Alright folks, today got real interesting. Woke up thinking it’d be another boring Wednesday, maybe mess around in the garden. Then bam! Sky goes dark fast, wind screaming like angry ghosts, rain hammering down sideways. News starts blowing up my phone – serious storm warning, they even called it “Tigers Storm”. Sounded crazy, right? What’s that even mean? Didn’t sound good.
Felt my gut clench. Power flickered and died. Total darkness except for those scary lightning flashes showing the trees outside bent almost double. Heard something smash outside – probably that ugly garden gnome my sister gave me, good riddance. No time for jokes though. Needed a plan, fast.
First thing? Stopped freaking out. Panic gets you nowhere. Took a deep breath, felt dumb doing it, but it helped. Grabbed my old but reliable flashlight from the kitchen junk drawer.
My 7 Crude Survival Steps (Learned the Hard Way):
1. Got My Bearings Inside: Tripped over the damn dog toy in the dark, cursed a blue streak. Felt my way around walls, checked windows. Found that loose board in the hallway floor I’ve been meaning to fix – instant trip hazard. Shoved the rug over it. Moved the stupid heavy vase off the shelf next to the main window – wasn’t taking chances.
2. Water Bottle & Canned Nastiness: Remembered reading somewhere you need water. Filled every empty bottle I could find from the tap before the pressure dropped. Raided the cupboard. Found dusty cans of beans (gross), Spam (double gross), and peaches in syrup. Not gourmet, but better than starving. Chuckled thinking about complaining later.
3. Locked & Blocked: Wind howled like it wanted in. Checked every external door, slammed the deadbolts home hard. Basement window looked flimsy. Dragged that useless workout bench nobody uses against it.
4. Small Room Life: My living room has big windows – bad news. Bathroom downstairs? No windows, thick walls. Perfect. Felt like a cave. Dragged my mattress in – looked ridiculous – and piled in blankets, canned crap, water bottles, and the radio.
5. Firepower Ready: Rooted around under the sink. Found that crank-powered radio/flashlight thing I got as a joke gift last Christmas. Gave the crank a whirl – it made this annoying grinding noise but lights flickered on! Lifesaver. Made sure spare batteries for the flashlight were close.
6. Listening Out: Cranked the radio next. Static mostly. Then a burst of crackly voice – emergency broadcast. Tiger Storm? Basically means wind roaring so hard it can tear things apart, rain blinding, flooding fast. Like facing a pissed-off beast. Needed to stay put, they said. Duh.
7. Waiting Game & Mental Struggle: This was the worst part. Sitting on that mattress, eating cold beans straight from the tin with a plastic spoon. Light only when I cranked. Just darkness, wind noise, and worry. Kept thinking about that damn garden gnome. Hoped the roof held. Wondered if my car looked okay – unlikely.
Why Bother Sharing This?
Because I almost messed up big time. Almost went out to check the car when the wind sorta eased for a second. Looked calm-ish. But that radio crackled again: “Winds picking back up, stay inside!” Heard a massive crash nearby just after – probably a tree or someone’s porch. If I’d gone out… yeah.
Point is, those steps? They sound basic. Too simple maybe. But scrambling in the dark, scared spitless, basic is all you got. Knowing the “Tiger Storm” just meant “get your crap together or get wrecked” flipped a switch. Preparation beats panic every single time.
Hope this helps someone. Maybe stash those beans somewhere easier to reach than I did. Trust me.
