Hurricane Season Prep: What to Do Before June

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. 01

   Know your hurricane risk zone and official evacuation routes

   Before any storm forms, look up your county's hurricane evacuation zone. In Florida, for example, zones run A (coastal, highest risk) through E (inland, lowest). Zone A areas must evacuate for any Category 1+. Find your zone at your county's emergency management website — search "[your county] hurricane evacuation zone." Bookmark the page. Also locate your county's emergency shelter map and verify which ones accept pets. Do this in April or May when you can think clearly — not in August when a storm is 36 hours away. Knowing your zone is free and takes 15 minutes. Not knowing it costs hours on clogged evacuation routes behind millions of other people who also didn't know.

   Warning: Do not rely on neighbors or social media to tell you when to evacuate. Official evacuation orders come from your county emergency management, not the news. Sign up for your county's emergency alerts at the same time you look up your zone.
2. 02

   Harden your home exterior before the season opens

   The leading causes of hurricane home damage are: (1) window and door failures letting wind and rain inside, (2) garage door failure (the largest and most vulnerable opening), and (3) roof failures. Address in this order. Windows: install pre-cut plywood panels (5/8" minimum, pre-drilled with anchor points) stored in your garage — measure and cut now before lumber sells out. Alternatively, install permanent storm shutters or apply 3M hurricane window film (reduces glass-shard hazard significantly). Garage door: add a hurricane brace kit rated for your door size, or if your door is older than 15 years, replace it with a wind-rated model. Roof: hire a roofer to inspect and re-nail loose decking, add hurricane straps to rafters, and check the condition of ridge vents and soffits. These improvements also lower your homeowner's insurance premium — ask your insurer.

   Warning: Do NOT use tape on windows during a hurricane. It does nothing to prevent shattering and makes cleanup harder. This myth costs lives annually when people stay to tape their windows instead of evacuating.
3. 03

   Build a 7-day water supply for your household

   The minimum calculation: 1 gallon per person per day for drinking and sanitation. A family of four needs 28 gallons for 7 days. The practical target: double it to 14 days because post-hurricane water main breaks can last 2+ weeks. Storage options: (1) BPA-free 5-gallon or 7-gallon rigid water containers — fill them from the tap, stored in a cool dark place. (2) WaterBOBs deployed immediately when a storm watch is issued — a 100-gallon bathtub liner that stores water before pressure drops. (3) Rotation: change stored water every 6 months; mark each container with fill date. Priorities during an active watch: fill every container first, then fill your bathtub even without a WaterBOB. City water pressure often fails within 24 hours of landfall. Once the pipes are dry, you have whatever you stored.

   Warning: Do NOT store water in milk jugs or thin juice containers — they are not food-grade and will leach chemicals and grow bacteria. BPA-free hard plastic (HDPE #2) or LDPE is required for long-term storage.
4. 04

   Stock a 2-week hurricane food pantry

   Focus on shelf-stable, no-cook-required foods first. Priority items: canned beans, canned tuna and salmon, peanut butter, crackers, oats, trail mix, granola bars, canned fruit in juice, dried pasta (needs minimal cooking), instant rice, honey, and shelf-stable juice boxes. Secondary (if you have a camp stove or generator): freeze-dried meals for variety. Practical targets: 2,000 calories per adult per day for 14 days. A family of four needs roughly 112,000 calories — about 14 cases of varied canned goods plus dry staples. Build this inventory by buying two of everything on your regular grocery runs (see the Zero Dollar Prepping guide for rotation strategy). Stock any prescription medications for 30+ days — pharmacies close for 1–2 weeks post-storm. Include comfort foods: coffee, hot cocoa, hard candy, kids' favorites. Morale matters during 5-day outages.

   Warning: If household members have dietary restrictions, allergies, or infant formula needs, build those specifically into your inventory. Emergency shelters cannot be relied on to accommodate specific dietary needs during large-scale evacuations.
5. 05

   Scan and protect critical documents — before the season starts

   A flooded house can destroy every physical document you own in minutes. The two-copy system: one digital, one physical. Digital: scan or photograph every critical document and store in encrypted cloud storage (iCloud, Google Drive, or a password-protected folder). Documents to include: driver's licenses, passports, Social Security cards, birth certificates, marriage/divorce certificates, property deeds, car titles, insurance policies (home, auto, flood, health, life), mortgage statements, recent utility bills (proof of residence), medical records and vaccination cards, prescriptions, account numbers for banking and credit cards, and a home inventory with photos of every room. Physical: print a subset (IDs, insurance, key account numbers) and seal in a waterproof document bag. Keep one copy in your go-bag. Store the second in a fireproof waterproof document safe at home. After a storm, having these documents speeds up insurance claims, rental car pickups, FEMA applications, and hotel check-ins by days.

6. 06

   Build your family communication and evacuation plan

   A good hurricane communication plan has five elements: (1) Out-of-state contact: designate one person outside the likely impact zone who everyone calls first — they relay information across the family when local cell service is jammed. (2) Three rally points: home (specific spot if you can't enter), neighborhood (corner, neighbor's house), and regional (hotel chain 150+ miles inland, relative's address). (3) Evacuation decision trigger: write down the specific condition that triggers your evacuation — e.g., "Mandatory evacuation order for Zone B" or "Category 2+ forecast within 48 hours." No waffling, no waiting to see. Decide now. (4) Evacuation route: identify two routes out of your area in different directions. Check for bridges and coastal low-points that flood early. Drive both routes once this spring. (5) Pet plan: confirm your destination is pet-friendly before hurricane season. Public shelters often don't take animals — know which local shelters do. Write all of this on a laminated card and store one in every car.

   Warning: Cell towers overload within hours of a major hurricane making landfall. Do not rely on texting or calling to coordinate family during the storm. Your plan needs to work without phones.
7. 07

   Prep your vehicle before the season starts

   Your car is your evacuation platform. Treat it like one. Before June 1: get a full service (oil change, tire pressure and tread check, brake inspection, coolant flush, wiper blades), fill the tank, and keep it above half full throughout the June–November season. Gas stations run out within 24 hours of a storm watch — topping off 72 hours before is the move, not 12 hours before. Pack the trunk with: a paper road atlas (GPS fails post-storm), a portable tire inflator and fix-a-flat, jumper cables, a flashlight, one gallon of water per person, a 3-day bag of non-perishable food, cash ($200+ in small bills), and a phone charger cable. Know your car's fuel range and identify gas stations along your evacuation route that are most likely to have fuel — rural stations inland run out last. If you have an EV: charge to 100% when a watch is issued and know the locations of Level 2 chargers along your route.

   Warning: Do NOT wait for a mandatory evacuation order to fill your tank. When the order drops, every gas station in the county has a 45-minute line. Fill up when you see the storm on the forecast track, not when you have 12 hours left.
8. 08

   Assemble your hurricane emergency kit now

   Two kits: one go-bag (72 hours, portable), one shelter-in-place cache (14+ days, stays home). Go-bag essentials (per person, in a 30L+ backpack): 3 days of food (calorie-dense), 3 liters of water or water filter, complete change of clothes + rain poncho, first aid kit, headlamp with spare batteries, copies of critical documents (laminated or in waterproof bag), $100 cash in small bills, phone charger and USB power bank, prescription medications (7-day supply), paracord and duct tape, N95 dust masks, work gloves, local paper map. Shelter-in-place cache (in a waterproof tote): 7–14 days of water, 14 days of food, extended first aid, portable stove and fuel, camp lantern with extra fuel or batteries, hand-crank emergency radio, sandbags (unfilled, ready to fill), contractor bags, portable power station. Assemble both kits in April. Check batteries and expiration dates every November 1 when hurricane season ends. The gear you buy in a panic after a forecast is twice the price and sold out.