Hurricane Preparations, What Are the Items You Didn’t Think Of?

I think one of the biggest things that stress people out from June through November is when there is the possibility of a storm making landfall anywhere in Louisiana. Even small tropical storms can dump inches of rain, flooding homes, and businesses.

Will the storm impact your particular portion of the Louisiana coast? Will the storm go left or right of your parish, or will it head straight for your area? We end up in a kind of suspended state of mind. Do we prepare to stay at home? Do we prepare to evacuate? What are all of the things we need for either situation?

What should we do to prepare? Several people have made suggestions to me over the years of things that we might not think of when it comes to prepping for a storm. Most of us think about having plenty of bottled water and canned goods, but do we remember to get a manual can opener? If you didn't buy the non-perishable food with the flip-top you're going to have a hard time eating whatever is in that can.

When an emergency official asked me recently if I had a first-aid kit at home, I had to admit I didn't have one. I would never have even thought to have one, but it could be the difference between life and death.