But alas with more jobs going virtual and the cost of living going up, many people have moved from the western part of the country to the souther part of the country. This means they're going from maybe being used to experiencing fire season or earth quakes to possibly experiencing their first hurricanes. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), "predicts an 85% chance of an above-normal season."

NOAA is predicting 17-25 named storms, of which 8-13 will become hurricanes with 4-7 becoming a category 3 or higher, considered to be major hurricanes. Meghan Basford, who survived Hurricane Micheal when it hit Florida as a Category 5 in 2018, took to social media to share practical hurricane tips that some may not consider.

"If you don't know what Hurricane Michael is, Hurricane Michael was the fourth strongest landfalling hurricane in the United States. It came in at a whopping 160 mile an hour winds and it was a Category 5 upon landfall. You probably didn't hear about it though because nobody really cares about this part of the United States. Yeah, I said it," Basford jokingly adds.

She shares some time lapse video of her home while the hurricane passed through her state. Unfortunately, Basford lost her home to the storm as well as much of the stuff inside, which is why she recommends photographing and videoing everything in the home beforehand. This will assist in filing insurance claims, "take pictures of everything. Take pictures of policy numbers so that when you're on the phone with them you can pull them right up."

NOAA's 2024 Atlantic Hurricane Season OutlookImage credit: NOAA

Don't plan on riding out the storm and throwing a hurricane party? She's got a tip for you to know if you need toss out the food in your fridge when you return, "fill a clear cup up with water. You're going to stick it in the freezer and let it freeze. When it's frozen you're going to put a quarter on the very top. Leave your house, come back after the storm, check the placement of that quarter."

If the quarter has held it's position on the top of the cup then the food in the freezer is safe to eat but if it has sunken into the frozen cup then everything needs to get tossed. This is an indicator that the power went out for a significant amount of time and the food in the freezer likely went bad.

Some other tips Basford mentions is using your dishwasher as a waterproof safe, filling ziplock bags with water and freezing them, and filling your bath tub with water to flush the toilet in case the water goes out. Her list is fairly extensive and extremely helpful, people in the comments found themselves taking notes for future reference, even ones that don't live in areas prone to hurricanes.

"Oooookay, third generation Floridian here and aside from freezing bags of water, filling the tub, and flashlights/candles…none of this information has ever been taught to me. I’m so appreciative of your candor and humor throughout as well. Saved," someone reveals.

"I’m no where near water and I was taking notes," another laughs.

"Do I live in hurricane country? No. But I watched this entire video, saved it, shared it with my husband, and thought to myself, 'I gotta remember this just in case,'" one person shares.

Others hurricane survivors added their own tips to the comments with one person writing, "Katrina PTSD just entered the chat….
Tips: no generators in the house people, or super close by the house. Have a window unit for your whole family having a sleepover in one room for days/weeks. Stock up on medications that are life saving for those that require medications daily. Know your neighbors and check on each other."

Hurricane season runs from June 1 through November 30 with the peak being late August through mid September.