Lauren Stroh at n+1:
I AM ON MY FOURTH HURRICANE in 367 days. My protocol at this point has become routine: you prep for hours, and then you wait. You buy your water, you fill the bathtub so you can pressure flush the toilet, you bulk up on flashlights and candles, you throw out your perishable food, you secure your belongings and your property, you cool the house as much as possible before the power goes out. I choose to stockpile cigarettes, beer, and votive candles of Catholic saints, but that is my individual pleasure. Everyone has their own.
I helped out in Lake Charles, where I grew up, last year in the aftermath of Hurricanes Delta and Laura, and I live in New Orleans where I rode out our last two storms. Then in Lake Charles there was last winter’s ice storm, a hundred-year’s flood in May, and still no federal aid. Those people lost everything. My mom was knocked off her feet: sixty years of shit, thirty-three years of flood insurance, six inches of water, and just a couple hours.
more here.