Hi Swedishchef,

Thank you for the great first post. Glad that you and yours were able to see it through so well.

Hmmm...Mother Nature is like that....gives the exam then teaches the lesson (to those that have survived).

I suspect that there will be others like you that will take the lesson to heart and do things to prepare more. We saw a bit of that in south Florida with Hurricane Andrew, then after about two years it died off....a lot of folks were really unprepared (despite a massive amount of timely warnings) when the four hurricanes hit several years ago along with Hurricane Wilma last year.

NOW a lot more folks are in the preparedness mode, sadly still not enough as many still thinking that it "can't happen to me (again)".

While this past hurricane season was rather quiet (and folks really needed the respite) there will still be those that think that they will be rescued by whomever and that they don't need to prepare.

Side note: Several folks have made reference to having the propane / white gas stoves and/or lanterns. These are a great idea, just keep in mind that they are just like flashlights and generators...make sure that you have spares on hand, lamps and batteries for the flashlights (LED's help out on the flashlights) spare mantles for the lanterns, a spare glass for the lantern is also good, and there are now some mesh steel screens that can also be used. There are also adapters for using the 20# propane bottles with stoves and lanterns. Much less trouble than having to deal with the smaller bottles, although it is still a good idea of have some of them on hand.

With the stoves and generators, make sure that you have spare parts on hand for the items that might need replacing at an awkward moment. Many here found out the hard way that replacement fuel filters / carburetor rebuild kits etc. could not be had at any price for some time after the storms. Also, get a heavy chain and good lock to secure your generator, it was bad enough during the hurricanes with generator thefts (stealing them from the temporary wired traffic light signals and homes etc.) but most recently, there was a rash of thefts in SE Fla. from folks that had them in their garages and/or sheds.

Regards,
Comanche7