With my phone blowing up about flood and severe weather warnings, I though I’d share these tips that were emailed out to me in preparation for this weekend of wild weather incoming.
[Four people standing on rock near body of water photo – Free Australia Image on Unsplash]
While it is focused on apartment life, there are some good general tips for any situation here, too.
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Remove valuable items from the basement or any storage areas which may be susceptible to flooding.
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Clean debris from your balcony drainage.
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Bring in any outdoor items that may be damaged or cause damage during a storm.
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Charge your mobile devices in case of a power outage.
If you have a couple of power banks, charge those, too! They can be very useful.
- Locate important documentation and place them in a safe place.
Actually, I would go one step further and suggest always knowing where important documentation is and ensuring it is always in a safe place!
- Place supplies in your vehicle in case of an emergency evacuation (food, clothing etc).
While our situation isn’t dire enough to do this, do consider it if you’re ever in the path of a really serious weather event!
We do have a couple of “bug-out” bags for each of us, though. For my partner, it’s a backpack with some spare clothes and other essentials they may need if we ever have to just get out the door and won’t be able to return for a while.
- Make a household emergency kit (first aid kit, torch, batteries etc).
Another suggestion that I would recommend everyone has at all times.
There are lots of resources online to help you put together first aid and emergency home kits. I’ll share some later when I find them again. I’ve learnt from this research that the premade kits have a lot of useless things to make them seem better than they are.
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Monitor news and weather applications.
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Enter important contacts into your phone (emergency services, friends and family).
Again, more good general advice. Always have important contacts in your phone!
- Fill containers with water. Place in freezer to act as ice to keep food cold in the event of a power outage.
We have a few containers meant for camping that we keep potable water in just in case we ever lose access. Those can be useful too, to ensure we can stay hydrated for longer or simply have something to clean with, which can be very useful if any of us get injured!
We are on a lower floor of the apartment building, so we generally don’t have to worry too much. But, for example, the higher-up floors in apartment buildings often need power to have water pumped up to them, so a loss in power often means a loss in water, too!
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Communicate with loved ones regularly, especially if you choose to leave your home.
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Bring pets indoors.
[Brown bench front of body of water with thunder storm photo – Free Palm beach Image on Unsplash]