HURRICANE PREPAREDNESS
ECU experts share readiness tips, essentials in their hurricane kits
In eastern North Carolina, where hurricanes and tropical events are common in the late summer and early fall, it’s crucial to understand how to prepare for their potential impacts.
Not only can tropical events cause injuries and deaths from falling trees, dangerous winds and floodwaters, they can also cause outages to important resources such as electricity and limit access to essential places like grocery stores and health care facilities.
We asked disaster preparedness, nutrition and medical experts from the ECU Division of Health Sciences how they recommend preparing for hurricanes, what they include in their own hurricane preparedness kits and what they recommend for you to keep in yours.
ECU Physicians Chief Medical Officer Dr. Jason Foltz (Submitted photo)
Dr. Jason Foltz
Chief Medical Officer, ECU Physicians
Clinical Associate Professor, Brody School of Medicine
“Patients with chronic medical conditions should prepare for potential hurricane impacts by having at least one week of medication supplies on hand as well as extra oxygen tanks and other essential supplies. It’s important to have a communication plan in place with your family. Typically, outpatient clinics will be temporarily closed for routine health care during the event and immediate clean-up efforts.”
Foltz said ECU’s preparedness page links to www.ready.org which provides tips for senior citizens.
“It is most important to make a plan (need for shelter, communication plan with family) and to make a kit with essentials like water and food, at least one week of medication supplies and extra oxygen tanks,” he added.
ECU College of Nursing Clinical Professor Dr. Ann King (Submitted photo)
Dr. Ann King
Clinical Professor, ECU College of Nursing DNP Program
Certified National Healthcare Disaster Professional
Dr. King has decades of disaster response experience leading planning and response teams for hurricanes, and she will be among the instructors for the College of Nursing’s new courses in Healthcare Emergency and Disaster Management.
King recommends, first and foremost, considering your personal needs and those of your immediate family — including pets. Have enough food, water and the medications you need for a few weeks.
“Talk about your disaster plan, including a reunification plan should you get separated,” King said.
Before the hurricane…
- Have cash on hand because stores may be open but may not have full electricity or internet to process credit and debit cards. Banks may be closed.
- Remember your pets and have a plan for your pets should you need to evacuate, including having food and water for them.
- Have a radio with batteries available for important announcements, including alerts, shelters, and available open resources.
- Know where you would go should you need to evacuate. Plan your routes ahead of time and have essential resources packed and ready to go should you need to leave. Find your evacuation route.
- Remember critical documents and place them in a waterproof bag so you can take them with you. Take pictures or scan in important documents and photos and upload them to a storage cloud or external storage device, like a flash drive and take it with you. Pictures are priceless and may be damaged — you want a way to reprint them if needed.
- Fill up with gas or have a transportation plan (in some areas, a bike may be the best option) — as we learned, it may take weeks to get gasoline supplies back up to normal.
King’s Hurricane Prep Kit
What’s in a disaster preparedness expert’s hurricane kit? Here’s what Dr. Ann King stocks up on in the days before a hurricane.
- Water: Plan on a gallon per day per person for at least a week and two weeks if possible. Remember water for your pets. This is essential if you do not get anything else. Remember to plan ahead — stores get very busy and supplies get low. Water can be bought months ahead of time and just stored in a closet until needed.
- Non-perishable food: Enough for at least five days for each person and pets. Remember protein sources — for me, it’s peanut butter and jelly sandwiches!
- Environmental protection: Depending on whether it’s cold weather or hot weather, plan for it! This may include extra blankets or sleeping bags to keep warm should you lose heat. Or if it’s hot, stay out of the hot sun, have and use sunscreen, minimize work outside in the heat of the day, as this increases your risk of heat exhaustion and water demand.
- Safety tools: Have flashlights/batteries and needed tools readily available. You may have to tarp a roof, remove tree limbs, or clear driveways to be able to leave. Hand saws that don’t require electricity or charging, tarps, rakes, gloves, safety glasses, and water boots can really help clear debris safely.
- Wipes and hand sanitizer: You may not be able to shower and wash your hands as usual, so wipes and hand sanitizer can help keep you feeling fresher and protect from germs. Simple things like paper towels, paper plates, and disposable cups are important for your emergency supplies.
In the aftermath…
- Safety is essential: If you are safe in your home, don’t leave until officials announce that the danger has passed and the clean-up and recovery process has started. Be aware of displaced wildlife and snakes, and wear boots and gloves if you are out clearing debris. Don’t get near downed power lines — they may still have current. Stay out the way of emergency crews, including electric company crews, so they can do their jobs.
- Don’t get in the water: Frequently, water gets contaminated, so follow the boil recommendations and stay out of bodies of water. This is not the time to go swimming, as bacteria counts usually increase due to all of the sources of contamination.
- Rest when you can. It’s a marathon, not a sprint and recovery fatigue is very common. You’re stressed and need to take care of yourself!
ECU Department of Nutrition Science Dietetic Internship Director Tara Wind (Submitted photo)
Tara Wind, MS, RDN, LDN
Dietetic Internship Director, ECU Department of Nutrition Science
President, North Carolina Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics
“If you have a gas stove, you have many options even without electricity,” Wind said. “You can still use your stovetop to make items such as soups and chili with canned ingredients. Some of my favorite ingredients for chili: Four cans of beans (any), two cans of tomatoes (diced or whole), canned chicken or browned ground beef. Toppings depend on what is in your fridge that hasn’t gone bad without electricity. You can also heat ready-to-eat soups. Without electricity, (choose) shelf-stable meal options such as peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, canned fruit, honey, dry cereal (add powdered milk and water if necessary).”
Wind’s Hurricane Prep Kit
What’s in a dietician’s hurricane kit? Here’s what you’ll find Registered Dietician Nutritionist Tara Wind stocking up on in the days leading up to a hurricane.
- Canned goods: Vegetables, fruits and beans.
- Proteins: Peanut butter or nut butter, canned meats and nuts.
- Starchy items: Bread, dry cereal and granola bars.
- Bottled water: Either store bought or make your own. Wind recommends 1 gallon per person per day.
- Ready-to-eat shelf stable items: Rice, soups and dried fruit.
When the power goes out, a charcoal or gas grill can come in handy for cooking, but never use a charcoal grill inside your home or garage, Wind added.
“It is a fire and smoke hazard,” she said. “Both gas and charcoal grills can be used outside once the weather permits.”
Fourth year nursing doctorate student Lisa Wilcox (Submitted photo)
Lisa Wilcox, MSN, RN
Fourth year nursing Ph.D. student
Wilcox is working on a dissertation about household emergency preparedness and disaster-related community resilience. As she highlighted the importance of the physical supplies and disaster evacuation and communication planning, she also emphasized the importance of human caring and community connections during natural disasters.
“A community-based disaster risk management approach invites individuals, families, neighborhoods, and communities to collectively prepare for natural disasters. This type of disaster preparedness approach recognizes the contextual and cultural diversity of eastern North Carolina families and communities,” Wilcox said.
Wilcox’s Hurricane Prep Kit
What’s in a disaster preparedness researcher’s hurricane kit? Here’s what you’ll find Ph.D. student Lisa Wilcox putting together in the days leading up to a hurricane.
- A three-day supply of water
- A three-day supply of nonperishable foods
- Prescription medications
- A written communication plan
- An evacuation plan that includes identification of local emergency shelters and hospitals.