How many does it take?

Just wondering this morning how many extreme weather events happening in places that "it never happened here before" does it take before we take preparing seriously

And:

Make sure we have enough water stored for our families for at least a week (believe me, when the government says "three days"?  I hear "at least a week")

Doesn't have to be fancy - just store it in leftover juice bottles if that's what you have!

Ways to cook that don't depend on electricity being available.  Again it doesn't have to be fancy, we just have to have it before the "event".

I saw an interview on the Weather Channel yesterday.  Woman out looking for water for her family - and that was the third day from Michael hitting the Florida Panhandle.  She was already out of food too.

Which brings me to my next suggestion (yeah, I know - it's really nagging, not just suggesting):  Have some non-perishable food that you can eat without cooking (in case you missed the part about a way to cook)

Yeah, it's not gourmet but it's food and it can, in a pinch, be eaten without cooking.

And, by the way, even if you can get out to the store, what do you think you are going to find?

Yeah..........pretty much nothing. 

Realize that most stores don't stock much - they depend on daily deliveries and in the aftermath of even a small disaster (which Michael the Storm is far from being) deliveries are often impossible for days if not weeks.

So, it's only common sense (see?  I'm giving you all the benefit of the doubt and assuming you have that valuable commodity) to plan ahead, keep extra food in the house and be able to ride out an extended period of time in relative comfort.

All this would also assume that you are able to stay in your house.  Evacuation is an entirely different subject but the most important part of it is this:

IF THE AUTHORITIES TELL YOU TO GET OUT, YOU SHOULD ALREADY BE GONE!

Don't wait, don't waffle, don't argue - LEAVE!

And on that cheery note, please get a plan in place and be ready for the next time we are visited by something "that never happens here"!