Don't be that guy

Anyone with a set of ears and eyes knows about Hurricane Harvey.  One of the better results of our "communication age" is that we hear ahead of time about things that can kill us.  Admittedly sometimes these events are over-hyped but, hey, better safe than sorry.

So Harvey came ashore last night and is creating havoc up and down the Texas coast - flooding areas that haven't seen water like this in 40 years (which means almost a generation of residents who don't get it when they hear "storm surge") and blowing almost anything taller than a parking meter down or over.  Old Harv is causing power outages that may last for weeks since repair crews can't get to an area to fix things until the roads are clear and safe.  He is also flooding places with rainfall that are so far inland they haven't seen the ocean in years!

The officials have, for the most part, avoided mandatory evacuations - leaving it up to the individual to exercise their innate right to stay in their houses and take their chances.  Although, having been told no one is coming to save them in the event they are in danger, it would seem to me the wise thing would be to get the hell out of Dodge!

All that being said and with the advanced warning you would think that:

People

Would

Be

Prepared


You wouldn't expect that they would be tearing out at the last minute to gas up their vehicles.

Even if there was still gas!

And if you are smart enough and able to have a generator?  That's going to need a supply of gas most likely:

Or rushing to the grocery store and then bitching because there was a 2 pack limit per person on bottled water.  They are actually doing this in Texas as of yesterday.

That they would have either alternate sources of power or (see above) get out of Dodge now.

Amazingly you would, in a lot of cases, be incorrect!  And there they are, out of luck!

Either they don't believe the hype (who could possibly not put faith in Jim Cantore?), they are preoccupied with everyday life (benefit of the doubt here) or they are just plain dumb.

In New England, as I have probably said to excess, we are not generally subject to severe weather - not as many tornadoes as some parts of the country, not too many hurricanes and, except for an occasional blizzard even our winters aren't normally as bad as some areas of the world.

As usual, all this is leading up to what I hope is a recognizable point:  the time to be ready for an emergency is when there isn't one.

Simple, yeah?

Have a supply of non-perishable food for at least a week and an alternate way to cook if the power/gas goes out..  Have a water supply stashed away (and don't forget what's in your hot water heater).

Keep your meds up to date - fill those prescriptions when you can and not when you just ran out.  It's really hard to plan an emergency, yeah?

Have your important documents gathered together so if you have to leave, it's a grab and go sort of thing.  That applies to a BOB (bug out bag) also but that's really another subject.

Gas the car/truck up regularly - keep it at least half full and relax knowing you can get out of the danger zone if you have to without sitting in one of those lines at the gas station while your time line winds down to zero.

Do not be "that guy" - the one who is ill prepared or, worse, not prepared at all for an emergency.  In that case you will be either in severe discomfort or, worse, serious danger that could have been avoided if you had just put a little thought into preparing for the unexpected.

Simple, yeah?