Post your Hurricane Joaquin advice here! (Arlington, Alexandria: renters, insurance, condo)

[ACWhite]

I never seem to get it right, so tell me what you plan to do.

I already have lots of chocolate on the grocery list.

[BarqCider]

i predict 50% of MoCo will lose power, 20% of DC proper will lose power, 1350 nova will lose power, primarily in alexandria and arlington and old town will once again flood.

and itll be a tropical storm by the time it hits here.

oh advice?

get some stuff to read during the storm. or whatnot.

[MedvedActual]

I say buy all the milk, bread, water, eggs, etc. you can, haha. Seems like these are the hot items everyone snags everytime there is a predicted weather event.

On a serious note though, a candle lantern with some beeswax candles would probably be a good idea in case power goes out and batteries are not available. Got my stuff on Amazon a while ago.

Oh yeah and the most important thing! You got to have enough beer/preferred beverages on hand to ride this thing out.

[gomason]

Buy beer and have a party!

I hope this thing slams right into us. I grew up in North Carolina and love hurricanes. The eye of Hurricane Fran passed basically directly over my home in 1996 and we had Floyd in 1999. Isabel was a yawner in comparison to Fran.

My only concern is losing power in North Arlington. When I lived out in Prince William County, we never lost power because the lines were underground (lost power during Isabel for like 3 hours). But all the lines are above ground in Arlington and it seems power goes out fairly often.

[The Dissenter]

My advice make sure your insurance is correct. I went a full year paying renters insurance for a apt I wasn't living in leaving my current place uncovered.

[roninsedge]

Clear out your gutters and downspouts. Make sure you have plenty of batteries for any electronics you may need. Have your car gassed up in case of evac. Make sure you buy top shelf liquor. Load up on candles. Drink one glass of water for each alcoholic drink you have to prevent hangovers. Make sure you don't run a grill or generator indoors. Top off your condom stash. Ensure that you have plenty of food that doesn't need electricity to prepare or maintain. Make sure your basement is flood ready. Make sure your kids have their floaties. Did I miss anything?

[yandex]

Be appropriately prepared ... most prep measures should be taken long in advance of any storm and maintained year-round. How many people were caught unprepared for the Derecho a few years ago because there wasn't any warning?

Don't buy in to all the panic.

[Old Town FFX]

Hit the ABC store.

[Flamingo13]

ACWhite - here's some info. (it's on the Alex. page but obviously for anywhere

Be Ready | Office of Emergency Management | City of Alexandria, VA

[Ffxdata]

In the event you lose power, try not to open the fridge at all. Put all the food that doesn't need the fridge but you'd like to be cold (soft drinks, beers, bottled water, some fruit) in a box cooler with ice so that people don't open the fridge just to grab a cold drink.

Have the fridge and freezer as full as you can do that it keeps cold better.