FLORIDA — With a busy hurricane season predicted, it's going to be more critical now, especially due to COVID-19, to have your hurricane kit stocked and ready to go.
Experts say be prepared to have enough essentials to last you 72 hours, even longer is ideal. Here's an example of what you should need from Ready.gov:
- Water (one gallon per person per day for at least three days for drinking and sanitation)
- Food (at least a three-day supply of non-perishable food)
- Battery-powered or hand-crank radio and a NOAA Weather Radio with tone alert
- Flashlight
- First aid kit
- Extra batteries
- Whistle (to signal for help)
- Dust mask (to help filter contaminated air)
- Plastic sheeting and duct tape (to shelter in place)
- Moist towelettes, garbage bags and plastic ties (for personal sanitation)
- Wrench or pliers (to turn off utilities)
- Manual can opener (for food)
- Local maps
- Cell phone with chargers and a backup battery
Emergency managers in our area, also say you should have a large bottle of hand sanitizer and cloth masks in your kit in case you have to evacuate.
Some of these things could be hard to find.
Meteorologist Greg Dee suggests keeping an eye on Amazon, but watch for limited availability and longer shipping.
He also suggests checking eBay, Hardware stores and pharmacies to see if they have what you need; many are also doing curbside pick-up. Also, use apps like Instacart and Shipt.
