Hurricane prep in The Villages??
 

This will be my first hurricane (if it hits us).

Before I moved here, I would always see news reports of hurricane prep with people boarding up windows and putting sandbags down.

Do people here board up windows or place sandbags around their homes? Or is that just on the coast?

Should I be watching football this afternoon or getting the house ready? Thanks.

Watch football. The developer did well with this community to disperse water.

Watch football and the weather. Odds are this storm will miss us, but it could also hit us, but there is really not much you can do until the very last day when you will know where it is going to jand, Having said that you night want to get any out door furniture close to the garage, just in case.

Yesterday at Sams everyone was buying toilet paper. Water was already gone by the morning.

People will put up signs in front yards half price TP end of next week

1/2 price?? Still "new". Or " previously enjoyed"??

If you have disabilities, secure a yard person to remove limbs and leaves.

You will probably have no problems but look up your county emergency site for tips.
If the storm is going to get here then be sure to take in your lamp post name sign, and remove all outside furniture etc. Blowing stuff is your biggest problem.
Assume you maybe without power for a day or two so think about what you will need.
If the storm gets bad you might want to fill your tub with water.
But as I started, you will probably not have any problems if you take a few simple steps up front.

Watch the President's Cup.....................I heard they have a golf cart cam.

:a040:

Used would fetch a lower price probably a much lower one:BigApplause:

Cross-threading: 10 yard penalty and loss of down:1rotfl::1rotfl::1rotfl:

Some of my neighbors have storm windows. We did have a neighbor whose palm tree fell over during Irma. Fortunately, it fell on the road.

Getting around on a golf cart will be tricky to especially if the golf cart tunnels are underwater. That happened during Irma as well.

You should be OK but watch where the storm is heading tomorrow.

In the worst-case scenario, Survival Drill #2 is recommended.

:BigApplause::bigbow::BigApplause:

I was in an area that had some cluster tornados which took lives, property and a series of high tension power towers leaving hundreds of thousands without power for six days.

I can assure that you will have water as the water in the towers provide water by gravity.

Based upon that experience I have the same level of preparedness now as I did then.

1. One dozen MREs
2. 1,000 watt generator
3. 2,500 watt generator
4. Vehicles and cart with full tanks
5. Ten gallons of gasoline

What actually happened to us..

Power went out leaving us in darkness,with storm raging. My daughter and wife looked at me with fear in their eyes. 'Lets have a hot dinner before I get the TV and Internet up'. In that moment they thought that I was mentally ill.

The 1000 genny gives you: Internet, TV, fans, fridge, microwave and if you have a tankless water heater, hot water. It was like camping in a very nice pop-up with electric.

The larger genny will run a small ac unit but uses more fuel.

In my situation few neighbors purchased huge gennys from out of state but they fell silent when they couldn't keep up with their voracious fuel needs.

This should give you some idea if you think ahead you can be well prepared.

As I write this I fully expect some Google powered expert will post some link how this many electronic devices can be powered by such a small generator. I can assure that this is not the case. Certainly we did have inconvenience but we had ample comforts to be comfy with out the huge expense of a whole home generator.

I remember all the help you gave me to select the correct generator for cases like this. Well, I was injured about 2 years ago and the last thing on my mind was my pristine generator. It's a big paperweight. I was great with small engines when I was youngin so I'm going out this very moment to give it a shot. I just wanna save the food and put in a window A/C and run the Cpap. Staying alive is sorta important.

I never gave the generator a second thought. I walk past it several times a day. I guess that's why we have so many memory centers around here. I'm not like that, it's rough to admit but I really goofed up this time.

Make a list of friends around here and if you lose power keep calling until you find one with power and head over there with your cpap

Haven’t heard a peep from the Weather Club

Different strokes for different folks. Hurricane is expected weds. We have time-warning.
I just finished cutting back plants from my home. How far back, that is the question. I am cut back for 50 mph winds. If, we get 120 mph winds, it would require digging out most plants.
Water-our system works on gravity. The water is pumped up to the towers that all all over the place. I assume they have generator to opperate the pumps. If the tower goes empty-NO WATER. We do not have a bath tub. If you do I would first see that the drain does not leak. If, it does, common, I would buy or make one of the old fashioned disks that cover the drain.
I use a 40 gallon food grade container and fill it with water. You can use this to flush the toilets-be sure you know how.
Be sure you have a mop-rags. Lights? Batteries? Battery powered radio? Duct tape? Rope?
Meds? Matches?
We've not had a REAL hurricane in 10 years. Imagine rain being blown by 120 mph winds.
BETTER TO FEEL DUMB FOR OVER PREPARING THAN BEING WET WITH YOUR HOME AND BELONGINGS DESTROYED.

I do not have a generator was on my to do, never done list. I remember a twighlight zone story where the guy builds a fallout shelter and his neighbors laughed at him. Then there was a bomb alert and all his neighbors were pounding on his door to get in. Hurricane Sandy we were without electricity for like five days-not Florida. My neighbor had a generator. He could not or would not help others. Five days with no power. That was strange. Your cycle changes early to bed early to rise became normal. I still have my coleman lanterns. For others, besure you have fuel and MANTLES.

Been here 10 years and lost power once for an hour. Last hurricane had cable and electricity the entire time. Most of time it’s a tropical storm here

Good points.

I heard awhile back that this area is where they evacuate people TO in case of a hurricane. That should tell us something.

My hurricane preparedness so far.......

I did not put out my lighted pumpkins.

I did not hang my Autumn door wreath.

In summation of comments, so far.

Those who have experienced some sort of disaster or would be in trouble if one occurred; prepare.

Those who have experienced one, do not prepare.

Those that prepare do so in their own ways at their pace. While the unprepared simply play the odds always believing they hold some level of superior knowledge above the rest of us. Examples include:

I will go to my list of friends and stay with them to power my CPAP machine (no problem with this logic, it will never fail).

I will evacuate only if there is an emergency (the roads will be open, travel will not be slow, I can easily get gasoline, I can easily find a close, comfortable hotel).

It never has happened to me, therefore, it never will happen (solid logic).

We lost power for one day here in Irma. Others here lost power for 3 days.

///not worth it///

HOPEFULLY this will be the case. Have been through 3-4 direct hurricane hits. TV is probably the least prepared area that I have seen in Florida and has the least wind protected homes. On bright side most of the electricity is undeground. 80 MPH hurricane can damage main lines that serve our area. Seen lesser hurricanes blow these down. Just saw latest report that storm could linger around here. Hope not.

Irma will probably end up being a less strong hurricane and flew through this area. This strorm has the possiblility of being much stonger and may stall in and around the Tampa area.

I'm in the Historic section. If "the big one comes" we'll lose our house, possibly our lives, and there won't be a thing we can do about it. If it's not the big one, but a bad one, we'll absolutely suffer damage to the house, and no amount of preparing will prevent that.

If it's not a bad one, then our windows are hurricane cat-3/4/5 (whatever the legal requirement is for replacements - double-paned, double-hung, in any case) rated - including the ones on the lanai. We have a metal roof, and it's been re-sealed just a month ago, so we'll probably still have our roof. We'll also probably still have a leak in the laundry shed. No trees in our yard so not -too- much worry about branches through the shed window.

We have batteries, new lanterns, plenty of water including water for the toilet if needed, cat food, litter, tons of towels, plenty of toilet paper and paper towels, cans of food, and our blankets are on a center shelf in the linen closet (meaning - no roof material or flooding can damage them). Manual can openers, a lighter, candles, my car has a full tank of gas, and it has a newish battery so I can use it to charge my phone and tablet, both of which have a dozen books loaded on them, and the tablet has a couple of movies on it.

I also have two fans that I can power with a USB cord into my laptop. I'm as ready as I can be - and this is all stuff we always have anyway.

Don’t forget to charge that Electric car!!

By least prepared area, do you mean the people or the emergency services or something else?

What is a wind protected home?? I thought that they increased the building codes to make houses stronger and most of the houses here have been built since that time.

There's no place like home
 

if the hurricane slams tv you'll find many new friends to help you on your journey.
What's the worst that could happen???

Charge batteries for phones etc. Move important items inside your house envelope (off lanai) be prepared to move anything that can fly around outside inside the house envelope (grills, outdoor furniture, decorations). Prepare flash lights - have batteries accessible. Fill a bathtub with water for flushing if the pumping stations lose power - if it looks like we are in the path. Most here do not have sutters. Some boarded up for Irma, others not. Have your medications ready if you need to evacuate - Go Bag. Have a battery operated emergency radio. Sign up for your county alert system, check their prepare for the storm lists. Know where your county emergency shelter is. I had water infiltrate under doors and windows during Irma - be prepared with towels etc.

Coastal areas should be better prepared than inland where we are. No?

This short video was on The Weather Channel this morning:

How To Evacuate With An Electric Vehicle - Videos from The Weather Channel

I had no idea Florida was 2nd in the nation for EV registrations. California is #1 by a large margin.

Weather Words
“Watch Vs. Warning”

It’s important to remember the difference between a hurricane watch and warning. Both are serious alarms from the National Hurricane Center and deserve to be taken extremely seriously.

Hurricane watch - This means hurricane conditions are possible within the watch area, generally within 48 hours. This is your signal to finish making your preparations and to closely monitor for a hurricane warning.

Hurricane warning - This means that hurricane conditions (sustained winds of 74 mph or greater) are expected somewhere within the specified area within the next 36 hours. All preparations should be complete, and you should evacuate immediately if so ordered.

Make sure all exterior furniture, grills, flags, etc. are secure - best to put in garage. Get a few gallons of drinking water. Make sure you have flashlights and extra batteries. You can also fill a few buckets with water. If you don't need it, no harm done.

“Ian is expected to become a Category 4 storm in the Gulf, but wind shear could ‘weaken’ it to Cat. 1 by time it makes landfall,” senior meteorologist Jon Erdman says. "I'm afraid the public may see a weaker Ian landfall forecast and think 'no big deal.'”

Why is this a big deal? Even though it might lose wind speed strength as it nears landfall, Hurricane Ian could grow in size and slow down, which would still mean a life-threatening storm surge and prolonged rainfall and winds. Also, Ian could scrape up a long section of the western Florida Peninsula's coast, bringing storm surge, rainfall flooding and strong winds to places it doesn't even landfall.

after many many years of being on the coast, getting hit my Irma, etc. This is what I can tell you.

1. There is a reason I don't have trees in my yard.
2. In a CAT 5 (or near) board can be a waste of time
3. do not panic at all, no one really knows what will happen until days before it lands
4. if you do not have a truck, do not go driving around after the storm passes - your car won't be happy
5. if you must - stocking up doesn't work as well as making a large item - I do lentil stew - it's all veggies so if it gets warm there is zero risk - if you have meat then just freeze it and use it in portions (**note do not use fish and poultry in this strategy)
6. Frozen pizzas are great
7. If you have underground power lines - you do not need a generator. IF (big if) you lose power it will be only a hours just don't open the fridge and freezer a lot.
8. Tuck all the cars in the garage,
9. Don't bother to evacuate - the frustration isn't worth it. However IF it was a mandatory - FLY!!!
10. have a LOT of alcohol
11. make sure you take the dog out before the majority of it hits
12. Have fun, enjoy, we just have a party LOL it's really not all that bad at all.
13 . fill your bathtub (might want to clean it first)
14. did I mention - LOTS of alcohol??

oh and for TV by all means DO NOT take the golf cart out afterwards... these people do not hurricane cut the palms so there will be a lot of problems. and possible flodded tunnels.

Hey, I think we crossed paths at Publix yesterday looking at your #10 & 14 on the list! LOL Great post...try to relax and remember the MSM hypes up ANYTHING that helps their ratings. :beer3:

I never understood this! Do you poop more during a hurricane? You can't use it for any other purpose, so why ? Buying cases of water? Use your empty/clean milk jugs.
Fill gallon zip lock bags with water, put on baking sheet in the freezer, then if electric goes out, you've got extra time before food will defrost, or use them in your cooler.