10/08/2024
Couple of tips to prepare for a hurricane:
1- Fill your bathtub up with water. I highly recommend cleaning it first, but that’s up to you as you don’t use this water for drinking (ideally). Use this water to help you flush your toilets and cleaning in the aftermath of a hurricane.
2- Get bug spray. This is often forgotten. If your power goes out and you were stuck in the disgusting swampy Florida mugginess, you are going to want to get some fresh air and open your windows at some point. That’s the perfect opportunity for bugs to get in and make your life even more miserable. Get bug spray. (While you’re at it, get bug traps, too…)
3- Lighting is going to be essential. Instead of getting basic flashlights, think about investing in undercabinet lights or strip lighting they can be charged with a USB port ahead of time. These are portable and can go wherever you want without worrying about batteries dying or running out of charge. One charge ahead of time should last you six months worth of use. You can buy them at Costco inexpensively.
4- Park your car and higher elevation. Parking garages by malls and city garages are usually very safe places to park your car so that they are elevated and at less risk of flooding. Go on the second floor at the very least. Try to go inland.
5- Fill your freezer with bottles of water ahead of time with room for the water to expand. Then place them inside of a portable cooler so you can use it as additional refrigeration for your most common items. That way your refrigerator will not lose its insulation with the constant opening and shutting up the doors when your power is out.
6- Research relief efforts ahead of time so you know how to support communities affected by the hurricane ahead of time.
7- Check on elderly neighbors before the hurricane as many of them may not be able to use things like elevators or generators.
8- Charge any portable battery packs or surplus power supplies ahead of time.
9- Identify your closest hospitals and fire stations as they are on the primary grid to receive power in case of an outage.
10- Baby wipes. They aren’t just for infants! After a couple of hours of sweltering heat in Florida, you’re gonna want these to freshen up and feel slightly human. Get the deluxe models because you’re going to need them. 
11- look for your closest Waffle House. I know it may seem strange, the waffle house has a corporate culture that will open up immediately after a natural disaster so that they can provide food to communities and service workers.
Hurricane Milton is set to make landfall on my 40th birthday. My birthday present to everyone else is this information. Please share this with people who will use it and find it helpful. Also, feel free to have your hurricane tips and tricks into the comment section so we can build a strong community together.
