Originally published in September 2021
File “hasty hurricane evacuation” under list of experiences I didn’t think I’d have in 2021 but here we are. On August 28th at 8:20am, after spending a week preparing to shelter in place from Hurricane Ida, I left New Orleans with a friend and her two dogs and hit the road in search of safer ground. I’d never evacuated or run from anything before, and as someone who prefers to do extensive research and preparation for…well, everything, I was out of my depth, to say the least. I’d like to share what I’ve learned in case it helps fellow singles feel more prepared for the unpredictable, the unsettling, and the unfathomable.
It is with immense privilege and luck that I am writing this from the comfort of a hotel room in Prattville, Alabama, where I will be until power is restored to the city of New Orleans—because the entire city of New Orleans (and all harder-hit surrounding areas) are currently completely without electricity during the hottest part of the year. There is a heat advisory in effect for New Orleans as I write this. Please help those who need it, if you’re able.
Things I Actually Needed During A Hurricane Evacuation:
A Buddy: For single women especially, you need to evacuate with a friend. A family member. A few people. I can handle most shit on my own but let me be quite clear that running from a hurricane is not something you need to tough out solo. It’s not smart nor is it safe. Connect with fellow single friends and discuss how you’d evacuate together. Who is driving? Are there pets involved? Talk about these things in advance so you’re less scattered and scared if/when shit hits fans.
Destination Options: Make a list of a few places you could safely get to in a few hours because picking one place isn’t enough. What if the hurricane is headed to the place you thought was safe? Make lists of towns, local hotels that are well situated near major resources like Target, grocery stories, etc., and save it for when you need it. Because I can assure you, doing it in a panic with zero information in front of you is not fun.
My original intention as simply to fly to Texas to be with my family. But now I know hurricane evacuations don’t work that way. There isn’t time. The mood shifted from “no big deal, we’re used to this, we’ve got this” to “we all need to get the fuck out of here” in a matter of hours. That wasn’t enough time and it choked the life out of the airport. Know who you’ll scoot out of town with, who is responsible for keeping which car full of gas at all times during hurricane season, and do not slack on these responsibilities.
I do recommend having a list of hotels as a safety net, because you can’t always count on evacuating to someone’s home. You never know who will be out of town, etc. My parents are currently building their house and are living in a hotel themselves until it’s done. Even if it’s just for a night or two until you get yourself sorted, evacuating to a hotel if you’re able to is a way to find safety and comfort, fast. Book your room the second you decide to evacuate. They fill up.
A Suitcase: For clothing, toiletries, personal stuff. Pack your clothes and personal essentials in a suitcase so your shit isn’t rolling around everywhere and you have some sense of organization. It will also help you remember items you need, as you’re used to packing in a suitcase as opposed to throwing shit in a trash bag and hauling ass.
The Biggest Goddamned Tote Bag You Own. This is where you put many of the communal essentials you’ll need like road snacks, water, duct tape, masks, etc. Make these things easy to access on the road, and a big tote means it’s always easy to tuck more items in. Something like this will work fine.
A Cooler. If you have one. If you don’t, don’t panic, but I’d invested in a very intense cooler for hurricane season and I threw all my emergency ice in it along with some food and drinks and we were glad we had it. This is the one I brought.
Duct Tape. You never know what you’ll need it for, but you damn sure know it will work for whatever you need. We fixed a car window and lint rolled dog hair out of a hotel bed. Pack your duct tape.
Water. To drink, for pets, water for the road is key especially when you’re evacuating alongside thousands of people and pulling off the freeway to stop for supplies is NOT prudent unless you want to add another hour to your journey. My journey to Alabama was supposed to take four hours. It took nine. I was glad I threw a gallon of water in the car.
Big Trash Bags. Again, a thousand different uses and they’re just smart to have with you. This is an easy item to leave in a box in your car (along with duct tape and a couple gallons of water) at all times.
Cross-Body Bag. You don’t want to carry a huge tote into stores/restaurants/rest stops nor do you want to hold your phone and wallet in your hands and potentially drop/lose something. You can grab your daily purse on your way out the door for this or throw a small cross-body in your suitcase. I’m using mine daily while evacuated. There are countless options for these, but this one is an affordable version and it’s great for future travels, too.
Cliff Bars, Etc. Road food, hotel breakfast, these even count as full meals when you’re mentally and physically drained from *gestures vaguely at the entire situation* and you just need to eat for strength. I like blueberry because there’s nothing in them that can melt and get messy, but do what you like.
Leggings. For fucks sake leggings. I forgot mine. I’ve since purchased five pairs at Target in a grotesque game of trial and error. Bring (or just wear) your sturdiest, most elastic leggings—you’ll use them every day and they are the most reliable thing to wear on the bottom half of you.
Two Weeks Of Underwear. I brought one. I’ll leave it at that.
Several Tank Tops. Laundry is…a concern when you’re evacuated. Hotel laundry is unreliable. We’ve used a laundromat which I definitely recommend because their washers/dryers are affordable and FAST, but it’s just nice to have enough clean clothing so that you’re not stressed out about laundry.
Large, Cozy Sweater. Hotel rooms can be freezing, and my sweater has been serving as both warmth and a kind of security blanket during all of this. There are more options than I can count, my recommendation is to buy one size up.
Jean Jacket. You likely don’t know a ton about the weather of the place you’re evacuating to. During hurricane season, a jean jacket is probably sufficient for most cool nights anywhere.
Something To Sleep In. A big tee shirt, whatever. It doesn’t matter. Just have something to sleep in that isn’t the clothes you wear during the day. I recommend anything in the “Stars Above” line at Target, also fairly easy to find no matter where you end up evacuating to.
Masks. Oh, right—we’re not just dealing with ONE disaster here, are we? I brought a package of paper masks, I should have brought a box.
Wipes. Toss that container of Clorox in your tote bag and don’t think twice about it.
Wear Tennis Shoes/Pack Sandals. I only wore sandals on the road, haven’t had closed toe shoes in a week. Do better than I did.
Glasses/A Month Of Contacts. The one smart thing I did do was throw an entire box of contact lenses in my suitcase JUST IN CASE I was evacuated for a month. It doesn’t look like we will be in the shit that long, but it does make me feel better to know they’re with me.
A Roll Of Paper Towels: Again, just toss it in your tote.
Face Soap: Hotels usually have shampoo/conditioner/body soap but it’s good to have a way to wash your face too. Hotel body soap is fine in a pinch, but if we’re planning in advance here, throw in some face wash, k?
Hair Brush/Elastics/Bobby Pins: Especially if you have long hair, you’re going to want to get it the hell out of your way. My ladies with bangs, throw those bobby pins in your bag and don’t even try to maintain a lewk right now.
Deodorant/Toothbrush/Toothpaste: The absolute essentials.
Laundry Pods: You can’t always count on laundromats to have soap in stock, so throw a few of these in a ziplock bag and toss it in your tote, you’ll be glad you did.
Ziplocks: Grab a fistful and throw them in your tote. These have been incredibly handy for everything from preserving food, to holding ice for the cooler, roadside trash receptacles, pet waste, you name it.
All Chargers: Phone, laptop, and make sure you bring the cords you need to charge your spare battery packs, too.
I’m new at this, so I can only report back on what has actually been helpful for me during all of this, but I hope it’s at least a starting point list for anyone looking to feel more prepared for the things that are hard to anticipate.
All links are affiliate links.