Being a native Florida girl, I have ridden out many a hurricane in my day. Â My Mom kept hurricane supplies stocked all storm season long in a special cabinet.
The first hurricane I ever remember was when I was about 3 years old. Â My family’s small home, which my parents still live in, is just a few feet above sea level right on the water in North Pinellas county in West Central Florida.
I remember like it was yesterday huddling with my family with the power out in a darkened room while the wind howled for hours on end like thousands of ghosts as my father and mother prayed the roof would hold.
I also remember asking my mother if I could go outside with my little umbrella so that I could fly like Mary Poppins.
Fortunately, that Cat 3 storm with 120 mph winds came ashore south of us so the storm surge never came and our home and perhaps even our lives were spared. Â Â In hindsight, our family should have evacuated but back in the 1960’s most folks chose to ride out the storm and stay in their homes to protect the homestead.
The last hurricane I rode out was in 2004 when I was just a couple of months pregnant with my daughter. Â The stress from that particular storm was high and we were without power for close to a week during very hot and humid August days which added to the misery. Â I remember thinking that this poor baby I was carrying who was no doubt being flooded with my stress hormones would end up being a nervous wreck. As it turns out, my daughter is one tough little cookie and not much at all seems to faze her. Perhaps riding out her first hurricane before she was even born contributed to her steely edge.
Since I lived my entire childhood and most of my adult life in a hurricane prone area, learning to stock hurricane supplies in a storm cabinet is a skill I learned very early and a practice I have continued to this day.
I keep hurricane supplies stocked all year long as it comes in handy if the power goes out for any reason not just because of a bad storm.
I don’t stock snackie foods of any kind as boredom eating can easily take hold in those hours or even days without power and overconsumption of these foods can lead to grumpy kids which is not helpful during such a time of increased stress.
I really focus my hurricane supplies on foods that will nourish and fill you up with just a few bites if necessary.
In my experience, you really need less food than you think during a hurricane, so if you focus on the nourishing foods, an adequate hurricane supplies cabinet really doesn’t require that much space.
Hurricane Supplies in My Emergency Cabinet
If you’d like to check out the specific brands of many of these items listed below that I am currently using, check out my Shopping Guide. Â Note: I re-check ingredients and update this list frequently as sometimes, manufacturers can change things for better or for worse over time!
- MSG free beef and buffalo jerky
- Pemmican, the Power Bar of the Native Americans for centuries. Can be stored for years!
- Canned red salmon
- Tins of sardines packed in olive oil
- SPAM (one of the few canned meats that doesn’t contain MSG)
- Raisins
- Dried apricots
- Dried prunes
- Dates
- Yogurt covered goji berries
- Dried mango
- Dried pineapple
- Soaked/dried almonds
- Soaked/dried cashews
- Soaked/dried pecans
- Soaked/dried pumpkin seeds
- Sunflower seeds
- Popcorn (for popping on the barbeque pit)
- Peanut butter
- Sunflower butter
- Raw honey
- Coconut butter
- Ghee
- Cod liver oil
- Paper plates/plastic utensils
- Plenty of jugs of water
- 7-8 gallons of kombucha (brewing all the time .. doesn’t need refrigeration)
- Bottles of oil for the hurricane lamps
- Bags of charcoal for the barbecue
- Lighters/matches
- Flashlights/batteries
- Both cars tanked up with gas
- Wind up radio
Of course, it is important to have a source for cooking when the power is out. Â I have jugs of frozen water in our spare freezer so if the power goes out, everything stays nice and cold for several days. Â If stuff starts to thaw, you start cooking on the outdoor barbecue or firepit while you wait for the lights to come back on.
In my experience, this list will easily last you a few days to a week without power. Â If the power is going to be off longer than that for a very severe storm, it is best to seek another location until normalcy is restored.
What hurricane supplies do you stock in your storm cabinet?
Sarah, The Healthy Home Economist
Good list the “Spam” surprised me.
Spam doesn’t have MSG but it does have Sodium Nitrite. Is that not “AS” bad as MSG?
Also you need a box of shotgun shells on your list. 🙂
R
Wishing everyone safety on the East Coast. Oh, and great list, Sarah.
I’m in Ohio. We have tornadoes and long blackouts because I live in the lucky part of the city that’s always effected during a storm. They are predicting high winds from the nor’ester on the backside of Sandy to knock out power.
We have gas fireplace for heat and a propane grill to cook. I’ve prioritized what we will grill if we lose power. I dehydrated the fresh frozen vegetables and fruit from our freezer. That way, we only have to worry about storing meat in the cooler when the ice packs in the freezer melt.
We have crank powered flashlights that put out a lot of light to read by. We don’t have to worry about batteries losing a charge either.
I love the tip about sterno. We have a camp stove but it is so icky outside to use for coffee. I think I’m going to run to the store for a few cans. Thanks!
One more thing to add on the list. Fill tub with water for flushing the toilet
Great list. I’m big into jerky and canned salmon and sardines. In the UK I can get canned sardines packed in brine, but they don’t seem to have them here. I miss those.
Cash in small bills. When hurricane Ike hit in Texas, we were without power for 10 days and needed cash to pay for gasoline and groceries. Most businesses were running on generators and would only take cash. Extra gasoline is also helpful to get you by until gas stations open.
Yes! Super tip! Keep your cars filled always.
Timely topic, I really appreciate it
Thanks Yana!
In Missouri I have had weeklong power outtages in both winter AND summer. I rotate the items in my emergency kit in the spring and fall.
I have a small cookpot with lid that can take direct flame heat, a Melitta cone and extra filters, tea(black and herb tea specific to colds) and some homeopathics:
-Arnica cream (bruises and strains) EXTERNAL USE
-Hypericum in oil (injuries to nerve-rich areas, bleeding from scrapes, also is a good relaxer) EXTERNAL USE
-Calendula cream/in oil, or dry. First aid kit in a flower. Can be used internally but works great externally.
-Rescue Remedy (cream works well and can be applied to animals and children externally as a calmer)
-Oscillococcinum (flu remedy but terrific for illnesses when you feel dragged out and chilly)
The most important thing is to practice cooking without power.
Also remember the pets.
If I get a warning about a power outage in cold months I’ll fill my thermos’ with hot stock, teas and soups. I haven’t come up with an alternative to an appropriate heat source…maybe a fondue pot would work for me too. I’ve used my wood fireplace- but I wasn’t successful. A barbecue is not an option for me. would love to hear about any other sources. I keep pretty much the same foods listed except never dried fruits which I tend to mindlessly graze on- haven’t developed a taste for jerky.
Have you considered installing a woodburning stove in your fireplace? It would give you heat and a cooking surface. And the heat would warm the room more efficiently than a fireplace where a lot of the heat is going straight out the chimney.