Post Helene/Milton Report

[Bob]

Also available on Glock Talk


So you all know about Helene/Milton by now. Things are all settled down, the band is past it's last gig, and the yard waste picked up. So, here is some of my personal experience regarding this event.

You can look up the town where I live; Safety Harbor, FL in Pinellas county. I live in the north, aka the high ground.

Pre-Hurricanes:

#1 Choose you location carefully. I very very consciously chose a home that was NOT in a flood zone or an Evac zone. It is at the top of a hill, as much as we have those in my town. I vetoed some homes for this reason only. Been here for 17years. This meant water destruction, a big deal with Helene was not even a thing. The saying is run from the water, hide from the wind.

#2 I had a tree taken down PRIOR to the start of Hurricane season

#3 Plan your work and work your plan. I have very specific procedures/protocols based on expected storm intensity. I have always followed them, they have always worked.

#4 Book a 72+ hour stay around the storm just in case. You can always cancel. You may not be able to get one.

#5 All critical gear was checked; Flashlights, lanterns, water supplies, ice, food etc. I made sure that my safe rooms (tornado precaution or other issue) were stocked with water, MRE's, Lights, and Trauma kits.

#6 Cleaned up, tidied up. Indoors and out - don't need clutter in a disaster

#7 Made sure go bags, including key docs and valuable items were ready.

#8 Cash extracted and cars/gas cans full/Chain saw checked, extra fuel available, propane tanks etc. all good.

And yes - since Glocktalk, basic weapons checks...

During:

#1 Stayed up, stayed aware of what was going during the actual storm.

Power went out at 9:30pm. stayed out for 36 hours. That's all there was to say about that.


Post Storm:

#1 I used my car inverter to run my main refrigerator for an hour every 12hrs. Quiet, effective, convenient to sit in the car in the AC while that occurs.

- On this note; I do not have, nor do I want a generator. A generator takes up a ton of space in my garage, it requires a lot of fuel/maintenance, and is noisy. Not to mention the cost. That's a personal choice, and I honestly would recommend one. That said, I would have liked to have had a Solar charger/battery backup. Patriot or Jackery or something. I'd be truly satisfied with one of those without the generator.

***Get solar charging battery backup

#2 When pre-checking, a number of my lights had batteries that were defective (leaks, dead, etc.) I have quite a few but a decline in my camping over the past decade, and lack of SHTF's has lead to me not addressing them regularly. I still had far more than needed for this, but not as many as I'd like

*** Ensure long term batteries are rotated just like canned food!
*** Replace older shaky tech with newer digital lighting.

#3 I do not have boards for my windows. There is only one large window in front of my house. If a Cat 4 was coming, I'd have wanted to board it up. I need to work on that. Attachment points don't get into brick easily! As for the rear of my house, it is mostly glass doors. Lovely but exposed. That said, I have a pool cage and a lanai that protects most of those.

*** Make arrangement to board the front window
*** Figure out what to do about the sliding glass doors - all 10 of them. A storm roll down shutter across the back would be the ideal approach...but expensive.

#4 While not necessary for this, I really need to up my basic comms.

*** Get some Midland radios immediately.

As for the major categories, I rate my situation:

Water: A - Could get a Berkey
Food: A
Fire: A
Meds: A
Shelter: B - have repair gear, tarps, plastic, nails etc. Need boards for truly ferocious storms only
Hygiene: A
Tools: A
Security: A Locks, Dogs, and Fence all work without power
Bugout Plan: Vehicles and Bags all good if needed

So all in all, prepping as a lifestyle, worked out very well. Your mileage/experience may vary.

[Bmyers]

Sounds like you did well, thanks for sharing the experience.

[Bob]

Again - there are a couple of gaping holes. After 15+ years and few noted storms - I really should have window wood.

Also - no excuse for comms. I even look at leg/chest rigs with spots for them. No excuse!

But even a category three was not a thing. Tornado might have been.

And a cat 4 would have had me out door if it was a definitive thing that was gonna happen...

[tom mac]

#4 While not necessary for this, I really need to up my basic comms.

*** Get some Midland radios immediately

As a side note... I have taped a cheat card to the back of my radios for the family. You need all to know the basics re radio.

[Mac66]

Buy a pair of Baofeng uv5r GMRS radios.

See the communcations forum for more info

They are still $30/pair on Amazon. My brother and I use ours while deer hunting.

My wife and I use them when I'm out and about working on the property cutting trails, working on deer blinds and food plots on the back 40. Very handy.

[Bob]

I was just gonna grab a couple of these: Midland

GXT1000VP4 - 50 Channel GMRS Two-Way Radio - Long Range Walkie Talkie with 142 Privacy Codes, SOS Siren, and NOAA Weather Alerts and Weather Scan (Black/Silver, Pair Pack)

But I defer to your radio savvy. What is the learning curve to just use as walkie talkies?

[Mac66]

The midlands are fine though expensive for a GMRS radio. The Baofengs do everything the Midlands do but a lot cheaper. They also have FM radio.

Technically you need a GMRS license to use legally but many people just buy them and use them. Pretty much you just turn them on and pick a channel to talk on. There are FRS and GMRS channels as well as GMRS repeater channels which extends the range. Most people won't let you use their repeaters unless you have a license, (FCC $35/10 years and covers your whole family).

There is a guy on youtube named notarubicon who is the GMRS guru. He's also very funny if you get his sarcasm. Pretty everything you ever wanted to know about GMRS radios.