Let me see if I've got this straight.

[conuly]

The wildfires are in Hawaii.

The hurricane is in California.

The tornadoes were in New England.

Is that about the size of it?

Comments

[ioplokon]

I know. Idek how to prepare for a hurricane.

[conuly]

If you're in the range of the storm, I honestly don't know what to tell you. My advice presumes you're in my climate - in California, you've got the storm + the risk of mudslides. I can't help you with mudslides!

[ioplokon]

Yeah; I think I'm not near any proximate natural hazards. So I think I'm just going to plan for power outage + wind??? And then just have the radio on for Sunday...

[conuly]

Definitely wind - bring everything indoors, board up the windows if you can. Lock up your animals, of course. Prepare for a minimum one week without grocery stores, which includes stocking up on water. Water from the tap may be non-potable after a storm - though I've tasted SoCal water, as far as I'm concerned that's always the case. Blech.

[ioplokon]

the lovely taste of iron

eye of the storm

[redbird]

Power outage and wind, and possible floods, depending on your location.

One other non-obvious thing: beware of the eye of the hurricane. If the wind and rain suddenly diminish or even stop, that doesn't mean the storm has passed, it means you're in the middle of the storm, with high winds all around you. That means the rain and wind are likely to start again as suddenly as they stopped, with similar force.

The eye is a lot smaller than the storm around it, so even if the storm passes through your area, the eye probably won't.

Re: eye of the storm

[movingfinger]

The eye is when you run outside real fast and add extra nails or pull something that blew into your yard (eg neighbor's patio umbrella) into a safe place where it won't put a hole in a roof.

Re: eye of the storm

[ioplokon]

ah yes "clean the french drain" time

Re: eye of the storm

[ioplokon]

Thanks; I think we're not getting the brunt of the storm, but still more Weather than we've ever had in my lifetime ^^;

[brokenallbroken]

It's only a tropical storm by the time it makes landfall, not a full-on hurricane. Weather Channel is saying the wind gusts will top out at 40-50 mph. It looks like they've reduced the estimated top speed since this morning.

I got a flat of water bottles from Costco on the off chance some contaminants get washed into the supply, and have sandwich fixings and protein bars in case of power outages, but beyond that I'm not terribly worried. Oooh, I should check the batteries in my white noise machine and camping lanterns.

That said, I'm in a flattish spot above sea level and well away from any wilderness or burn areas (West OC is the place to be!). My main concern is our apartment complex's pool is already pretty full.

If you're on the side of a hill, near a beach, or near a burn scar, IDK what to tell you. Sandbags?

[ioplokon]

Yeah, I have a gas stove (I know! but not my choice), so going to precook stuff & be ready to heat on the stove if the power is out. I'm near-ish to the coast (west of the 5) but not in a flood zone, so I think it'll be okay. I've put fresh batteries in the radio & am just gonna have PBS on tomorrow in case stuff changes...

eta: my friend from the east coast made a good suggestion, which was to freeze some water bottles - then if the power goes out, you can put them in the fridge to keep it colder longer.

[brokenallbroken]

Funny, I already have water bottles in the freezer because I don't have air conditioning and they're a nice thing to have in the chair with me. And I was planning on using them as a water source if it became necessary.

I figure it doesn't matter which channel I watch tomorrow - if something major changes there will be emergency alerts on all of them. Does the clicky lighter thing on gas burners still work if the power is out? I have a gas stove too (it seems like I don't have a choice in this rental market), but it has an electrical plug.

[ioplokon]

The lighter is usually electric, but you can use a long match or lighter to ignite the burner.

[redbird]

The storm intensity is down significantly, but the forecasters are talking about things like areas in the southwestern US getting a year's worth of rain from this one storm, meaning there will be significant floods.

[melannen]

As a person who gets East Coast tropical storms on average once a year, mostly what other people said, and also just general disaster prep, unless you're under an evacuation order or have other reason to think you'll face extra hazards, in which case, evacuate.

1. Do your best to make sure you won't have to go anywhere the day of or if possible a few days after.
2. Wind-proof your space: anything outside your home that might blow around should be secured (including lawn furniture, tree limbs, trash cans, windchimes, etc.) Take down awnings, close shutters and storm doors. Space that might normally be protected from rain and wind won't be, bring things indoors or into sturdy, fully-enclosed outbuildings. If you have a car or bike and you can bring it indoors (or at least under a roof and near a wall), do, even if you usually don't.
3. If you have a basement, or use an underground or low-lying storage area, get anything that could be easily damaged by water at least a foot off the ground, if you can. Even if you don't face severe flooding you might see a few inches in a basement. (Although the only time our basement ever flooded from a tropical storm was the one that hit a week after the earthquake, because the foundation was still unsettled. I don't know if that's more or less of an issue for y'all...)
4. If there are areas around where you live that are known to flood in a heavy rain, they will flood. Plan for that, especially if you're in an area with only one or two main roads in and out.
5. No experience with mudslides, but the first step there is to accurately assess your risks (both for your building - which sounds like you've already done - and for those routes in and out of your neighborhood.)

Many people suggest boarding up windows, but in my experience if you are in the area where you need to do that you also need to evacuate; if you aren't under an evacuation order it's probably low-risk enough to not worry. If you have anything outside your house that is known to be rickety, though, now is the time to deal with it. And if you have something super-valuable and water-damageable right next to a large window, maybe move it. If you're doing a pre-storm stocking-up trip, duct tape and tarps/large trash bags/plastic sheeting are the prep for if a window does break.

But honestly most of the time, unless you're in the direct path or right on the coast at severe flooding risk, it's just a very bad storm and a chance to practice-run your standard disaster prep (Like having water on hand, preparing for an electrical/phone outage, having a go bag and knowing where important docs are, making sure pets can be shoved into carriers at short notice, fill the gas tank, eat the ice cream and grill the steaks, have a contact person outside the warning area who can take point to tell other people you're ok, etc. You probably already do all that for wildfires and earthquakes.)

[ioplokon]

Thanks! Yeah, I think it'll be okay, but still pretty wild to have to prepare for this!