shutthedord:

I am in “check on everyone’s emergency preparations” mode right now so forgive me (and obviously this won’t be relevant to people who aren’t on the East Coast).

If you are on the East Coast and you’re following me, at least give these a good think.

Here are the important things to think about:

1) Water? For drinking, one gallon per person per day. Fill up the bathtub to flush the toilet with: pour a bucket of water slowly into the bowl until it flushes, although be mindful that septic systems and sewers might not work if flooding is high enough. (Homestucks, stop snickering about the word “bucket”.)

2) Power/lighting? How long are your candles/flashlights going to last? Make sure you have batteries. Run your generator outside or in a well-ventilated area to prevent carbon monoxide poisoning. Also, fill up your car’s gas tank and any other gas cans you may have around. If you don’t use it after the storm you can still use the gas after.

3) Medications (if any)? Refill your meds now if you can. If any of your meds need refrigeration, contact your local fire department. They’ll know where you can get ice after the storm. If you have other health problems that require electricity to keep stuff running (…Tumblr addiction doesn’t count), please contact the local Red Cross.

4) Written down phone numbers? Family/emergency contacts outside the area, power/phone/internet/cable companies. Yes, swapping phone numbers with your tumblr buddies does count as emergency contacts - but you really shouldn’t forget about parents and grandparents and in-laws. Incidentally, written-down is because your cellphone battery could die. For the record, text messages get through more often than calls if the cell towers are badly overloaded.

5) Food? What do you have that’s nonperishable/does not need to be cooked? If you’ll use the grill, do you have enough fuel for it? Above disclaimer about carbon monoxide poisoning.

6) Evacuation plans? At least make sure you know more than one route out of your neighborhood in case of flash flooding, even if the storm isn’t going to run directly over your area. Do you have a physical, paper map you can use to get someplace less affected (printing from Google Maps is okay)? Make sure you have your important papers, such as birth certificates and insurance documentation, ready to take with you if you have to run. Figure out what you’re going to do with your pets.

7) Boredom? Keep your phone charged, be mindful of the battery life as you might need it to call/text people. Have a few notebooks handy to write/doodle in. Et-cetera.

Some personal notes under the cut (if you don’t know me you probably won’t have any idea who these are either so don’t bother).

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not homestuck but it’s going to effect some of you, so signal boosts all round!