How to prepare for hurricane season in New England

CHICOPEE, Mass. (WWLP) – Hurricane Beryl broke multiple records this week as it makes its way through the Caribbean. While the Northeast isn’t at any current risk, the potential remains with warm air and ocean temperatures.

One big issue we deal with in New England when it comes to hurricanes is excessive amount of rain. Lou Courteau with Rocky’s Ace Hardware gave some tips on how to prepare for hurricane season, “Make sure you gutters are clean, going down your foundation because the water can just go right into your basement. Make sure if you do get water in your basement, you definitely have a shop vac. If you do get water in your basement and you have a sump pump like some do, you want to make sure if you lose electricity that you hooked that up to a generator.”

If you are using a gas generator, there isn’t too much maintenance involved, but one thing you definitely can’t do is leave in the gasoline for too long. Gasoline has a shelf life of three to six months. Using expired gas can damage or destroy your equipment, but there are products that make it last longer.

“I would not keep old gasoline in any machine at all. Unless you’re gonna use the product that’s called true fuel. True fuel is definitely recommended by all manufacturers,” said Courteau.

Buying large quantities of gas can be very dangerous if done improperly, so make sure you’re only storing it in small quantities. Hundreds of injuries from private gas storage happen each year in the U.S.

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