Be prepared

Your medications, before and after a hurricane. We learned this in the days without power or water — and the best emergency is the one that finds you ready.

Before the storm

  • Make your medication card: everything you take, with dose and schedule. Print it and keep it with your important documents.
  • Count how many days of medication you have left. If it's under two weeks and a storm has been announced, call your pharmacy and ask whether you can fill early.
  • Keep each medication in its original container with the label readable — the label answers questions when systems are down.
  • Pack a waterproof bag: medications, your health-plan card, your medication card, and the phone numbers for your pharmacy and your doctor.
  • Keep a flashlight near your medications — reading the right label in the dark is not a small detail.

Medications that need refrigeration

  • Ask your pharmacist how long YOUR medication lasts outside the fridge. The answer depends on which one it is — that's why we don't publish it here.
  • A closed cooler with ice or gel packs buys time. Keep the medication from touching the ice directly.
  • If a medication that shouldn't freeze got frozen, don't use it without asking first. Call your pharmacy before using it.

Equipment that depends on power

  • Oxygen, CPAP, nebulizer: arrange a backup plan with your equipment provider BEFORE the season, not during the watch.
  • Write the provider's phone number and the equipment's serial number on your medication card.

After the storm

  • If a medication got wet, sat in heat, or changed color or smell, don't use it without asking. Bring it to the pharmacy and we'll look at it with you.
  • Call before heading out — all four pharmacies' hours are on the contact page, and after a storm the phone answers first.
  • Lost the paper prescription? Call your pharmacy. With your record in front of us we'll walk you through the next steps.

The list that saves the visit: Make your medication card

When everything closes, this door stays open

All four pharmacies, with their phone:

See hours and directions

This page is general preparedness guidance, not medical advice. For your medication and your case, talk to your pharmacist.

Updated: July 2026