If you live in Florida, it is likely that you have experienced the stress of a hurricane, and if you haven’t you are either extremely lucky, lying, or haven’t lived in Florida that long. Power outages from a hurricane are stressful for anyone, but it can be even more stressful for disabled people who have medical needs that are more difficult to manage without power. Hurricanes are not something that happens every day but if you live in Florida, it’s something that you occasionally will have to deal with. Hurricanes are stressful and I am fortunate that I don’t have any life-saving medical equipment that I have to use every day that requires power because that can be a problem after a hurricane. Floridians are preparing for Hurricane Helene which is expected to be a very large storm that will cause a lot of power outages. Luckily, I do not live in the area that is getting a direct hit but most of Florida will be experiencing severe weather and we all need to prepare ourselves. How do you prepare for a hurricane when you are disabled? In this post, I am going to talk about what I do to prepare for a hurricane.
Go to shelter- When there is a hurricane, I am able to stay at home because someone is always with me, and I don’t need to go to a shelter. If I lived alone in my own apartment I would probably go to a shelter for my own safety because if there was an emergency, I am unable to get out as quickly as a non-disabled person can. There are a lot of shelters specifically for disabled people that you could go to if you felt unsafe or had medical equipment that needed power to operate. Find a shelter in your area if you feel unsafe or have medical equipment that needs power because property damage can be repaired but you cannot. Don’t unnecessarily put yourself in an unsafe situation because you never know how quickly you will be able to get help.
Make sure you have enough meds– Before a hurricane, I always make sure I have at least a week or two of medication because you never know how long the power is going to be down or if the pharmacy you get your medication from will be open immediately after the hurricane has passed. I am not usually out of power for more than a few days but if I can I always stock up on my medication because you don’t want to put yourself in a situation where you don’t have access to your medication. When there is a change in the weather a lot of the time a migraine can be triggered and not having power is not helping because heat can trigger migraine pain. I recently got my preventative refilled which means I have medication for at least three months, and it is highly unlikely we will lose power for that long. Always make sure you have enough meds before any kind of storm because it’s not always safe to drive after a storm.
Charge your devices- Before a storm, I always charge all of my devices because you never if there is going to be an emergency and you need to call for help. During a hurricane, I am always with someone and don’t usually need to call for help, but I still charge all of my electronic devices because I like to be reachable in case someone is worried about me or there is an emergency, and I am the only one that could call for help. Before you lose power charge your devices and be smart and don’t waste all your battery on unimportant things such as updating Instagram because these things can wait. You never know what the conditions will be like after a hurricane and your phone is useless if it doesn’t have a charge. You can get a portable charger that you can use when you don’t have power but even these things need to be charged ahead of time.
Make sure you have enough food and water- People who may have just moved to Florida and are experiencing their first hurricane sometimes will have more anxiety and will go a little overboard on the supplies. I will never be one of those people who will go to the store and buy thirty cases of water for one person because I think it’s a little inconsiderate of others who also need these things but may not be able to get them because you bought more than necessary. Before a storm make sure you stock up on food that won’t go bad if you lose power and have enough water to drink. We have a filtered water system which makes it easier to stock up on water without needing to go to the store because stores can be crazy before a storm, and it can be difficult to get some supplies such as water.
Be proactive with your medical needs- A day before a hurricane I always do my bowel regimen because it’s easier to do when there is power, and I am less stressed which does affect my ability to have a bowel movement. We have a generator and if we were out of power for more than a couple of days and I had to do my bowel regimen I would be able to, but I wouldn’t be able to take a hot shower and I hate taking cold showers. Before a storm, I try to be a little proactive with my medical needs and do my bowel regimen, so I am good for a few days. It is not wasting your time if you don’t lose power because these things have to get done regardless so you might as well be on top of it. There would be nothing worse than getting severely constipated and not being able to manage it as effectively because you don’t have power.
Do not panic- If you lived in Florida, you would think that all Floridians would be completely calm about hurricanes because it’s something we have experienced before, but that is only sometimes true because people who just moved to Florida are not built for hurricanes or any natural disaster, and often go into complete panic mode. It is normal to be a little stressed about hurricanes because we all worry about potential property damage, but you aren’t going to change anything by panicking about it. Do what you can to be safe and try not to stress about things you cannot control because it will make the whole experience a little less stressful.
Be informed– Before a storm, I do not have the weather on constantly because it can be stressful to be listening to weather updates every ten minutes and sometimes the news causes people to panic more. I do periodically turn on the weather because it’s important to be informed of new updates to better prepare yourself. If you are not informed it’s easy to be under-prepared and not have everything you need to survive the hurricane.
Hurricanes are stressful, but it’s part of living in Florida, and it can be a little less stressful when you are prepared. You can’t change the fact that a hurricane is coming, but you can do your best to prepare for the absolute worst and hope that it ends up being nothing. The weatherman sometimes is a little off with the direction of a hurricane, and sometimes it goes a completely different direction than we originally thought, but if you ever turn on the news, it’s never a complete surprise, and you will know when a hurricane might hit your area. Before a hurricane, I like to get a couple of crafts that do not require power, so if I don’t have power for a couple of days, I am not bored out of my mind. How do you prepare for severe weather when you are disabled? If you liked this post, please leave a comment below and share it with your friends.
Subscribe And Never Miss A Post
My Rockin Disabled Life 