It’s also good to have a full freezer if the power goes out, so you could fill any spaces with those containers or bags of water.
Thank you for this public service announcement.
Don’t forget to fill up the bathtub.
^To be fair, there are stories all over the news about stores running out of bottled water and people have been posting on the “Texans, are you ready for Harvey?” thread about adding chlorine to tap water (that stuff that the comes out of your faucet pre-chlorinated by the city).
My prep tips if staying put (or going) - do all laundry. Check your prescriptions and if they run out in the next week, get them refilled now. I can’t tell you the number of times we’ve had to deal with running out of med since my H is bad about remembering to bring them or he waits til the day he needs them, and he needs them. Just reminded him.
^To be fair, there are stories all over the news about stores running out of bottled water and people have been posting on the “Texans, are you ready for Harvey?” thread about adding chlorine to tap water (that stuff that the comes out of your faucet pre-chlorinated by the city)."
This is needed AFTER the storm hits in case something happens to the water mains and your water becomes contaminated and you can’t boil it.
BEFORE a storm just stockpile some water that you know is safe–right from your sink tap.
Jet Blue is capping airfares out of Florida. Good for them.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-41172726
Description of the islands in the path of Irma and what damage can be expected/already happened.
There has never been 2 cat. 4 hurricanes hitting the US in one season.
And it’s still fairly early in the season. :-S
My brother lives in the U.S. Virgin Islands, which is getting pummeled right now. Fortunately his home has a concrete central core, where I imagine he, his wife, and their pets are holed up. I’m currently unable to reach him by phone or email, so all I can do is watch the Weather Channel and freak out.
Just talked to S and they are headed to Orlando later today. He is busy tending to multiple things and promised to call me from the road. Whew… That was welcome news.
We’re in total agreement! I was just pointing out why someone might need the reminder that seemed to irritate @“Cardinal Fang”, unless I’m reading his/her post incorrectly, in which case I apologize Cardinal. :)>-
@sherpa My relatives have lived through several in the islands. Such strong construction definitely helps. Not unusual for communication to be down and might last awhile. Sending good vibes to your family!
If I had loved ones in the path of this storm, the waiting for news would be torture. If I lived in the path, I’d want news, but it would almost feel like being slowly stalked by a monster. Thinking of all of the CC members who have family and/or friends affected. Try to stay positive.
I saw that Richard Branson was going to ride out the storm on his private island in the British Virgin Islands. In his wine cellar. 
@doschicos - Thanks for the support. You’ve hit the nail on the head: they’re probably safe in their concrete home, communication will be down for a while, and all I can do is wait to hear from them.
The video from St. Thomas is frightening.
@CottonTales I hope he takes all of his lemurs down here with him! 
I spent the day at the soup kitchen - sounded like most of the homeless people knew about the shelters and were planning on going there. The ice machine was totally full so the manager said I was welcome to fill up my cooler. Came home and put it in gallon bags and ended up with about 9 gallons on top of the few bags I already had.
My gas was at 3/4 tank so I checked the gas buddy website and found a place that still had some left. Line looked long, about 25-30 cars, but it went very quickly once you got up to the pumps. Think it took me about 25 minutes to be in and out of there.
D19 is getting some snaps from her friends in St. Thomas - wind was crazy but they don’t seem to freaked out yet.
@sherpa I was on STT shortly after Hugo. It ripped the island pretty clean of greenery but it was amazing how quickly it grew back. If your family is going through one for the first time, they’ll have neighbors/friends who are old pros at this stuff who would have guided them in getting ready. There will be damage on the islands but usually people are safe as long as they stay sheltered. Islanders are pretty self-sufficient types, anyway. Living in the aftermath, folks bond together and help one another out. Although recovery took awhile, my relatives said the biggest drag was the constant noise of generators for weeks/months afterward.
Nice for JetBlue to cap their price, but my friend who tried to book a ticket said flights are full so she has to stick with her original Friday am flight. Good publicity though
H and I went to Turks and Caicos on our honeymoon. According to BB’s link, they are expecting a storm surge of 15 - 20 feet! These are not volcanic or mountainous islands… I hope they mainly evacuated.