Please help with a hurricane plan for this Houston transplant (Austin: 2013, power lines)

[3boysandacat]

Hi all -- We moved to Houston last summer but were in temporary housing for several weeks. We are now settled in our new home in Katy and thinking we should be prepared for the worst. I know water and nonperishable food are necessary but what else is worth considering? Any thoughts about a generator? Is it a whole house thing or just to run the fridge? Any thoughts appreciated!

[trekbiker]

Having lived through Ike, I would prepare the following:

1. If you own a home, make sure you have good home insurance coverage.

2. If a storm is coming and a few days away, top off all of your cars with gas. Because if you wait, and the storm hits, all the gas stations will be out of fuel and you'll face long gas lines. Plus trees may go down everywhere, blocking streets, along with flooding, so you might not even get anywhere anyway.

3. Get to the grocery store and stock up on food and water a couple days in advance, buy charcoal in case you need to cook up all the meat in the fridge when the power goes out. If you have a gas stove, you might be ok though.

4. Be mentally prepared for weeks without power / AC and living like it's the 1700s. Most people don't buy generators because they're so expensive, and don't last that long.

I see you're in Katy, you should be fine even with a hit, because you're far enough inland that the damaging winds will weaken before reaching your house. I'd be worried if you were closer to the coastline.

[PedroMartinez]

If you live in Katy, you need to evacuate in late July. (Inside joke that some people hate)

If you live in a neighborhood where all the lines in the neighborhood are underground as well as those feeding it, I wouldn't worry about a generator. Just make sure you have water, some nonperishable food and fill up your vehicles PRIOR to the hurricane. Fill up your bathtubs with water to be used for flushing the toilets in case your water is cutoff for whatever reason.

Honestly, in Katie, you don't have to worry too much about the effects of a hurricane other than being without power for a day or maybe two.

My situation is very different. I live on the east side of town closer to the gulf and the bays. The power lines all around me are above ground on poles. We have lots of tall trees all over the place. When Ike came through, I was without power for 17 days. Most of the stores and gas stations around me were closed nearly a week, and when they opened, you could hardly get ice or gas for days. I had (have) a 6500 watt generator which hooks into my house and powers practically everything but the main ac units. I have a portable unit to cool one room. If a hurricane is coming, I'll keep about 50 gallons on hand (and my generator is actually hooked to your natural gas line).

Now, if a major storm, say a cat 5, is coming ashore, that changes everything, but at that point, you're better off evacuating, IMHO. I will stick around in my part of the woods for a cat 3 or less.

[PedroMartinez]

Originally Posted by trekbiker

Most people don't buy generators because they're so expensive, and don't last that long.

With proper maintenance, and storage, most generators last a long time; assuming you are talking about working condition and not run time.

If you are interested in a generator, I highly recommend Honda's inverter style gennies; specifically, the Honda EU2000i. Yes, they are pricey, but they are super quite, super reliable and sip gas. It will run a refrigerator along with several other things at the same time. I have had one for about 8 years or so, and it fires right up and runs like a champ. It's the reason why I bought a Honda EU6500 for my primary generator.

[Schumacher713]

A hurricane plan? Go to bar. Drink... have plenty of alcohol at home to throw a hurricane party. Laugh at all the people that flee the city. No seriously. I have never stocked up on any food or water. People get crazy about this stuff. I have lived in Houston all my life. I have been through a few hurricanes and tropical storms. You can drive your car around the next day after they leave. You are not stranded on a desert island. The only real piece of advice I can give you is crank that AC down as low as it will go. The power will probably go off and it is nice to have a cool house. There are no mile long gas station lines. Gas does not sell out across the city. I could get gas the night before and the day of Ike with no line at all. These things come once a decade. Not to mention Katy is really far from the water. If you lived close to the coast it would a different story.

You can get a whole house generator, but they about 5-10K. You also have to listen to them fire up once a month for 30min. Not a real big deal. You can get a small portable generator to run your fridge, but not an AC. Just get a cooler with a lot of ice. I doubt your power will go out long in Katy.

There is no worst. At worst you drive up to Austin which I did after Ike. Power was a mess for that one. I can't live in a house with no AC for days. I threw a great party for Ike though. I just pitched what was in my fridge. It cost me less than 100 bucks to replace what was in it. Much easier than screwing with a generator.

[PedroMartinez]

Originally Posted by Schumacher713

There are no mile long gas station lines.

I know that around my area, the lines for gas (once stations finally opened) were hours long and limited you to 5 gallons at a time. This was for days (after they opened).

I'm not sure what part of town you live in.

SLIDES: Hurricane Ike

[texsn95]

Just keep up with Frankie and you'll be fine.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eLBAKw5qid4

[jfre81]

Originally Posted by trekbiker

I see you're in Katy, you should be fine even with a hit, because you're far enough inland that the damaging winds will weaken before reaching your house. I'd be worried if you were closer to the coastline.

Or if the hurricane strikes so that Katy is on the east side of the eye. Ike did not do this.

[cheryjohns]

If you have a gas stove - you can use the burners but NOT the oven. Both have electric starters. You can turn the burner on with a match - but the oven will turn gas off and on, according to temperature. If it goes off and then comes back on, remember that the electric starter is not working. You are just filling your kitchen with gas.

[ChocolateBabz]

Make sure you don't let any medications run out.

Battery operated radio, flashlights and don't forget batteries.

Pet Food.

We get a hurricane preparedness leaflet through the post just before the season every year, with a handy checklist. Don't know if that's only Brazoria, this was last years...

http://bcls.lib.tx.us/pdf/2013%20Hur...a%20County.pdf