I'm Michael Hendrick. I write and maintain this site as an independent project: no ads, no affiliate links, no institutional backing, and no incentive to turn preparedness into panic shopping.
I also built Cascadia.me, a preparedness guide for the Pacific Northwest. That project shaped the standard here too: regional, specific, useful, and honest about what it can and cannot know.
The gap I kept running into
There is no shortage of hurricane information online. Some of it is official and technically correct, but hard to absorb when a household needs to make decisions. Some of it is easy to read, but quietly built around commissions, product roundups, and fear.
I wanted the middle thing: plain guidance for normal households, with enough context that the recommendations make sense. Not hurricane preparedness in the abstract. Preparedness for people on the Gulf Coast, the Atlantic coast, Puerto Rico, and the other places where season timing, evacuation routes, storm surge, heat, and power outages change the plan.
Care, not fear
Preparedness is not a performance of seriousness. It is a way of taking care of people before the weather turns. You build a kit because stress makes decisions harder. You make a plan because the worst time to invent one is while everyone else is trying to leave.
Nothing here is meant to frighten you into buying things. The goal is for a reader to close a page feeling steadier, clearer, and more likely to do one useful thing today.
Useful, not just informative
Every guide should answer the same practical questions: what do you need, why do you need it, how much is enough, and what changes when your household includes children, pets, medical equipment, a car, or a likely evacuation.
I bias toward boring recommendations that survive real life. If advice depends on expensive gear, perfect discipline, or a household that does not exist, it usually does not belong here.
What I know, and what I don't
I am not a meteorologist, a doctor, a structural engineer, or an emergency manager. I do not forecast storms, give medical advice, or tell you whether your home can withstand a major hurricane.
What I can do is synthesize official guidance, compare preparedness recommendations, explain the reasoning behind supply decisions, and keep the work grounded in real household constraints. When the right answer belongs to a local agency or a professional, I point there.
The best emergency preparedness resource is still your local emergency management office. This site is a supplement, not a replacement.
How I keep it current
I review the site before June 1, the start of Atlantic hurricane season, and revisit pages after major storms, official guidance changes, broken links, or anything else that exposes a blind spot. An independent site still has to earn trust.
I also keep the project deliberately small. I would rather maintain fewer pages that someone might actually use than expand into content I cannot keep careful and current.
Keep it independent
If this site helped you build a kit, print a checklist, or explain hurricane risk to someone you care about, a tip helps keep the work independent. It pays for the time it takes to research, revise, and host this without ads or affiliate incentives.
Ko-fi is a simple tipping platform. No account required. Any amount is appreciated, and it keeps the project ad-free.