Friday, November 3, 2017

Hurricane Essentials

The Caribbean has a large diaspora in very developed countries. One can help by purchasing items below for relatives.

Power infrastructure usually gets wipe out entirely during a hurricane. Global Warming and Climate Change will make hurricanes more frequent like what has occurred in 2017--three hurricanes hitting the Caribbean back to back, wiping out the economies of Caribbean nations.

Solar Generators

Lucky for the Caribbean, it is blessed with sun. Both longterm and shorterm, going solar is very feasible. Because of Lithium ion batteries ,one can have a portable self contained power unit that can be charged using solar panels.

Solar Cooking

One can cook with the power of the sun.

parabolic dish cookers

Top Cooking with Freshnel Lens--too much power!!

Many different configuration of solar cookers

Satelite Phones

During hurricane Maria telecommunication infrastructure was completely wiped out. Cell towers were knocked down, rendering island communication to zero. Sattelite phones could be a good solution to this problem. It communicates with satellites; it is not dependent on local telecommunication infrastructure; and one can communicate from almost anywhere in the world.

Satellite phones are not cheap. They can range from hundreds of dollars to thousands of dollars--the price of a laptop or computer. The cost of minutes can be up to $1USD a minute. Many satellite phone companies offer prepaid cards. Prepaid cards can be activated at time of use.

Puerto Rico

Choosing a Satellite Phone





Thuraya offers a Sat Sleeve that converts your android phone into a satellite phone, but Thuraya works best in Asia, Africa, and Europe.

Concrete Block Home, Cement Roof, Re-enforce Roof

The safest buildings are concrete block homes with cement roof, or re-enforce galvanized roofs. Having windows of metal windable louvers can be another added safety. Having lived through a hurricanes, I notice all homes built of concrete block walls were always up but roofs were blown off. One can sleep like a baby in these homes during a hurricane. There is plenty of wisdom to the Three Little Pigs story and the hurricane wolf.

Underground Power Lines

In the long run building power lines underground is more feasible, like in Europe. Building underground is expensive in the short run, but cheaper in the long run.

The Elon Musk Model

Elon Musk's business model on a grand scale is appropriate for the Caribbean.