General Question

amazon's avatar

Does anyone have any advice for the big storm that's hitting San Francisco?

Asked by amazon (44 points ) January 3rd, 2008

This article claims there could be “hurricane-force winds of 75 mph” and mass power outages. What can I do to prepare?

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4 Answers

deepseas72's avatar

As a resident of hurricane-ravaged Louisiana, I am happy to help. Stock up on fresh water, first aid supplies, batteries, canned foods, flashlights, a battery-run or wind up radio. Put away anything loose outside the home, such as potted plants, lawn furniture(these things can be used as projectiles and cause harm to property and people during heavy winds). If you are staying in your home, consider a generator, either board up your windows or strengthen them by crisscrossing with duct tape. If you are evacuating, make sure you bring important documents(insurance,soc sec,etc), treasured photos, atleast a week’s worth of clothing, contacts, glasses. And NEVER leave your pets behind.

bpeoples's avatar

Deepseas: good advice!

Also, please note that the 75mph winds are at the tops of the hills above 1000 feet. Unless your address is adjacent to Grizzly Peak Road, you will mostly likely have to contend with 35–40 mph gusts. (Although, NOAA is reporting possible gusts to 60mph coastally)

You will see a lot of power outages—largely in areas where there are above ground power lines, but transportation will largely not be disrupted, and the outages (for the most part) will not affect the food supply chain. It seems like 75% of power outages are repaired within 2–3 days, the last few thousand customers usually takes a few weeks, so just hope you’re not one of them.

That said, you should ALREADY have at least 3 days of food & water stockpiled in case a disruptive event occurs (most likely an earthquake), and preferably a “go bag” packed near an exit to your house in case you need to evacuate for other reasons.

thegodfather's avatar

72 hour kit is a must. Also pinpoint humanitarian groups and churches that can give immediate community assistance should things go to pot. I know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was the fastest group to respond to Hurricane Katrina and was able to mobilize rapidly but got little press over it:

If you know a nearby church of theirs, or others’ churches, then once the trouble strikes, go check out what they have available. Usually they’ll have necessities like food and clothing, but also have manpower for helping rebuild stuff for free.

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