Surviving a Hurricane on Vacation

Hurricane Newton, 09/06/2016

​When planning a vacation, most people do everything in their power to avoid inclement weather, especially hurricanes.  But even the best laid plans can be upset by the unexpected.  We experienced this recently in Cabo San Lucas when we went from beautiful weather to full hurricane in 24 hours.  

Hurricane and typhoons can occur any time of year, which proves to be challenging when trying to plan a vacation.  So here are some tips you can use to minimize the impact unforeseen weather can have on your vacation. 

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Consider your travel dates and destination
You can minimize the chances of having bad weather impact your vacation.  If you don't want to deal with snow or possible blizzards, don't travel to those areas that are likely to get snow during the winter months.  Instead of going to New England, Canada, Scandinavian countries, etc. you might consider heading south to Florida, Hawaii, the Caribbean, or even south of the equator where the southern hemisphere is experiencing summer during our winter.  

If you want to avoid hurricanes, consider avoiding hurricane-prone areas (the Gulf Coast of the United States, Mexico, Hawaii, and the Caribbean) during hurricane season (June 1st through November 30th).  

Buy travel insurance
Travel insurance does more than cover your financial investment in the event that you cancel your trip.  Insurance provides additional coverages like trip interruption, trip delay, lost or delayed baggage, emergency medical, medical evacuation, and repatriation of remains.  

If a hurricane hits your vacation destination while you are there, you might receive benefits under trip interruption or trip delay.  During our recent Cabo experience, my daughter had trip interruption (the airline cancelled her flight) and I had trip delay (my flight was so delayed that I missed my connection).  All of our extra expenses were covered by travel insurance.

Register your trip with the US State Department
It may seem like overkill to register a simple trip to an all-inclusive resort in Mexico or the Caribbean.  However, if a tourist area is decimated by a hurricane, it is helpful to the local embassies if they know in advance how many of their citizens that they need to account for after a natural disaster.

I would also recommend leaving a copy of your itinerary behind with family and/or a trusted friend.

Once on vacation, how to deal with a hurricane 
Once you are at your destination if a tropical storm or hurricane hits, here are some basic tips to follow:

• DO NOT LEAVE.  If you are on land and a hurricane is heading your way, do not leave the resort.  No one can ensure your safety once you leave the property.  If an evacuation is warranted, the staff will advise you and instruct you as to where to go.
• Listen to the staff.  Whether you are on a cruise ship or a land-based resort, listen to the staff and follow ALL directions they have regarding storm safety.  They aren't going out of their way to ruin your vacation.  On the contrary, they're goal is to minimize loss of life, injuries and damage.   
• Stay indoors.   For most people, this seems like common sense.  But you would be surprised at the number of people that don't heed this tip.  Cruise ship staff will block doors to the outside deck areas to prevent slippage (high winds combined with slippery decks equal an accident waiting to happen).  Land-based resort staff will also instruct you to stay indoors, keep terrace/balcony doors closed and locked, and keep curtains closed.  Don't wanter outside for that "picture to remember" or to "get a better look."  Hurricane winds can exceed 150 miles per hour.  Even category one hurricanes reach 75 mile per hour or more.  None of which is inconsequential.
• Bring furniture indoors.  Staff will probably ask you to do this anyway, but be pre-emptive.  If you have a balcony or terrace, bring any furniture out there into your room.  Although a lot of this furniture tends to be metal, winds of 100 mph or higher can still turn furniture into airborne missiles, breaking windows and sliding glass doors.  Bring the furniture indoors and stack it up in a corner.
• Stock up on bottled water.  Especially at all-inclusive resorts where bottled water is included at no additional charge, stock up.  In our recent experience in Cabo San Lucas, the mini bar replenishment service came by all of the rooms.  We stocked up a dozen 500 ml water bottles to get the two of through the night, as well as canned sodas, juices, and snacks.  If we had lost electricity the refrigerated juices would have eventually gone bad, but the bottled water was more than sufficient. For drinking purposes you should have 2 liters of water per person per day available.
• Other sources of water.  This is more applicable at land-based resorts and hotels, but not on cruise ships.  To ensure a supply of water for sanitary purposes such as cleaning and flushing toilets, fill the bathtub, sinks, and other large containers with water.  This actually presented a problem for us in Cabo San Lucas.  The resort we  stayed at did not have a bathtubs (just a large walk-in showers).  And the sinks did not have stoppers, so they could not hold any water.  All we could fill with water were the trash cans in the room (after removing the trash of course).  
• Keep batteries charged and minimize.  If you have your cellphone, tablet, etc. with you, keep them charged at all times.  Most resorts have back-up generators, but you can't be 100% sure of that (or that they'll work properly).  While you have electricity, staying plugged in while using your devices is fine.  But if you lose power, you will want to reserve battery life as much as possible.  In that case, minimize your usage.  If the power is out, figure that Internet / Wifi service will also be out.  And you can also assume cell towers will be affected as well.  Don't drain your batteries unnecessarily.  
• Things to take with you on vacation.  Having a small flashlight comes in handy if the power goes out, and takes take up space in your luggage.  Also, I'd recommend a small, basic first aid kit (band aids, ointment) for minor cuts or injuries that can be sustained from slipping and falling in the dark, or on a wet floor, etc.
• Keep calm.  I know this part isn't easy, but it's imperative that you keep your wits about you.  Panicking leads to making bad judgement calls.  

After the hurricane passes
As soon as you can, check in with friends/family back home to let them know you are safe.  If you registered your trip with the US State Department, try to contact the local US embassy as well to let them know where you are and how you are doing.

Once the storm passes, how quickly your vacation returns to normal will depend on the storm's severity and the amount of damage at your resort.  In Cabo San Lucas, there was little or no damage at our resort.  They were able to resume "business as usual" within 24 hours, and everyone vacationed like nothing had ever happened.  Of course, had it been a much stronger storm and the resort had experienced significant damage, they may have had to relocate guests to other properties.  

If you experience a hurricane, or strong storm, while on vacation and it interferes with your travel plans, keep good notes and all receipts to substantiate any travel insurance claim that you may need to file once you get home.