Top 7 Things That Will Become Scarce After A Hurricane

Every year during Hurricane season, many people along the Gulf Coast find their self scurrying to grab supplies just ahead of a hurricane or tropical storm. And it's not always the new residents who do this. Many long timer citizens are standing in line just like their new neighbors! I've never understood this!

I mean, c'mon. You live in a place where you know the likelihood of a hurricane exist but yet you wait two days before the storm hits to try and stock up on basic supplies. Or worse yet, you sit on your butt and think that your area won't be hit. Some never take steps to prepare, falsely believing that the U.S. Government will rush in and take care of all their needs after a storm hits. This isn't the time to start thinking about hurricane preparedness tips!

If Hurricane Katrina, Rita and Ike proved anything, it's that the U.S. Government doesn't move quick on anything! (other than raising taxes!)

Here are 7 Things that will become scarce after a hurricane makes land fall. Be sure you have plenty of these supplies stocked up well ahead of time.

Seeing how most hurricanes strike during the hottest months of the year and seeing how the power generally goes out for a week or more after a major hurricane makes land fall, people need generators to run air conditioners, refrigerators and freezers.Many also want power to run TV's and other luxuries.

Knowing this, it always amazes me that the people who will wait until just before a storm hits or after to try and find a generator.

After Hurricane Ike, there wasn't a generator to be found within 300 miles of Houston. About a week after the storm, people from out of state started pouring in with trailers full of generators they had bought out of state.

They would pull into a parking lot and start selling these generators out the back of the trailers. Cheap Chinese generators that would normally go for $300 or $400 were now being snatched up by desperate residents for $1200 to $1600!

You can bet that the store shelves will be empty of water a few days before the storm is expected to hit. Don't wait until then to try and get water. Knowing this, there are countless people who will not plan and be without water.

The best thing you can do is stock up on at least two weeks of water. Before the storm hits, fill your bathtubs and if you have one, swimming pools. This water can be used for washing and to flush the toilets.

You should also fill as many approved containers as you can. You never know how long the water will be off for.

If you have a generator, water and a freezer, you can make ice. Most hurricanes strike in the hot months. It sucks to be without the basic necessities while you're trying to clean up. Some ice to keep your food and drinks cool is a great spirit lifter.

After Hurricane Ike, people would wait in line for 3, 4 or more hours just for a bag of ice. Funny how we take these little conveniences for granted when we don't have them. If you have ice, you'll have friends after a Hurricane!

One of the most memorable things I remember happening after Hurricane Ike went through was the bare shelves at grocery stores like Sam's, Krogers and Wal-Mart Super Centers. Absolutely unreal. Row after row of bare shelves. The only thing I saw that was on the racks were Van Camps Red Beans and Rice. I often wondered if those disappeared the next day as more and more people become desperate.

Uncle Sam says stock food for 72 hours. I'm telling you that there should be at least 2 weeks of food stored up for your family. Don't think FEMA is going to rush in and feed you. It will take them a minimum of 3 days to get in the area and get the Centers up and running. And that is only in the most populated areas. If you live away from the masses, it will take a week or longer before they show up.

Better safe than sorry. Canned and dehydrated food is cheap compared to going hungry or waiting a day in line for some pitiful little meal or MRE's.

I had failed to check my chainsaw out before Ike hit. After the storm I had a lot of trees down so I started to cut them up. However, my fuel line was old and rotted. I made a trip into the local Small Engine repair shop to get a new one. The line waiting to get in was nearly as long as the line waiting on food and water.

All the big box stores, if opened, were sold out of chainsaws, axes, handsaws and anything else used to clean up.

It's a good idea to check your chainsaw before a storm hits. If it's been a while since it was ran, take it in and have it checked out and tuned up.

You should also do this for our generator. It's a real bummer to think you'll have electric and A/C after the storm only to find out your generator doesn't run!

Hurricanes do a lot of damage to roofs. No one, myself included, thought about having a lot of those cheap blue tarps on hand. Luckily I didn't need one, but my neighbors did and didn't have any! The few big box stores that did ran out in short order. There will be a lot of people with roof damage and they'll be grabbing up tarps right and left.

Make sure you have plenty to cover up any damage you might receive. You won't be sorry if you have more than you can use and end up helping a neighbor with a few. You will regret it if you need them and don't have them!

When power came back on to a few of the gas stations, there were lines down the street. People were waiting in line with their little red gas cans and there was a six can limit. I even saw State Troopers directing traffic and watching to make sure no one tried to take more than their fair share.

Some stations were sold out of fuel a few days before the storm hit.

People were becoming desperate not only for fuel for their cars, but for their generators as well! Don't be caught off guard, Make sure you have plenty of fuel for your vehicles and generators stored in an approved container.