Preparing for a hurricane means securing your home, building a supply kit, organizing important documents, and having a clear plan for whether you’ll stay or evacuate. The work happens in layers: some tasks you handle months in advance, others in the final 48 hours before a storm arrives. Here’s what to do at each stage.
Build a Supply Kit Before the Season
The single biggest mistake people make is waiting until a storm is forecast to buy supplies. By then, store shelves are empty and you’re competing with everyone else. Stock your kit at the start of hurricane season (June 1 in the Atlantic) and check it periodically.
The essentials:
- Water: One gallon per person per day for at least three days, covering both drinking and basic sanitation. A family of four needs a minimum of 12 gallons, but aim for a week’s worth if you have the space.
- Food: A several-day supply of non-perishable items. Canned goods, peanut butter, granola bars, dried fruit, and crackers all work. Don’t forget a manual can opener.
- Medications: Prescription medications (keep at least a week’s extra supply on hand), plus over-the-counter pain relievers, anti-diarrhea medication, and antacids.
- First aid kit: Bandages, antiseptic, gauze, medical tape, and any supplies specific to your household’s needs.
- Power and communication: A battery-powered or hand-crank weather radio, flashlights, extra batteries, and portable phone chargers.
- Cash: ATMs and card readers go down when the power does. Keep small bills.
If you have infants, elderly family members, or pets, add formula, diapers, extra mobility aids, pet food, and any specialized supplies they need. These items disappear from stores fastest.
Protect Your Windows and Doors
Flying debris is what destroys most homes during a hurricane, not the wind itself. Once a window breaks, wind pressure enters the house and can lift the roof off. Protecting your openings is the single most effective thing you can do to reduce structural damage.
Your options range widely in cost and effectiveness. Permanent hurricane shutters made of high-strength aluminum or steel, either accordion-style or roll-down, offer the best protection and can be deployed in minutes. They’re the top choice if you live in a hurricane-prone area and plan to stay long term. Removable storm panels, typically metal sheets you bolt into pre-installed tracks around each window, provide equally strong protection as long as they’re installed correctly. They cost less but take more time and effort to put up.
Impact-resistant hurricane windows are dual-paned and designed to withstand high-velocity winds and airborne objects. They’re not quite as protective as metal panels, but they require zero preparation when a storm approaches because the protection is built in. For many homeowners, that convenience is worth the tradeoff.
Plywood is the budget option. It’s better than leaving windows exposed, but it’s significantly less protective than metal shutters or storm panels. If plywood is your plan, buy it well before the season, pre-cut it to fit each window, and label the pieces so installation goes quickly. Use at least 5/8-inch exterior-grade plywood and attach it with permanent anchor bolts, not nails or tape.
Know Your Evacuation Zone
Every hurricane-prone county assigns evacuation zones based on storm surge risk, not wind speed. Zone A (or Zone 1, depending on your area) faces the greatest flooding danger and evacuates first. Your zone determines whether and when you’ll be told to leave.
Find your zone now, before any storm is in the forecast. Most counties publish searchable maps on their emergency management websites. Enter your address and note which zone you’re in. When a hurricane approaches, officials issue evacuation orders by zone. A mandatory evacuation means conditions are expected to be life-threatening and emergency services won’t be able to reach you during the storm. A voluntary evacuation means you’re strongly encouraged to leave, especially if you’re in a mobile home, a flood-prone area, or have medical needs that require electricity.
Plan your evacuation route in advance and identify at least two options in case one is congested or flooded. Know where you’ll go: a friend or family member’s home inland, a hotel, or a public shelter. If you’ll need a shelter, check whether it accepts pets, since many don’t. Some counties operate pet-friendly shelters separately.
Keep your car’s gas tank at least half full throughout hurricane season. Gas stations run dry quickly once evacuations begin, and a full tank gives you roughly 300 to 400 miles of range to get well clear of the storm’s path.
Organize Your Important Documents
Gather your critical paperwork and store it in a single waterproof container you can grab in minutes. This should include identification (passports, driver’s licenses, birth certificates, Social Security cards), insurance policies (homeowner’s, flood, auto, health), property deeds or lease agreements, and recent tax returns. Add a list of your bank account numbers, a copy of your medications and dosages, and emergency contact information.
Take photos or scans of every document and store them in a secure cloud service. If your physical copies are destroyed, the digital versions will let you file insurance claims, prove your identity, and access financial accounts during recovery. This five-minute task can save you weeks of frustration.
Buy Flood Insurance Early
Standard homeowner’s insurance does not cover flood damage, and flooding is the leading cause of hurricane-related property loss. You need a separate flood insurance policy, and here’s the catch: there’s a 30-day waiting period before coverage takes effect. If you buy a policy the week a storm is forecast, you won’t be covered.
There are a few exceptions to the 30-day wait. If you purchase flood insurance as part of getting, increasing, or renewing a mortgage, coverage starts immediately. If your property was recently reclassified into a high-risk flood zone, you have a 12-month window to buy a policy with only a one-day waiting period. Outside these situations, the 30-day rule applies, so purchasing early in the season is essential.
Before hurricane season, take a video walkthrough of your home showing the condition of every room, your major appliances, electronics, and furniture. Store the video in the cloud. This visual inventory makes the claims process dramatically faster and helps you prove the value of what was damaged.
What to Do in the Final 48 Hours
Once a hurricane watch is issued for your area (meaning hurricane conditions are possible within 48 hours), shift into final preparation mode:
- Bring outdoor items inside. Patio furniture, grills, potted plants, trash cans, and lawn decorations all become projectiles in hurricane-force winds.
- Install your window protection. Put up shutters, panels, or plywood.
- Fill your bathtubs with water. This gives you a backup water supply for flushing toilets and basic cleaning if the municipal water system goes down.
- Set your refrigerator and freezer to the coldest settings. A full freezer can keep food safe for about 48 hours without power if you keep the door closed. A half-full freezer lasts about 24 hours.
- Charge everything. Phones, laptops, portable battery packs, and power tools you might need for post-storm cleanup.
- Review your plan with your household. Make sure everyone knows whether you’re staying or going, where you’ll meet if separated, and who your out-of-area emergency contact is.
If you’re in an evacuation zone and the order comes, leave. Don’t wait for conditions to worsen. Roads flood and become impassable faster than most people expect, and once sustained winds hit 40 mph, emergency vehicles stop responding to calls. The time to leave is when it still feels like you’re overreacting.
Preparing if You’re Staying
If you’re outside the evacuation zone and your home is structurally sound, sheltering in place is reasonable for many storms. Choose an interior room on the lowest floor, away from windows. A bathroom, closet, or hallway works well. Bring your supply kit, documents, phone chargers, and a mattress or heavy blankets you can use as a shield if debris starts entering the house.
Stay away from windows during the storm, even if they’re shuttered. Don’t go outside during the eye of the hurricane. The calm is temporary, and the back half of the storm hits with winds from the opposite direction, often catching people off guard. Wait for official word that the storm has fully passed before venturing out, and watch for downed power lines, standing water that may be electrically charged, and weakened tree limbs overhead.