Hurricanes to the Left of Me, COVID to the Right, Here I Am …

Just in case you think 2020 has sucked enough, it looks like Louisiana will get slammed by two back-to-back hurricanes.

If you live in Louisiana or East Texas, it’s way past time to put your hurricane plan into action. Of course, your plan – especially if it includes bugging out inland – is going to have to take COVID-19 into effect, especially since both states are seeing a surge in cases.

This already is presenting a problem. Louisiana officials worry that people will defy evacuation orders because they’re more scared of the virus than the hurricanes.

In my novel, BIG SKY FALLING, two simultaneous catastrophes hammer the US: an economic collapse from this spendthrift nation’s economic day of reckoning, and a deadly flu pandemic from China. Governments pulling out all the stops to confront the first crisis get hit with the second and crumble like a house of cards.

What did we learn?

This post has two morals. The first, and most important one, is that being caught up in one disaster doesn’t give you a free pass from the next one. Or in the case of the people of Louisiana, the next two.

The second is that your disaster plans and preps have to be robust. How many Gulf Coast residents prior to COVID-19 ever factored a simultaneous pandemic into their bug-out plans?

My novel starts out with some of my characters faced with this issue. How do they deal with it? Well, when a publisher (hopefully) prints my book, you’ll find out.

Be vigilant – always. Even if you’re surviving the pandemic and adjusting to the “new normal,” fate has no problem throwing more at you.

Unsolicited bug-out tip

If you’re worried about evacuating during a pandemic, the best thing you can do is to ensure that you don’t have to stop for gas and food on the way to your bug-out location.

You do that by always making sure to keep your gas tank topped off, and by having food for the trip that can be eaten on the go. You may want to keep some gas in your garage just to be safe. Please consult with your state and local laws regarding whether you can do so, and how much you can keep.

Also, be sure to rotate that gas regularly. Contrary to Hollywood mythmaking in which survivors of the great apocalypse are siphoning gas tanks years after the end of the world, unleaded gasoline doesn’t keep for very long at all.

You may still need to make stops, especially if you have young children who are going to need bathroom breaks. But doing this will significantly cut down on your risks if you’re worried about getting a disease during your evacuation.

If you don’t have a bug-out plan, click here to find a link that can help you craft one.