How to Build a Hurricane Preparedness Kit

When it comes to disasters, being prepared can make a world of difference. Whether you live in an area that’s affected by massive wildfires, tornados, or hurricanes, it’s important to have an emergency preparedness kit. Having this kit or go-bag on hand can help you evacuate more quickly or hunker down and ride out the storm with the supplies you need to survive.

If a large-scale disaster like a hurricane knocks out infrastructure, you may need to provide your own food and water for several days. If your water supply is compromised due to a storm, you’ll need to consider the very real risk of dehydration. It’s important to have a plan of action to ensure this doesn’t happen. Here, we’ve put together a checklist of what to include in a hurricane preparedness kit. You’ll find everything you should pack in your kit, and you’ll learn why an electrolyte powder like DripDrop ORS is the best choice for your emergency hydration protocol.

The Importance of Hydration During Hurricanes

With the exception of air, there’s little as crucial to survival as rehydration. Hurricanes and other natural disasters can limit access to water, power, and food supplies. That’s why it’s important to make sure you prepare for hydration in your hurricane preparedness kit.

Hydration isn’t just about water. Your body needs electrolytes — including sodium, potassium, magnesium, and zinc — to function properly. Electrolytes are charged minerals that help your muscles contract and play a key role in the nervous system. When you lose electrolytes and fluids more quickly than you can replace them, you can suffer from a condition called dehydration.

The risk of dehydration increases during emergency situations such as hurricanes, particularly without an emergency plan or hurricane kit. Hurricanes can cause flooding that contaminates water lines, making access to drinkable water scarce. Even if you’ve set aside water, you need electrolytes to help your body absorb this water. However, many hurricane kits don’t include the electrolyte packets your body needs to maintain fluid balance and properly operate.

In addition, hurricanes often occur in hot climates. When air conditioning and fans are unavailable due to storm-related power outages, your body sweats in an attempt to keep cool in the soaring temperatures. As you sweat, fluid and electrolytes move to the surface of your skin and evaporate, creating a cooling effect.

If you don’t replace your lost electrolytes quickly, you can develop dehydration. When dehydration sets in, you may experience a headache, dizziness, low blood pressure, and extreme thirst.

The best way to address dehydration is to use an oral rehydration solution like DripDrop ORS. It contains a precise ratio of electrolytes and glucose, which helps you absorb water and restore a natural electrolyte balance. It’s a better choice than plain water since water doesn’t contain many electrolytes. You can easily add the convenient packets to a hurricane preparedness kit so you’re always prepared to avoid dehydration, even when big storms hit your region.

Items To Have in Your Hurricane Preparedness Kit

Multiple United States government agencies including FEMA, the American Red Cross, the CDC, and Ready.gov provide advice for making a hurricane survival kit. These organizations also offer tips for emergency preparedness for a range of natural disasters including tornados, Derechos, earthquakes, and wildfire. If you live in a state like Florida, Texas, Louisiana, or up the Eastern Seaboard, it’s important to prepare for hurricane season.

Hydration Supplies for a Hurricane Preparedness Kit

Include a three-day supply of drinking water (one gallon of water per person per day) and DripDrop ORS. Remember, electrolytes are just as important as fluids to avoid dehydration.

More Hurricane Preparedness Kit Items

Here are other essentials you should have in your hurricane preparedness kit:

• Three-day supply of non-perishable foods: Canned foods like tuna, vegetables, instant soup, granola, and peanut butter are all good choices.
• Manual can opener
• Hand-crank radio or battery-powered radio
• NOAA weather radio
• First aid kit
• Portable USB battery chargers for cell phones
• Flashlight
• Extra batteries for all electronics, including different radios and flashlights
• Maps of the local area
• Dust mask
• Plastic sheeting and duct tape in case you need to shelter in place
• Personal hygiene items including toilet paper, wet wipes, moist towelettes, and hand sanitizer
• A wrench or pliers to turn off the water, electricity, natural gas, or other utilities

The above items are the basic disaster supplies you need to include in a hurricane emergency preparedness kit. They’ll enable you to take care of yourself and your family members while you wait for help. However, not everyone’s situation is the same.

Some people have children or infants who require additional supplies, while others may have medical conditions they may need to take into account. As such, you may want to consider a few more supplies in order to be comfortable or address your medical conditions.

Consider adding the following items to your hurricane preparedness kit:

• Medical supplies including prescription medications
• Nonprescription medications including Advil and Tylenol
• Fire extinguisher
• Infant formula and diapers
• Pet food and water for pets
• Matches or an alternative fire starter
• Important financial documents including insurance policies, passports, birth certificates, credit cards, and bank account information: Keep this information stored digitally in the cloud (ex., Google Drive), and keep original copies in a waterproof container.
• Sleeping bag or blankets for warmth
• Extra clothes and sturdy shoes — ponchos and rain gear are particularly useful in a hurricane kit
• Water treatment solutions or tablets
• Bleach for sanitizing and cleaning
• Paper plates, cups, utensils, and garbage bags
• Insect repellent
• Toothbrush and toothpaste

You should plan to keep one emergency preparedness kit filled with essentials like DripDrop ORS in your home, car, and at work. This way, you’re always prepared when disaster hits and can make plans to evacuate or shelter in place as needed.

Have an Emergency Plan in Place

When disaster strikes, having an emergency plan and supply kit in place is vital. Hurricanes can wreak havoc on people and their homes, even if you’re not in the direct path of the storm. These weather systems bring high winds, flooding, storm surges, and wind damage. Powerful storms can rip off roofs, level structures, and strand people in rapidly rising waters. They can also impair vital infrastructure, including water and electricity.

Fortunately, you can prepare for even the most destructive hurricanes by making an emergency plan. This includes putting together an evacuation plan and making a hurricane preparedness kit with plenty of water, food, and emergency supplies including DripDrop ORS.

Your emergency plan should also include deciding how you’ll get alerts and emergency notifications, knowing the best evacuation routes, and identifying how you’ll communicate with family and friends.

Prepare for Hurricanes With DripDrop ORS

Whether you’re gearing up for hurricane season or stocking emergency supplies for other natural disasters, packing the right items in your emergency kit can make all the difference.

DripDrop ORS is a key tool for emergency management. It’s used by firefighters, the military, and endurance athletes to avoid dehydration during daily activities and emergencies.

When it comes to avoiding dehydration during a disaster, no amount of water is enough. Your body needs a perfect balance of electrolytes and glucose to help absorption. With the precisely balanced ratio of DripDropORS, you can replenish vital electrolytes and fluids to quickly relieve dehydration. Plus, DripDrop ORS supplies vitamins like zinc, potassium, and magnesium, which are essential to support your overall health.

DripDrop ORS was developed by a doctor on a mission to defeat life-threatening dehydration. The patented formula provides medically relevant electrolyte levels, improving on the World Health Organization’s Oral Rehydration Solution (ORS) standards — and what's more, it tastes great.

For cases of mild to moderate dehydration, DripDrop ORS is a fast, effective, and great tasting remedy. With convenient packaging that allows you to have DripDrop ORS when you need it, where you need it, it’s a useful item to add to your hurricane preparedness kit along with the recommended amount of water. Get started with our most popular multi-flavor pouch for dehydration relief fast.