• Hurricane Facts
• During a Hurricane Watch
• During a Hurricane Warning
• After a Hurricane
• Inspecting Utilities in a Damaged Home
• Emergency Web Sites
• Emergency Phone Numbers

• Planning Issues
• Storage in a Marina
• Storage on a Mooring
• Storage in a Protected Waterway or a Hurricane Hole
• Hauling and Storing Ashore
• Ship Preparation: Preparing the Boat Itself

• Flashlight and extra batteries
• Portable, battery-operated radio and extra batteries
• First aid kit and manual
• Emergency food and water
• Non-electric can opener
• Essential medicines
• Cash and credit cards
• Sturdy shoes
• Make arrangements for pets. Pets may not be allowed into emergency shelters for health and space reasons. Contact your local humane society for information on local animal shelters. Pet Guidelines / Survival Kit

• Listen to a battery-operated radio or television for hurricane progress reports.
• Check emergency supplies.
• Fuel car.
• Bring in outdoor objects such as lawn furniture, toys, and garden tools and anchor objects that cannot be brought inside.
• Secure buildings by closing and boarding up windows. Remove outside antennas.
• Turn refrigerator and freezer to coldest settings. Open only when absolutely necessary and close quickly.
• Store drinking water in clean bathtubs, jugs, bottles, and cooking utensils.
• Review evacuation plan. Dont' have a plan? Check out NOAA's Family Disaster Plan Kit
• Moor boat securely or move it to a designated safe place. Use rope or chain to secure boat to trailer. Use tiedowns to anchor trailer to the ground or house.
  

If you are at home:

• Listen constantly to a battery-operated radio or television for official instructions
• Stay inside, away from windows, skylights, and glass doors. .
• If in a mobile home, check tie downs and evacuate immediately.
• Store valuables and personal papers in a waterproof container on the highest level of your home.
• Avoid elevators.
• Keep a supply of flashlights and extra batteries handy.
• Avoid open flames, such as candles and kerosene lamps, as a source of light.
  

If power is lost, turn off major appliances to reduce power "surge" when electricity is restored.

If officials indicate evacuation is necessary:

• Leave as soon as possible. Avoid flooded roads and watch for washed-out bridges.
• Secure your home by unplugging appliances and turning off electricity and the main water valve.
• Tell someone outside of the storm area where you are going.
• If time permits, and you live in an identified surge zone, elevate furniture to protect it from flooding or better yet, move it to a higher floor.
• Bring pre-assembled emergency supplies and warm protective clothing.
• Take blankets and sleeping bags to shelter.
• Lock up home and leave.

After a hurricane stay tuned to local radio for information.

• Help injured or trapped persons.Give first aid where appropriate.
• Do not move seriously injured persons unless they are in immediate danger of further injury. Call for help.
• Return home only after authorities advise that it is safe to do so.
• Avoid loose or dangling power lines and report them immediately to the power company, police, or fire department.
• Enter your home with caution.
• Beware of snakes, insects, and animals driven to higher ground by flood water.
• Open windows and doors to ventilate and dry your home.
• Check refrigerated foods for spoilage.
• Take pictures of the damage, both to the house and its contents and for insurance claims.
• Drive only if absolutely necessary and avoid flooded roads and washed-out bridges.
• Use telephone only for emergency calls.
  

Planning Issues: Be Prepared

• Write down your hurricane plan and keep it in your car, your boat, and at home.
• Buy and stockpile necessary supplies associated with your plan. Boating stores tend to run out of dock lines, additional fenders, etc. as the storm approaches.
  If you are going to take your craft to a special location to weather the storm, do a practice run once every year or so. You'll be glad you did this when you're trying to get there in adverse and deteriorating conditions. Plus, you will know in advance how long it will take you to get there.
• If you're headed inland, find out when drawbridges on your route get locked down. In some places, this happens once a hurricane warning is in effect. Imagine your frustration as you are headed for safe waters with a hurricane approaching, and you can't get through a bridge. This happened to a number of boaters before Hurricane Andrew struck.
• Don't ever stay with your boat. Get off of it and head for safe haven. 50% of all hurricane deaths are related to boat owners who are scrambling to secure their boats in worsening hurricane conditions.
  

• How protected is the marina from open water? Marinas protected by a jetty or breakwater may not be when a storm surge goes 15 to 20 feet above a usual spring tide. If the seawall is breached, how much fetch will there be for waves to build and is there open ocean on the other side of the seawall?
• Does the dock master have a hurricane or storm plan (some require evacuation, others leave every other slip open, necessitating that a system be in place to indicate which boats have to evacuate). Inspect the quality of the dock cleats, piling hoops, and pilings to determine if they appear robust enough to withstand the tremendous pressure of a storm.
• Try to face the bow of the boat towards open water as it is more suited to exposure to large waves.
• A study after Hurricane Andrew found that approximately 50% of yacht losses were caused by short dock lines. Use lines roughly as long as the boat. You will need the cooperation of other boat owners in the marina to make use of all the docks, as you will be criss-crossing the slips and boats with lines. Use double chaffing gear wherever lines can rub against pilings, chocks, windlasses, etc.
• The storm surge could float your boat well above the tops of the pilings, so make sure that lines tied to the pilings can't slip off the tops. Try to assure that your dock line arrangement keeps your boat centered in the slip. As the storm surge recedes, yachts have been impaled by pilings.
  

• A robust mooring can be a good alternative to a marina slip if the mooring doesn't drag, your boat has less chance of slamming into docks and pilings. In addition, your ship can swing and face into the wind...a distinct advantage over having it in a fixed position regardless of the direction of the wind.
• Increase scope from its usual normal ratio to at least 10:1. If you are using an all chain rode, use a strong snubber line approximately 10% of the length of the chain. This will help reduce jerking as the snubber acts as a shock absorber.
• After increasing the scope, make sure that there is significant swing room between yachts.
• If you cannot obtain a suitable mooring with adequate swing room, consider using three storm anchors dropped 120 degrees apart joined by an oversized swivel. This arrangement is one of the few anchor-based arrangements that has a track record of holding in a hurricane. It also allows the boat to swing in a narrower arc than a single line mooring, a real benefit in a crowded harbor.
• Chaffing gear and double lines are key since tremendous pressure is placed on the bow chocks, cleats, and mooring fittings.
• Double check the deck hardware to which your mooring lines will be attached. Make sure that there is a good backing plate on the cleats that will be handling the load.
  

• Hurricane holes are found inland and are typically protected by tall well-rooted trees that will shield the residents of the hurricane hole or cove from the brunt of the storm. Cruising guides often refer to hurricane holes in their indices. If you can get to one in time, they are a great place to weather a storm.
• Consider using two storm anchors placed well away from the boat at about 45 degrees away from the shore. Tie off to the trees on the shore side at approximately 45 degree angles off of the bow and stern. You will need a lot of line and chaffing gear to make sure that you have enough scope to handle the surge.
• Make sure you are in water that is two to three times your boat's draft at low tide. Sometimes wind blows water out of places, and you don't want to end up on the rocks.
• If you are going to be in a canal or backwater, try to tie your boat off so that it is in the center of the canal or backwater...again with plenty of scope for the surge.
• If you can't tie off in the canal, consider using three storm anchors dropped 120 degrees apart joined by an oversized swivel. This arrangement is one of the few anchor-based arrangements that has a track record of holding in a hurricane.
  

• MIT conducted a study after Hurricane Gloria and concluded that yachts taken out of the water had a much lower incidence of damage than yachts left in the water to ride out the storm.
• Hauling and storing ashore is the usually the best way to protect your yacht. However, you still have to take significant precautions in tying down and securing your boat, especially since many boat yards are only marginally above sea level.
• Use more jack stands that you normally would and chain them together. In addition, consider using plywood over top of the jack stand pads to distribute the load of the hull. Depending on the anticipated storm surge, you may want to consider using lines to tie off to anything that you think will not move during the storm.
  

• Clear everything off the deck on both sail and motor yachts. Dinghy, antennas, biminis, life raft, outriggers should all be removed and (ideally) taken home.
• On sailboats, take all sails off the boat, especially if you have a roller furling jib. These present a lot of windage and often unfurl during the storm with rather unfortunate results.
• Take the boom off of the boat, if possible. Consider using one messenger line to run all halyards up the mast so that only one line will be exposed to the wind.
  In a hurricane, rain blows up, down, and sideways. You will have to seal off every vent and cover closed hatches on the boat either with plywood or plastic and duct tape. If you can, take the vent scopes off completely and seal off the hole. This is ideal, as it also reduces windage.
• All thru-hulls in the boat should be plugged, except for the bilge pump outlet. All non-drainage seacocks should be closed and the exhaust outlet sealed to prevent water from getting into the engine and engine compartment.
• Make sure your batteries are charged up and that all electrical equipment is turned off except for the bilge pump. Check that the bilge pump is operational and free of debris.
• Close the fuel tank, turn fuel off to the engine, and close any propane or alcohol stoves.
• If possible, remove all electronics from the boat. If this is not possible, try to board them up and put duct tape over them.
• Remove all books and papers from the boat. Wet paper can clog in the bilges and prevent water from being pumped out if the cabin is flooded.
• Check any place that you think water could enter the boat and seal it off.