Hurricane season officially starts June 1st, and those of us who live in the Gulf coastal states are more than a bit apprehensive. For more than one reason. The whole nation remembers what happened with Katrina and Rita. Massive destruction, loss of life, and unbelievable property damage. Oh yeah, confiscation of legally owned firearms by law abiding citizens of New Orleans by the police department, aided by federal agencies, in direct contradiction of the Second Amendment of the Constitution.

After Katrina hit, the levees failed, and flooded New Orleans. For those who had prepared for such a contingency, and there were some, they were depending on being able to protect themselves and property from the inevitable looting. New Orleans mayor, Ray Nagin, and his chief of police, Eddie Campus, decided to go door to door and confiscate all firearms. They were stopped from confiscating all the firearms thanks to an injunction issued by a judge after the NRA filed a lawsuit against the city of New Orleans.

The whole world watched as looters wading in two feet of water carried off television sets, stereos, and other items totally useless to them at that time. Not content with looting the stores, bands of thugs roamed the residential districts breaking into homes and taking what they wanted from what was left behind, without fear of being caught. Remember, there was no law regulated law enforcement available. Mayor Nagin stated over the air waves that if you stayed, you were on your own. It should be pointed out that New Orleans was one of the first cities to file lawsuits against the firearm manufacturing industry when Ernest Morial was the mayor. His suit was endorsed by a U.S. Senator, Mary Landrieu, (D-LA), whose father is also a former mayor of New Orleans.

For those who have never experienced a hurricane first hand, you don't want to. Of course, that is dependant on where you live, forecast strength of the hurricane, expected landfall, and whether or not you are prepared to stay and ride it out, or evacuate to some area out of the path of said storm. Fortunately, I now live 200 miles or so from the Gulf of Mexico, and while we had friends from south Louisiana who stayed with us while their home was literally wiped off the face of the earth, we suffered no ill effects of Katrina. Rita was a totally different story. We had steady winds of 50 mph for hours, with gusts approaching 70 mph as the storm moved inland. All this was accompanied by heavy, torrential rain.

If you live in an area that can be threatened by hurricane force winds, and you intend to stay in your home, for whatever reason, I'm going to outline what you will need in order to cope with the aftermath. Just know that this is not all inclusive, but rather what I keep on hand and prepare for.

First category is food. You will want something that provides energy, is easy to prepare, and easily stored and won't be harmed or useless if it gets wet. Canned goods are especially good, but don't forget to have a manual can opener. Bottled water. Lots of it. Figure on a gallon a day per person for three days. While eating a balanced meal is probably not feasible, in this case, we are talking about survival. Food kept frozen in a chest freezer will still be viable for quite a while after the electricity goes out, unless it becomes submerged.

Since in all likelihood there will be no electrical service, or phone service, a camp stove would be good to have on hand, with plenty of fuel. Also a lantern for light. Flashlights, plenty of fresh batteries, battery operated radio and/or television so you can at least find out what is going on around you, and get up to date information regarding what is open, closed, and what emergency services are available. The small hand held CB radios manufactured by Motorola or Midland are great to have. At least if there is a situation where you need help, you can get the word out. Range on them is five miles and beyond under normal circumstances. If you have a portable generator, know it's fuel consumption rate, and have enough fuel on hand for three days use.

If you have a need for medication, make sure you have at least a three day supply on hand, same as water, and a week's supply would be even better. Also, a first aid kit, the bigger the better. I have, and keep current, an Army corpsman kit, complete with surgical tools, sutures, compresses, patches, tape, and various disinfectants and ointments. These are available at a number of places. If you can't get one of these, at least have a first aid kit on hand, of any kind.

Clothing is not mandatory, but a change into dry clothes is comforting. A change of clothes or two can be kept in a plastic tub that you can buy at Wal-Mart or other store. Seal the edges with duct tape.

After surviving the storm, you will most likely have to deal with flooding, depending on storm surge and rainfall. Find the highest point you can in your home. Should you have to retreat to the attic, have an axe or hatchet available to cut a hole through the roof if water level rises that high. No sense in surviving everything else only to drown in your attic.

Another thing you will need is a firearm and ammunition for it. If flooding occurs, you will not be the only animal seeking high ground. Snakes, lizards, raccoons, coyotes, and others will be trying to do what you are doing, surviving. I see no need to live through the catastrophe only to be bitten by a venomous snake or attacked by a starving carnivore. My "survival kit" includes a 20 gauge shotgun, two boxes of ammunition for that, a 9mm pistol with ammunition (both ball and shot) for it, and a 45 ACP pistol and ammunition for it. All three will dispatch anything that wants to share your space. They will be needed to "discourage" looters.

While I no longer live along the coast, I still keep all the items I listed and a few more things, but they are family specific, so you need to consider what needs your family requires. Hurricanes don't affect me that much here, but I'm still prepared in case of a violent storm and tornados for a worst case scenario.