Posted on October 29th, 2008 by Sherri

This is part 3 of a series of articles about preparing for, riding out and living in the aftermath of Hurricane Gustav.

You can read part 1 here: How to Prepare for a Hurricane

You can read part 2 here: Riding Out Gustav in Baton Rouge

The Aftermath Begins

As soon as the storm moves on and it is safe to venture outside, you look around your property to see if anything has fallen or is damaged. You check for downed power lines in the general vicinity first. You must know where they are and avoid them. They are considered live until certified by the power company that they have been disconnected. You check the roof second and put tarps over areas that have missing shingles or small holes. If you find a large tree or other object through some part of your house, you cover it as best you can with a tarp and determine if your house is still livable. You most likely heard it fall so you know you must check that area immediately. If your house isn’t livable, you pack up and stay with a friend, relative or in a hotel and count yourself lucky not to have been killed by the fallen object.

The emotional strain begins to hit you as soon as the wind picks up and you hear things flying around breaking other things and trees snapping or uprooting. You worry as things creak in ways you’ve never heard before. It really hits you when you see your once beautiful and well-manicured neighborhood in shambles. The heat also starts getting on your nerves quickly. After living in air conditioning most of the time, 90 degree heat with 80% humidity is miserable.

If you are like me, you feel lucky that a tree didn’t go through your roof or fall in your yard, even though the entire yard, front and back, is now covered in fallen limbs and other debris about 6 ft deep that will take you several days to weeks to clean up. You immediately wish you had bought that chain saw you found on sale last fall and then begin thinking of people you know who may have one and will let you borrow it.

You start getting out all the supplies you’ll need to live without power and set them up: the folding table for the camp stove and the stove and fuel, the coolers and ice, the lanterns and flashlights, the books and board games, the mosquito repellent; and the generator, etc. if you have one. The chain saw (if you have one) will likely come out quickly if you have daylight to start working in your yard or helping your neighbors. We check on our immediate neighbors as soon as we can to make sure they are alright. Some are elderly and may need immediate assistance.

If you are trapped in your house by fallen trees your neighbors will be able to get to you faster than first responders, so call them first, then call 911. If you have a light pole through your house or blocking an exit you must call 911 and stay as far away from it as possible. If you can get out of your house through another door or window it is best to evacuate and go to the neighbors until the power company can remove the wires. First responders take these kinds of calls second after rescues and medical emergencies.

Depending on the time of day, you prepare the appropriate meal and eat and then wash the dishes by hand. I have an old gas hot water heater so we have hot water when the power goes out. Those with electric water heaters are banished to cold showers and cold dish water. There are options for hot water: heat it on the camp stove for dish washing and for baths instead of showers. The solar shower water heater is also an option when the sun comes back out.

You may wonder why anyone would ever want hot water when it is so hot already. Here are the reasons for your edification and enlightenment. Cold water doesn’t cut grease very well so washing dishes is harder without hot water. Cold showers are not comfortable no matter how hot it is. Cold showers don’t cool your body much. They cause you to shiver and can actually raise your internal body temperature when you need it least. A tepid shower is what you need to get clean and stay comfortable.

You realize you will have to pace yourself with the clean-up because you have no place to come in and cool off and your ice supply is limited. It’s easy to become dehydrated and suffer heat exhaustion or heat stroke if you aren’t used to the heat and then over do it cleaning up. I had to limit my clean-up time to 30-45 minutes a day at first and work up to a few hours until the power came back on 9 days after the storm. At least I could take a warm shower at the end of those extremely sweaty days. We spent the rest of our time that wasn’t taken up by cooking, washing dishes and bathing listening to the radio and reading, playing board games or doing puzzles. My favorite is Sudoku. My son caught up on reading Nintendo Power magazines.

After 3 days you must venture out to get ice if you don’t have a generator powering your freezer and refrigerator. This is the time when having a generator with plenty of fuel makes a big difference in your life. With a generator you don’t have to go out until your fuel supply runs low which should not happen for 5-7 days. There is a big difference between 2-3 days after a major storm and 5-7 days after it.

My next post will begin with our first adventure away from home. You can read part 4 here.

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