Anyone Anxious About the Approaching Hurriane?

I've gotten two calls from the lovely state of MA on what supplies you should have, where emergency shelters are, what to do, what to take with you, etc
The only thing I'm nervous about is hubby getting called out to workin it :(

Prepare for losing water and power. Stay inside. Wash clothes and such now.
Gather up books, board games, non-electric stuff to occupy you and the kids.

I'm freaking out. We live right on the water in Virginia and are almost under sea level. This is my first hurricane as a parent and I just keep thinking of all these huge trees around my house falling through our roof and landing on my sleeping children. I have never been more anxious in my life! We were hit pretty hard by Hurricane Isabel and were out of power for 3 weeks, but I was just a care-free teenager then. I'm worried about how/what i'm going to feed my kids, WHAT i'm going to do if we flood, and where I can go that's safer but I don't have any family members or friends that live somewhere that won't be hit :( I'm so scared

Yep, I'm a bit anxious.
I feel a little better now that I've got 2 propane tanks filled (at least we can cook on the grill if there's no power).
We've got several cases of water.
The cars gas tanks have been filled up.
I'm cooking up what I've got in the freezer and I'm making as much block ice as I can (helps keep the fridge cold).
I've almost got all loose items from outside pulled inside.
I've got some cash.
We'll be filling up the bathtubs.
We're set with batteries, and flashlights.
All the cell phones are charged.
We're about as ready as we can be.
I just have to take pictures of everything so we have a reference of everything in case we need to show insurance before/after pictures.

Unlike the earthquake, here in upstate NY they are actually taking this seriously. We've had tropical storm remnants effect our weather every year for a couple rainy windy days, but as of right now, they are still suggesting it's possible it will hit Manhattan as a category 3 hurricane. Which will make history.

So I am wishing EVERYONE the best, using common sense, but not laughing it off either.

:(

Foot after foot of snow, -20 degrees, no problem! This, not so much.

I am near the West Coast so it's not an issue, but I am definitely anxious for all of you being affected by it.
Keeping you all in my prayers :)

Nope. I am prepared. So I don't need to get anxious...

When you are prepared - you should feel confident in your actions...you need to remember NOT to panic - when you panic you cannot think clearly...yes, you can get adrenaline going - but DO NOT PANIC...

The only way you can stop worrying is if you look at your supplies, go through the emergency plan with your family - ensure you have everyone set - and press on...you are worrying about something you cannot change.

If you live in a flood zone, go to your state's emergency management and preparedness website. They usually have guide on evacuation routes, safe locations, emergency supply kit ideas... Plan contacts out of the are you can contact if needed. Go buy a generator if there are any left, that will help with planning. You can get a solar oven, or even make one yourself out of foil and other materials. Just look it up online. Be sure you have lots of water stored, flashlights, important documents in waterproof sealed bags...

http://www.ready.gov is a good resource as is http://beprepared.com/ the last site sells kits, but you can read what is in the kit and go and make your own since you don't have time to order anything.

I'm not concerned, but I have all of you in my prayers.

Like someone else said. Plan, yes. Panic, no.

Good luck to you and yours.

I live on the Gulf Coast. Hurricanes can be very scary. The good news is that you are inland some so that will help. Just take a deep breath and try to relax. Easier said than done. We moved to Houston a month before Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans and a couple of months later came Hurricane Rita. We had Hurricane Ike here a couple of years ago. So, yep it sucks!!

I'm not worried about it. So far, from checking the weather, we should only get a little rain here. No big deal. But, I do hope that everyone who is on the coast stays safe!

I'm nervous too. My son just flew to Boston yesterday to begin college. He doesn't even own a car. I can tell you when they evacuated Houston it was a bear. If you are going to leave..... go now before everyone else is leaving. Either way fill your car with gas now. If there is an evacuation even the gas stations will run out of gas.

Keep in mind the whole thing could not be bad as it could downgrade quickly, but I think you are smart to be prepared. You will probably just get bad storms. If you have a basement plan to hang out down there.

Advice: You are ready and have a plan so watch a movie or distract yourself. Don't watch too much news. It heightens your anxiety.

We moved out of Jacksonville NC last year. It is supposed to hit Morehead City, which is right there.
We fled in front of FLoyd, that was beyond imagineable and this looks to be the same or near.
I have let my Best friend know to come North, she is going to ride it out. I am worried about her and our other friends who are still down there. My daughter's old HS is a hurricane shelter.

For me I am not worried at all. We will get rain but no flooding and I am in a gulley so the wind will pass over me. Plus I'm pretty far inland, more near the center of that darn earthquake.

Well, Irene passed by here most of today. It was quite far out to sea, and still dumped a bunch of rain and delivered some gusts. But we never lost power (and we lose power during a thunder storm).

If I were in the direct line of Irene I would be ready to evacuate. It's a strong storm, and the water's warm so it will power up if stays out to sea (ETA: oops - just read that it could hit a wind shear and lose some power - that's a good thing).

My hurricane steps:

1) Gas up all vehicles
2) Get as much cash as possible
3) Re-fill any prescriptions
4) Pack along a gaming system for the kids
5) Buy an AC/DC converter for your car or van - it's a great way to power up cell phones, computers, etc. (but DON'T run out your car battery!). I could even run a coffee pot out of my car.
6) Secure all valuable papers and pictures. I had some pictures in a bin in an out-building, and they got destroyed in what was supposed to be a category 1 storm.
7) Take some warm clothes - we all froze in Orlando one year, where we got stuck for 10 days. Yes, for some reason it got very cold after the hurricane.
8) Water bottles and perishable food for the car are great.
9) Cook all your meats now if you think you will lose power. I lost a freezer full of meat once.

Praying for everybody.

C., our prayers are with you! I'm in WI and I'm nervous for everyone especially since it is hitting parts of the country that are not familiar with the strength this storm has. I love how Angela S. has it all spelled out for you.

Again - prayers are with you all!!

Nope. We live near Philly. Lived in NC for several years and experienced many hurricanes. I wouldn't worry about it. The news is making it out like it'll be worse than it will be. They made a big fuss on the news about the Navy sending out all their ships to sea. This is a routine procedure for any type of strong storm. A large ship cannot do well at port as the waves will push the ships into the ports and ruin the ports. By the time it gets to us it will not be a cat 3. At most we'll get is some high winds and lots of heavy rain.

You're concern will be to make sure you bring in any loose items outside including your trash cans, kids toys, bikes and such. It used to tick us off when people left those out and would see them rolling down the street into someone's car. If you live in a trailer or the like you may want to stay the night with a friend. If you're in a wooded area you'll want to be aware of any limbs that could come down and move your car accordingly. We always tried to park our cars on the west side of the house where the wind wasn't as strong. You'll want to keep plenty of batteries and flashlights in case the power goes out, if your area isn't equipped to handle wind storms. Keep a manual can opener, fill containers with water if you feel the need. If you're near a flood area you may want to go elsewhere. We've had so much rain already where we're at that all this extra heavy rain will flood some areas near us but we'll be fine.

Just prepare as you would for an incoming snow storm, basically. Newbies get all freaked out and it ends up not being as bad as they expected. We went through it as well our first time but thankfully we were living next to people who were used to it.

No worries. And don't listen to the TV anymore than you have to, lol.

K. B
mom to 5 including triplets