Prepare Before the Storm

A commonly used starting point is at least one gallon per person per day. You may need more for cooking, hygiene, pets, medical needs, and longer outages.

Store water in food-safe containers away from heat and sunlight. Several smaller containers may be easier to handle than one very large container.

If you use a water filter, know what it is designed to remove before you need it.

Don't Forget Sanitation

If sewer service is interrupted or sewer lines are damaged, you need a plan for human waste and basic hygiene. Poor sanitary conditions can contribute to serious illness.

Learn your local emergency-management guidance for waste disposal before an emergency.

Start with foods your household already eats: canned foods, soups, vegetables and fruit, beans and meats, peanut butter, crackers, shelf-stable milk, bars, and ready-to-eat meals.

Rotate stored food rather than letting it sit forgotten. And keep a manual can opener.

Have a way to cook

Think of Food → Cooking method → Fuel → Safe location. That might mean a propane grill, pellet grill, camp stove, or another appropriate outdoor cooking method. Check that you have the fuel, including pellets if you depend on a pellet grill.

Don't forget pets: food, water, medications, and appropriate supplies.

Keep lighting where you'll need it: bedroom, kitchen, living area, vehicle, and emergency-supply area. A flashlight beside the bed is particularly useful. Headlamps leave both hands free.

Keep spare batteries and test your lights periodically. Charge power banks and don't let them sit forgotten for years.

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Start with official sources: county emergency management, South Carolina Emergency Management Division, National Weather Service, NOAA Weather Radio, local government, utilities, and official alerts.

Your phone is extremely useful, but it depends on power and communications infrastructure. Have alternatives such as a NOAA/weather radio and battery-powered radio.

KCGR and local information

For the Kershaw County area, KCGR — Kershaw County Ground Report provides another layer of local, ground-level information. KCGR complements official emergency information; it does not replace it.

The KCGR resource page also provides access to PowerOutage.us, giving residents another way to view the broader power-outage picture.

Amateur radio

You don't have to be licensed to listen to amateur-radio communications. Depending on local activity, you may hear repeater conversations, emergency or public-service traffic, weather-spotter activity, nets, and local announcements.

If you eventually want to transmit, licensing and equipment rules apply.

Other communications

You don't need to learn every technology. GMRS, MeshCore, and Meshtastic may be in use in your area. Your local amateur-radio club can be an excellent source of practical information.

A handheld radio can provide another way to receive information and communicate. Before buying one, consider what it can receive, NOAA weather reception, battery capacity, USB charging, replaceable batteries, readability, ease of programming, weather resistance, and accessories.

The UV-5R Mini is particularly attractive as an inexpensive preparedness radio; pairs can sometimes be purchased for less than the cost of many individual handhelds.

If you buy a pair, that's fine—but owning two radios doesn't automatically mean you're authorized to transmit between them.

For people who want to learn how to program a handheld, the AA4TE Radio Reference provides the deeper how-to information.

As a general rule, an unopened refrigerator keeps food cold for about four hours. A full freezer can remain cold for about 48 hours, while a half-full freezer may remain cold for about 24 hours. Keep doors closed and use appliance thermometers rather than smell or appearance to determine whether food is safe.

Coolers

Have a cooler available and know where it is. Before buying a large cooler, remember: bigger isn't always better. Make sure it will actually fit through your door and in your vehicle.

Frozen water containers can help keep food cold and may provide water later when properly handled.

A major emergency is the worst time to go shopping for a generator. During widespread storms, generators may be sold out locally or available only many miles away.

How big a generator do you really need?

If your primary goal is keeping a refrigerator/freezer operating, you may not need a giant generator. Check running watts, starting/surge watts, and the requirements of the appliances you intend to operate.

A generator in roughly the 2,000–2,500-watt class may be worth investigating for refrigerator/freezer duty, but check your appliance and generator specifications.

Generator safety

• Operate generators outdoors and away from doors, windows, and other openings.
• Never use one in a garage, basement, or enclosed or partially enclosed area.
• Never backfeed your house or use a male-to-male “suicide cord.”
• Use a properly installed transfer switch/interlock if connecting a generator to house wiring.

Fire and carbon-monoxide protection

Have working smoke alarms, carbon-monoxide alarms, and fire extinguishers.

Fuel

Follow the manufacturer's fuel and storage instructions. If you're interested in ethanol-free gasoline, several resources can help locate it.

Run and test your generator regularly. A calendar reminder can help, but follow the exercise and maintenance schedule in your owner's manual.

Protect identity and vital records, insurance information, property records, vehicle titles and registrations, financial information, legal documents, medical information, and emergency contacts.

Think in three layers

• Secure physical copies: use a fire-resistant document box or safe for important originals.
• Grab-and-go copies: keep copies of documents you might need during an evacuation.
• Secure digital copies: maintain protected copies somewhere other than your home.

Photograph or video the contents of your home and valuable possessions. Keep that inventory somewhere outside the home.

Consider keeping a modest amount of emergency cash in a secure location, preferably in smaller denominations, in case electronic payment systems or ATMs aren't working.

Keep an up-to-date list of important medications and medical information, and discuss appropriate medication supplies with your healthcare provider or pharmacist.

Use whichever approach works for you: buy one or two items every payday, or keep a running list in your phone or shopping app.

Don't forget the vehicle

Consider keeping a flashlight, phone charging cable, power bank, water, shelf-stable snacks, first-aid supplies, jumper cables or a jump starter, tire-inflation equipment, basic tools, blanket, visibility equipment, paper map, and emergency contact information in your vehicle.

Keep your vehicle fueled when severe weather is approaching. If evacuation becomes necessary, you want to be thinking about where you're going—not whether you have enough fuel to get there.

Pick something you already own and test it.

• Can you find the flashlight in the dark?
• Can you charge your phone from your backup battery?
• Can you turn on your NOAA radio?
• Can you prepare food without electricity?
• Can you find your emergency supplies?
• Do you know how your water filter works?
• Do you know how to safely operate your generator?
• Do you know how to operate your handheld radio?

Put testing and maintenance on your calendar. Don't let every reminder be about buying something—some reminders should be about learning and testing.

Know your local official sources

Bookmark your county emergency-management agency, South Carolina Emergency Management Division, National Weather Service, local government, utilities, and official emergency-alert resources.

Look around your neighborhood

As you drive through your neighborhood, take note of tall or unusual-looking antennas on homes. Those may belong to amateur-radio operators.

During an emergency, amateur radio may provide communicationManual can openers when ordinary telephone, cellular, or internet services are unavailable.

HamInfo can help you locate amateur-radio license holders by ZIP code or street.

HamInfo — Amateur Radio License Search

Find your local amateur-radio club

Find out where the club meets, whether it participates in emergency communications, whether it operates an emergency net, what repeaters it uses, and how to contact it.

The club's normal meeting location may or may not be its emergency operating location. Don't assume one is the other—but knowing the club and its members before an emergency can be extremely valuable.

Find a club through ARRL — Find a Club. South Carolina residents can also use SCIWAY — South Carolina Amateur Radio Organizations.

Have an evacuation plan

• Know at least two ways out of your neighborhood.
• Know where you would go.
• Know how you'll communicate if separated.
• Know what you'll do with pets.
• Know what documents you'll take.
• Keep your vehicle ready.

Choose an out-of-area family contact

During a widespread emergency, calls within an affected area may fail while calls outside the area still work. Choose a relative or trusted friend well outside the affected area to serve as your family's message taker.

Put that person's name and number in everyone's phone—and write it down.