Well, a few months ago Dept. of Homeland Security made a sensible recommendation for the folks worrying about hurricanes and bird flu. Every time you go to grocery store, get an extra can of nonperishable food. After a year, you'll have enough cans to sustain you for two weeks. That's the advice we have followed. We have a week's worth of nonperishables, several gallons of water plus whatever produce vegetable garden provides. We also have pre-cut plywood for all our windows and Ply-locks to secure the plywood. Still no crank-up radio, but it's on the list. I'm hunting for a kerosene lamp. We have camping gear, so in event of evacuation we can pitch a tent at any state park.

Three things that we have not bought are a bicycle for DH and two little tow-behind-bike trailers. Last year, while sitting in evacuation traffic with two million fellow Houstonians, we were passed by a biker on his well-equipped bike. He was comfortably cruising at 12 mph or so on the shoulder of the road, while everybody else just sat there motionless, all the V-6s, four-wheel drives and satellite navigation systems totally useless. A bike, a trailer, camping gear, lotsa water, spare tire or two, patching kit - that's my preferred way of evacuation.

I, too, hope for safe hurricane season for everyone.

Kasia

I'm always ready. Alicia made me paranoid as hell! I KNEW the house was going to blow away any second.
For years everyone laughed at me and my evacuation paranoia, then came Katrina and Rita. Of course, I still don't know why people in Sugarland and Huntsville ran off, that's where we GO!
And some idiot from the USMS, said on Good Morning America last week, part of the problem was people going so far, that you didn't need to evacuate to Dallas! Well, duh! Like we WANTED to? There were no hotels, no campgrounds, no restaurants, grocery stores, gas stations, etc. open so you had NO choice!
My plan is like always, if we get enough notice then run away. If we don't then hunker down and hope for the best. I have enough food for a month, us and the animals, lots of water containers to be filled, emergency lighting, medical supplies, wind up radio,extra film, extra bullets, etc. Off to buy a generator tomorrow. We have the boards all cut for the windows. The chain saws are sharpened.
Alicia was a cold front on Monday, a tropical depression on Tuesday, tropical storm on Wednesday, on Friday we got hit with a category 2 or 3(the controversy rages) and it was NOT ever predicted to hit Galveston or to grow as large as it did. So evacuating is not always an option.
Rita and Katrina were rare in that we had about 5 days to watch and prepare. In the Gulf we breed our own storms and sometimes, like Alicia, there is less than 24 hours notice.
Tally HO!

Beachplant...do you have anyone north of I-10 to stay with? We had this big old house, tons of room and no one asked to come stay...or came when we offered. Same for our neighbors. As you know, when the cane hits land, it slows it down...so by the time the perimeter nears I-10, it's no worse than the regular storms we get during the year.

I really hope people are smarter next time around...and the stupid mayor and tv talking heads shut up!! What these people won't do for ratings and re-elections!! Houston is not a bowl waiting to be filled up with water like New Orleans is. Only our coastal folk need to move north. How angry I would have been if I lived in Freeport and could not get my family out of the area because people from Spring were blocking the roads and using up the gas! All the store/gas station closings were a joke! Why does the man who owns the service station at I-45 and 1960 need to get his family, who lives 10 minutes away, close down his business, and join in the gridlock to Dallas?

What planet am I on?

Mrs. Box, we'll be there. If we can get there! Last year it took my brother 9 hours to get from Galveston to Pasadena!!
When the evacuees from Galveston got to the "designated" shelter it was full!! And most of them lived less than 10 miles from the shelter!
Houstons idiot mayor said after it was all over that he NEVER told anyone to leave!! After he was instilling fear in everyones head.
Needless to say, I am still angry at the idiots that didn't need to leave. If a storm surge hits Sugarland we're all in trouble!
Tally HO!

Janet and Kasia, thanks for some wonderful, timely tips! For some reason I can't explain, I am extra fearful that this is the year we "get it" bad. The really hard pill to swallow is, we don't have the money or the physical strength to do all the house prepping that we should do. Or even, to do minimal house prepping.

I'm still trying to persuade DW to evacuate according to MY plan. She wants to ride out anything Category 3 or below. (?!) I want to be in the Hill Country, or Lost Pines, or the northern Piney Woods, within 5 hours of knowing there's so little as a Tropical Depression in the Gulf. That's one big "gulf" of disagreement we've got!

I have wind up flashlights which I thought were the greatest thing in town.No more batteries to run down.I have food and a few things that will last and my daughter also has a few things.We live in the Woodlands and it is a longway to the gulf so we will not be leaving here.Just make sure that nothing is left outside Would not go on the freeway.Jessie

I've been buying a bottle of water, batteries, or extra nonperishable food items every week since March. Next on my list of things to do is get my pets' prescriptions renewed for their sedatives. If they have to be in the car again for an evacuation, I want them to be happily unaware of the stressful situation.

FYI: If you need a place to evacuate to let me know.PJ

I thought about writing a letter to the editor of the Chronicle. I thought that we residents of the immediate coast could evacuate to Conroe, the Woodlands, etc. and stay in the houses of the people that evacuated from there. That way we wouldn't get stuck behind the morons, we'd have a nice home to ride the storm out in and then we could easily drive back to the island.
Whatta ya'll think?
Tally HO!

I love this thread! I told my DH the same thing when Rita was "happening" last year - we do not live in a bowl, surrounded by levees, and our elevation here is 23'.
We did not leave. I admit, I was scared, but I was more scared of what was happening on the highways! We stocked up, "hunkered down" and rode out the night. I was nervous about a few oaks near the house, but nothing came crashing down. Thank the Lord! And I was praying!!

My youngest sister was born the day Hurricane Carla hit here in 1961, so we couldn't leave then! In fact, my family has never left for a hurricane...except last year. Ironically, my youngest sister, Carla, is the only one who left town with her family!! She said it was a nightmare. They made it to Dallas to her DH's family, but she said never again.

I am stocking up again (slowly each time I shop), and trimming some oak limbs that hang over the roof.

I'm praying that this year will be....calmer.
And the media won't scare the h*ll out of everyone! Plus people need to think - we are not New Orleans!!!