I live in coastal NC and experience hurricanes all too often. The first floor of my home is 10’1” above sea level. So flooding is an utmost concern. I have been without power for 2 weeks + on several occasions.
Tips:
Fill baths for extra water. It can be used to flush toilets should the power go out. (If you have your own septic system, flushing toilets may be difficult if several feet of water are covering it)
Have bottled water. Obviously you can drink it…. but if you need to flush out an electrical outlet … say for your water pump (because of salt water), bottles are convenient.
Window units are great. Keeping just one bedroom at a comfortable temperature can keep you feeling human.
Generators: Whole house systems are great but require A LOT of fuel. (At least the propane ones do). I use a 12kw surge/8.5kw constant gas powered generator. Gasoline can be stockpiled during the season and used afterwards should no power outage occur.
My generator will run 2 refrigerators, 2 standup freezers and a couple of window units no problem. Water pumps must be accounted for as they have high LRA. My generator screams for mercy when my well pump comes on. So try to use it sparingly. (Or try to insure that the pump stays on as much as possible once running… like having several people shower at once) I also label circuits in my panel box with colored tape that I do not want powered by my generator.
The aforementioned freezers are in my garage and are sitting on concrete blocks stacked three high. They are also strapped across the front to the garage wall. This insures that they stay closed during regular use. Primarily it may prevent them from toppling should the water begin to rise above the blocks. The extra tension on the doors “may” prevent the ingress of water.
Should your power go out, it will likely be hot. You may still want to avoid a cold shower. It just so happens that after two weeks in a 95 degree house, the water in your hot water heaters tank is also 95 degrees. So crank that shower to hot, get clean and then ease it back to as cold as you can tolerate before fleeing to your air conditioned room.
I use a hoist mounted in my garage to lift my generator above potential flood water. I also cover it with a large plastic bag (pallet cover). My garage has flooded up to 1-1.5 feet… so avoiding any salt water getting into my generator is paramount.
Should you be flooded: The life of some things can be preserved by displacing the moisture with WD-40. At work we purchased 5 gallon buckets of WD-40 and submerged flooded electric pump motors. Some lasted for years after hurricane Isabel. (Remember that if it wasn’t under power when flooded, nothing is shorted out). Be cautious with how long after you keep things that have been flooded. Potential fire hazards exist.
Carpet and sheetrock should be removed asap. *Some insurance companies may not want you to start work until they send out an adjuster. So adapt accordingly. As a general rule, sheetrock should be removed at twice the inundation level. So, 4 inches of flooding would mean removing 8” of sheetrock. The sooner the better since water will continue to “wick” up the wall until sheetrock and underlying insulation is removed. Many people choose to remove full sheets… as it is faster to install a 4x8 sheet than cut out 8-12” of material and cut new material to replace it.