If you live anywhere from Ormond Beach down through Port Orange, New Smyrna, and Edgewater, you already know the drill: the cone shows up, the stores empty out, and the stuff you actually need is the stuff that's already gone. After years living and selling homes on this coast, I've learned the only prep that works is the prep you do before the season gets busy — not the week a storm is named.
Here's the checklist I'd hand a neighbor — the local knowledge first, the gear second.
Before you buy anything
Three things matter more than any item on this list, and none of them cost a dollar.
- Know your evacuation zone. Volusia uses zones A through F, based on your specific parcel — not your city or your neighbor's. Beachside is typically Zone A. Look yours up at volusia.org before a storm has a name, not while you're deciding whether to leave.
- Confirm your insurance is actually current. Pull up your declarations page and check that your windstorm and flood coverage are active — and that your wind-mitigation discount is on file. A lot of homeowners are paying for a discount they never actually got credited for.
- Document your home — today, while it's sunny. Walk every room with your phone out and narrate it. Open the closets. Open the garage. Ten minutes, done. If you ever have to file a claim, that video is the difference between "here's proof of everything I owned" and arguing with an adjuster from a folding chair.
(New to a coastal Volusia home? My new-homeowner hurricane checklist walks through all three of these in more depth.)
Once those three are handled, here's the gear worth having on hand.
1. Power — the thing you'll miss first
Outages here can run hours to days. You've got two routes:
- A portable power station (battery, runs indoors, silent — great for phones, fans, CPAP, a fridge in short bursts), or
- A portable inverter generator for longer outages and bigger loads. Never run a gas generator indoors or in a garage — carbon monoxide kills people every storm season. Outside, away from windows, only.
- Either way, a heavy-duty outdoor extension cord so you can actually reach what you're powering.
2. Light and information
- A NOAA hand-crank emergency weather radio — when the power and cell towers go, this is how you keep getting alerts. The hand-crank/solar ones double as a charger.
- A multipack of LED flashlights — spread them through the house so there's always one within reach.
- A battery bank to keep your phone alive, and a stock of spare batteries for everything else.
- A battery-powered fan — no power means no AC, and a Florida night without airflow is rough.
3. Water and food
The rule of thumb is one gallon of water per person per day, for at least 7 days. Don't count on tap water staying safe.
- Refillable water storage containers (fill them before the storm) or a stock of long-shelf-life emergency drinking water.
- Water purification tablets as backup.
- A manual can opener — the number of people with canned food and no way to open it is genuinely funny until it's you.
- A good cooler to stretch your fridge food once the power's out.
4. Safety and the home itself
- A real first-aid kit and a home fire extinguisher.
- Heavy-duty tarps for a roof leak, and water-activated flood bags for low doorways and garages.
- Heavy-duty tape for fast patching.
5. The part nobody preps for: cleanup
The storm leaves; the water and debris stay. Have it on hand before, because this is the second wave of empty shelves:
- Heavy-duty contractor trash bags and work gloves.
- A wet/dry shop vacuum for the water that gets in — and on this coast, some always does.
A quick word on your home itself
Gear handles the days around a storm. Your home is the bigger exposure — and on this coast, two things drive both your safety and your insurance bill: your roof age and your flood zone. If you're not sure where your home stands on either — or you're thinking about buying or selling and want to know how storm risk affects value — that's exactly the kind of thing I help Volusia homeowners sort out with real local numbers.
👉 Wondering what your coastal home is worth in today's market? Get a free, no-obligation home value report →
Frequently asked questions
When should I finish hurricane prep in Florida?
Before June. Atlantic hurricane season runs June 1 through November 30, and the shelves thin out the moment a storm is named. Handling it early — evacuation zone, insurance, documentation, gear — means you're not scrambling storm-week.
How much water should I store for a hurricane?
Plan on one gallon per person per day for at least seven days, plus extra for pets. Fill storage containers before the storm in case the tap water becomes unsafe.
Do I need a generator or is a battery power station enough?
A battery power station is quieter, runs safely indoors, and covers phones, fans, and small medical devices for a day or two. For multi-day outages or running a full fridge, a gas generator does more — just never run it indoors or in a garage because of carbon monoxide.
What's the one thing people forget?
A manual can opener and a way to charge a phone. Every season, both sell out — and both are cheap to have ready now.
This is general preparedness information, not safety or emergency advice — always follow Volusia County Emergency Management and local officials during a storm. Robert Kirkland is a licensed Florida real estate sales associate (License #SL3498393) with Simply Real Estate, serving coastal Volusia County.