I’m not going to lie, I basically live under a rock when it comes to local news, weather, etc. so I didn’t hear about how vastly close Hurricane Florence was approaching our North Carolina coast until a few days before it started.
Chatter of it began to pop up on my social media feeds – the storm grew to a Category 4. So we knew that we should really start preparing.
Generator 101
One of the first things we did was prepare our generator. Also known as a refresher course for me! Meshach had to show me (again) how to use it.
Ever since 2 years ago when we were without power during a freak ice storm for a week, we decided to buy a generator. So far, we’ve never needed to use it but I’m glad we were able to get one for our home.
Food and Supplies
We pretty much had a supply of water bottles on-hand, but bought a few extra gallons of it. The only water that was left at our local Target were gallon size jugs of distilled water – which Meshach said comes in handy if we need to use them in our cars.
Next, we stocked up on whatever canned goods we could find. Almost every store we went to was wiped clean!
We filled up our bath tub and some pots with clean water (in case we lost water in the storm to flush the toilets, etc.) We also dug out our life jackets to make sure they were still in good condition.
In times like these, I always feel like we’re over doing ourselves and when you have others around you being nonchalant about storm preparation you tend to second guess if you’re overreacting.
But you never know what could happen. So what if you filled up on gas or bought tons of tuna and bread to feed your family in an emergency. It’s better safe than sorry, right?
The School Bus
We also had a little fun while shopping for supplies at Walmart. An employee was taking down a cardboard school bus display and replacing it with football stuff.
Meshach asked him what they were going to do with the box and the employee said they didn’t need it and were going to throw it in the trash. He asked Meshach if he wanted it – of course Meshach (and Tristan) said yes!
Tristan played with that school bus all throughout the storm.
Meshach had to work long 12 hour shifts at his job during the hurricane so Tristan and I were home by ourselves looking for something to do. In case you didn’t know, Meshach is a certified FEMA Crisis and Emergency Responder. He is an essential personnel for all disaster and crisis situations that affects our area.
We often joke about the cardboard bus being Tristan’s correct school bus since he was almost put on the wrong bus home on his first day of school. He would’ve been dropped off on the other side of town. We stick to carpool now.
Hurricane Florence
School was released early that Wednesday afternoon and closed the rest of the week with the expectation of Florence hitting our area.
At first, nothing really happened in our town until maybe Thursday evening. It started with a breeze, then eventually turned into crazy wind gusts. And then the rain came. So much rain!
I thought for sure we would lose power because we always do in storms but that never happened. However, we did lose our internet service for a few days.
But that is nothing compared to the people who have suffered the loss and experienced Hurricane Florence’s path of destruction to their homes.
Finally nearing the end of Hurricane Florence in the Carolinas and moving on, there is a lot of work to be done in rebuilding homes and towns. The hurricane not only caused damage on the coast but inland as well.
So many beaches we and others enjoyed visiting are in ruins. Two of them, Surf City and Wrightsville, are recent beaches we’ve day tripped to over the last few weeks.
Wilmington is also flooded hard.
The hurricane also spawned tornadoes, including many over the last 24 hours as I am writing this post.
If there is one thing to learn about natural disasters, mother nature is unpredictable and we should all be ready.
Have you ever been in a natural disaster and were you prepared for it? Comment below and share this post.
Sign up for our FREE newsletters and get inspirational stories, travel tips, giveaways and more great content delivered to your inbox!
Like what you see? Pin it!
No Comments