FIELD GUIDE 01 / HURRICANES
Leave early. Stay informed. Plan for the outage.
Evacuation decisions, storm preparation and the less obvious hazards that remain after the wind drops.
01 / PREPARE
Before the event.
Find your evacuation instructions
Check your address with local emergency management. Write down your evacuation zone, a destination outside the threatened area and an alternative route. A regional forecast alone does not tell you whether your own home is safe. [1]
Prepare people and transport
Keep medicines, documents, phone chargers, water, ready-to-eat food and pet supplies together. Arrange help for anyone who cannot leave independently. Fuel or charge transport before the storm and confirm that your destination accepts your household and pets. [1] [2]
Secure loose items while conditions are safe
Bring in outdoor objects that could become airborne. Use suitable storm shutters if available. Do this well before strong winds arrive, and stop property preparation when it is time to leave. [2]
02 / RESPOND
During the event.
Follow current local orders
Keep receiving official updates. If you have not been told to leave, use the safest interior area recommended locally, away from windows and flood-prone spaces. Do not go to the coast to watch waves or drive across flooded roads. [2]
Treat the calm as part of the storm
A sudden lull can be the eye passing overhead. Remain sheltered: strong winds can return from the opposite direction. Wait for official information, not a quiet view through the window. [2]
03 / RECOVER
After the immediate threat.
Wait for the return clearance
Return only when authorities say it is safe. Avoid downed lines, damaged bridges and buildings with floodwater, gas smells or structural damage. A home can remain dangerous after skies clear. [3]
Keep backup power outdoors when it burns fuel
Never run a fuel-powered generator inside a home or garage, even with doors open. Keep it outdoors at least 20 feet (about 6 metres) from windows, doors and vents, with exhaust directed away. Use working battery-backed carbon monoxide alarms. [4]
DETAILS WORTH KNOWING
A few assumptions to check.
Window tape is not storm protection
Public Safety Canada warns that taping windows can leave larger pieces of shattered glass. Prepare appropriate shutters rather than relying on tape. [2]
The hours after a storm need a plan too
NWS identifies carbon monoxide poisoning as a major danger after storms where power is out. Add generator placement and a safe return decision to your plan, not just wind preparation. [3]
HOUSEHOLD POWER
Where backup power fits.
Before the storm, decide which phones, lights and essential devices you can power and for how long. Store a paper contact list with the kit. If your plan depends on refrigeration or an electrically powered medical device, agree on a fallback with the relevant care or equipment provider before an outage. Backup electricity is not a reason to remain in an evacuation zone.
Try this before you need it
Walk through leaving in daylight: who gets the kit, who helps each person or pet, and who checks the route? Record a destination that does not depend on your own electricity supply.
Local context: Canada
Canada uses its own hurricane alerts and timing. Check Environment and Climate Change Canada and provincial or local evacuation instructions. Do not apply U.S. warning lead times to a Canadian alert.
04 / MAKE IT YOURS
Your household action card.
Print the PDF and complete the last page. Keep it with your kit. The checkboxes below are temporary reading aids; they do not save information.
FOLLOW THE SOURCES
Official guidance.
The numbered references beside each action link here. Read the original guidance for fuller context and follow current instructions at your location.
- NOAA / NWS — Before a tropical storm or hurricane ↗
- Public Safety Canada — Hurricanes: get prepared ↗
- NOAA / NWS — After a hurricane ↗
- CDC — Carbon monoxide prevention ↗
Original summaries and household planning prompts by StillPower Guide, operated by Mihai Florea. Sources checked October 24, 2026. No agency endorsement. This page is educational preparation, not a live alert service. In immediate danger call your local emergency number (911 in the U.S. and Canada).
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