I Think We Are Ready For Hurricane Florence. Wish Us Luck

[jonp]

It's coming ashore in the Carolina's as a Cat 4 and going right over us. I have stuff on hand at all times and here is a list.

Several blue tarps
Roll of heavy duty plastic
6 bundles of shingles
10 sheets OSB sheathing
1 Roll tarpaper
1 Roll Roofing Paper
6 bundles of shingles
2 pails roofing tar
1 roll Tyvek Housewrap
Nails for the nail gun and nails for the hard way by hand
Dozen 2x4's
6 2x6's
Chainsaws ready to go
10 gal gas for the generator to keep the freezers and fridge going
6 mths food
14 gal water with enough chlorine to make as much as we want
2 gal white gas for the Coleman Lantern
1 gal lamp oil for the hurricane lamps
Hand Crank flashlights and radio
All the vehicles are full of gas
2 Backpacks with clothes, first aid kit etc in case we need to beat feet
Extra dog food for the baby
Cash
List of all SN of guns and valuables for insurance claim with pictures of each

I think we have everything. Wish us and everyone in North/South Carolina luck and a prayer wouldn't hurt either

[Hickory]

You forget the beer!

[snowwolfe]

Generator and fuel for it?

[Adam20]

Stay safe, more gasoline would be nice to have on hand.

[Hossfly]

You need more gas for generator @ 2 hrs per gallon 10 gallon will be out in 20 hrs.

[Handloader109]

10 GALLONS OF GAS? NOT NEARLY ENOUGH! Get enough gas for that generator for at least two weeks. I was 190 miles north of Katrina. We lost power for 7 days, and zero gasoline available for 35 miles in any direction. (found a station after about 5 days that had 10 gallons per person that was 35 miles away) Get more gas. And propane for your gas grill (or by a grill and a full tank of gas to grill that stuff in the freezer)

Prayers are headed your way also. Be safe, don't get out if you are hunkering down till things settle down. Job Be ****ed..... Unless you are an emergency room or power line repairman.

[ShooterAZ]

I'd say the biggest thing missing off of your list is several hundred miles of distance...just sayin'.

[Hickory]

Forget the beer, get more gas!

[toallmy]

God bless everyone in its path , be safe and thoughtful of friends and neighbors .

[jonp]

You forget the beer!

Oh, no I didn't :drinks:

[jonp]

You need more gas for generator @ 2 hrs per gallon 10 gallon will be out in 20 hrs.

The generator only needs to run a couple of time a day to keep the freezers cold. WE have already tested this out. 10 gal will last a few weeks and the riding mower is full for siphoning if need be. We have 4 vehicles with about 40 gals of gas for the generator if we need it.

As for propane, we have 40% in the house tank and 2 full tanks for the grill so we can cook. If we have to we can use a firepit to heat the water. No problem with that

I delivered to Metarie a few days after Katrina and saw what was going on. I'll never forget seeing sailboats in teh trees.
We will be fine on the gas front.

[Love Life]

I got a poncho liner, a skateboard, and a case of keystone.

[MyFlatline]

Jonp, you answered my question, fill up everything and have a good hose..

Best of Luck...Cat 4 is nothing to sneeze at.

[KMac]

Jonp,
Hope you got everything you need to safely ride this out.
I am saying a prayer for you and everybody in the storms path.
Please keep us updated.

[woodbutcher]

:sad: Never and I mean NEVER underestimate Mother Nature.Wishing you and all of the folks
there the best for a good outcome.Prayers sent too.
Leo

[DougGuy]

I am right up the road from jonp I got 3 vehicles mostly full of gas for my generator, I have 20gals water, canned food, charcoal and grill and lighter, pellet grill with lots of pellets which I could run with the generator. I cook with gas so if I have gas I can cook without being forced to use the grills. Unless we get a tornado, I only worry about water in the basement.

Not as prepared as jonp, I would say his prep is a good bit farther than what most ppl do but hey you never know what you are going to get until the storm is gone. Hopefully we will be spared the wrath of storms such as Camille which I went through 1/4mi from the gulf in Ocean Springs, Mississippi. That was a real bad deal all around.

[Thumbcocker]

Wouldn't hurt to refill any prescription meds that are close to time.

[popper]

Where is the BOAT? Went through Carla, was a mess.

[Finster101]

I got a poncho liner, a skateboard, and a case of keystone.


Keystone? That truly is emergency only beer.

[Smoke4320]

I am 165 miles inland . when hugo came thru we were out of power for 16 days. Sure hope this no repeat

[DougGuy]

Wouldn't hurt to refill any prescription meds that are close to time.

Did that today too!

[Love Life]

I’m on Parris Island. My house is 100 yards from the water. Yep, I put up the shutters, loaded the vehicles with important stuff, and am beating feet to Washington, GA.

[Hossfly]

I don’t think I would try and hunker down a cat 4 hurricane, kinda remindes me of the song, How highs the water mama.

[DougGuy]

Estimated rain accumulation, this is Monday, could shift a bit by Thursday, but the totals won't change by much...

226940

[rancher1913]

do you got the cargo ratchet straps that go over your roof from front yard to backyard, those things look cool.

[lightman]

Wishing you guys in the storms path the best of luck. Stay in touch and let us know how you make it. Wow, those names bring back memories! I think I was too young for Camille but I worked Hugo and several others. Batten down the hatches!

[samari46]

When we bought the house here in Louisiana I cut pressure treated 2x4" and set one on each side of the window frame. Used 3" tapcon concrete screws 22 years later they are still in great shape. Since we have a lot of windows and doors measured and cut and numbered each section of 3/8th plywood and those are screwed in with 1 1/4" coarse drywall screws. All these years later no windows or doors have been damaged by either wind or rain. Have an old charcoal grill and 32 pounds of charcoal for it. I changed out the Coleman white gas lanterns for battery ones. getting gassed in the dark when the lights go out isn't funny. Have a two burner propane cylinder stove so can cook out back. generator is 6000 watts which is enough to power all the refrigerators, one large 3' industrial fan, some lights and the boob tube. My over 40 year old Zenith Transoceaniac radio I inherited from my dad when he passed. 8-d cells or 120vac. I have 3 12 volt low amp batteries that I rotate on a small charger that can be used for the radio. I'm considering getting one of the newer smaller gennys for my Bipap machine although the bigger one can carry that small a load. Made up a 4 outlet junction box by splitting the 240 that comes off the big genny and that one will do most of the electrical needs. As I near 72 again considering a whole house natural gas generator. Since the house is all electric this would be a good deal as well. Humping a 450 pound 6000watt genny and messing around with gasoline for me is kinda getting old. Ain't gonna be cheap and the gas company already disconnected the feed into the gas meter so probably connection fee in there. All my electrical services are all located on the one sheltered side of the house so really minimal conduit runs. I was told I'm in my golden years HAH!. Seems lately all I do is fix stuff. Have a good selection of electric power tools 3 drills,one battery, 2citculating saws,1 recrprocating saw, plenty of pressure treated wood, screws and nails 3 hammers. Gas chainsaw with extra gas stabiliizer bunch of gas cans and can always siphon gas out of the trucK which holds 23 gallons. Food is good so as long as we have juice were good. My Kubota L3800 tractor runs on diesel so normally keep 30 gallong in case of an emergency. Big enough to either two away big branches /tree limbs or scoop the smaller ones up in the bucket. Now all this stuff wasn't aquired 123. Over the years we've learned what works and what don't. And purchased what would be our hurricane prep stuff. Extra oil and gas filters and oil and diesel fuel filters and a couple spare diesel fuel filters as well as 2 gallons engine oil. And the usual hand tools like rakes, shovels,hoes, axes and chainsaw. Sounds like a lot of stuff and to tell the truth it is. Oh yeah,cannot forget my hound so he gets and extra large bag of dog food and a case of alpo. I keep at least 6 one gallon jugs of distilled water for my bipap machine. And of course one case of bud. Anything else you bring your own bottle. Any arguements and out the door I don't care who you are. i carry as soon as the storm front hits so to dissuade some lowlife from making off with any of my stuff. The genny is tied down and locked to the pressure treated camping table the table weighs over 400 pounds. Over kill??, don't think so. Frank

[oneofsix]

90 miles from Wilmington, as well prepped as can be-and better than we were for Matthew.


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[Love Life]

I’ll pray for you. It looks like Wilmington is going to get the business.

[Petrol & Powder]

There are two stages to hurricanes: The actual storm itself and the aftermath.

The danger during the storm is: the storm surge if you're near the coast, the flooding from the rain if you're inland and the wind.

After the storm it's just freaking annoying: no mains electricity, trees down, lack of phone & internet service, limited local supplies, etc.

You have to survive the first stage and just endure the second one.

[koehn,jim]

Will say a prayer for everyone that they stay safe.

[crowbuster]

Good luck to all. Stay safe

[MrWolf]

For folks thinking of using gas in vehicles for emergency, it is not as easy as it used to be to obtain the gas. I figured same thing after a storm that just get gas from my truck. Unless you installed a valve or have the fuel pump rigged the fuel systems are anti siphon. Good luck

[Rick N Bama]

I’m on Parris Island. My house is 100 yards from the water. Yep, I put up the shutters, loaded the vehicles with important stuff, and am beating feet to Washington, GA.

What do the Recruits on PI do when a storm is headed that way?

[lightman]

When we bought the house here in Louisiana I cut pressure treated 2x4" and set one on each side of the window frame. Used 3" tapcon concrete screws 22 years later they are still in great shape. Since we have a lot of windows and doors measured and cut and numbered each section of 3/8th plywood and those are screwed in with 1 1/4" coarse drywall screws. All these years later no windows or doors have been damaged by either wind or rain. Have an old charcoal grill and 32 pounds of charcoal for it. I changed out the Coleman white gas lanterns for battery ones. getting gassed in the dark when the lights go out isn't funny. Have a two burner propane cylinder stove so can cook out back. generator is 6000 watts which is enough to power all the refrigerators, one large 3' industrial fan, some lights and the boob tube. My over 40 year old Zenith Transoceaniac radio I inherited from my dad when he passed. 8-d cells or 120vac. I have 3 12 volt low amp batteries that I rotate on a small charger that can be used for the radio. I'm considering getting one of the newer smaller gennys for my Bipap machine although the bigger one can carry that small a load. Made up a 4 outlet junction box by splitting the 240 that comes off the big genny and that one will do most of the electrical needs. As I near 72 again considering a whole house natural gas generator. Since the house is all electric this would be a good deal as well. Humping a 450 pound 6000watt genny and messing around with gasoline for me is kinda getting old. Ain't gonna be cheap and the gas company already disconnected the feed into the gas meter so probably connection fee in there. All my electrical services are all located on the one sheltered side of the house so really minimal conduit runs. I was told I'm in my golden years HAH!. Seems lately all I do is fix stuff. Have a good selection of electric power tools 3 drills,one battery, 2citculating saws,1 recrprocating saw, plenty of pressure treated wood, screws and nails 3 hammers. Gas chainsaw with extra gas stabiliizer bunch of gas cans and can always siphon gas out of the trucK which holds 23 gallons. Food is good so as long as we have juice were good. My Kubota L3800 tractor runs on diesel so normally keep 30 gallong in case of an emergency. Big enough to either two away big branches /tree limbs or scoop the smaller ones up in the bucket. Now all this stuff wasn't aquired 123. Over the years we've learned what works and what don't. And purchased what would be our hurricane prep stuff. Extra oil and gas filters and oil and diesel fuel filters and a couple spare diesel fuel filters as well as 2 gallons engine oil. And the usual hand tools like rakes, shovels,hoes, axes and chainsaw. Sounds like a lot of stuff and to tell the truth it is. Oh yeah,cannot forget my hound so he gets and extra large bag of dog food and a case of alpo. I keep at least 6 one gallon jugs of distilled water for my bipap machine. And of course one case of bud. Anything else you bring your own bottle. Any arguements and out the door I don't care who you are. i carry as soon as the storm front hits so to dissuade some lowlife from making off with any of my stuff. The genny is tied down and locked to the pressure treated camping table the table weighs over 400 pounds. Over kill??, don't think so. Frank

It sounds like you are well prepared. You have used your experience to learn what you need and have prepared. I hope you guys don't get hit too hard.

When I retired from the electric company we bought a generator. I had to return the bucket truck! I considered all of the choices and decided on a 22KW whole house unit fueled by natural gas/propane. You can get one for around $5000 with a transfer switch. I did the electrical myself and the plumbing cost me around $200. I considered other options but in the end I did not want the hassle of storing, setting up and fueling a portable. I could see that getting old quickly.

[Love Life]

Evac to Albany

[jmort]

I have a 22kw whole house unit as well. Propane does not go bad and it has its own dedicated tank. Will go two weeks plus continuous and a long time off and on to keep the fridge and freezer cold. Also have a small Honda generator for worst case for lights and entertainment. Continously prepping so there will be no panic buying of anything. God Bless and God Speed to you all.

[Love Life]

I didn’t even pack all the guns, lol.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

Where is the BOAT? Went through Carla, was a mess.

Boat...
That was my first thought. If I was gonna hunker down, ....and with the amount of rain they are talking about...and the possibility of the storm 'stalling', I'd want a decent sized flat bottom boat with a small outboard motor.

[Preacher Jim]

I pray God's protection for all of you in the path of that storm.

[jonp]

All great thoughts. One thing i should point out about the water since several brought it up is that we have the original dug well on our property. If the power is out several days i can take the cap off and drop a bucket to get all the water we need

[Arisaka99]

I'm outside of Charlottesville, VA (right smack in the middle of that 20" rain pocket) on the picture DougGuy posted.

Got some propane, and will get 10gal of gas for the gen. Headed to the store tonight for beer(cider for SWMBO) and snacks.

Should be fun one! I'm trying to get my mom to come up from VABeach, but don't know if that'll happen.. I'll be at the fire station Thursday night and Saturday from 0600-1800. Hopefully none of the roads wash out like they did in the spring. 10" of rain in one night...

Gotta love the mountains!

[gwpercle]

If this one hits as a cat 4 and you are within 90 miles of the coast flooding will be a concern.
I pray you are on high ground and come through unharmed.
Good Luck,
Gary

[abunaitoo]

Stay safe.
We dodged one just last week.
Another smaller one coming in a few days.
Nothing like Florence.
Something is pissing off Mother Nature.

[Houndog]

Just so youall know The campground a Bristol Motor Speedway is open free of charge to anyone bugging out, several of the local motels in the Tri Cities ( Kingsport, Bristol and Johnson City TN.) are offering free or deeply discounted rooms and several churches are setting up kitchens to feed everybody. We usually get a bunch of people every time something like this happens, so come on up!

[gpidaho]

All the fellow Booliteers on the central east coast are in my thoughts and prayers this afternoon. Hoping you all come through this with as little harm as possible. Gp

[Smokingun]

10 GALLONS OF GAS? NOT NEARLY ENOUGH! Get enough gas for that generator for at least two weeks. I was 190 miles north of Katrina. We lost power for 7 days, and zero gasoline available for 35 miles in any direction. (found a station after about 5 days that had 10 gallons per person that was 35 miles away) Get more gas. And propane for your gas grill (or by a grill and a full tank of gas to grill that stuff in the freezer)

Prayers are headed your way also. Be safe, don't get out if you are hunkering down till things settle down. Job Be ****ed..... Unless you are an emergency room or power line repairman.I agree we were a little South of you when it came through but didn't have power for a couple weeks. Get plenty of fuel Non ethanol. Also fill up your bathtubs with water for flushing toilets and baths depending on how long you are without power.

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[Tom W.]

Toilet paper.....[smilie=1:

[LUCKYDAWG13]

Toilet paper.....[smilie=1:

This and keep it dry

[P Flados]

I have been a Wilmington resident since the early 80's.

I also have been involved in some government promted (i.e. not fun at all) re-evaluation efforts for East Coast Hurricane risk. FYI, the experts still can not agree on worst case storm surge risk.

Ignoring storm surge risk is the stupid choice that is most likely to end in tragedy. The next biggest risk is the people that do leave when they should due to the inland flooding risk.

I heard a newscaster say the storm surge projections for this one could be 20'. However, when I went to the latest NOAA Bulletin (800 PM AST Tue Sep 11 2018), I found:

Cape Fear to Cape Lookout, including the Neuse and Pamlico
Rivers...9-13 ft
North Myrtle Beach to Cape Fear...6-9 ft
Cape Lookout to Ocracoke Inlet...6-9 ft
South Santee River to North Myrtle Beach...4-6 ft
Ocracoke Inlet to North Carolina/Virginia Border...4-6 ft
Edisto Beach to South Santee River...2-4 ft

Anyone on a barrier island (or just inland with inadequate ground elevation) within 24 hours before landfall is not only a fool, but is likely to cause problems for emergency workers before, during and after the event.

I am a couple of miles inland of any surge threat even for a worst case storm. I am also a zero risk for "inland flooding" issues.

Current projections have it dropping to a strong Cat 3 at landfall.

I currently hope to get lucky and have the eye hit to the North of my location. In this case, the worst the wind would have a chance to do is put a pine tree on my house. A bad event, but not a safety concern.

For myself, I currently think the risk for riding out a Cat 3 is safer than hitting the roads. Any house that was built to code in the last 20 or 30 years and located a few miles inland should stay together in even with strong Cat 3 at landfall.

If it does not drop to a Cat 3, even well build houses are less likely to stay intact, especially just north of the hit.

However, there is probably as much chance that we will get a "surprise" as there is that it will "meet expectations". At this point only the Lord knows.

The mess and pain after the storm is likely to be immense. We have not had a strong hit in recent years and lots of trees will come down. Projections are for lots of inland flooding.

[MaryB]

Prayers and stay safe everyone!

[samari46]

Lightman, must have worked for a public utility with that name. Learned over the years what worked and what didn't. Had a Coleman gas stove when I went to use it the gallon cans of fuel rusted out and there went the fuel. So took out the burners and used the old standby, sterno. We had a bunch of the cans from some catered affairs and as long as the lids are on tight it won't evaporate. Wish all of you that are in the Path of this hurricane the best and stay safe. Went through a bunch down here are are nothing to mess around with. And watch out for the so called contractors who show up take your money and disappear. Had one show up and I was carrying openly after the hurricane left. Started his talk and spotted my 9mm and said what's that for. that's when I asked for his license. He just got back in the truck and left. And also watch out for looters always seem to come out of whatever slime pit after a storm hits. Frank

[abunaitoo]

looters.
What makes them do what they do????
Everyone all around is suffering, and they go around just making things worse.
Nothing lower than looters.
I wonder how many get put down????
Like a rabbit animal, they should all be.
We had looters and squatters where the eruption is.
Cops moved everyone out, looters mover right in.
Some even came by boat.
Makes me sick.
Stay safe. Best of luck.

[lead-1]

Prayers sent for everyone affected by the coming storm.

[lightman]

Lightman, must have worked for a public utility with that name Frank

Yes, I retired from an electric utility as a Serviceman. I was the guy that kept the lights on. Many of my customers called me Lightman. I just adopted it as a screen name.

[David2011]

Prayers and best wishes for all of you affected by Florence. Having experienced Carla as a kid, Alicia, Katrina, Ivan and Ike as an adult they are nothing to mess with so all of you, please be more cautious than you think necessary. Katrina removed everything - let me restate that - EVERYTHING from the first floor of the apartments at the marina where I kept my boat. Furniture, walls, appliances- NOTHING was left.

Be sure you have plenty of batteries if you can still get them.

Please check in with us in the aftermath as you are able.

--David

[DougGuy]

There is no gas at most stations, none of the stores have generators. Generators are selling within 30mins of being posted on craigslist, most prices are $850-$1000 for units that are $599-$650-$699 if the stores had any.

Gas stations are already raising prices .10 to .30 cents per gallon. I paid $2.89 for regular to top off the van after venturing out to score a new in the box Generac 6500 running watts, brand new model, at a slightly inflated price which well, you have to jump on it when it's for sale and you have to pay what the seller wants or just do without a generator.

Once the storm track is posted, stuff starts disappearing off the store shelves FAST.

[richhodg66]

227000

Seriously though, I hope this turns out to not be as bad as their predictions are.

[Love Life]

227000

Seriously though, I hope this turns out to not be as bad as their predictions are.

That is funny right there. The Beaufort, SC evac was canceled so the wife and I are going back up to Beaufort today. She is a nurse so has to work Thursday. CG called off the military evac so we have to be back at work. My house is about 200 yards from the water, and not very high up. I’ve got a kayak, snorkel, and life jackets ready lol.

[jonp]

Toilet paper.....[smilie=1:

2 cases :)

[richhodg66]

That is funny right there. The Beaufort, SC evac was canceled so the wife and I are going back up to Beaufort today. She is a nurse so has to work Thursday. CG called off the military evac so we have to be back at work. My house is about 200 yards from the water, and not very high up. I’ve got a kayak, snorkel, and life jackets ready lol.

Good to hear. I grew up maybe 70 miles inland in S.C. and know what they can do. Wife and I were visiting CHarleston just a week or so before Hugo hit, missed that one but saw some of the aftermath.

My son still has a house by Camp Lejeune. He should have sold it off as soon as he got out of the Marine Corps, but didn't. The family that is living in it fled, so that's the most important thing, but right now, I hope it either leaves it unscathed or destroys it totally and let's his home owners insurance total it out.

People freak out that I live in tornado alley and I guess it scares some, but there's no way I'll ever live again in hurricane territory. It's not a question of "if" just when and how bad.

[mold maker]

I'm directly in the extended path. I have water and food to last, but age has denied me the ability to prepare further. That's what I pay for ins for. If I survive, I'll file and if I don't it won't matter. At this point, I just use my faith to get by.
We were also in Hugo's path and as a younger man, thought it was just one of life's adventures. I cooked everything in the frig and freezer and fed the neighbors. I boiled a pot of water and a daily cup of coffee to them. They have since repaid me many times over.
I do have three tanks of propain and a big grill, a generator w/fuel, and three fueled vehicles that are always on standby.

[Gavlan.]

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[popper]

IIRC I was stuck in Victoria when Carla hit, wasn't even on the weather in KC. Yes, tornadoes, earthquakes too. Coast used to be pretty sparse in the old days, now the people want to be near the shore. Not me. Anyway, prayers for you guys in the path and the evacs. Here comes more high rate insurance and national debt.

[P Flados]

Well it looks like the wind threat is now "typical" at worst.

Inland flooding is going to be bad.

For me, I spent today at home knowing that it may be my last day for a while with normal power.

No real additional prep needs, so I spent much of the day casting, coating & loading.

When I use my ASBB HF red in my garage, pre-warming is needed when humid. It was a pretyy easy call - hurricane rain bands do count as humid. I tried a consistent 135°F prewarm before coating. Coating was actually too thick. Next time I will try 120 °F.

[RED BEAR]

i will say that when Isabelle came through here it was barely a tropical storm. i will never be anywhere near a hurricane by chose .if i have to sleep in my car i will be a few hundred miles away. i will say my generator goes about 4 hrs per gallon. its not very big only 3500 watts but does all i want.

[huntersdog]

Stay safe and prayers for all of you during the Hurricane.