Hurricane Preparations

In a closet, on one corner of a shelf, there’s my hurricane emergency kit. I lived in Austin too long. Never had a real need for a hurricane kit. I heard stories, “Back in the day, Carla (Bertha, Betty, etc.) churned up the old Air Force terminal like the planes were wooden models,” but I don’t recall any of that.

I’ve recorded hurricane observations before, from various coastal locations, Port O’Conner and Rockport, but I never sat one out. I did stand on the side of the river in Austin, one fateful spring eve when the winds whipped up to 70 MPH, and I decided that was close as I wanted to get to a hurricane.

What goes in a typical hurricane kit — South Texas style? I would hazard a guess that a California earthquake kit would be similar.

Bottled water
Granola bars
Slims Jim’s
Beef Jerky
Duck tape
Rounds of ammo
Flashlights, batteries
Supply of drugs, medicinal and recreational
A certain variety of adult beverages, flavors to be determined by taste, but in South Texas? Tequila and beer. Just a guess.

The thought that a super-cell hurricane might hit the east coast?

Are y’all prepared? Properly?

About the author: Born and raised in a small town in East Texas, Kramer Wetzel spent years honing his craft in a trailer park in South Austin. He hates writing about himself in third person. More at KramerWetzel.com.

  • Rhubarb Oct 28, 2012 @ 10:59

    You forgot instant coffee. I can survive anything if I have some coffee. After Northridge Earthquake, the first thing I did was go back inside the devastation and find the bottle of instant coffee. Now there’s coffee in the earthquake kit. Also dehydrated water.

  • Kramer Wetzel Oct 28, 2012 @ 19:43

    Those Starbucks instant coffee things are the best.

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