So folks asked me about hurricane season in the West Indies after I posted that trip photo. Honestly? Made me realize I was totally unprepared when I first moved down here. Figured I should get ready, not sorry. Here’s exactly what I did last month, start to finish.
Waking Up to the Reality
Sat down with my morning coffee and just looked it up online. Typed “West Indies hurricane season” right into the search bar. Boom. Saw it runs from June to November, peak time August to October. Hits the islands pretty much every year. Felt kinda dumb for not checking sooner, but hey, better late than caught in the storm, right?
Taking Stock at Home
Walked straight to my pantry after reading that. Started pulling everything out. Wanted to see what I already had. Found some canned beans, a half-empty bag of rice, couple bottles of water… and that was it. Total joke for hurricane supplies. Needed way more.
- Ran to the store later that day. Grabbed cases of bottled water (aimed for one gallon per person per day for 3 days minimum).
- Loaded up on cans – tuna, beans, soup, veggies. Stuff that doesn’t need cooking or fridge.
- Threw in some protein bars and nuts too. Easy snacks if the power’s dead for days.
- Didn’t forget the manual can opener! Saw that tip online and knew mine was electric. Useless in a blackout.
- Picked up a big plastic tote bin to throw it all in. Easy to grab if I gotta bolt.
Dealing with Important Stuff
Cleared off the kitchen table. Dumped out my important papers – passports, property insurance docs, birth certificate. Photographed every single page with my phone. Backed up those photos to the cloud AND stuck the copies on a waterproof USB drive I found in my junk drawer. Then stuffed the physical papers into heavy-duty Ziploc bags. Double-bagged them for good measure. Folded some US cash small and stuck that in another baggie too. ATMs won’t work without power.
Fortifying the Place
Looked outside and sighed. Had three big, dead palm fronds dangling over my roof. Disaster waiting to happen. Grabbed my rusty ladder and a pruning saw from the shed. Climbed up there Sunday morning before the sun got too hot. Sawed those suckers off. Also dug through the garage and finally found those missing storm shutter panels buried behind old paint cans. Dry fitted them on the biggest windows just to make sure they still clicked in place. Did they fit? Mostly. One was warped. Flagged it for replacement.
Making the Plan
Sat down with my neighbour Carlos over lukewarm beers that evening. He’s lived here through like six big storms. Told him my situation – single guy, old concrete house, basic supplies. He nodded. “Where you gonna go if they say evacuate?” Huh. Hadn’t really nailed that down. Together we looked at the local emergency map online. Found the closest official shelters – one at the high school gym, another at the community centre. Wrote both addresses down on paper and stuck it on the fridge. Decided on a meet-up spot with Carlos too – the big banyan tree two blocks uphill if things get hairy and phones die. Also programmed the emergency radio station number into my phone and found my dusty old battery-powered radio in a closet. Tested it – still worked!
So yeah. Is West Indies hurricane season bad? Seems so. But running around scared won’t help. Taking those actual steps? Filling that tote bin? Cutting down those fronds? Figuring out the escape route? That stuff lets you sleep a little easier when the wind starts howling. Do it now. Don’t wait for the weatherman to start yelling.
