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Ask anyone in the Coastal Bend what hurricane prep looks like, and you’ll get the same list: plywood, batteries, gas, water, ice, and a plan for the pets. What you might not hear about is prescription refills, tetanus shots, or carbon monoxide.
That information gap can be dangerous. Hurricane season runs from June 1st through November 30th, and the Gulf is usually busiest in August and September. Most families around here are already good at protecting the house— fewer are ready for what a storm does to their health during the evacuation, the outage, and the cleanup that follows. The good news is that the health side of prep is mostly paperwork, planning, and a well-stocked box, and it can all happen before a storm shows up in the forecast.
Start with Medical Records and Prescriptions
It’s common to forget about medications until the moment you need them. That causes trouble, because when the power goes out, pharmacies close, and once roads flood, deliveries stop. When you evacuate to San Antonio in the middle of the night, your pill organizer might still be sitting on the kitchen counter.
Before hurricane season has you up to your ears in other prep, build a simple health file for your household. Ready.gov’s emergency kit checklist covers the basics, and yours should include:
- Every medication and its dose
- Allergies and chronic conditions
- Providers, their phone numbers, and your pharmacy info
- Copies of your insurance cards
Keep a paper version in a waterproof bag, and store a photo of everything on your phone. Paper survives a dead battery, and photos survive a lost bag.
Keep Your Meds Filled
Take a look at your refill schedule. Keep at least a week, preferably two, of essential medications on hand, and don’t let important prescriptions run down to the last few days during peak season. If a storm catches you short, call your pharmacy—Texas pharmacies can often provide an emergency supply during a declared disaster. Still, it’s much easier to arrange before the stores close and the phones go down.
Refrigerated medications like insulin need extra forethought. Keep a cooler and ice on hand, keep the medication cool rather than frozen, and check the FDA’s emergency insulin guidance or ask your pharmacist if it’s been sitting in the heat. Don’t take a chance and guess with medications like this.
Build a Health Kit Inside Your Storm Kit
Most Corpus Christi families have a storm kit, but have you built a health kit to go with it? It covers the small problems that become bigger ones when you can’t get to a store.
Stock adhesive bandages in several sizes, gauze, medical tape, elastic wrap, antibiotic ointment, antiseptic wipes, tweezers, disposable gloves, and hand sanitizer. Add a thermometer, pain and fever reducers, antidiarrheal medication, antihistamines, and any rescue medications your family relies on, like an inhaler or EpiPen. Don’t forget the essentials that aren’t strictly medical: spare glasses, hearing aid batteries, diapers, formula, and feminine hygiene supplies.
Water matters just as much. The government recommends 1 gallon per person per day for at least 3 days. Don’t forget the pets, and remember you’ll want water for washing hands and cleaning wounds, not just for drinking.
Power Outages in South Texas Heat
Hurricanes bring more than wind and water. They bring days without air conditioning, and that’s a serious problem in a place where late summer feels like a smothering blanket. Heat illness is one of the most common consequences of a long outage, especially for older adults, small children, pregnant women, and anyone with a heart or lung condition.
Heavy sweating, muscle cramps, weakness, headache, nausea, and clammy skin can point to heat exhaustion. Confusion, hot skin, a very high temperature, or fainting can signal heat stroke, a medical emergency—if you’re not sure which one is occurring, treat it as the more serious one and call 911.
Pace yourself. Drink water before you feel thirsty, since dehydration sneaks up fast in humid weather, and work outside in the early morning rather than the afternoon.
Generator Safety and Carbon Monoxide
A generator can keep the lights on, but every hurricane season, they also send people to the hospital. The rule is simple, and you can’t bend it: never run a generator, grill, or gas camp stove inside a home, garage, shed, carport, or crawl space. Opening a door or a window doesn’t make it safe. Generators belong outdoors, at least 20 feet from the house, with the exhaust pointed away from windows, doors, and vents. Install a battery-powered carbon monoxide alarm and test it before the season starts.
Carbon monoxide poisoning can look like the flu without a fever: headache, dizziness, nausea, weakness, and confusion. The biggest clue is that several people, and sometimes the pets, feel sick at the same time and feel better outdoors. Get everyone into fresh air immediately and call 911. That’s grounds for an ER visit, not a trip to urgent care.
Food and Water Safety After the Storm
Boil water notices are common after a major storm. Bring water to a rolling boil for at least one minute before drinking it, cooking with it, brushing your teeth with it, or making ice—or use bottled water instead. The CDC has more on building a safe emergency water supply.
Food’s the other big risk. A closed refrigerator keeps food safe for about 4 hours after the power goes out, a full freezer for roughly 48 hours, and a half-full freezer for about 24. Never taste food to decide whether it’s safe. When in doubt, throw it out.
Cleanup Injuries and Tetanus
The storm passes, and then the injuries start. Cleanup begins when people are tired and rushed, using tools they only use once a year. Chainsaws, ladders, wet roofs, broken glass, and nails in boards are part of the aftermath, as are slips and falls. Wear real shoes instead of flip-flops, use heavy gloves and eye protection, and never work on a roof or a ladder alone.
Storm debris wounds are rarely clean, and puncture wounds are especially deceptive— tiny on the surface, deep and dirty underneath. Tetanus bacteria live in soil and enter the body through exactly this kind of wound, so have a provider review both the injury and your vaccination history.
Floodwater, Mosquitoes, and Mold
Floodwater isn’t just water. It can carry sewage, chemicals, and bacteria, so stay out of it when you can and keep open wounds covered. Afterward, dump out anything that holds standing water—buckets, tires, toys, tarps, and clogged gutters—because mosquitoes breed quickly.
Mold is a slower problem, but still dangerous. The CDC recommends drying out the home within 24 to 48 hours and wearing at least an N95 respirator during cleanup. People with asthma, allergies, or chronic lung conditions shouldn’t take part in mold cleanup at all.
When to Visit Urgent Care
After a storm, emergency rooms fill up fast with the most serious cases. Chest pain, trouble breathing, suspected carbon monoxide poisoning, heat stroke, head or neck injuries, and heavy bleeding all belong at the ER or with 911. But sprains, cuts that need cleaning or closing, puncture wounds, tetanus questions, minor burns, rashes, infections, and stomach bugs are exactly what urgent care is for.
Access Total Care is here for the storms and for everything that follows them. Visit our Padre Island location for friendly staff and quick care— and prepare now, so that when the forecast turns, your family only has to think about staying safe.
Hurricane Season Health FAQ
Is it safe to run a generator in the garage if I leave the door open?
No. Carbon monoxide builds up in a garage even with the door open, and it can reach deadly levels in minutes. Generators belong outside, at least 20 feet from the house, with the exhaust pointed away from windows, doors, and vents.
Do I need a tetanus shot if I cut myself during cleanup?
Maybe—it depends on the wound and when you were last vaccinated. Storm debris wounds are usually dirty, and tetanus bacteria enter through cuts and punctures. Have the wound looked at, and a provider can tell you whether a booster’s needed.
How much water should my family store for a hurricane?
At least 1 gallon per person per day for 3 days, and more if you’ve got the space. Add water for your pets, and remember you’ll want clean water for handwashing and rinsing wounds, not just for drinking.
