Thought question; what the best way to spend $50 for hurricane preparation?

Assuming you have all the standard house tools, edc, etc.

The first question is, do you have a first aid kit?

Jeanette Isabelle

If my house was secured (meaning already had plywood to protect the windows, nothing loose outside)...maybe a tank of gas or two to get out of town?

Chocolate chips by the bag.

Chocolate will get you through times of scarce money better than money will get you through times of scarce chocolate.

Water containers would be a good thing. IMO it doesn't make sense those big runs on bottled water- you can buy a lot of jugs and containers for what it costs to buy it bottled, and then reuse them. Probably batteries is another good item to have. I've never been through a hurricane but been through plenty of blizzards and there's some overlap in issues (eg can't out to the stores, power may be interrupted, etc). Good chance that in the aftermath the water may be contaminated so storing some is a good idea. You might look at the WaterBOB which allows you to store 100 gallons in your bath tub and keep it clean.

Flexifit rainwater downspout diverter, Home Depot $21.99.

Whatever amount of water I store, it would be better if I could harvest water in case of a long term emergency. Same argument for solar panels and batteries in addition to the gas generator.

Add a water filter, since rainwater is poison falling from the sky and must be filtered.

Collect the water in garbage pails lined with garbage bags.

What don’t you have already? Think of the rules of 3’s and shelter, water, food... Make sure the basics are covered.

Agree with containers for bulk water storage. Water is needed for drinking and it’s also good to have around for hygiene.

I’m not a fan of buying gear just because a storm is on its way. Buy stuff that’s useful with or without a storm. Water filtration is something that’s useful and in some coastal communities the tap water on a good day tasted brackish. I’ve been using water filters with “potable” water since 1985 when I lived near the coast in Virginia. The water was awful without a storm let alone with compromised system.

You should probably add a few gallons of bleach to your shopping list.

If you have all the standard tools, etc. then hang onto the dough. you will face the need for expenditures during the aftermath and cash is very versatile. My bug out gear includes a money belt with cash. I was glad to have it when we did but out a while ago.

It all depends on your particular situation, what you have and what you lack.

if the essentials are covered... a good multi day cooler (ice chest) if you have a lot of perishable food....my county Emergency Management distributes ice.. even my old 7 day had partially frozen gallon jugs on the 8th day of outage in 2004 ...the cooler had not been accessed as I had a second cooler to which I obtained ice when we went back to school for the last 4 days of outage

for comfort... a good, repeat good, battery powered fan to allow you to sleep with some relief to the heat...my original design of a D powered tent fan motor with model airplane propeller to spin my ceiling fan can run 9 hours on a new D, and for around 6 on a couple of re chargable AA Eneloops... for Irma I had added a Ridgid contractor fan that runs off the 18v Ridgid battery, but would be slightly over your $50 budget