Hurricane Ian is expected to intensify back to hurricane status over the Atlantic before making landfall tomorrow. The entire coast of South Carolina is now under a hurricane warning.
More than a million people are still without power in Florida, and while the goal now is to get the power back on, there are plenty of other challenges.
But there is also a lot of hurricane advice floating around that's dead wrong.
One example popular on social media is storing your valuables in the dishwasher for safe keeping. But not all dishwashers are water-tight, according to lifestyle expert Trae Bodge.
“If you have flooding and the water rises, all of your valuables will be ruined,” Bodge said.
Another supposedly safe storage space is the trunk of your car, but that’s also a bad idea, judging by images of cars floating away in the wake of Hurricane Ian.
“I would recommend, especially for the paper items, like passports, birth certificates, put them in a watertight Ziploc bag and keep them as close as possible so you have them,” Bodge said.
For many homeowners, being without power also means being without plumbing. One popular solution is filling your tub with water before the power goes out. Pouring a bucketful into the toilet will force it to flush.
No power also means ATMs will be useless, so it's a good idea to have a supply of cash on hand, Bodge said.
And real-estate guru and “Shark Tank” panelist Barbara Corcoran has this advice for people whose homes have been destroyed: “The most important thing for people to do right after a storm is to use a camera and take a picture of everything in the house, including your possessions, because many people have insurance on their possessions.”
Although the damage estimate for Florida could be as much as $60 billion, the total could be much higher.
Hurricane Ian is expected to intensify back to hurricane status over the Atlantic before making landfall tomorrow. The entire coast of South Carolina is now under a hurricane warning.
