Core guide · updated Oct 2026
Hurricane preparedness checklist: the 72-hour countdown
When a hurricane watch goes up, you have roughly three days. This checklist is ordered by what runs out first — do it top to bottom and you won't be the person fighting over the last case of water.
72 hours out: decide and buy
- Decide: stay or go. Check your evacuation zone (county emergency management site). If you're in a surge zone or a mobile home, plan to leave — decide now, not at midnight.
- Water: 1 gallon per person per day × 3 days minimum. Stores sell out of bottled water first — this is the #1 thing to buy early.
- Food: 3 days of no-cook food per person (canned goods, protein bars, peanut butter). Manual can opener.
- Cash: ATMs and card readers die with the power. Small bills.
- Fuel: Fill the car. If you own a gas generator, fill approved containers now — gas stations run dry within 24 hours of landfall.
- Medications: Refill prescriptions; 7-day supply minimum.
48 hours out: secure the property
- Yard: Bring in everything that can fly — patio furniture, grills, potted plants, trash cans, toys.
- Windows: Install storm shutters, or cover windows with 5/8-inch plywood.
- Garage door: Brace it. It's the largest opening in the house — if it fails, pressure can lift the roof.
- Trees: Trim dead branches near the house.
- Documents: IDs, insurance policies, medical records in a waterproof pouch. Photograph every room for insurance.
24 hours out: hunker down
- Charge everything: Phones, power banks, power stations, laptops.
- Fridge/freezer: Turn to coldest setting. Freeze water bottles — they keep food cold longer and become drinking water.
- Fill bathtubs with water for flushing and washing.
- Safe room: Interior room, no windows, on the lowest floor that's not flood-prone. Mattress, shoes, helmets if you have them.
- Unplug electronics to protect from surges.
The 14-day upgrade (for coastal & flood-prone areas)
FEMA and the Red Cross suggest 3 days. After recent storms left some areas without power for 1–2 weeks, consider the upgrade:
- Water: 14 gallons per person, or a gravity water filter + storage
- Backup power: generator or power station sized for fridge + phones + medical devices
- Two weeks of shelf-stable food; camp stove + fuel for cooking
- Full first-aid kit (not the bathroom-cabinet one)
Common questions
No — tape does almost nothing against hurricane wind. Use shutters or plywood. Tape just creates larger, more dangerous shards.
When officials issue the order for your zone — or earlier if you're in a surge zone, a mobile home, or depend on powered medical equipment. Leaving 24 hours before landfall beats leaving 6 hours before, when roads clog.
Cash, in small bills. Every storm knocks out card readers, and the ATM lines are the longest lines you'll see.