Burnt Orange Report

BORed: Live Blogging The Storm

By Matt Hardigree

You heard right. I'm going to be live blogging the wind, the rain and the unavoidable sense of panic from my homebase in The Woodlands, Texas .

At the moment, everyone is in "wait and see" mode. Which here means "Wait (too long) and (you won't) see (any necessary supplies."

If your in the Houston area and you're trying to find the following:

Gas
Bottled Water
D Batteries
Plywood

Then you're going to have to drive away from town or get up early in the morning. Speaking of early in the morning, the sooner you start at daylight, the easier it is going to be to get somewhere. One overturned 40' sailboat can block a highway.

Here's a good example of a hurricane surival kit from the City of Tampa:
· Two weeks supply of prescription medicines
· Two weeks supply of non-perishable/special dietary foods. Buy plenty of nonperishable foods, because there won't be any refrigeration.
· Drinking water/containers: 1 gallon per person per day for two weeks. It's a good idea to sterilize the bathtub and fill it with water just before the storm.
· Flashlights and batteries for each member of the family Energizer makes a new flashlight that can adjust to use multiple batteries.
· Portable radio and (7 sets) batteries (so you can listen to the game, and AM 740, the Houston EAS channel)
· First aid book and kit including bandages, antiseptic, tape, compress, non aspirin pain reliever, anti-diarrhea medication
· Mosquito repellent and citronella candles
· Two coolers (one to keep food; the other to go get the ice)
· Plastic tarp for roof/window repair, screening, tools, nails, etc.
· Water purification kits (tablets, chlorine (plain) and iodine)
· Infant necessities (medication, sterile water, diapers, ready formula, bottles)
· Clean up supplies (mop, buckets, towels, disinfectant)
· Camera and film (keep track of what gets damaged for insurance purposes).
· Non-electric can opener (doubles as a bottle opener)
· Extra batteries for camera, portable TV & lamps, etc.
· Plastic trash bags
· Toilet paper, paper towels and pre-moistened towelettes,