How Do You Prepare for Hurricane Season?

Growing up in Miami, the hurricane stash lived in the back of my mom’s bedroom year-round: bottles of water, buy-one-get-one-free Publix deals on cans of tuna fish, kidney and black beans, popcorn, crackers, an assortment of flashlights and a radio.

My extended family rode out several hurricanes in Miami, including Hurricane Andrew, a Category 5 storm in 1992, and before the season started they always had some supplies ready at home: first-aid kits, batteries, applesauce, bread, gallon jugs of water, extra bags of ice and nonperishable food that could be eaten in the aftermath of a storm, no electricity or running water needed.

Even now, at 90, my nana says she keeps bottles of water, a jar of peanut butter and a large box of saltines on hand. It’s better to have a few supplies ahead of time, so you’re a little prepared before the mad dash that inevitably begins when a hurricane might be headed your way.

This year’s hurricane season is about to begin on June 1, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has predicted it will be an extraordinarily busy one.

So I want to know: What’s in your stash?