Is anyone doing Hurricane Preparation?
 

Anybody buying extra food, water, batteries? Making sure their cars have a full tank of gas? Know the best way to evacuate in case of flooding? Know where the safest place to wait if there is a tornado warning? Have an emergency radio?

I know it's very unusual and probably unnecessary, but it doesn't hurt to at least think about it.

No preparation really. I always keep a lot of extra stuff to fix to eat and to drink. If it heads this way we will probably move our lanai furniture indoors so it won't be blown against the screen.

We bought some water, some extra canned goods that doesn't need heating up but didn't go over-board. I'm not sure that anyone can be "fully" prepared for an event like that.

Oh, we have a bunch of batteries, a battery operated radio and light as well. We also have candles. I got the RX's up to date as well and got a bit of cash (small bills) today.

We weren't here when Little Debbie passed by in June, but from what we've heard that's the kind of weather we'd probably have with Isaac. So it's good to be mindful and use common sense.

In a word NO!!!!

John

One thing you might want to do is make sure you have enough clothes should power go out. The possibility is remote, but if it does go out and is out for a bit, well....
Just remember seeing videos from laundry detergent companies, setting up wash centers for those who were without power for a while...they could bring their laundry to one of the locations set up with washers and dryers, get their clothing washed and dried.

Seems a strange prep action to take, but what the heck....:laugh:

Just making a list of things to do if we're going to get high winds, such as taking down the lanai TV, bringing in some potted plants and stuff. Since we always had to have earthquake supplies on hand in CA, we already have a stockpile of things ready. Hurricanes at least give you some warning, darn earthquakes don't.

:popcorn: lot of empty water bottles to fill grill ready, lots of batteries, not much different then when we lose power for weeks at a time up north

Will go get gas for the generator if need be, not ahead of time, don't like storing gas. (bought this monster last year when in NC and tornadoes took out the main transmission lines and our Lowes store in Sanford :( ). Bought a case of water cause we were almost out, more for drinking regular than for hurricane - duel purpose. Stood in line behind a guy at Publix that bought 170 dollars in water, weather radio and other supplies. Just kinda shook our heads. We had a couple frozen pizzas..LOL. So no not really doing anything out of the ordinary. Past experiences with hurricanes while visiting this state over the years is folks don't get to excited unless your talking direct hit of a 3 or higher. Just keep a weather eye to the sky for twisters off this thing.

Question
 

You know...thats a question. Didnt think of this before hand as our gas station in NC ran on a massive backup generator so when we had the days without power there pumps still worked. Are there stations here in the villages that run on generators should the power go out??

I remember when that happened. We had already moved to TV, but I remember because I know the area so well. We lived in Carolina Lakes, near Sanford for two years while my husband worked on FORSCOM at Bragg.

We filled our vehicle up with gas today just in case we need to evacuate.

I'm just making sure the dog and cat have their food and a bottle of wine for me. Actually, I did get some batteries for the flashlight and lantern and filled the car with gas.

You lived just up the road from us, we were off buffalo lakes and 27. :) We didn't know till the next day but one went through north fayetteville and south bragg... took out the material maintence facility where my father worked. Damage was quite impressive especially all those snapped pines, ..won't forget that smell anytime soon. Still impressed how quickly they got that Lowes back up. We were going to go there that afternoon but mother wasn't feeling well so we decided not to...kinda glad. Knew several folks that were in the store when it hit. Its a small world isnt it :)

Thoughts
 

I doubt we will be hit real bad but in case some things you may want to consider. Have full tank of gas in case you have to leave area, if you have trees that are "weak" you may want to stake them so they don't blow over,
have some water and radio handy, strong flash lights (big ones) with extra batteries, put car in garage to prevent stones from hitting them, candles are good as back ups. Have cell phone fully charged. etc.etc.
We went through 3 hurricanes which were very damaging and since we are so far from the shore I think we should get lots of rain, some wind but not the serious kind of problems since the hurricane is scheduled to be far off shore. BUT it can alway change.:ohdear:

It is a small world. Nice meeting you! I love North Carolina. I made some wonderful friends there and learned to play golf in North Carolina. Thank God you weren't in the Lowe's.

Went through all the huricanes in 2004 and 2005. Never lost power. Just stock up on beer and wine. :popcorn:

When is the bad weather suppose to hit the villages, Im coming down next friday for the weekend. I hope for some sun. Is it suppose to be bad all next week. ?

Lived through a couple of them when we lived down south, including Andrew. Although we were in Boca Raton which was north of Homestead and other areas that were devastated. Isaac is forecast to be at most a Category I. We are on the "dirty" side of the storm so can expect lots of wind and rain. But since this is not a "monster" storm like Andrew or katrina, we are just doing the minimum....buying some extra canned goods and water each time we go out. If it was forecast to be a monster, we would probably think about evacuating. I'm getting too old to spend a few weeks in August in Florida without power.

Bought the weather radio and had the fire dept set it up today. We've had a couple of cases of battled water and a bunch of canned food on hand for quite a while. We do have a coupe of flashlights, but one is a rechargeable so I think I'm going to get a battery powered lantern.

Lived here for 12 yrs only had two huricanes hit us... TV never lost power, the locals around us did. We are not going to have a huricane hit us cause it is a tropical storm and it will blow out to the gulf...been here long enough to know better! I get a big kick out of everyone being so worried!! LOL

For all you folks with generators, I received this warning in an email from SECO today:

If you are using a generator during or after the storm passes remember that, if used improperly, these units can feed electricity back into the electric distribution wires outside your home. This situation could cause serious injury or death to utility workers trying to restore your power who assume that the line they are attempting to repair is not energized. Portable generators should never be wired into a home’s electrical panel or into a receptacle that’s connected to an electrical panel. Appliances should be plugged directly into the generator.

• If homeowners are ordered to evacuate, or choose to evacuate on their own, they should turn off all appliances. It is a good idea to turn the electricity off entirely at the main breaker panel before leaving.
Bowman concluded by saying that both SECO Storm Center and SECO Energy - one of the Nation's largest electric distribution cooperatives located in Central Florida contain very good storm information and SECO members and the general public are welcome to use both sites.

Just so ya know.

I agree. The odds of a hurricane doing a lot of damage this far inland are very slim. That being said, there is nothing wrong with taking a few common sense precautions and being prepared. The biggest threat to us from a hurricane is the tornadoes that it might spin off. But even then there have been very, very few tornadoes hit this area over the years and they usually have a very narrow path of destruction. Of course, you are in big trouble if you are in that narrow path, but we're talking about the odds of being seriously affected by bad weather and the chance of devastation from a hurricane or tornado in the Villages is very small.

Dr.Winston...you apparently weren't in TV 02/07 when we were hit by a tornado. Several villages were affected including my own. We had $100k in damages Never underestimate where a tornado may hit.

No, I wasn't here at the time, but if you read my post you'll note that I said that the damage from a tornado can be devastating. But, they don't hit here very often, ( I think there were 16 in the past fifty years and most of them were CAT F0) and the destruction path is usually fairly narrow. There is not the widespread destruction that a severe hurricane can bring.

Tornadoes are very serious and are terrifying because the leave nothing in their wake. They destroy everything. Had I been caught in one like some of the people here were in 2007, I might become overcautious as well. But to look at it objectively, the chances of getting hit by a tornado here are very slim.

Who ever wrote this warning is lacking electrical training. The first rule is to never assume that the power is off. Always check the line with a meter. However, someone could fire up a generator after checking the line with a meter I suppose.

Sunday - Tuesday event. Not sure what the weather is looking like for next weekend. Probably afternoon storms as usual this time of year :)

Agree
 

I agree that the threat of a strong hurricane hitting TV is pretty low. However, at one time we moved to a beach in Florida because it had not had a hurricane hit it since 1933. We felt pretty safe. You guessed it, we were hit with 3 in 2004/5 and they were devestating. It took over 2 years to rebuild. I would be really surprised if a bad one hit TV's but you never know.
Great no telephone polls, no weak bridges to blow out, no sand to get in the swimming pools, etc.etc. Life is good..!!!:sigh:

Google Hurricane Donna 1960. No one is safe in Florida. Always be prepared. Better safe than sorry.

And don't forget a trip to ABC Liquor...

Never, ever, back feed into you house system! Even if they do a check and find voltage where there is supposed to be none, they WILL move on to another area. They WON'T work on those hot lines, and they won't go looking until everything else is done. All you really accomplish is slowing down the repair process.

We were in the middle of several typhoons as well as 2 level 5 typhoons. Typhon is a Pacific hurricane, same thing, different name. Been there, done that. Our worst one knocked out water for 6 weeks, power for 12 weeks and the island had no gasoline because the storage tanks went up in flames due to a lightning strike. The good news (?) was my employer issued us home generators and gasoline to run them. We also had water delivered to us daily. Still not fun!
Don & Kaz

Case of Coors Light just in case. :wine:

Just curious which Typhoons you went thru, where and when.. We went thru Pamela in Guam mid 70's. Quite an experience!
Wishing everyone safety with approaching Isaac.
Ebsmom

Bought this weather radio from Radio Shack here in Ohio. It seems pretty staticky. Does anybody know anything about it? Is it junk? It's sponsored by the Red Cross so I thought it would be a good one. The one thing I did like about it is that you can charge a cell phone on it. Hand cranks and has backup batteries. etón Red Cross FR360 Emergency Radio, Radios, Home & Cabin Decor, Home & Cabin : Cabela's Just want to be sure I've got the right stuff.

The wine racks are fully stocked...bring it on!!!

Somone is doing something - the water shelves at Publix were sparse yesterday pm!

You have hit it right on the head!! This is a lot of hype and it's incredible how many people are so distressed over nothing. You'll see some slight rain and very low wind speeds and a lot of people will believe they've just survived a "hurricane". Unbeliveable.

It is now a tropical storm warning for Sumter County starting today at three.

We have taken inside our front and back porch furniture and plants.

Already have enough by far to eat and drink.

They are predicting up to three inches of rain and wind gusts of 40mph.

We aren't afraid. The danger as we see it is that this system can spawn tornadoes.

I have lived thru some hurricanes in Fla (Boynton Beach) and did have to file an insurance claim for Wilma (2007?). The devastation near me was horrific... That being said, I have not noticed that anyone has hurricane shutters in TV. Are all the windows hurricane grade or have most just decided against them?

Tampa is in trouble now....the Weather Channel's Jim Cantoe is reporting from the area.....get the boats ready.....Jim shows up, bad weather certainly follows...:D

Checked my wine, chocolate, cheese and crackers stock. They are good! I'm ready for wind and rain....even dug out a real deck of cards just in case I can't play solitaire on my computer. As for the Tropical Storm Warning for Sumter County. Remember all its a BIG county and we are in the north east part of it. I'm guessing the southwestern part of county is at bigger risk from tropical storm strength winds. As Graciegirl said my biggest fear is tornadoes. I do not like those! Been in one too many already in my life.

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