Water preservation and conservation will be the most important thing you do before and after a hurricane. It’s cheap and easy, you just need to plan ahead.
- Throughout the year I clean out and begin making homemade ice packs. Starting in late spring, begin to pack the bottom of your chest freezer with several ice packs in the months leading up to hurricane season. I use my almond milk tetra 1 litre containers, rinse them out really well and fill them with purified water, slightly squeeze out excess so the tetra container doesn’t bulge and rip as it freezes. You don’t want it to bust. I save these throughout the year, having 10 – 15 of these homemade ice packs in a chest freezer will keep your meats, breads, cheeses cold by an extra 3 days, even in hot weather after a power outage. In a pinch you can even drink a cold tetra pack in case you run out of water at some point. Ensure the water is still cold or cool if you need to drink it. If it smells off then DO NOT DRINK it.
- I noticed one of the biggest pet peeves in our house during the hurricane was water wastage. Even though we had a water tank of 8,000 liters, the hurricane was so bad that we really had no idea when essentials services like water, electricity and phone service would resume. Neighbors that spoke to city officials were told it would be at least 10 days or more before water would resume and that was the best case scenario. Forget about having a shower, even a one minute shower! We all had to take “navy baths”. Every family member gets 1/3 a bucket of water and a cup, wet yourself with a couple of cups. Lightly soap up and you have a few cups to rinse your body. For ladies with long hair, I suggest you tie it in a bun or braid because if you don’t have running water there will not be enough water to shampoo and rinse your hair. Water, after any disaster is liquid gold.
- Dishes – the easiest way to save water is to use disposable dishes in the aftermath of a hurricane, typhoon or cyclone. Most people are so hungry that there won’t be any food left on anyone’s plate to spoil in the garbage. Water is precious, so washing and rinsing regular dishes is not the best use of your water at this critical time. Once water is restored you can use your regular dishes. You’ll also need to conserve water by soaking pots and pans and turning off the tap when washing up after cooking. You can use less water by cleaning up right away, before any food gets dried on your pots and pans.
- Twenty four hours before the hurricane is to strike, turn off irrigation if you have an irrigation system for your garden, yard or property. The likelihood that a cyclone or hurricane will bring some rain or a large amount of rain is good. Save your water supply and make sure your water storage, pila, cistern or water tank is full. Even if the hurricane is going to be a wind storm rather than rain storm you should still expect several inches of rain.
- Most of us take for granted that our water purifiers work but if your electricity is off that also means your water purifier (if run by ultra violet light) will not be providing purified water. Turning on the tap a dozen or more times a day becomes a habit, try not to forget this if you have a generator running your water pump. I can’t tell you how many times a day I pushed on the ice dispenser something that you do automatically. You can tape a note to the taps to ensure you don’t drink potentially contaminated water. That’s why it is important to have several cases of water before the hurricane hits. I use this calculation per family member, you need a quantity 2 gallons of purified water per family member, per day. You should store a minimum of at least 2 weeks supply of water per family member. It may seem excessive but remember hurricane happens in incredible warm climates and in the aftermath of a hurricane with no air conditioning, being outdoors and cleaning up the hurricane mess, a person can get severely dehydrated quickly. In the event of a devastating category 3 or higher hurricane, it can take several weeks or even months on restoration of vital services to certain areas. Whatever you think you need: double or triple that!
- Hydrate with a healthy drink like Electrolit. This drink was a life saver for many friends and neighbors that came by to visit, share news and info. Many people had their homes destroyed and were thankful for a cold drink when they arrived. In the aftermath of a devastating hurricane that causes destruction you will work tirelessly in 100 degree heat, breaking down large palm trees ripped out of the ground and a thirst quenching Electrolit really helps to cool you off and restore key vitamins and minerals our body requires during stressful times. Electrolit replenishes your body’s electrolytes that have be lost due to excessive heat, physical activity, dehydration, sickness, even helps hang overs. What I love about electrolit is that when you freeze them they have a slightly slushy texture and stay cold longer. You don’t want them to burst in the freezer overnight so place them in the fridge after the hurricane has passed. You can usually find them inexpensively in a 12 pack at Costco and other big box stores like Sam’s Club etc. They comes in about 15 flavors, find the ones you and your family love. I try to have one per day for each family member over the age of 12. Electrolits are not sickly sweet like many of the other sports drinks and they have a pleasant taste. We use it year round since we live in a hurricane country but we always have 6 cases on hand at all times during hurricane season May 15 – November 30 each year. Our favorite flavors are: Grape, Green Tea, Coco and Lemon Lime.
- As I was perusing twitter during Hurricane Harvey I noticed some folks had some really great tips for storing water. One person wrote before the hurricane landed that she had filled her tub with water. You can also use cleaned glass jars to store water in a section of your fridge. I regularly purchase kombuchas, apple cider vinegar and other drinks that come in valuable glass jars. A couple of drops of soapy warm water, a good shake and rinse (keep these in a cupboard so that you have clean water vessels for filling when an emergency approaches). Another twitter user said they were freezing double sealed ziploc bags of water to ensure they would have cold water for a few days after the hurricane. Glass jars and bottles are ideal. We regularly purchase the gallon vinegar for cleaning. Once the vinegar is empty, we clean and thoroughly rinse these gaalons jugs, fill them ½ full with clean, purified water abd store them in the freezer. with so we store these half full year round. If you top this with a couple of bottles of spring water you’ll have ice cold water for ½ days. Keep your icy water jug in a cool spot, out of direct sunlight and label it “drinking water” so that family and friends know it is safe to drink.
- If you have a refrigerator that also makes ice remember in the morning to open the freezer and remove all that ice. Store it in the fridge, it is valuable and otherwise would just sit and melt in the ice tray. Because the power outage will have stopped your water flow and electricity you know that this is clean ice cubes that are valuable drinking water as well.
