Newly updated as of Sept 2022. Do you live in a hurricane zone? Are you prepared? Do you know what you need at a minimum? Do you know what to do if caught in one? Are you prepared for the aftermath? What gear should you have?

1. Prepare for, Survive,
and Live After a
Hurricane

2. The National Hurricane Center keeps a map of the
likelihood of hurricanes and storms.
How Likely Is A
Hurricane In Your Area?

3. How Likely Is a Hurricane In Your
Area?

4. If it’s not secured, it can move.
In a change to a long-standing practice it is
recommended YOU DO NOT TAPE YOUR WINDOWS.
It just makes the shards larger and more dangerous if
they blow out.
Board windows. Plywood is easiest.
There are ways to protect windows long term.
In Boulder, Colorado, we had roll down steel shutters
facing the mountains because we would get hundred
mile an hour windows down off them.
Do not crack windows open to “relieve pressure.”
Preparing Your Home

5. Fasten your roof with tie down straps.
Turn off gas and/or propane.
Secure all outdoor furniture. Put in pool in you have
one.
Clear debris away that will become projectiles in high
wind.
Close garage doors.
Preparing Your Home

6. Your Home
Turn your freezer and refrigerator to their coldest settings.
Pack any coolers with as much ice as possible and use this
first before opening fridge once power goes out.
Fill bathtubs with water.
Make sure all vehicles are topped off.
Know where the closest shelter for you and pets is.
Unplug everything.
Do not use tap water after a storm until certain it’s not
contaminated. This is why water is a priority as seen later.

7. It’s too late to prepare once the hurricane is on you.
There will also be a huge run of panicked people buying
many of these same items, so get this now so you have
it ready.
This sounds trite, but after every hurricane, everyone
lists these following items as things they wished they’d
had on hand.
Not only for the hurricane itself, but as importantly, for
living afterwards in the chaos.
What To Have Ready
BEFORE!

8. More Free Information
Since Slideshare no longer supports links,
I’ve put all the links to free apps, gear and web
pages on my web site at
www.bobmayer.com
Use the pop up from the following image there and
scroll through for what you want:

9. Apps
Family Locator-GPS Tracker for Android.
Emergency Alert System for Apple.
Red Cross Hurricane App for Apple
Red Cross Hurricane App for Android
National Hurricane Center Web Site
Apps are essential for warning, for summoning help
and giving location, and for finding your family and
friends.
Also, remember that a text is more likely to get through
than a voice call.
Click on links on my pop up on web site to get apps

10. Be ready to evacuate.
Besides your Grab-n-Go bag (link at end) here
are special considerations and advice from
those who’ve been affected by hurricanes.
-fuel your car and keep it topped off, even if you
think you are not under direct threat.
-it’s always good to have extra fuel. See my
slideshow on what you need in your automobile.
-make a video of everything in your house and
store it in the cloud, on a thumb drive, and
elsewhere for insurance purposes.
Preparation

11. Pack enough supplies (Grab-n-Go) but water is
the most critical!
Keep receipts of everything you buy while
evacuated.
Preparation

12. Key things to pack:
Drivers license/photo ID/Passport
Social Security Card
Bank and credit cards
Health insurance card
Roadside assistance card
Cash
Extra fuel
WATER
Preparation

13. Key things to pack:
Phone charger
Deed for house
Insurance paperwork
Prescriptions
First aid kit
( a complete list is in Survival Guide)
Preparation

14. Have a secure, water
and fireproof lockbox
always packed
and ready
to be grabbed.
Also, uploading
the information
into the cloud
gives you
a backup.

15. Using my Green Beret Preparation
and Survival Guide you can do an
Area Study and tailor your GnG
bags to your specific situation and
environment. However, to be
prepared, a basic, well-stocked,
pre-made one is a good idea.
A QR link to a document with all
links is at the end.

16. Have enough for at least three days.
Minimum is one gallon per person, per day.
Double that for warm climates.
8 average 500ml water bottles is just over one gallon.
A case of water (24 bottles) is the minimum three days
supply per person.
I recommend at least two cases per person.
If you evacuate take these supplies with you.
WATER

17. You must have a way of quickly filtering water for
your family. There are numerous ones available.
Here is one I purchased. There is also a slightly more
expensive system that doesn’t require pumping and
works via gravity. Either one can be a lifesaver for
your family after a hurricane.

18. If ordered to evacuate, do so.
This means you need to plan ahead.
Do you have a place to evacuate to? Motels and hotels
will fill up quickly.
Do you have family or friends you can stay with?
It’s too late to plan this once the order to evacuate is
announced.
Also, have an out of area emergency Point of Contact
that everyone in the family knows. This is the person
everyone contacts to assure they are all right if they
can’t get in contact with each other.
Make sure everyone has key phone numbers
WRITTEN DOWN in case their cell phone is lost or runs
out of power and they have to use someone else’s or a
landline.
EVACUATE

19. Know what the emergency broadcast stations are.
Below is a hand crank radio/flashlight combo I have on
hand and in all my grab-n-go bags.
Portable battery/hand crank radio.

20. Being able to see in the dark is key. Batteries tend to be heavy
and get used up but AA/AAA are light and small. Also, with
solar, you can use rechargeable lights. Consider the following
array:
Handcrank light (the one below also has window breaker,
seatbelt cutter, USB cell phone charger); an LED rechargeable;
a headlamp for moving and doing things in camp; and a single
AAA light I keep in a sheath with my Leatherman
Light

21. Since I list a rechargeable lighter on the previous page, power
becomes an issue. I used to focus on using batteries for power,
because rechargeable requires, well, charging. However, I’ve
become a fan of solar, which allows a renewable power source
from nature.
This particular model is good because it has three charging
cables built in on the back.
Licorne Solar Charger 36800 mAh.
Power

22. There are plenty of prepared ones you can buy.
Below is one I have in my house and in my grab-n-go
bags.
Click on image for link.
Make sure you have medications to last a week.
Extra glasses, contacts, etc.
First Aid Kit

23. How to turn off the water coming into the house.
How to turn off the power.
Where the safe spots in the house are.
Where the family ERP- emergency rally point— outside
the house where all will gather is.
Who the single out of area emergency point of contact
is for the entire family.
Everyone in your
household needs to
know:

24. The safest place is a basement.
Stay away from windows and doors.
The strongest room is often the bathroom or a walk in
closet, or closest to the center of the house.
In a two story house, the strongest wall is the stairwell.
If no basement, stay on the first floor.
If a window or door is bowing from the wind DO NOT
push back on it. The wind is stronger than you. Protect
yourself.
Use flashlights, NOT candles! You do not want an open
flame, especially as there are often gas leaks.
During A Hurricane
If Indoors.

25. Remember that a tidal
surge can cause
flooding.
Storm Surge is VERTICAL!
We had a neighbor on Hilton Head Island
who thought it was horizontal.
Just saying.

26. Do not light a match.
Don’t move too much as you can cause further
collapse.
Tap on something, preferably a pipe, with something
hard, rather than yell as you could inhale toxic dust.
If you can see light and have a path, crawl toward it.
If you encounter vertical rubble, check to see if it is load
bearing before moving anything.
Do not run a generator from inside your house or
garage even if you open the windows. Do not run one
on your balcony as you could be venting exhaust into
your neighbor’s.
During A Hurricane:
If trapped.

27. Seriously.
Evacuate.
EVACUATE

28. More Free Information
I constantly update free, downloadable
slideshows like this on my web site for
preparation and survival and other topics.
Use Your Camera on this QR Code

29. More Free Information
Since Slideshare no longer supports links,
I’ve put all the links to free apps, gear and web
pages on my web site at
www.bobmayer.com
Use the pop up from the following image there and
scroll through for what you want:

30. This book walks you through your personal situation,
your home, and your Area of Operations.

31. AMAZON

34. New York Times bestselling author, is a graduate of West Point and
former Green Beret. He’s had over 80 books published, including the
#1 bestselling series Green Berets, Time Patrol, Area 51, and Atlantis.
He’s sold over 5 million books. He was born in the Bronx and has
traveled the world. He’s lived on an island off the east coast, an island
off the west coast, in the Rocky Mountains, the Smoky Mountains and
other places, including time in East Asia studying martial arts.
He was an instructor and course developer/writer for years at the
JFK Special Warfare Center and School which trains Green Berets and
also runs the SERE school:
Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape.
www.bobmayer.com