Hurricane Preparedness Guide

Preparedness image for Hurricane Preparedness Guide

An evergreen guide to hurricane hazards, official forecasts, evacuation, sheltering, household supplies, accessibility, home protection, power loss, and recovery.

Purpose and limits

This guide does not forecast a specific storm, replace official orders, certify a home, direct structural work, or substitute for emergency services, the National Hurricane Center, local emergency management, insurers, utilities, clinicians, or licensed professionals.

Immediate checklist

Know whether you face wind, surge, inland flooding, tornado, and evacuation risks.
Use National Hurricane Center and local official information.
Know your evacuation zone and route.
Choose shelter and destination options.
Build household supply and medication continuity plans.
Protect documents and insurance records.
Prepare for power and communication loss.
Leave when officials direct evacuation.

Know the hazards

Hurricane risk is not limited to the category number.

Plan for storm surge.
Plan for rainfall and inland flooding.
Plan for destructive wind and flying debris.
Plan for tornadoes, rip currents, power loss, heat, and contaminated water.

Understand the forecast

Forecasts change as new data arrives.

Use official National Hurricane Center products and local alerts.
Distinguish the forecast track from the full hazard area.
Read watches, warnings, storm-surge information, and rainfall forecasts.
Do not use one social-media image as the entire decision basis.

Watch and warning decisions

A hurricane watch means conditions are possible; a hurricane warning means conditions are expected, with official lead times tied to tropical-storm-force winds.

Use the watch period to finish preparations.
Treat a warning as a time for protective action, not shopping.
Account for the earlier arrival of hazardous wind and rain.
Follow local evacuation timing.

Evacuation zones

Storm-surge and evacuation zones are not the same as wind categories.

Find the official local zone tool.
Know more than one route.
Identify transportation assistance before the storm.
Never drive around barricades or through floodwater.

Evacuation destinations

Plan several safe destinations outside the hazard area.

Confirm hotels, friends, shelters, and pet policies.
Carry identification, medication, communication aids, and essential equipment.
Plan for charging and backup power.
Tell an out-of-area contact where you are going.

Shelter at home

Shelter at home only when officials say it is appropriate and the building is suitable.

Choose an interior area away from windows.
Keep exits clear.
Move supplies above likely flood levels.
Be ready to change plans if officials issue new instructions.

Home and property protection

Use code-compliant measures and qualified professionals.

Install approved shutters or protection appropriate to the building.
Secure or bring in outdoor objects.
Clear drains and gutters only when safe.
Do not tape windows as a substitute for protection.
Do not climb a roof as the storm approaches.

Renters and multifamily housing

Know the landlord and building emergency plan.
Ask about shutters, flood areas, generators, elevators, and shelter spaces.
Protect personal property and renters-insurance records.
Do not operate generators on balconies, corridors, roofs, garages, porches, or near shared openings.
Evacuate when the building or local authority directs.

Manufactured homes and RVs

These structures may be unsafe in hurricane winds and flooding.

Know the local evacuation requirement.
Leave early for a sturdy destination.
Secure the unit only within manufacturer and professional guidance.
Do not remain because the storm category seems low.

Food

Plan shelf-stable foods that fit household needs and can be prepared safely.

Include foods for children, allergies, disabilities, older adults, and cultural needs.
Use no-cook options for outages.
Avoid a plan dependent on refrigeration.
Do not use Survival Tabs or any single product as a sole diet.

Water

Store safe water in appropriate containers and follow official quantity guidance.
Plan extra water for heat, medical needs, infants, pets, and sanitation.
Follow boil-water, do-not-drink, and do-not-use advisories exactly.
Do not assume clear flood or tap water is safe.
Use the household emergency-water guide for treatment boundaries.

Medication and health

Refill and organize essential medication within legal and clinical limits.
Keep prescriptions, medication lists, allergies, and clinician contacts.
Plan temperature-sensitive products and powered medical equipment.
Carry mobility, hearing, vision, and communication aids.
Know when loss of power requires relocation or emergency care.

Children

Use calm, age-appropriate explanations.
Give each adult a clear responsibility.
Pack identification, health information, comfort items, and safe activities.
Know school and childcare closure and reunification plans.
Never assign children hazardous preparation tasks.

Older adults and disability access

Plan accessible transportation, shelter, communication, toileting, charging, and personal assistance.
Register for local assistance programs when available without assuming rescue is guaranteed.
Practice transfers and equipment loading.
Keep backup communication methods.
Leave early when transport takes more time.

Pets and service animals

Identify pet-friendly shelters and lodging.
Keep carriers, leashes, identification, records, food, water, and medicine.
Practice loading animals.
Plan service-animal access and relief needs.
Do not abandon animals or delay a life-saving evacuation to search during immediate danger.

Documents, cash, and insurance

Protect identification, policies, property records, medical information, and contacts.
Keep secure digital and physical copies.
Photograph property before the storm from safe locations.
Keep a modest amount of secured cash for payment outages.
Review flood and wind coverage before a storm threatens.

Vehicles and fuel

Maintain vehicles before hurricane season.
Keep evacuation fuel above the household’s trigger level.
Never store fuel in living areas or unsafe containers.
Avoid last-minute travel when roads are already hazardous.
Carry maps and emergency supplies.

Communication

Use several ways to receive alerts.
Keep phones and battery banks charged.
Use an out-of-area contact.
Prefer texts or short messages when networks are congested.
Do not spread unverified storm tracks, damage reports, or shelter information.

Power outages

Prepare batteries, lighting, cooling, food, medicine, and communication plans.
Use flashlights rather than candles.
Disconnect sensitive equipment when appropriate.
Keep refrigerator and freezer doors closed.
Move to a safe powered location when medical or heat risks cannot be controlled.

Generator boundaries

Portable generators produce deadly carbon monoxide.

Operate outdoors only, at least 20 feet from doors, windows, and vents, with exhaust directed away.
Never use a garage, basement, shed, porch, carport, corridor, roof, or balcony.
Use battery-backed carbon-monoxide alarms.
Never backfeed; use qualified transfer equipment.

During the storm

Stay inside the designated safe area unless officials direct movement.
Keep away from windows and exterior doors.
Continue monitoring official information.
Do not go outside during a calm eye.
Avoid floodwater and damaged areas.

Tornadoes within tropical systems

Hurricanes and tropical storms can produce tornadoes.

Enable tornado warnings.
Know the best available interior shelter.
Act immediately when warned.
Do not leave hurricane shelter to look at the storm.
Use the Tornado Preparedness Guide for detailed actions.

After the storm

Wait for official clearance before returning or going outside.
Expect floodwater, damaged roads, unstable buildings, downed lines, heat, animals, and contaminated water.
Stay out of floodwater.
Avoid damaged buildings.
Report utility hazards.

Food, water, and medicine after an outage

Follow official safety instructions.
Discard food exposed to unsafe temperatures, floodwater, chemicals, or damaged packaging.
Do not taste food to test it.
Use safe water for drinking, cooking, brushing teeth, and medication.
Ask pharmacists or clinicians about compromised medicine.

Cleanup and mold

Cleanup is hazardous and should begin only when reentry is allowed.

Use appropriate protective equipment.
Dry or remove wet materials promptly when safe.
Never mix cleaning chemicals.
Use professionals for structural, electrical, gas, sewage, hazardous-material, large-tree, and extensive mold hazards.

Claims and assistance

Document damage from safe locations.
Contact insurers promptly and follow claim instructions.
Keep receipts, estimates, contracts, and communication records.
Use official disaster-assistance channels.
Verify contractors and beware of scams.

Community support

Coordinate without creating unofficial rescue, security, medical, or utility roles.

Check on neighbors when conditions are safe.
Share verified information.
Respect privacy and scarce resources.
Refer hazardous work to trained services.

Annual hurricane-season review

Review the plan before local hurricane season.
Check alerts, zones, routes, destinations, contacts, medicine, documents, and supplies.
Inspect shutters and protective systems through qualified channels.
Practice loading people, equipment, and animals.
Update after each storm and drill.

Frequently asked questions

Does the category number describe every danger?

No. The Saffir-Simpson scale is based on wind speed and does not include storm surge, rainfall flooding, or tornadoes.

Should I evacuate only for a major hurricane?

No. Follow local evacuation orders and zone guidance. Serious surge and flooding can occur with storms of different categories.

Can I use tape on windows?

Tape is not a substitute for approved shutters or other appropriate protection.

Can I return when the wind stops?

Not necessarily. Wait for official clearance and remember that the eye can create a temporary calm before dangerous winds return.

Can I use a generator on a porch?

No. Operate it outdoors only at least 20 feet from openings, with exhaust directed away.

How much food and water should I store?

Use current official guidance and tailor the plan to household size, evacuation, climate, health, pets, and likely service interruption; no single number fits every case.

Where do Survival Tabs fit?

They may be one compact component of a varied emergency food plan. They are not a sole diet or substitute for safe water, medicine, shelter, evacuation, or official warnings.