Hurricane Matthew has come and gone from my area. I consider myself lucky, really lucky!
– Not too much flooding, just a foot or so in the front, water was up to the axles of my truck
– No fallen trees on the house
– No real wind or property damage
– Time to rethink flood insurance
– Minimal power outages, just a few hours or so
The forecast had Matthew coming up the coast on Saturday and turning out to sea. Well, it went farther north than expected before turning. The 2 inches if rain in the forecast turned into 14 plus inches of actual rain. My rain bucket is 14 inches deep; it was filled well before the Sunday dawn.
With all that rain, the flash flood warning were issued.
The weather models are just that, models that try to predict the future. A forecast is just a forecast that tries to predict the future. Most of the time they are good enough, sometimes they miss the mark a bit.
This we know!
I did prepare, what would you do?
Lots of folks were caught with their pants down, not thinking ahead, not prepared, not even minimally prepared. What are they thinking?
– My cars were gassed up and ready should they be needed
– I had some cash in my pockets. ATMs and Credit Cards don’t work if there is no power
– Both propane tanks of my gas grill were full. I had several bags of charcoal for the charcoal grill
– A good selection of freeze dried foods
– A good selection of canned goods that require minimal preparation or can be eaten as is
– Water
– Food for the dogs
– Batteries for flashlights and the radio
– White gas for the camping stoves and lanterns
Don’t forget to survey your property for anything that might need to be lashed down or stowed away.
I figure I had enough on hand for about 2 weeks if needed. Longer if we rationed.
Be sure to check out our list of Mountain House freeze dried meals available on Amazon, where we track the daily price and product availability so you don't have to. We also link to our comprehensive Mountain House freeze dried meal reviews. We track the same for Peak Refuel freeze dried meals on Amazon, don't forget to check it out before you go.