Need some hurricane advice from experienced people.

canned goods and other non-perishable foods
gas up your car

beer and batteries 🙂

Make sure you have any needed medications and food for infants and/or pets, if applicable. Also, a battery-powered radio would come in handy, as well as sealable plastic bags and tubs.

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Fill your cars with gas and have cash; ATM's and credit card machines won't work is there is no power.

Don't go outside to see how strong the wind is, things may be flying through the air

Don't get drunk--you need your whits in a strong storm

BUY A GENERATOR TO RUN YOUR REFRIGERATOR AND LIGHTS

Nice thing about a hurricane in the states, if it looks bad and headed your way, you can board up and drive far away to sit it out. Maybe stay with friends or family till it passes. Can't really do that on an island.

board up your windows and don't treat this as an excuse to have a "hurricane party"

Remove potential projectiles from the lawn and protect the house from projectiles to the extent practical. Help/encourage neighbors to do so.

Water under doors is common so pick up things that water could damage especially near doors. Towels bunched up at the bottom of a door work way better than mops for controlling water intrusion. Keep a bucket handy to wring them out.

Turn off utilities, especially gas and electricity, to minimize potential surges or losses due to fire. Before turning off water fill your tub/s to have a reserve ( if your drain can be reliably stopped. Those store bought rubber flaps work better than built-in drain stops)

Islanders are forced to hunker down. By far the best advice for a statesider is to button up and get the heck out of the area.

Good luck.

Agree with all above and especially echo the sound advice of DO NOT USE THIS AS A REASON TO PARTY. You need to have all your mental capacity readily available for problem solving, taking quick action, and avoiding doing stupid things (e.g., going outside to see what's it's like out there). There's some great information/advice available at
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/HAW2/english/disaster_prevention.shtml

If you have pets, prepare to support them as well (e.g., food, water allocation, medication, identification in case they get lost, etc.). If you're evacuating, you will need a cage/carrier. And, at least in Florida, it's likely the public shelters will not allow you to bring your pet. So, you may need to investigate that possibility now while you're finalizing your plan for best and worst case scenario.

If you're going to evacuate, decide EARLY. Hotels get booked and roads get congested very quicky. If the storm is imminent, stay put and just hunker down. Evacuating too late may put you and your family in peril.

Don't forget a communication plan. The company I work for publishes the following for employees:
Create a communications safety toolbox, which includes a list of phone numbers and e-mail addresses for family members, copies of business cards, and each family member’s personal documents such as birth certificates.
Agree on a meeting place for your family in the event you are unable to communicate. Also determine a virtual meeting place such as a voicemail box or online chat site.
Make sure at least one telephone that does not require an electrical outlet is available. Cordless phones, while convenient, don’t work in power outages. Always have a standard, non-electrically powered telephone on hand to quickly plug into a telephone jack during a power outage. The more options you have during an emergency, the better.
Agree on out-of-state contacts in the event family members cannot immediately communicate locally.
Program speed-dial options on your home and wireless phones with important phone numbers.

Also, gather and review now all your home owner or rental insurance policies/documents. Normally, if a storm is in "range" within certain number of days/hours, it's too late to change your policy. But, know your rights and know what you're are entitled to get for all those premiums you've been paying for all these years. If you have to make a claim after the storm passes, the insurance company may be overwhelmed. Having your policy # readily available to provide to claims agent will help with the process.

Good luck!

If you do evacuate..........
School gymnasiums are generally designated as Public shelters during a natural disaster. Think NOISEY, bright and uncomfortable. If you evacuate to a public shelter take ear plugs and eye covering/mask and maybe even a breathing mask. Take your pillows, cots or some other form of sleeping pallet. Take games - and not just the electronic kind. I would take also some disposible hand wipes, wash cloths, etc. Of course take other "usual" hygene items like toothbrush, toothpaste, deoderant, etc. Take water, snacks, etc. Oh, and take your PATIENCE too. A public shelter is not ideal. Would be better to stay in hotel or with family. But, if you find yourself in a public shelter it is better to be mentally and physically prepared.

Thanks everyone!! Local weather warnings have taken a turn for the worst today so I am thankful for all this excellent advice. I'll prepare for the worst and hope for the best.

http://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffMasters/comment.html?entrynum=1899

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Familiarize yourself with the hurricane websites and follow the track updates. Don't wait till the day of impact to evacuate, you'll find yourself and thousands of others in a virtual parking lot on the highway.

http://www.weather.gov/os/hurricane/resources/TropicalCyclones11.pdf

This is all really great advice but- how close to the coast are you?

I have been through many hurricanes but I grew up an hour inland. Opal kicked our butts but it wasn't so bad with that kind of buffer. (don't get me wrong- we were without power for two or three days and a curfew was issued for a week- it was a category 4 when it hit us.) I know an island is TOTALLY different, but even if you have some distance between you and the coast it's not too bad- and I mean an hour or so or more. Just prepare like they said above, but no need to evacuate if your a bit inland if it's a 4 or below. (if it's a 5- run. And run FAST. NO JOKE. ) Just stay away from windows and keep a battery powered weather radio and snacky foods and bottled water with you. (put them in an interior room, like a bathroom or closet in case it spawns any tornadoes.) It may be a few days before you have power again and get everything that could fly away that you care about inside. The 1st story of my house growing up was built into a hill so it was underground. We had it made that way. It was in no way fancy, but a good shelter if we had a tornado or hurricane. 😉

ALSO- you may be tempted to go outside and hang out during the eye of the storm. My Dad has gotten some amazing pictures of the eye wall coming in, but, man, what a stupid move. He is just fine (nothing bad happened)- and I don't stress about much. AT ALL. I'm super laid back and easy going. My life motto is- it is what it is -No worries.... But THAT, was stupid. If there is an eye wall that is defined somewhat- it's going to hit hard and fast. Just know there is going to be a lull. It's not over. It's only half done. And the back half could be way worse. (I've seen 50' trees sway and lay down -completely up-rooted, from hurricanes. Pretty scary.);)

Keep in mind- if you are an hour inland or more- you should be okay (STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS AND DOORS). Less distance- I suggest you evacuate like everyone has said. Your stuff is just stuff. You can replace it. You can't replace you or your loved ones. These storms are NO JOKE. And I'm still mainland. I'm moving to STX in about 6 months. I'm glad I have been through hurricanes so I know not to take them lightly. (don't get hammered and just try to sleep through it. That's dumb. No hurricane parties. Those people lose houses and stuff and are only left with a hangover. Don't be THAT GIRL/GUY.) So, just judge the situation for yourself. If you don't feel comfortable- leave and decide to do it early. If you stay- use your best judgement- and I wish you the best. I hope you and your friends and family stay safe and you all will be in my thoughts! Good luck!! Wishing you the best!!

P.S.- lots of candles and a good book. 😎 😀

remember, shelters do not allow pets

Authorities want folks that are in mandatory evacuation zones to have access to the public shelters first. So, if you're not in a mandatory evacuation area, as Awe stated above, you may consider hunkering down. The bottom line: If the authorities tell you to leave, then be prepared to LEAVE immediately when they tell you to leave. If you choose to ignore their advice, authorities here will provide you a kind of a "dog tag" that you complete with your information and wear at all times. That way, when they find your body it will make identification and notification a faster process.

Regarding pets, since Florida has frequent experience with hurricanes, there are some shelters now that are designated as "pet friendly". But, there are restrictions even for pet-friendly shelters (must be in a carrier/cage, must be of certain size, etc.). It took FL govt a very long time to come around to the understanding they needed to provide emergency shelter for people that wanted to bring their pets. Many hotels are pet-friendly though there is a cleaning surcharge and these hotels have a tendency to fill up very fast.

Keep up with current weather situations. Probably going to be a big few days for TV and news people in your area who may offer hints on what areas may potentially be in a mandatory evacuation zone. Your county govt web site probably has this information as well.

remember, shelters do not allow pets

Not true in the states. Almost every jurisdiction has pet-friendly shelters, including on the outer banks of NC.

it is good to hear shelters accept pets, when i lived there i thought they didn't.

You should probably check before going to a shelter with your pet;

YES, Linda J is right. You should check BEFORE you go. You cannot assume. Not all public shelters are pet friendly and even those that are ....have RULES. Knowledge is power.

Pictures and video of the interior and exterior of the house are invaluable if you have to prove damage and show your level of preparation - it may be days until an insurance adjustor can assess your damages and clean up can reduce what you are entitled to if you can't prove some level of before and after effects.

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No hurricane parties? You guys are no fun. If safetly is that important to you, they why would you live in STX in the first place? 🙂

Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. We can all do what we want I suppose including drinking alcohol during a significant and potentially life threatening weather event. I've encountered some terrifying situations during storms/hurricanes that required me to take immediate action to keep myself and my family safe. I'm all for having celebratory cocktails AFTER the danger has passed. Maybe I am being to "heavy" or taking the lighthearted comments about partying during a storm too seriously.....I have seen things go to hell in a handbasket in a matter of seconds so it's hard for me to be lighthearted when discussing what to do before and during a storm.

Keeping good thoughts and sending best wishes that all in the path of Irene come through the storm safely.