Riding the storm out

Riding the storm out, I’ve ridden out several typhoons (called hurricanes in the Atlantic), including one really big one, in my lifetime as a Pacific islander.

There’s something completely wild about riding a storm out, espcecially a really big one.

My big one’s name was Rita, and Rita was a real corker.

Rita entered my life (and the lives of all of us who were living on the Pacific island of Okinawa) in July of 1972.

First, the stetting… 

My sister Mammy, a contributor here, shared the following information about where we lived and our setup at the time Rita came to call.

Our house was built out of steel-reinforced concrete with walls 11″ thick, on a steel-reinforced concrete slab. The roof was attached with steel straps and huge bolts, and covered with heavy tile. The back 2 rooms had 11″ concrete on all 4 walls and were “safe rooms”.

Every window was fitted with 4×4 shutters – 4×4’s drilled and pulled together with steel rebar. These shutters took 2 adults to roll on heavy steel tracks to lock in place over each window. The front door was solid steel, and so heavy it was a death-trap to small children and errant fingers.

The house was located 1/2 way up a large coral hill, up about 2 switchbacks from sea level.

Island Boy, Lessons Learned

When you live on a tiny Pacific island, about all you can do to prepare for a hurricane/typhoon (they are the same basic thing) is to go to high ground and find a safe shelter.

We lived on a ridge in the Awase Heights area of Okinawa, and the key word to this is “heights” We were several hundred feet above the ocean, meaning storm surge was not an issue for my family. 

Compare this to the “highest point in the Florida Keys” sign which is mounted a whopping 18 feet above sea level. 

I remembered when we moved into our house Mammy describes above what a strange structure it was. It had concrete walls and a tile roof over a metal sub-structure. The metal girders were bolted into the walls. We also had heavy wooden shutters on the windows, made out of planking two inches thick. They were so heavy that my mother struggled to close them by herself. 

The Rita Dance

When we learned that Rita was on it’s way, the weather service predicted that she was not coming anywhere near us and weakening.

Then, something called a Fujiwhara effect happened and the formerly Cat 5 storm turned completely around and headed strait for us.

That loop strengthened the storm and brought it right over out heads.

You can read about the full storm by clicking on this link, but suffice to say that a Cat 2 Hurricane leaves a really strong impression on a child’s mind. Even though our house was made of concrete, had massive shutters and the roof was bolted on, it shook us like we were rag dolls.

For about 24 hours, the world was dark and filled with unearthly moans.

One storm like that is enough to last me a lifetime. 

OK, so what happens if I don’t live in a house built like a fortress a couple hundred feet above sea level?

Our staff hurricane expert, Paranoid Prepper, offers the following information and advice. Take it away, Paranoid Prepper!

Hurricane Preparations – Evacuations

If you are under a mandatory evacuation order, do not waste time reading this article until after you have gotten your family into your vehicle and hit the road inland.  Smartphones are great for reading stuff that is on the Internet, so quit dawdling, and get moving.  This article will still be available when you get back to it.  The person riding shotgun can read it to you while you are stuck in traffic.

With evacuations, every minute you delay means the greater the traffic jam you need to deal with.  Don’t be the guy who waited too long.  You don’t want to win a Darwin Award do you?  

Advance Preparations

For those of you who have made it this far in the post, there are things you can do well in advance, and things you can at least attempt on short notice.  You should have done the things that you can do well in advance by now if you are worried about the next hurricane, but if you haven’t, and want to know how to prepare, these points are worth repeating.

Most damage from hurricanes comes from wind and rain.  You want to live far enough inland that the worst of the flooding and wind damage is something you’ll read about later.  Assuming that is the case, your next challenges are loss of power and downed trees.

As a result, you want to own a generator and a chain saw.  Acquire these items when there is no hurricane in the forecast.  Trying to get these items at the last minute is at best annoying.  Since both of these items require some form of fuel, make sure you have the appropriate fuels and storage, e.g. gas cans, on hand as well.

Generators & Chain Saws

Generators range from small engine portable models that are relatively inexpensive, to whole house standby systems that automatically turn on and off as the power comes and goes.  The whole house systems are rather expensive, but really nice if you have the budget for one.  I acquired a whole house unit about 9 months before Hurricane Sandy.  It was one of the better purchases I have ever made.  

Chain saws are useful for removing downed trees, at least when they don’t take out a power line.  If a power line is involved, leave it for the power company.

Take a look outside

Do you have any large trees that could hit your house if they came down?  Consider having them removed.  Either take it out with your new chain saw if you feel comfortable doing the job yourself, or have a tree service do it.  While I haven’t ever been flooded, I have had a tree land on my roof.  Fortunately, it didn’t do any serious damage, but I was very, very lucky.  Every tree service around will be booked solid after a hurricane, so avoiding the potential of damage from falling trees is a good idea.  Having a tree on your roof when all the tree services are booked can be frustrating!  

Depending on your location, you may need water filtration, fuel for cooking, etc.  Here in the People’s Republic of New Jersey, hurricanes tend to fill our reservoirs, which feed the gravity fed water systems that serve the area.  There are advantages to 19^th century infrastructure.    Most areas are not so lucky.  During Hurricane Sandy, natural gas continued to work, but gasoline stations were closed, food stores were closed, and the removal of downed trees and phone poles took a very long time.  You should assume most utilities will fail if the crisis lasts long enough.

Last Minute Preparations

One of the nice aspects of hurricanes vs. other types of disasters, is they tend to be forecast much better than other possible disaster events, like seismic events.  If you are in an area that does not require evacuation, and you’ve taken care of the generator and chain saw, what do you do in those last couple days before the storm hits?  Basically, you want to top off all of your regular prep items while you can.  Do this early as the swarms will clear the shelves by the time the storm actually hits.

Prepper fiction will portray total chaos in the stores when the disaster strikes, but my experience with hurricanes is that the rush to stock up is spread over a couple days.  Stores are busy, but can handle the traffic.  Unfortunately, depending on the forecasts, selection may be challenged by the time the storm hits.    There are no gunfights in the parking lots, but I don’t generally shop at Walmart.  

But wait, there’s more!

In addition to food and water, you should stock up on batteries, hygiene items, and first aid supplies, although as a prepper you should already have a good supply.  One of the problems in our household is the first aid kits seem to get raided for band aids and need to be restocked.  Now is a good time to check.  With downed trees you may be on your own for emergency medicine for a few days.  That tree across the road is as much of an obstacle for an ambulance as it is for the family car.

When the power goes out, gas stations will also be left without power for their pumps, so top off your car’s tank, and have a few spare gas cans on hand, preferably filled.  If your gas cans are empty, and you have to evacuate, take the empty cans so you can try to fill them when the opportunity arises.

Summary

Hurricanes cover a wide area, but are survivable.  They usually have ample warning.  If you are a prepper, take them seriously and try to stay ahead of the unprepared.  You should be able to not only get through a hurricane, but to be relatively comfortable while you wait it out.