A Hurricane Is 24 Hours Away. What's Your Water Plan?

The hurricane forecast has changed.

Your community is now inside the potential impact area, grocery stores are getting crowded, bottled water is disappearing, and everyone seems to be preparing at the same time.

You have approximately 24 hours.

What should you do about water?

It's a question families often don't seriously consider until a hurricane is already approaching.

But water should be one of the first things you prepare—not one of the last.

Hurricanes can damage water infrastructure, interrupt electrical service to pumping systems, cause water main breaks, and contribute to contamination problems.

After a hurricane or other disaster, tap water may not be available or safe to use. That's why the best time to establish your emergency water supply is before the storm arrives and while your household water is still safe and operational.

Here's a simple 24-hour hurricane water plan.

24 Hours Before the Hurricane: Calculate How Much Water You Need

Start with the people in your household.

A widely used emergency preparedness guideline is approximately:

1 gallon of water per person, per day, for several days.

That means a family of four should consider at least:

4 people × 1 gallon × 3 days = 12 gallons

And that's a starting point.

If you're preparing for the possibility of a longer disruption, the number rises quickly:

4 people × 1 gallon × 7 days = 28 gallons

Then consider pets and any additional household needs.

Water isn't just for drinking.

During a prolonged emergency, you may need clean water for:

• Drinking
• Cooking
• Preparing food
• Brushing teeth
• Washing hands
• Taking medications
• Basic hygiene
• Caring for pets

This is where many hurricane-preparedness plans fall short.

A few cases of bottled water may look like a lot sitting in the shopping cart.

For an entire household over several days, it may not be nearly as much as you think.

20 Hours Before: Separate Portable Water From Stay-at-Home Water

Not all emergency water serves the same purpose.

Think about your water supply in two categories:

Portable Emergency Water

This is water you can quickly take with you if you're required to evacuate.

Bottled water and smaller portable containers are ideal for this purpose.

Keep some in your vehicle or evacuation supplies.

Large-Capacity Home Water Storage

If you're sheltering at home—or returning home after the hurricane—you may need substantially more water.

This is where a large-capacity emergency water storage system becomes valuable.

Instead of trying to permanently store dozens of gallons of bottled water, you can use the clean municipal water already available in your home before the storm arrives.

18 Hours Before: Fill Your AquaPodKit While the Water Is Still Safe

If a hurricane is approaching and your local water supply is still operating normally with no advisory indicating the water is unsafe, this is the time to fill your emergency water storage containers.

Don't wait for the water to stop.

And don't wait for a boil-water or other drinking-water advisory to be issued.

AquaPodKit® is designed to turn the unused space inside your bathtub into a large emergency water reserve.

Place the AquaPodKit inside your bathtub, connect the filling system to your faucet, and fill it according to the product instructions.

Depending on the bathtub and setup, AquaPodKit can store up to approximately 65 gallons of emergency water.

That's roughly equivalent to:

520 standard 16-ounce bottles of water.

Instead of transporting hundreds of bottles home from a store, you're using water that's already being delivered directly to your house.

16 Hours Before: Don't Forget Your Pets

Pets need emergency water too.

When calculating your hurricane water supply, don't plan only for the people in your household.

Dogs, cats, and other animals may depend on the same emergency water supply.

Keep portable water available if your pets will evacuate with you, and include their needs when determining how much water should remain at home.

Your hurricane kit should also include pet food, medications, bowls, carriers, leashes, and other essentials.

12 Hours Before: Prepare for the Possibility of a Water Advisory

One important distinction can make a major difference:

Stored water and contaminated water are not the same problem.

AquaPodKit is an emergency water storage system. It does not turn contaminated water into safe drinking water.

That's why timing matters.

You want to fill emergency drinking-water containers while your household water supply is still considered safe.

After the storm, listen carefully to your local utility, emergency management agency, and health department.

Water advisories aren't all the same.

Officials may issue instructions such as:

• Boil water
• Do not drink the water
• Do not use the water

Those instructions mean different things.

For example, boiling can kill many disease-causing germs, but boiling does not make water contaminated with certain chemicals or fuels safe to drink.

Always follow the specific instructions issued by local authorities.

8 Hours Before: Prepare Water for Hygiene and Sanitation

Your protected drinking-water supply is valuable.

Don't unnecessarily use drinking water for tasks that can safely use another water source.

Before the storm, consider your household's needs for:

• Toilet flushing
• Cleaning
• Washing
• Other sanitation purposes

If appropriate and recommended by local authorities, separate water intended for sanitation from the water you've specifically stored for drinking and food preparation.

This allows you to conserve your protected emergency drinking-water supply.

6 Hours Before: Make Sure You Can Access Your Water Without Electricity

A hurricane can knock out electricity long before municipal water service is restored.

Think about how you'll access your stored water if:

• The electricity is out
• Your kitchen is dark
• Water pressure is gone
• You can't use normal appliances

AquaPodKit includes a manual hand pump, so dispensing stored water doesn't depend on household electricity.

Keep the pump and any necessary components together with the AquaPodKit so you're not searching for them during the storm.

4 Hours Before: Stop Shopping and Start Sheltering

At some point, hurricane preparation needs to end and personal safety needs to become the priority.

The National Hurricane Center emphasizes that preparations should be completed before dangerous tropical-storm-force winds arrive.

Don't make a last-minute trip for bottled water once conditions become dangerous.

If authorities issue an evacuation order, follow it.

Your emergency supplies aren't more important than your safety.

If you're sheltering at home, bring your hurricane supplies into an easily accessible location and continue monitoring official weather and emergency information.

After the Hurricane: Don't Assume the Faucet Is Safe

The storm has passed.

The faucet works.

That doesn't automatically mean the water is safe to drink.

Continue listening to local officials.

If authorities issue a boil-water advisory, follow their instructions for drinking, cooking, brushing teeth, preparing food, making ice, and other uses.

If officials issue a do-not-drink or do-not-use advisory, pay very close attention to the instructions.

Certain chemical contamination cannot be made safe simply by boiling the water.

This is one of the biggest advantages of storing water ahead of time.

You prepared while the water was still safe instead of trying to solve the problem after the water supply became questionable.

Don't Make These 5 Hurricane Water Mistakes

1. Waiting Until Bottled Water Is Sold Out

If everyone waits until the hurricane warning, everyone starts shopping at the same time.

Prepare before the rush.

2. Assuming a Few Cases of Water Are Enough

Calculate your household's needs instead of guessing.

Remember to include pets.

3. Filling Emergency Drinking-Water Containers Too Late

Fill your emergency water storage system while your municipal water is still considered safe.

4. Assuming Boiling Fixes Every Water Problem

It doesn't.

Boiling is effective against many germs, but it cannot remove certain toxic chemicals or fuels.

Follow local authorities' instructions.

5. Thinking Evacuation Means You Don't Need Water at Home

If you're ordered to evacuate, leave.

But remember that you may eventually return to an area where stores are closed and water infrastructure hasn't fully recovered.

Preparing your home before you leave—when it is safe and practical to do so—can make returning after the hurricane much easier.

Why Your Bathtub Is Such a Valuable Emergency Resource

Most households don't have room for a permanent 55- or 65-gallon rigid water tank.

But many already have something capable of supporting a large amount of water:

A bathtub.

The problem is that a bathtub was designed for bathing—not storing drinking water.

Soap residue, cleaning products, body oils, bacteria, and the drain itself make filling the bathtub directly a poor substitute for a purpose-built drinking-water container.

A bathtub water bladder solves that problem differently.

Instead of using the bathtub as the container, you're using the bathtub to support the container.

AquaPodKit's flexible food-grade liner sits inside the tub and conforms to its shape as it fills.

When the emergency is over, the system doesn't occupy the space of a 65-gallon rigid tank.

It can be stored compactly with your emergency supplies until it's needed again.

The Best Time to Store Hurricane Water Is Before You Need It

After more than 20 years in emergency water preparedness, there's one mistake I've seen repeatedly:

People wait too long.

They wait for the hurricane warning.

They wait for the forecast cone.

They wait until bottled water disappears.

And sometimes they wait until the water coming from the faucet is already questionable.

The entire idea behind emergency preparedness is to reverse that sequence.

Prepare first.

When the hurricane is still offshore and your household water is still safe, you have something incredibly valuable:

Time and access to water.

Use both wisely.

Your 24-Hour Hurricane Water Checklist

24 Hours Before: Calculate how much water your household needs.

20 Hours Before: Set aside portable bottled water for possible evacuation.

18 Hours Before: Fill your AquaPodKit and other appropriate drinking-water containers while the water supply is still safe.

16 Hours Before: Account for pets and other household needs.

12 Hours Before: Monitor local water and emergency alerts.

8 Hours Before: Prepare separate water for appropriate sanitation needs.

6 Hours Before: Make sure pumps, flashlights, radios, batteries, and emergency supplies are accessible.

4 Hours Before: Finish preparations and get somewhere safe before dangerous conditions arrive.

After the Storm: Continue following local water advisories before using tap water.

Don't Wait Until the Tap Water Becomes Unsafe

A hurricane can change direction.

It can strengthen.

It can weaken.

And sometimes the forecast will be wrong.

That's okay.

If you prepare and the hurricane misses you, you've lost very little.

But if the storm hits and your water supply is interrupted, the water you stored beforehand can become one of the most valuable resources in your home.

AquaPodKit® helps you turn your bathtub into an emergency water reserve capable of storing up to approximately 65 gallons—without permanently storing a massive rigid water tank in your home.

Add AquaPodKit to Your Hurricane Kit Before You Need It

✓ Up to approximately 65 gallons of emergency water storage

✓ Food-grade LLDPE

✓ Virgin resin

✓ FDA food-contact compliant materials

✓ HACCP-controlled manufacturing practices

✓ Made in the USA

✓ Compact storage before the storm

✓ Manual hand pump included

The hurricane warning isn't the time to start thinking about water.

Get your AquaPodKit® today. Keep it with your hurricane supplies. When a storm threatens, you'll already have the ability to store up to 65 gallons of emergency water while clean water is still flowing.

SHOP AQUAPODKIT® → AquaPodKit.com

One bathtub. Up to 65 gallons. Be ready before the water stops.