It's Cyclone Season again! I've already followed everything on my cyclone prep list so now I'm trying to settle the anxiety moths in my stomach by writing. Tropical Cyclone Yasa is headed straight to Fiji with landfall expected in about 36 hours.
So, the basics. This is mostly a recap of my tried and tested Cyclone Prep List with a few additional items and explanations
Things to do:
- Establish a communication plan with family and friends. For example, if you are conserving power, you may want to post updates once a day at 10 AM, or twice a day on the 8s, and so on. Have an agreed on platform and identify alternate contacts in case you can't be reached. Make sure your emergency contact list is up to date and in the hands of those who may need it.
- Charge everything, phones, computers, ereaders, power banks, portable radios.
- Fill the fridge and freezer with as many filled and burped water bottles as you have space for. This helps keep food cold in case of a power outtage and is an emergency water supply. These are good to always keep in the freezer/fridge as they help your appliances run more efficiently; if you always have frozen water bottles in the freezer they're easy to throw in a cooler bag if you're heading out for the day.
- Check drains/gutters to make sure they're clear
- Cut back any trees, branches that could be a danger in high winds
- Have cash on hand in case of emergency expenses
Water
- Bottled water – 4 litres per person per day
- Fill up bathtubs, bottles, buckets and other available items with tap water for use bathing and flushing
- Have a way to boil water before use
Food
- 7 day supply of non-perishable food items
Non-Food Items
- First aid kit and medications and copies of medication prescriptions
- Gas, cooking utensils, can opener, stovetop teakettle, coffee maker, paper napkins and disposable utensils
- Matches or lighters. candles, torch and spare batteries
- Soap and personal hygiene supplies (toilet paper, sanitary products, tissues etc)
- Garbage bags and cleaning supplies (including bleach), cleaning brushes, buckets
- Blankets or sleeping bags
- Card games, board games, and other activities
Communications Equipment
- Cellphone
- Radio (preferably wind up)
- Spare batteries for all communications equipment, fully charged at all times (wherever possible)
But what do you do if you're going to be in a situation for a longer than a week? Here's what I've got for food and other supplies for a month. Water and electricity are out of my capacity right now, but they're first on the list as soon as I can buy land. All of this is for one person, and assume that you have a mostly plant based diet.
- grains - 30 lbs, some items in this category are pasta, rice, barley, quinoa, flour, oatmeal, ramen noodles, popcorn, crackers, bread (frozen)
- beans and legumes - 7.5 lbs including chickpeas, kidney, pinto, lentils, peanut butter, tahini
- milk/dairy - 6.25 lbs powdered milk, UHT milk, cheeses
- meat - 2 lbs including eggs canned tuna, mutton, bacon
- fats/oils - 2 lbs, we use mostly olive oil, vegetable oil, and butter, but there's also ghee, peanut oil
- sugars - 5 lbs, your list might include sugar, honey, hard candy. I also use dried fruits in place of sugar, like adding soaked dates and raisins to my oatmeal.
- fruits/veggies - 7.5 lbs, including potatoes, onions, canned tomatoes, canned fruits, pasta sauce, raisins, cranberries, dried pineapple, dried mango, dried apricots
- seasonings absolutely essential! This is your garlic, ginger, dried herbs and spices, bouillon cubes, salt, pepper, spice mixes, white vinegar, balsamic vinegar, apple cider vinegar, rice vinegar, cinnamon, vanilla, nutritional yeast
- beverages - these make it so much easier to start and end the day. Definitely have some nice beverages on your emergency packing list, like coffee, tea, cocoa powder, and other beverage mixes
- leavening agents turn your ingredients into food. These are baking powder, yeast, baking soda
- hygiene - lay in extra soap, shampoo, toothpaste, toilet paper, tampons/pads
- medications - a partial list might include panadol, soov, nurofen, topical antibioitic ointment, topical antifungal
- household - laundry detergent, bleach, fabuloso, portable radio, lighter, mosquito coils, can opener, paper towels or cleaning rags, candle holders
- junk food - these days are stressful. A bag of chips can be just the thing at lunchtime. Definitely have the non-perishable things you crave on your list.