Hurricane prepping for newbs

Fill bath tub, if any with water for flushing if power goes out. Usually does.
Disconnect the downspouts to the cistern, lot of salt water may end up there. (I take my chances)
Canned food.
Batteries.
You seem to have them listed okay.
If house is built properly the roof should stay on. Any doubt do go to the downstairs neighbor. Your accordion shutters should work if affixed properly.
A generator if there is serious damage.
Yes, turn off the gas.

No bathtub, but have 40 gallon jugs for bathing and toilet water.

I wonder how to disconnect te cistern, will ask landlord.

We had pretty nasty monsoons in AZ with massive flooding and crazy winds that knocked over my 40ft cottonwood tree one year missing the house by an inch. How far in advance does NOAA usually start talking about the path and impact time. I'm imagining we will have at least 4 days advanced that its coming. Looking at a map can you usually see it coming from northside?

Depends on the storm. If you live ground floor or middle floor have a concrete roof you should be fine. Of course you may have to worry that you battened down too tightly and your windows will blow out...........

Just remember if power is out, no flushing toilets, no refrigeration, no running water since no water pump unless you can bucket it out of your cistern. Fill up a couple buckets, sinks, bathtubs to use for bathing, dishes, flushing, water for pets. You can also get those solar camp showers you can hang outside to heat up. I always clean, cook and do laundry, get rid of garbage, shower, in addition to all this other exhausting, stress related stuff prior to a storm. I love my chain saw. If you need pet or human meds, get prior to storm. ditto for pet foods and keep in plastic containers.

You may want an ice chest and buy ice prior to storm, have cleaning supplies on hand, maybe a tarp or 2, freeze water in gallon bags, lay flat in freezer and fill freezer, crank up refrig and freezer settings prior to power going out (remember to turn them back down afterwards), turn off propane tanks prior to storm, I disconnect my downspouts so I do not get the salt water from storm weather in cistern.
Have cash on hand - prolonged outages means banks cannot do business, may not cash checks, businesses won't accept checks or credit cards, always have extra fuel for truck and generator, put everything away outside that shall go flying, charge up all your cell phones, gadgets, camera batteries. have a supply of paper plates, paper towels, garbage bags etc.

Unplug everything as when WAPA does come back on after storms they usually can have brownouts which shall affect you electrical items.
My generator (if it's still there after a bad hurricane) will run until power incoming has stabilized and I do have a surge protector on it.
I service generator in May and do not wait until a storm is approaching to frantically call my service person.

If your ears start popping during a storm due to increased pressure (like gaining altitude on an airplane), your roof starts contracting and expanding/flexing and your sliding glass doors bow out like a pregnant woman's belly, you may want run to throw open doors and windows to save the roof from flying off. Better to have some wind and rain inside, pressure relieved and a roof still over your head, when it is all over.

There's more but it's stressing me out to even think about it.;)

One more: Homeowners especially: take pictures of everything for insurance before and after a storm should you have to file a claim and make sure you have copies of all your important documents with you, in plastic bins or bags. Be ready.

Lol thanks Alana! That's comprehensive. 🙂

Been there, done that, thru too many hurricanes including Hugo & Marilyn. I get stressed just thinking about them and going thru the new ones brings it all back. No WAPA power from 9/15 until a couple days prior to Thanksgiving in '89 for Hugo and with Marilyn - no power from 9/15 until a couple days before Christmas in '95. Ran a small gas 5000 KW portable generator with a 5 gallon tank which would give 8 hrs running the frig, water pump, water heater, a couple lights, TV for videos and constantly lugging fuel. Plugged that sucker right into the WAPA meter box on the house. (BF was an electrician) Not to mention phones being down for months, having to go to call centers, waiting in lines for everything, no cable TV for a couple years, the complete devastation, chaos and loss of life and rebuilding processes. Not fun. It all got old very fast. I pray we do not have any more like that.

You've got all the basics covered, A&A. Battery-operated fans are another really good idea. If you are sheltering in place, you will basically be in a box with almost all sources of fresh air boarded up -- gets hot and sticky fast! If Home Depot doesn't have any in stock, order online.

Depending on how healthy your canned food staples are, you may want to make sure you have a supply of multivitamins on hand. Not a big deal unless we get another Hugo or Marilyn and power, etc. is out for a month.

Also, since this is your first storm season here, understand that the mainland media often makes a big fuss over storms that aren't damaging the USVI and may say very little about the ones that DO affect us. Keep your stateside friends and family in the loop, and let them know about the nhc.noaa.gov site for accurate information on where a storm is in relation to our location. Also let stateside folks know that if a big storm does occur, phones (including cell) may be out for hours or even days, and that doesn't mean you are dead.

Heh I had a dream the other night that we stocked up on 5 gallon jugs of water, like 20 of them.

Edit: I was on the northside of STT when Hugo hit...

Oh, and I would add, have minimal stuff in your freezer and put bags of ice in there instead. That way you don't have much that will spoil, but the ice will keep your freezer efficient while power is on and has many uses after it goes out.

Yes - those battery operated fans are wonderful. They come in handy thru-out the year when WAPA goes down in middle of the night,
Especially, summertime.

With a hurricanes like Hugo or Marilyn, not sure how roof-top solar systems/ panels would do when you roof is no longer there and you've gone completely off the grid. Luckily, I have never lost a roof. Fingers crossed.

Something I can think of right away :
have a ups (uninterrupted power supply) for your wifi router, often during storms, the internet does keep working, and if you have a charged laptop, that can keep you informed/connected for some time.

Here a few links to sites I follow during "the season", cuz it is true that the mainland does not inform well on storms, unless they may affect the US.

http://www.tropicaltidbits.com/

this one is from a hurricane enthousiast, studying at the university of Anchorage (I know that sounds strange, but he's very good)

http://stormcarib.com/

this one has many posters from all islands, who in acute situations post often

http://www.crownweather.com/?page_id=29

has very good info

http://www.sxmcyclone.com/

this one is from St Martin, and in french, but easily translated with google...
very good info, and you can sign up to get warnings

Try and leave a door or window on the opposite side of the storm to equalize pressure. They will help with the roof staying on or the building imploding. It's not that bad, but it's worth the precaution.

Oil lamps (aka hurricane lamps), duct tape to go with those tarps in the event a window, door or roof is blown off/out, towels for leaks in windows, doors, or water seepage under door jams, mop and bucket and BUG SPRAY--LOTS OF BUG SPRAY for after the storm when those darn mosquitos start swarming. Also a mosquito net for over the bed. Nothing worse than sleeping for days, or weeks without power after a hard days' cleaning up/repairing and have mosquitos drive you crazy in bed....can you say Dengue Fever. 5 gallon buckets full of water staged in the bathrooms for easy dipping to flush. And don't forget any prescription medication you or your family needs or your pets may need. The list goes on and on. Rely on long term island residents and locals for other suggestions.

Shamwow! No kidding - they saved me during Omar when my kitchen door started leaking and I was trying to keep pools of water from flowing under the cabinets. I was mopping like crazy then remembered the Shamwow's we had in the pantry. Worked like a charm and only had to be wrung out every hour or so!

Even better than towels or "shamwow" for combating leaks are the biggest diapers you can find. They absorb a ton of water, far more than you'd imagine possible. I always keep them on hand just in case ...

any meds you might need, charge all electronics, have plenty of reading material, blankets,food, batteries, generator, pet supplies, baby wipes, powder. sanitary products and chocolate chip cookies

dont forget to get some AfterBite for when you get bit by mosquitos

Try and leave a door or window on the opposite side of the storm to equalize pressure. They will help with the roof staying on or the building imploding. It's not that bad, but it's worth the precaution.

Snopes says "False" http://www.snopes.com/science/hurricane.asp

Message Removed: Please revisit board rules regarding etiquette, particularly in reference to using expletives.

Hey AandA2VI,
I'm, on my second hurricane season and its never too early to prepare. I stock up on my canned goods. Stuff you can eat cold if you have to. Spam, canned chili, ravioli, and spagetti-os. Really just an excuse to buy childhood favorites. I get 2 propane tanks, one on the grill and a spare in case power outage lasts longer. I would also recommend a "sun shower" its a filliable bag that boaters use.

Disconnect the downspouts to the cistern, lot of salt water may end up there. (I take my chances)

This may sound like a really silly question but I haven't done much research on cisterns yet. I do know that the cistern catches the rain water and you have to conserve it because thats your only source of water unless you get it trucked in. What happens if too much salt water ends up in the cistern?

AandA2VI- I'm so glad you posted this question. There is a ton of awesome info on here that I will be using as I prep for my move to STJ this fall. Thank you!

It makes the water undrinkable.

No problem flamingo.... I have a list from Home Depots website with supplies but its the advice like the battery operated fans and having cash since the banks may be closed. THAT'S great stuff, thanks everyone!

Maybe I missed it...
Bleach

It makes the water undrinkable.

Makes sense! Thank you!