So there's a hurricane coming to Maine. Other than picking up loose stuff in the yard

[GreenPartyVoter]

I am not sure how to ready the house. It's a trailer so I dunno if plywood on the windows is possible. Should I just tape them?

I've got flashlights and food ready. I need to fill up some water jugs.

Anything else?

[Gormy Cuss]

Have a full gas tank in the car.

I remember taping windows in the past hurricane threats in the Northeast.
Fill your floor bucket with water too -- comes in handy for flushing.

Google "hurricane preparedness." Here's one Florida link's advice:
http://www.fiu.edu/~getready/operations_warningplan.htm

INSIDE YOUR HOME

* Store all important documents and valuables in portable, waterproof containers and place them at a high elevation.
* Clean bathtub, jugs, bottles and cooking utensils thoroughly. Fill jugs and bottles with water for drinking. Caulk bathtub drain and fill with water to be used for sanitary purposes.
* Turn up refrigerator and freezer to maximum cold and do not open unless necessary. Fill the freezer with extra water jugs or with crumpled paper, to keep it tightly packed. These suggestions can maintain food-preserving temperatures for up to two days without electricity.
* Take pictures off the walls and store them in a closet, preferably on a high shelf.
* Put as many loose objects as possible in drawers for safekeeping.
* Keep all windows securely closed.

MOBILE HOMES

* Turn off the water where it enters the home.
* Turn off fuel lines and gas tanks. Do not
disconnect fuel lines.
* Bring in or secure all outdoor objects.
* Leave! Do not stay in a mobile home during a tropical storm or hurricane.

I hope the storm turns out to sea before it gets there.

[RoyGBiv]

1. Tape is a myth ...

The only thing it does is prevent shattering into thousands of tiny bits. This actually meant something in days gone by but doesn't so much now. Most windows are made so they don't shatter like that.

The typical danger with windows is that they are hit by flying debris. Tape doesn't help you there at all.

And the glue is a PITA to get off afterward.

I think your biggest concern is the fact you're in a trailer and may see tornadoes.

[Texasgal]

2. Fill your bath tub with water.

You never know...

Good luck! :)

[grasswire]

3. I wouldn't stay in a mobile home.

Do you have somewhere else you could ride out the storm? Seriously. It's not worth taking the risk.

[crim son]

4. Yeah. Dump the boyfriend.

Then at least you won't have any company during the big event. :eyes:

Seriously... it never occurred to me to prepare for this hurricane. Should I? I guess candles, at least, are in order.

[geomon666]

7. If you're going to get hit then yeah, prepare.

Get candles, water, canned foods, cash, and fill your car up with gas. And if you're in a trailer like the OP is, get out too.

[crim son]

9. I'm in a house, in town.

The last time there was a hurricane in the area we saw tremendous winds and rain. I'm not anywhere near a flood zone. I have candles. I hope the boyfriend I just broke up with will be okay. He's in an apartment that seems very sturdy.

Hurricanes up here don't normally amount to much (knock on wood and clutch the kitten close).

[geomon666]

18. It probably won't be much then.

Just prepare to have the power out for a while and like I said, get cash on you. Cause if you need to buy things with the power down, they won't take credit.

Personally what I would do, try to board up the windows if you can, buy a lot of chips and some dip and enjoy the ride.

[geomon666]

5. Get out of the trailer.

Trailers do not do well against even tropical storms, let alone hurricanes.

[VenusRising]

6. Get candles, batteries, and ice.

You may not need them, but we only got the winds of Hurricane Ike in Columbus and ended up without power for 8 days.

Even if you end up not using them, you have them, which is more than I can say for us. We weren't even expecting any bad weather.

Stay safe and check in with us when you can.

:hi::pals:

[lizziegrace]

8. Canned goods

and a manual can opener. If you have to, you can eat Spaghetti-O's out of the can. Also, bread and peanut butter and anything else that doesn't require refrigeration.

Have your cell phone charged up too.

[geomon666]

19. Cell phones can't be depended on.

Cell towers need power too (even though they do have generators, it's not a long term thing), if the power goes down for long periods of time or if the tower itself comes down, your cell won't work.

[lizziegrace]

22. True

my daughter lost power for 6 days in Ohio and the only phone she has is a cell phone. And all she had was a wall charger. Just something to think about...

[fight4my3sons]

10. How are you doing? It's just raining and raining here.

My basement has some water in it, but it usually does when it rains. I guess they asked that people take their boats out of the harbor here in case it gets rough later on, but it has just been foggy and rainy all day. I'm hoping it stays like this. I know on the news it said the winds might be worse in your area.

[GreenPartyVoter]

11. Sprinkling and raining off and on. Tomorrow we're going to clean up

the yard and take down the screen house, then batten down the hatches. Guess it's supposed to be worst late Sunday and overnight, so we'll see how that goes. We're on a hill, though, so flooding probably won't be an issue for us.

Hope your basement doesn't get too full! :hi:

[GreenPartyVoter]

12. UPDATE: Lots of rain, no real wind yet. I guess that will come late tomorrow.

[Gormy Cuss]

13. Same report from Portland.

Talk to family and they said there was a crazy amount of rain late afternoon but it was tapering off by about 8PM.

[GreenPartyVoter]

14. I think their rain came up our way. :^)

[orleans]

16. go visit crim son -- she has a house (safer in a hurricane)

is it too late to board up windows?

[Jamastiene]

15. General rules about a trailer and high winds.

Trailers can survive up to about 40 to 45 mph gusts, but not steady wind. It's too risky. If they say gusts up to 45 mph or so, you should be fine. If they say anything over 45 for steady winds from the hurricane, go to a hotel and take family pictures, valuables, the pets, and anything else you cannot replace.

I've learned a lot since moving into this trailer. We've weathered mild storms, but extremely gusty winds scare the daylights out of me. I get religious at times during really bad storms with tornado watches. Normally, I'm not. That's how :scared: I get. Mostly what I do, is get on the floor with a comforter and a pillow, wrap up (if it's not too hot), stick my head between my legs, kiss my ass goodbye, then play peekaboo with my cats.

Doing that seems to keep them AND me from being too :scared: Anytime I do something major that involves getting on the floor or moving around outside of typing or mouse clicking, they just HAVE to come see what I'm doing. They are CATS, after all. They simply MUST know what's going on.

Whatever you do, stay safe!!! That's rule #1. Always think of safety first. If the winds will be a steady 40 mph or stronger, get out of a trailer. It's too scary and the possibility of a tree splitting a trailer like cheap tin foil is around 99.9% (there are always those who are incredibly lucky. Those are the .1%) if it falls on it.

Also,

Candles

Canned goods that you can eat straight out of the can without heating.

Full tank of gas.

Mini marshmallows and toothpicks go good above candle flames for roasted marshmallows. I do that for fun and to take my mind off the wind.

FRESH batteries for the flashlights.

A rechargeable weather radio is good to have if you think this may happen more than once a year or so.

A cooler full of ice for when the power goes out. Of course, you probably do not have that problem up in Maine. We get our worst storms during the dog days of summer and no A/C is a killer without a way to keep cool. Still, it doesn't hurt to have a backup for some of your frozen goods until you can cook them in case power goes out for more than 2 or 3 days. We usually lose power between 2 to 5 days during hurricanes. The goodies from the fridge have to be protected as much as possible until we can cook them on the Kerosene heater. You can cook on those. You may have another nonelectric form of heat you can cook on too. It depends on what you already have.

Stay safe!!! :hug:

[Fire Walk With Me]

17. Hey, stay safe and be well! Keep us updated...

And definitely read up on the internet regarding preparedness, per that post early in the thread. Good idea.

[dgibby]

20. A category I hurricane

has a minimum sustained wind velocity of 74mph. This does not take into effect gusts, which can be much stronger, nor does it address the tornadoes that often accompany hurricanes. In the coastal south, we refer to mobile homes as tornado magnets. GET OUT OF THERE!!! Please!

[applegrove]

21. Get a radio & batteries. I went through hurricane Juan in Halifax and

we were out of power for days. I needed that radio to keep on top of the news. I had one of those hand crank ones that requires no power so I listened to it endlessly.

And don't go outside. I heard about one guy who went outside during Juan and ended up needing tons of dental work because he got thrown around his front lawn and hit his face repeatedly.

[UTUSN]

23. Trailer is TIED DOWN, yes? Still, get OUT. Even if, as far north, it might not

be that strong.

Wherever you are, you're looking at a minimum of a day or two of NO ELECTRICITY. You need water, batteries/radio, ICE for the coolers for the perishables in your frig.

[Maine-ah]

24. are you in one of the counties in it's direct path, GPV?

Doesn't look like I'm going to get anything but rain, and a little wind (Knox County).

[mainegreen]

25. Looks like it missed us.

Just sogginess.

[Hangingon]

26. If it is a mobile home, evacuate.

No sense boarding up something that will probably be destroyed.