How to prepare for a hurricane
A hurricane gives days of notice and most of it gets wasted. The 96-hour countdown, what the category does not tell you and when the window to leave closes.
A hurricane is the disaster that gives the most warning and gets prepared for the worst. Days of forecasts arrive, and the work that could have been spread across them piles into the last afternoon, when the shops are empty and the plywood is gone.
The other recurring mistake is watching the wrong number. The category is a wind rating. Most people who die in hurricanes die in water.
What the category does not tell you
| Hazard | What decides it | Where it kills |
|---|---|---|
| Storm surge | Track, size, angle of approach, coastal shape, tide | The coast, often far from the eye |
| Inland flooding | Rainfall total and how slowly the storm moves | Hundreds of miles inland, days later |
| Wind | Category | Anywhere in the wind field |
| Tornadoes | Embedded rainbands | Usually the right-front quadrant |
A slow, sprawling category 1 dumping rain over a river basin can be far more lethal than a compact category 3. Read the surge forecast and the rainfall forecast, not just the number.
Before the season
Look up your evacuation zone. Zones are published by local emergency management and are based on surge, not on distance from the beach. Know your letter or number and know your route.
Cover the openings. Shutters or pre-cut, labelled plywood, with the fasteners stored alongside. A garage door is the most common structural failure point in a house, and bracing it is cheap.
Buy flood insurance months ahead. Standard property policies do not cover flood, and flood policies typically carry a waiting period of about 30 days.
Trim trees and clear drains. Anything that can become a projectile or block water is a job for a calm weekend.
The countdown
Once a storm has a name and a cone that includes you, the work has an order. The full version is in the 96-hour timeline.
- 96 h. Review the plan, check supplies, refill prescriptions, decide who is leaving and where they are going.
- 72 h. Fuel every vehicle, draw cash, charge everything, confirm the destination and tell an out-of-area contact.
- 48 h. Board or shutter the openings, clear the yard, freeze water bottles, do the laundry while there is power.
- 36 h. If you are leaving, leave. Routes fill and then close.
- 24 h. Fill the bathtub for washing, set the fridge to its coldest, position the bag and documents by the door.
- 12 h. Inside, away from windows, in an interior room on the lowest floor that will not flood.
During: where to be
- In an interior room, on the lowest floor that is not at risk of flooding, away from all windows and exterior doors.
- Not in a mobile or manufactured home, at any category, under any circumstances.
- Do not go outside during the eye. The calm is the middle of the storm and the wind returns from the opposite direction within minutes.
- Keep shoes on and the radio running. Both matter more than they sound like they do.
After: the dangerous week
More people are injured after landfall than during it — by generators, chain saws, contaminated water and downed lines.
- Run generators outdoors only, far from windows and doors, and never in a garage. Why carbon monoxide is the main risk.
- Treat every downed line as live, and every flooded road as impassable.
- Do not drink from the tap until it has been declared safe.
- Photograph all damage before clearing it, for the claim.
- Check on neighbours who use powered medical equipment first.
The ZonaProtec monitor shows official watches and warnings in effect at a point you search, alongside the rest of the threats near you.
Guides
- What to do in the 96 hours before a hurricane The useful window closes far earlier than people think. What to do at 96, 72, 48, 24 and 6 hours before landfall, hour by hour.
- Hurricane watch vs warning: what each one means A watch says conditions are possible; a warning says they are expected. The difference is about 12 hours and it defines what you should be doing now.
- When to evacuate for a hurricane and what to take An evacuation order is not a suggestion. How to find out whether your address is in an evacuation zone, when to leave and what fits in the car.
Gear that covers this
Products that match what the guide above recommends.
Affiliate disclosure: As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. This does not change the price you pay or the recommendations we make.
- View on Amazon
Weather radio with alerts
Advisories update every three hours and the ones that change your decision often arrive overnight, after the power has gone.
- View on Amazon
Waterproof document pouches
Deeds, policies and prescriptions are what make the weeks afterwards possible, and they are lost to wet more often than to wind.
- View on Amazon
High-capacity power banks
The phone is the alert system, the map and the contact list, and outages after landfall run in weeks rather than days.
Frequently asked questions
Does the category tell me how dangerous it is?
Only for wind. The Saffir-Simpson scale rates sustained wind speed and nothing else, while most hurricane deaths come from water — storm surge and inland freshwater flooding. A category 1 with a large surge kills more people than a category 4 that stays offshore.
When does the window to evacuate close?
Well before the storm arrives. Evacuation routes fill and then flood, bridges close at a set wind speed, and shelters stop accepting arrivals. If an order is issued for your zone, the useful window is the first hours of it, not the last.
Should I tape my windows?
No. Taping does not stop breakage and produces larger, heavier shards. Shutters or plywood cut to fit and fastened properly are what works, and both have to be ready before the watch is issued.
How long should I plan to be without power?
Plan for a week, not for three days. After a major landfall, restoration in the worst-hit areas routinely runs one to three weeks, and water and fuel supply are disrupted for much of that time.