Hurricane Irma

[Cat Dancer]

I hope BBS and her husband did not have any problems this morning as far as getting to Orlando.

Now, we are being told to get prepared. As of right now it is headed more inland in North Carolina than the coast. They are saying that Monday and Tuesday will be our bad days. Governor has brought back emergency people that had been loaned to Houston so that they can get rested in order to be prepared to take care of our state when it hits.

I plan to go out tomorrow and will get some bottled water. I guess some nuts to eat and I am not sure what else, since we are not normally told to prepare for a hurricane. But they do expect power outages, and possibly for a lengthy period of time. That I can hardly stand the thought of.

You need at least a gallon of water a day per person in your household, enough to last a minimum of 3 days. You need enough food for at least three days -- canned goods that can be eaten from the can, packaged food that doesn't need to be cooked or heated. Things like canned beans, canned meats (tuna, hash, corned beef, canned chicken). Bread or crackers. Canned vegetables. Cheese is good as a "fresh" food -- wrap it in cloth dipped in vinegar, which will keep the mold off. If they're telling you that you might be without power, remember that anything that is in your refrigerator will only last for about 3 hours. If you have a freezer, 24 hours, sometimes longer, depending on how much is in there (the more the better, as the cold food will keep "each other" cold). But no more than a coupld of days. You will need flashlights, and batteries for them. Don't use candles -- very dangerous fire risk.

You might gather together any important papers, like insurance documents, health documents, car / renters insurance, birth certificate, etc. And your medications, and a list of what meds you're on - in case you need to evacuate quickly you don't want to be scrambling for these. And a change of clothes. Also phone numbers of contacts, like family, or neighbors. You might just want to pack a small suitcase or backpack and set it near the door, where you can grab it and go, if you have to.

[Jeanie Z]

:) I went to Publix and it was not too bad. Many shelves like bread were empty. I went to the bakery and got a fresh loaf sliced. I bought some jam and some soups and some snacks. I am as ready as I can get. I am praying the power stays on so Andy does not try to drive here to gas it. I will post when I can. Jeanie :)

[stillstANNding]

I am praying for your safety, Jeanie.
ANN

[Sunshine]

If one evacuates and returns to power, the question is, "is the frozen stuff good, or did it thaw and refreeze? Did I lose power and it came back on, or did I never lose it"

So, here is a tip: freeze a container of water. When frozen, place a coin on top of it.

When you return from evac, check your water container. If the coin is on top, you know it never thawed.

[Cat Dancer]

If one evacuates and returns to power, the question is, "is the frozen stuff good, or did it thaw and refreeze? Did I lose power and it came back on, or did I never lose it"

So, here is a tip: freeze a container of water. When frozen, place a coin on top of it.

When you return from evac, check your water container. If the coin is on top, you know it never thawed.

In case there's some confusion .... freeze a container without a LID. Place the coin on top of the ice.

Jeannie, I'm really sorry you're not going to evacuate. I hope you stay safe. You're in a target area.

[Cat Dancer]

The mayor of Miami was interviewed earlier today and was talking about measures taken for "people with special needs" -- elderly, disabled, people on dialysis. There have been shelters set aside especially for them, with medical personnel on site to take care of things. Sounds like they're as prepared as possible. The storm is expected to be a category 4 upon landfall..a bit better, but still strong.

[agate]

You need at least a gallon of water a day per person in your household, enough to last a minimum of 3 days. You need enough food for at least three days -- canned goods that can be eaten from the can, packaged food that doesn't need to be cooked or heated. Things like canned beans, canned meats (tuna, hash, corned beef, canned chicken). Bread or crackers. Canned vegetables. Cheese is good as a "fresh" food -- wrap it in cloth dipped in vinegar, which will keep the mold off. If they're telling you that you might be without power, remember that anything that is in your refrigerator will only last for about 3 hours. If you have a freezer, 24 hours, sometimes longer, depending on how much is in there (the more the better, as the cold food will keep "each other" cold). But no more than a coupld of days. You will need flashlights, and batteries for them. Don't use candles -- very dangerous fire risk.

You might gather together any important papers, like insurance documents, health documents, car / renters insurance, birth certificate, etc. And your medications, and a list of what meds you're on - in case you need to evacuate quickly you don't want to be scrambling for these. And a change of clothes. Also phone numbers of contacts, like family, or neighbors. You might just want to pack a small suitcase or backpack and set it near the door, where you can grab it and go, if you have to.

I've heard 48 hours for frozen food. Also it seems not to be so dangerous for most foods to be thawed and refrozen if they've been thawed under some refrigeration:


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If your sense of smell is good, you can usually rely on how a food smells to find out if it's gone bad.

Crackers, raisins, and especially sardines are foods I keep around. Sardines are loaded with good nutrients and you usually don't need a can opener. I would never part with my manual can opener anyway.

[Virginia]

Thanks Cat and Agate for all the good tips. There were some things I had not thought of. I also like the freezing a container of water and leaving a coin on it - that's neat information.

Jeanie, I will be praying for your safety.

[Cat Dancer]

DO NOT RELY ON YOUR SENSE OF SMELL! That's a big myth, since we're talking about myths, here! It's been hot and humid throughout Florida -- a perfect place for mold, mildew, bacteria to grow. Add a bunch of rain and humidity with a cat. 4-5 hurricane overhead...and you can't..and shouldn't..trust your sense of smell.

And the article clearly states, food can be refrozen *if properly thawed* .... that is, thawed *under refrigeration*. Your freezer food is safe so long as, when you open the freezer, the food is frozen, or is mostly ice crystals -- hard, or just barely thawing. That stage can be reached anywhere between 2 and 4 days, depending on how tight your freezer is (refrigerator freezers aren't usually all that well sealed), how often you've opened the door -- don't open it at all if you can avoid it!, and how much space you have in there. The more space, the more quickly it will thaw. If the freezer is relatively filled, then it will thaw more slowly.

Yes, a manual can opener is good to set out where you can find it in the dark (you may have boarded up windows, no lights, windy and dark with a storm overhead). You should close curtains if you can't board up the windows. If the window gets broken, the curtain will help shield the broken glass from blowing so far into the room. You should stay away from as many windows as you can -- hang out in a closet, or bathroom (the strongest area of your house). If the wind doesn't blow in the windows, projectiles -- stuff from other people's houses, or garbage, or tree limbs, can blow into them, breaking them.

But please...don't survive the storm but then get sick because you've eaten spoiled food!

[agate]

I stand corrected. Don't rely on odor.

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[stillstANNding]

Governor Scott (FL) said, "the storm surge may cover your house."

There's no work-around for that except to leave.

Jet Blue has capped tickets at $99 each to leave Florida. Expedia has help finding hotel rooms.

(Info from article in the Guardian on-line)

ANN

[Virginia]

Ann, do you know what your brother decided to do?

[Catdancer]

They're issuing an evacuation of Miami. Each official interviewed talked about the storm surges, at least 12 FEET high!.. I'd be long gone. No sense at all to stay then have to call a relative, put them in danger, trying to rescue me!! Or emergency personnel,trying to.rescue me!

[stillstANNding]

Ann, do you know what your brother decided to do?

Virginia, some of my IL family is visiting PA right now. The Florida folk are to talk to them tomorrow. As of today, they had taken care of everything outside, have gas for their generator, and lots of food and water.

I am wanting them to leave. 4 people, 2cats and 1 dog.
ANN

[Earth Mother 2 Angels]

((((((Hugs to All)))))) ~

BBS ~ So relieved that you and DH are safe and very glad that Delta treated you so well. I pray that your home will be spared.

Jeanie ~ I know you've been through many hurricanes, but I'm still going to worry about you, because Irma is being described as the worst hurricane in recent history. Plus the topography has changed so much, that a storm surge may cause severe flooding. So, I send extra prayers that you and Lacy will be safe. Are your neighbors also staying? If so, then I hope that you have their phone numbers in case you need immediate help, as they will be closest to you.

Virginia ~ Praying that Irma bypasses you. It sounds like you are as prepared as possible.

ANN ~ If your family's home is in an evacuation zone, I hope that they will leave. But from the warnings we've seen, Irma's magnitude could reach far across the state, even the South, so I don't know how they decide who is safe to stay and who isn't. I fear that flooding will be the major issue, as it has been in Texas.

I saw a news report about Lake Okeechobee and the Herbert Hoover dike, which the Corps of Engineers state would take millions of dollars and 10 years to rebuild. With excessive rainfall, flooding is highly probable. However, this article says it's "low risk." Hmmm ...

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Lots and lots of prayers on the way for all of you in Irma's path ~

Love & Light,

Rose