Hurricane Preparations--RESPECT THE STORM

What I learned. RESPECT THE STORM. The storm is stronger that all of your bravado. Wood, hay, and stubble will not withstand one hundred forty mile per hour winds.  Don't chance your life on that.  If you live in a wooden building or even a house on block construction without reinforced concrete, your building is not going to resist the hour after hour battering of a Category 4 or 5 hurricane.  We saw wood houses completely blown away by the winds.  All that was left was the concrete foundation.  You do not want to be there.

If someone were to ask me how I prepared for a Category 4 Hurricane such as Maria, I would tell them that this is what I did and this is what I learned. They are not necessarily in order of importance.

What I did before the hurricane last year:

• Water. I had two spotlessly clean, never used, 45 gallon trashcans prepared in my bathrooms shower stalls ready for bathroom use and also as a reserve for drinking water. I prepared the containers by cleaning them out with Clorox and then putting a large trash bag in each.  I sealed the top with another kitchen trash bag so no bugs could get in.  That was in addition to the lid that came with the trashcan.   It can be used for bathing, toilets, and washing clothes.  Prepare this when you hear about a hurricane being a possibility.  The day before, fill up the washer with water.  Perhaps you want to make a checklist.
• Drinking water is essential.  Don't be fooled into buying astronomical amounts of bottled water.  Use your tap water.  By the way, if you feel you must buy water, buy gallon sized drinking water for the kitchen since it is cheaper and much more manageable to handle and store.
• What I learned (WIL): After a hurricane, tap water is compromised. Multiple people died from drinking untreated water after hurricane Maria.  I heard of a otherwise healthy young man dying a couple of days after drinking contaminated water because animals had died in the water source.   Use bottled water or your stored tap water for anything that touches your mouth including brushing your teeth and bathing!  Use tap for toilets.  You can also boil tap water after the storm goes through but remember you need energy for that.  It wasn't a reasonable option for me after the hurricane because it consumed my propane gas.  So preplan and pre DO! I did not have electricity for almost 14 days and many in Puerto Rico didn't get their power restored for months!!! 
• SAFE PLACE: What do I mean by a safe place? A safe place in a safe home that is not prone to flooding and that you live in a house made out of concrete block or brick.  Inside that safe home, have an even safer room or space to spend the hurricane,  be it your bathroom or other room prepared as a super safe place.  Make sure this place does not have a sliding door that can implode or large windows that can be blown in by the wind.  Another warning is that this place should not be in a flood prone area!!! If the authorities tell you to leave then evacuate.  Take your valuables with you and hopefully go to a motel some 100 to 150 miles away from the storm and its path.  
• What I learned. RESPECT THE STORM. The storm is stronger that all of your bravado. Wood, hay, and stubble will not withstand one hundred forty mile per hour winds.  Don't chance your life on that.  If you live in a wooden building or even a house on block construction without reinforced concrete, your building is not going to resist hour after hour battering of a Category 4 or 5 hurricane.  We saw wood houses completely blown away by the winds.  All that was left was the concrete foundation.  You do not want to be there.   
• Be ready to be uncomfortable.   I had no idea what a storm of this magnitude, a category 4,  could do. Contrary to other hurricanes, I did not prepare the correct place to be secure during the hurricane. Whichever place you choose needs to be a comfortable place with food, water, and cushions to ride out the storm.  Hurricanes depending on the size can have wind and rain threatening your life for more than 12 hours.  Do you want to be in a place where you can't rest?   I had prepared my living room which had an old sliding glass door and it turned out to be a dangerous place.  Once the winds picked up, and I mean more than 70 miles per hour, the sliding glass door started moving even though I had it covered with panels! 
• When I went through hurricane Hugo in 1989 (?), I lived in a free standing house far from the ocean or a river and  I had prepared my walk in closet for me and my family.  Fast forward almost 25 years later, living in a condo on a second floor two blocks from the beach, without a walk in closet,  I barely had time to secure some cushions that I placed on the floor of the shower stall once I saw that my badly secured wood panels were no match for the Category 4 winds.  I hastily evacuated my comfy sofa and moved to the bathroom.  I gathered my thoughts and with a healthy fear and trepidation I grabbed some cushions from the living room furniture and placed them on a clean rug on the shower floor. Fortunately they made a nice bed.   Thrown into a corner, I had my purse and telephone.  Later I found I had some snacks bars in my purse.  It was impossible to go to the kitchen or my bedroom during the storm. Once settled in my new safe room,  I wasn't exactly prepared for the noises that came in from the outside and also from within.  As the air pressure got lower, the water was sucked out of the PVC pipes and as the winds blew harder, you could hear the toilets gurgle and the winds thrashing the buildings with the roar of a race car.  Nothing was pleasant but it was the price of survival. If you live in a free standing house be aware of flooding or storm surge. Consider where you will park your car as well.  Less than a half block away, Avenida Isla Verde had become part of the beach.  Sand was piled where the ocean surge had come in. 
• If you go to a shelter like my sister did, have a flash light, radio, and take everything you need to be comfortable while there.  Sheets, blankets, pillows, food, tissue paper, snacks, water, etc. 
• Sanitation.  I washed all my clothes and linens before the hurricane.  I knew I would not be using the washer for a while.  We had just had Hurricane Irma skirt the island a week earlier and she knocked out our electricity for four days. Plan ahead.
• WIL: After the hurricane I discovered all my screens and curtains required cleaning.  The winds pick up dust, crud, dirt, and sand and blasts it through the window sills. 
• I realized my ancestors were in general brave hard working people, who lived without electricity, and knew the value of a "fogon" or wood stove. They valued a good shade tree, hand held fans, and hammocks.  I felt so connected to them, especially my mom and grandmother.  They never complained about not having electricity. 
• Energy back ups.  I had purchased a big electric storage battery that proved invaluable once the electricity went out.  The hurricane hit and I had 1000 minutes of stored power which enabled me to connect to computers, fans, etc.  When my blood pressure got out of control, I had to be home and this helped me through that time. It also charged all my portable batteries.  
• WIL:  You need energy for communications. Once the electricity ran out, it ran out. Solar energy is the way to go, so while I was in the States. I bought solar lights and a solar powered phone battery which I can use to charge a phone or any other small electronic device.  I also bought a small portable bbq which I can add wood to if I were to run out of propane. I could at least make some coffee. 
• Weather reports.  Have a battery operated radio.  I carefully listened to all the weather radio reports, the governor's pleas as well as the Emergency Response teams exhortations and weather updates.  I especially listened to Ada Monzon, a meteorologist's  reports because she was so thorough, even to the point of sharing what the wind speeds would be at a particular location, considering height and length of time.  Fabulous information which I unfortunately didn't retain because of the sheer stress of the emergency.  I wondered, did she say this or that? 
• WIL.  Next time, Lord willing, I will record all weather reports that come on the day before the eye will hit.  Don't expect to be able to remember everything.  The stress and work overload will exacerbate the situation.   By nine o'clock on the 19th, way before the hurricane's eye hit the destructive winds had already begun to hit us and we lost cable, internet, and even the National Weather Service's radar was destroyed! The weather radio's live or robotic voice was totally silent.  We could only pray and talk to God.  I was one of those fortunate ones that was able to sleep for a few hours on that long windy night.
• I also learned that a radio might be your only source of information in the event of an extended power outage.  So have one.     
• Communication: Have your phones charged. I know I said this before.  
•  WIL: This was a great idea except the telephone grid almost completely crashed.  Cable and internet was gone as well.  The only means of contact with the outside world was the radio and an occasional phone call! Then only one or two radio stations were left standing.  I was able to get a good signal out on the Teodoro Moscoso bridge.  It was eerie to go down the road and see cars huddled in unconventional places such as perched on bridges, a hill, or on the side of a random road. BTW communication was better with people outside of Puerto Rico then with your own family a mile away.  I was not able to reach my sister a mile away until three days later when I went to her apartment building with one of the guards who lived in the subdivision next to hers and needed a ride home.  The road around my sister's area was littered with fallen trees and power lines, a tipped over truck, and debris.  Unfortunately, when I got there she was not there. 
• Talk to your neighbors.  They are probably braver than you and can also give you information.   
• Food.  Have food for two weeks.  When buying food stuff, consider buying low salt or no salt canned food as much as possible.  Also buy yellow and green bananas that take time to ripen since bananas have potassium that helps eliminate sodium.  Buy fruits and fresh baked bread the day before.  Consider things that will hold up without refrigeration, like root veggies.  In PR, consider yautia, yuca, malanga, papas (potatoes, and platanos (plantains). 
• WIL: The supermarkets (nor the government) did not have a viable plan. It took three days to be able to get around so by the time the employees got to the store,  food had not been refrigerated appropriately and then they had to throw away a good deal of food, even food that was still good because of the possibility of law suits.  Believe it or not, recently I approached the manager of the Pueblo SuperMarket in Isla Verde and asked him about what they would be doing differently this time.  He patiently explained that  the chain has taken concrete steps to have a better plan and have made changes to their infrastructure to have a  better supply of gas, and essential staples for the people they serve. They have expanded their diesel supply and added a warehouse for essential items.  
• Food prep: I had a portable gas barbecue but I only had four propane canisters. 
• WIL:  Only having four propane canisters was dismally short sighted.  I now have eight and I think I should have at least ten and a possible BBQ size tank for a back up.  Better yet, get a gas stove if possible.  I now have a Coleman stove which will work with propane. 
• Also have paper plates to avoid having to use tap water to wash dishes.    
• Cash. I had a couple of hundred dollars. Money went fast.  
• WIL: After the hurricane, cash was king.  Cash for the grocery store,  gas, fast foods,  favors, etc.  If don't have cash,  be ready to wait in line for an hour to get cash out of the bank.  Nine days after the hurricane I had to wait in line for an hour to use the ATM machine. NINE days after the hurricane!!! Remember ATMs were all that was available and that was after generators were started. There was no air-conditioning to accommodate people inside the banks. I have a testimony about this, too. 
• Ice:  I kept frozen bottled water and bags of ice in the freezer.   I still do.  You can use them in the cooler and if the electricity goes off,  you don't have to go run and buy ice.   
• WIL:  It kept my freezer cool for three days.  I lost a lot of food anyway. It was an opportunity to completely clean out my refrigerator.  Try to precook your freezer items so you only have to heat them rather than cook. 
• Entertainment. Yes, entertainment! You need it to be able to cope with the stress.  I had two downloaded movies. Download more movies and books because there will not be any Cable or internet for a long time. Family with kids could have board games to play with kids.  I went out to my covered porch and read on the hammock. It made a difference.
• WIL: After about three days, hotspots started to pop up around town.  Fortunately, I had one down the street.  It was a God send. 
• Meds. Have your meds up to date. I did and I was fine. 
• WIL: The drug store down the street, a Walgreens,  was destroyed by the hurricane and it took months to get back in business.  Think about that.  Walgreens, had been an institution for me where I went to get wellness supplies and in less than ten hours it was demolished.  There were other Walgreens and drug stores that had survived, but with the impassable roads and no communication, that was not the time to try to get your meds whether they were for a headache or fever.  
• Attitude: Realize that bad things can happen to good people and that life can be hard.  Get ready to face one of those difficult situations.  Don't get hysterical. Get ready.   
• WIL: I have to admit something here.  It is as good of a place as any.  I was angry that this store was no longer available.  What kind of "bohio" construction was it,  after all? Though not on my list,  there are a lot of places we visit and that seem so solid but in reality are not.  Maybe I am not being fair but seeing how this structure and others did not hold up,  it bothered me.  I saw other places that had only minimal damage, and were quickly back in business. Something must be done about the building code.  I have not seen any changes. 
• I also realized that I was experiencing Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome.  I was able to release some of that bad energy by putting it down on paper.  My daughters encouraged me to do it right away but it took me three whole days to just organize my thoughts.   I was in a daze for quite a bit of time.  People would talk to me about how happy they were that I was able to get out but my heart was back in Puerto Rico wondering how I could help.  How were my friends surviving? My heart would race and I wanted to tell everyone my story.  So many listened with real interest.  Then I realized as time went on that the world was moving on. I needed to do the same but to my surprise when I returned my friends back home were just starting to get their lives together.  On the first night of a resumed Bible study, in February everyone shared their survival stories. There was one family that still did not have electricity.   Unfortunately, a lot of people on the island couldn't take the stress and there was a surge in suicides. So tragic.  
• Batteries/ Energy/Gas. Have plenty of batteries and make sure they work.
• WIL: You never have enough.  I bought solar lights after the hurricane and checked them. Some did not work, but the cool ones are a string of lights that can be freely energized over and over again.  People have also bought refrigerators that work on solar energy.  I also bought a phone charger that is solar.  Have your car gassed up and be aware that there were people who had to wait 10 to 14 hours in line to get gas.  I saw one of  those lines.  It was a half mile long.  
• PRAYER and a network of believing friends: 
• None of the good things that happened to me would have happened if it hadn't been for God's mercy.  I had too many God moments when total strangers gave up their place for me and one woman came over to fan me in a hot overcrowded airport--unexplainable things. Then I had friends unbeknownst to me  praying for me to be able to get out and searched for a plane ticket and contacted my daughter. God is alive and is merciful, loving, kind, and faithful!
• Finally, Neighbors!
• WIL.  I had a fairly good amount of neighbors that I knew but these relationships proved indispensable.  I have about five or six anecdotes, but I will share only three:
• To add to our distress, the night after the hurricane, there was a shoot out in the hotel across the street from us! None of our guards had been able to make it to work so we were at the mercy of hoodlums who were taking advantage of the lack of electricity and lighting plus the general chaos caused by the storm.   The roads were flooded or impassable in many places. Trees were down and driving was treacherous even in the day time. As a result,  as neighbors we had to come up with a solution.  So we had a formal meeting next to the guard house and set up a schedule. We decided that there would be two hour watches which would be done from the inside of a car.  If a car came to the gate to ask entry they would turn on their headlights to illumine the area and then investigate who wanted to come in.  Fortunately, for us, before we implemented the plan we got help from the larger condo next door, Tropicana, which had several guards that were staying right there on their premises who were willing to work with us.  
• On another occasion, several days had passed and my propane gas was running out and I was having problems walking.  On that day,  a neighbor named Cookie, told me she would go with me to the grocery store.  I thought she had to buy something.  We dutifully waited in line for about 15 minutes in the sun to be allowed in.  Once inside we heard that they had brought some propane but that is had all been taken.  I was dismayed.  Then Cookie saw a cashier with a canister and asked her if she had another. She did.  I was happy for Cookie, but sad for me because it was the last one.  Cookie brought it over and gave it to me, to my surprise! But I asked, "Wasn't this for you?"  She said, "No, this is for you!! I have a gas stove!" You can't imagine my astonishment!" I love, Cookie!  
• Some days later,  my daughters were able to secure a plane ticket for me and my neighbors helped me get to the airport.  Once at the airport, after doing the check in and leaving my bags, I realized that in my hurry to leave the house, I had left a door unlocked.  I called my upstairs neighbor who had used my downstairs neighbor's car to take me to the airport,  and asked him to come back to get me! He was so gracious and did so.  It gave me time to change my clothes, close the porch door which at the time was two pieces of plywood held together by two screws, and then turn some things off. I am so glad I changed because Capris were totally inappropriate for travel to chilly upstate New York in October.   
• WIL: Your neighbors are your first line of defense and sanity, after the Lord. So be nice!!!  We would get together in our beach chairs and have some meals together.  I even cooked some paella and seven people shared that meal. So when you are preparing always have enough for yourself and others because generosity will not be easily forgotten!
• Talking about neighbors, Thank You to all the neighbors to the north,  including linemen, women, volunteers, and donors who came to Puerto Rico's aid!  We can not thank you enough!