Hurricane Safety Checklist | National Hurricane Survival Initiative 

The most important thing you can do as hurricane season approaches is to get yourself, your family and your home prepared.

By starting early, you’ll avoid the rush at home supply stores, grocery stores and other venues typically crowded and often chaotic when hurricane watches and warnings are issued.

You should stock six basics for your home: water, food, first aid supplies, clothing and bedding, tools and emergency supplies, and special items. Keep the items you would most likely need during an evacuation in an easy-to carry container—suggested items are marked with an asterisk (*). Possible containers include a large, covered trash container, a camping backpack, or a duffle bag.

Make your preparations easier by downloading the checklists included with each category and use them as you shop and store your supplies.

Store water in plastic containers such as soft drink bottles. Avoid using containers that will decompose or break, such as milk cartons or glass bottles. A normally active person needs to drink at least two quarts of water each day. Hot environments and intense physical activity can double that amount. Children, nursing mothers, and ill people will need more.

Keep at least a three-day supply of water per person (two quarts for drinking, two quarts for each person in your household for food preparation/sanitation).*

Store at least a three-day supply of non-perishable food. Select foods that require no refrigeration, preparation or cooking, and little or no water. If you must heat food, pack a can of sterno. Select food items that are compact and lightweight. Include a selection of the following foods in your Disaster Supplies Kit:

Staples (salt, sugar, pepper, spices, etc.)

Assemble a first aid kit for your home and one for each car.

(2) germicidal hand wipes or waterless alcohol-based hand sanitizer.

(2) pair large medical grade non-latex gloves.

Activated charcoal (use if advised by the American Association of Poison Control Centers)

Mess kits, or paper cups, plates, and plastic utensils*

Plastic garbage bags, ties (for personal sanitation uses)

*Include at least one complete change of clothing and footwear per person.

[download the special items checklist: infants, adults, pets]

Remember family members with special requirements, such as infants and elderly or disabled persons.

Board games and other games that don’t require batteries or electricity, books for adult readers and for children.

In the interest of protecting pets, the Humane Society of the United States offers these tips for inclusion in your family disaster plan:

Securely fasten a current identification tag to your pet’s collar and carry a photograph of your pet. It’s important to include the phone number of a friend or family member on the tag so anyone who may find your pet is able to reach someone who knows you.

Transport pets in secure pet carriers and keep pets on leashes or harnesses.

Call hotels in a safe/host location and ask if you can bring your pets. Ask the manager if a no-pet policy can be lifted during the disaster. Most emergency shelters do not admit pets.

Call friends, family members, veterinarians or boarding kennels in a safe/host location to arrange foster care if you and your pets cannot stay together.

Pack a week’s supply of food, water and other provisions, such as medication or cat litter.

Do not wait until the last minute to evacuate. Rescue officials may not allow you to take your pets if you need to be rescued.

Keep a list of emergency phone numbers (veterinarian, local animal control, animal shelters, Red Cross, etc.).

Keep these records in a waterproof, portable container:

Will, insurance policies, contracts, deeds, stocks and bonds

Passports, social security cards, immunization records

Inventory of valuable household goods, important telephone numbers

Family records (birth, marriage, death certificates)

Store your kit in a convenient place known to all family members. Keep a smaller version of the supplies kit in the trunk of your car.

Keep items in airtight plastic bags. Change your stored water supply every six months so it stays fresh. Replace your stored food every six months. Re-think your kit and family needs at least once a year. Replace batteries, update clothes, etc.

Ask your physician or pharmacist about storing prescription medications.

During his second voyage in 1494, Christopher Columbus sheltered his fleet from a tropical cyclone. This is the first written European account of a hurricane. During his fourth voyage in 1502, Columbus warned the governor of Santo Domingo of an approaching hurricane, but was ignored, resulting in the loss of a Spanish treasure fleet of 20 ships and 500 men.

- Neal Dorst, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association/Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory