Hurricane survival kits are important. And after living through 10 hurricanes, I’ll tell you why. Sandy recently drove out to the Atlantic, not far from the Virginia Headlands, and made a sharp left turn toward New Jersey. Many people were prepared, and another group didn’t even try. In Virginia we were lucky… this time.

10 years ago, it was a different story. With Isabel we were at the mercy of storms. There was no electricity for weeks. Neighbors shared generators and supplies. it was as if we were thrown back to the 1800’s. Anyone without a hurricane survival kit of any kind was caught empty-handed.

The strange thing is that many do not heed the warnings when the storm bears down on them. They don’t use survival checklists or anything. This happened in Katrina and Sandy.

There were many who heeded the warnings. Most of those same people depended on whatever was left on store shelves to meet their needs. Of course we know what happens in those circumstances.

All store shelves are emptying fast. But for you it will be different. After reading this article, you will know the key items that go into a hurricane preparedness kit. And it will make you a little more independent from other people.

SO THIS IS WHAT WE ARE GOING TO DO…

Let’s build a 72 hour hurricane survival kit. 72 hours because that’s how long it would take for rescue personnel to arrive. And we’re going to build it in two parts.

So the first thing will be to build a basic survival kit. This core part will be the basic survival parts that everything else will be built on. After that, Step 2 will add capacity through elements that are unique to a hurricane situation.

If you want to go really crazy, you could have not only a hurricane module, but a medical module, a communications module, etc. It makes organizing things so much easier and you don’t risk forgetting the essentials when the time comes. However, for this article, we will stick with the kernel and a hurricane module.

We’ll finish with some additional reference items to help with survival kit planning and checklists. This will include some iPhone apps.

GEAR ITEM 1: CONTAINERS FOR ORGANIZATION

GearPods is where it all begins. The core part of your homemade kit will be in a separate container like a GearPod, or it could be a section of your bug out bag. No matter what it is, it has to be an easy place to act as a container for the core.

Start the core with a hurricane preparedness checklist. Next are the foods.

GEAR ITEM 2: WATER PURIFIER

My suggestion for water would be not to store water but to process water. So the solution would be to boil the water you find or have in the home. Steri-Pen UV String Water Filters are amazing. I have the battery operated version of this, and it works great. But rope is even better because you never have to buy batteries for it. it is very portable.

TEAM ITEM 3: TYVEK SHELTER

Tyvek for housing is essential. The reason why is that if you are in a flood zone, your home could be destroyed. So if you find yourself without shelter, check out the article on Tyvek shelters. They are lightweight, waterproof and durable. Tyvek is great to put in your survival kit because it doesn’t take up a lot of space. Pack up some Paracord and you have thread to tie to the trees. Tyvek on your hurricane supply list is a must.

GEAR ITEM 4: FROGGTOGGS

With hurricanes there is no shortage of rain. It is essential to have waterproof clothing. One of my favorite pieces of outerwear that I own is my FroggToggs jacket. Every hurricane emergency kit should have something like this that is so packable and lightweight. These are the most waterproof garments I have ever seen or tried. Right now Wal-Mart sells them in the camping section. You could wear them as clothing and you wouldn’t believe how light and packable they are. They remind you of Tyvek but shed water like you wouldn’t believe.

GEAR ITEM 5: BLASMATCH

Electricity is something you never want to forget on your home’s hurricane checklist. But as recent hurricanes have shown us, it can happen. In that case, you need to know how to start a fire quickly. The cheapest, fastest and most foolproof way to start a fire is with a combination of two products. The first is a thing called explosive phosphorus. The Blast-Match is a one-handed striker and rod mechanism for generating sparks. You hold it with one hand and push it down and sparks come out of the device.

GEAR ITEM 6: DAMP FIRE TINDER

The second item that is essential for starting a fire is a thing called Tinder WetFire. Wet tinder comes in the form of small blocks. Start by cutting small chips from a block and use Blast-Match to spark the chips. You will have a fire so fast that it will blow your mind. Once the chips are on fire, you can add additional twigs and tinder and you’ll soon have a real fire.

GEAR POINT 7: GPS NAVIGATION

In most cases, you won’t have to leave your home in a hurricane. The only situation that could arise is a major flood. If that happens, you need to go and you may need some form of navigation. This is where a GPS comes in handy. In fact, your car may not be drivable or the roads may be absolutely crowded. In that case, you may have to leave on foot.

The hurricane module is quite simple. Three things will be essential in this part of all home hurricane survival kits. Note that they all require some form of power. Assume that the network will be down. So solar, wind and other sources are the key.

GEAR ITEM 8: COMMUNICATIONS

Of course, your cell phone is a great starting point. Even if cell service dies, you may still be able to text, like our family did with Katrina. Twitter works too.

One-way communications: a simple radio will suffice. Finishing is the best. I would stay with the Kaito or Freeplay models. Avoid Eton SolarLink models. I have tried the FR360 and it goes wrong.

One radio that has rave reviews is the Ambient Weather Adventurer WR111A Solar Hand Crank with Cell Phone Charger. It’s good because you can also turn it manually to charge your cell phone.

Two-Way Communications – If it gets flooded and stuck, two-way communications will be needed. A simple FRS/GMRS might do the trick. CB is better, although the channels will be crowded.

HAM is great because there are so many mobile units that are small enough to fit in a fanny pack survival kit for hurricane use. Also, believe it or not, you can find hams for less than $50. For the range you get from them, it’s a fantastic deal. HAM is the best, but you will need a license before you can operate it.

GEAR ITEM 9: HEAT/ELECTRICITY

The only thing you want to have when the power goes out is a thing called a BioLite stove. which is a small rocket although it has a small tinder at the bottom. so in that sense it’s a very conventional camping stove. And it’s not very big either, so it’s not when it comes to packing.

What makes the BioLite is that it has a device mounted on the side of the stove. This device has the ability to convert heat into electricity and has a USB port mounted on it. so what you do is light a fire in the stove itself.

Then connect your cell phone to the USB port. And the heat from the stove creates electricity to power a cell phone or small electronic device. It’s the most amazing thing I’ve seen in a long time. it’s a game changer. And you can get it from there for less than $150.

EXTRA GEAR: LIGHTING

Finish wins again. When a storm approaches, one of the first things to go is the batteries. And a great tool is a rope device. Remember the radio we talked about a little earlier? The WR 111A? It has a built-in rope lantern. So you’re combining a flashlight, radio, and charger all in one.

GEAR EXTRA: CHECKLISTS AND APPLICATIONS

Hurricane supply checklists are underrated. But they are huge. And the iPhone is great for checklists. Here are some apps I’m using and… they just work. I have used each.

ListPro: listpro is a versatile application for making lists. Not only does it have a version for Windows and Mac, but it also runs on the iPhone. Easy to sync across platforms. I almost live off this program both at home and at work.

Teudeaux – If you want a simple list program but it does what it does very well, then this is the ticket. You can create accounts online for free and it will sync with your device.

ToodleDo – the MacDaddy of list programs. You can categorize everything on your list from here to eternity. If you’re not careful, you can overwhelm him with information overload. But it is very capable as a checklist program.

Nubi Do – great app for lists.

ListWrangler – This app allows you to create template lists to jumpstart your list building efforts. For a hurricane checklist… that would be a good way to go.

Some are free and some are very cheap. And most of them sync with the web, but can run on your device even if the network fails.

As you build your list, break everything down into sub-lists. Like who to contact, where to go, what to do in case XYZ happens.

For pages upon pages and illustrations of survival information, check out the Army Survival Book Collection, for iPhone and iPad. It’s over 10,000 pages long and includes 24 books included in the app and each one can be downloaded for free Watch on iTunes for 99 cents, it’s a bargain.

Other iPhone apps to check out are disaster alerts.

AlertsUSA lets you know the latest alerts across the United States and the world

Disaster Alert gives you an interactive map of current, real-time hazards happening around the world every 5 minutes View on iTunes.

Now that you’ve read this article, you have a good idea of ​​the types of supplies that will help you get through the hurricane. And he knows how to build and put together a hurricane survival kit.

But with every hurricane, one of the first things to go is communications. So at this point, your first step is to check out the article on survival communications. you can start planning to build a communications module for your hurricane survival kit.