9 Things We Told Our Girls in the Event of the Manhattan Hurricane

We have two daughters, The Piglet and Decibel, planning to ride out Hurricane Irene on Manhattan. Having lived in the Caribbean, here is the advice we gave them. Please share this with loved ones as being over prepared can make you feel stupid, it can also save your life.

1. Fill up your bathtub with water. Water supplies get contaminated with flooding. You will want to bathe and cook. If you don’t have a bathtub, buckets, pots & pans work as well.

2. Buy food. We called it “The Week of Living Amishly.” Canned food, canned food, canned food.

3. It’s gross, but your toilet will only flush once. Another reason for the hoarded water. Better yet, poop before the storm

4. Get a battery powered radio. In the event of a power outage, it’s your link to the world.

5. Get a battery powered flashlight

6. Get lots of extra batteries

7. Buy candles. And PLEASE make sure you have something to light them with!

8. Charge your cell phone and laptop before the storm. After the storm use them only as needed. Get your news from the radio and save your power.

9. Tweeting out “Buying a bottle of vodka to ride out the storm” upsets your mother

David & Veronica, GypsyNester.com

Your Turn: Does anyone have further advice for our girls? Please leave a comment!


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14 thoughts on “9 Things We Told Our Girls in the Event of the Manhattan Hurricane”

  1. great tips and advice. I hope things have settled down now where your daughters are.
    I note from your comment to mare that they are ok….so glad.
    Regards
    Cindy
    @notjustagranny

    1. Mare – so sweet. They are both fine, other than what Decibel described as “a lot of eating and trembling,” most of what they reported was boredom! We get that, waiting for a storm like that is scary for days, then once you are prepared the waiting drives you nuts. There was some flooding nearby, but hopefully the subways will be running soon!

  2. Having lived through Katrina, didn't ride it out….GET OUT!! It's not the wind it's the water, 8 feet of water, no electricity, no water, no way in or out…for maybe weeks…it's not worth it!! GET OUT!!

  3. Great post with helpful comments, too.

    Always keep a cash stash in case of extended power outage – ATMs won't work but you'd be surprised at the thriving underground markets that pop up.

    Candles are helpful but ALWAYS keep an eye on them, and blow them out when sleeping/leaving the room.

    My father always told us to keep at least 1/3 of a tank of gas in the car because 'you never know when you'll need it in case of emergency: emergencies don't always announce themselves'.

    We've always kept extra juinces, drinks & water on hand. If one happens to be of the alchoholic variety, so be it. For medicinal purposes only, of course 😉

  4. Your hot water tank is a source of water in a disaster too. A field toilet can be made with a bucket with a lid…and some heavy duty trash bags as liners.

  5. I have friends who almost didn't leave the Miss Coast for Katrina because it "didn't look that bad." They came home to nothing but a slab. Also, the storm surge can be very dangerous. Other friends ended up stuck in their attic WITH SNAKES. Seriously people, if evacuation is recommended you should GO. NOW.

    1. AGREED! Ironically, one of our girls was in New Orleans days before Katrina. We were blessed that she and David had a rental car. At the moment, our girls are not in the evacuation zone. Trust me, I will go ballistic if that happens. -Veronica

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