Hurricane First Aid Kit: What to Add for the Week After Landfall

A hurricane first aid kit is not a home first aid kit with a storm sticker on it. The difference is timing. The wind is over in a few hours; the injuries come later, in the week you spend dragging limbs to the curb, running a generator, and walking through water you cannot see the bottom of.

It is early October, the back half of the Atlantic hurricane season, which runs June 1 through November 30 according to NOAA. The National Hurricane Center's Atlantic outlook on October 1, 2026 showed no tropical cyclones in the basin and none expected to form within 7 days. A quiet stretch is when a kit gets restocked. Nobody sorts gauze the day a forecast cone appears.

Why do most hurricane injuries happen after the storm passes?

Because the dangerous work starts once the wind stops. CDC's post-Sandy survey of New York City inundation zones found 231 injured people among 2,224 respondents in the first week (10.4%), reporting 706 injuries. The three most common: arm or hand cuts (116), back strain or sprain (113), leg cuts (74). Among residents whose homes were uninhabitable who tried to repair them anyway, 28.7% were hurt.

CDC's hurricane season guidance says it plainly: many hurricane injuries and illnesses happen during response and recovery, not impact. The named hazards are carbon monoxide poisoning, electrocution, falls, lacerations, and chronic conditions worsening because the pharmacy is closed. So the kit runs heavy on mid-size wound supplies for hands, forearms and shins, not one dramatic trauma bag.

How do you treat a wound that touched floodwater?

Flush it, clean around it, cover it if it is clean, and leave it open if it is not. CDC's emergency wound care guidance says to gently flood the wound with bottled or clean running water, saline preferred, then clean around it with soap and water, pat dry, bandage. Here is the part most guides skip: CDC says leave unclean wounds, bites and punctures open rather than bandaging them, because improper closure traps bacteria. Review every wound every 24 hours.

CDC's floodwater page lists what you are up against: human and livestock waste, household, medical and industrial hazardous waste, coal ash carrying arsenic and mercury, downed lines, submerged debris. The illnesses are wound infections, skin rash, gastrointestinal illness, tetanus, leptospirosis, and melioidosis along the Gulf Coast. With an open wound, stay out. If you cannot, seal it with a waterproof bandage first.

Get seen for redness, swelling, drainage or increasing pain. Go immediately for fever, shortness of breath, fast heart rate or confusion. That last group is sepsis language, and it means an emergency room, not a fresh dressing.

Why does Vibrio vulnificus matter after a hurricane?

Because an open wound plus warm salt or brackish water is what puts people in the hospital, and it moves fast. CDC says Vibrio vulnificus can infect an open wound that contacts coastal salt or brackish water, and about 1 in 5 people infected die, sometimes within a day or two.

Hurricane Ian made the pattern visible. CDC confirmed 38 vibriosis cases in Lee and Collier counties, Florida, with 11 deaths, a 29% case fatality rate and about an 1,100% jump over the 5-year median. The detail that matters: 33 of those cases (87%) were skin infections from storm surge or floodwater, not from eating anything, and 94% of onsets fell within 6 days of the September 28 landfall.

The Florida Department of Health posts running counts: 82 cases and 19 deaths in 2024, 33 and 5 in 2025, 25 and 5 so far in 2026. Florida notes that people with weakened immune systems, particularly chronic liver disease, are 80 times more likely to develop a bloodstream infection, fatal about half the time. Two kit rules follow: waterproof film dressings, and nobody with liver disease, cancer, diabetes or immune suppression goes wading.

When do you need a tetanus booster after storm cleanup?

Adults need a booster every 10 years, and a puncture or a wound dirty with soil, feces or saliva is a reason to check your date rather than guess. CDC sets the 10-year interval, and MedlinePlus adds the outdoor-wound rule, notes the risk is the dirt rather than the rust, and puts symptom onset roughly 7 to 21 days out.

The move that matters belongs in the kit, not the article: write the month and year of your last Td or Tdap on a card and seal it in the document pouch. With the power out, "I think it was a while ago" is not something a clinician can act on.

What do chainsaw and debris injuries mean for your kit?

They mean a real trauma dressing, a splint, and the gear that makes you less likely to need either. CDC's chain saw guidance lists the protective equipment: hard hat, safety glasses, hearing protection, heavy gloves, cut-resistant chaps from waist to the top of the foot, ankle-covering boots.

The operating rules matter as much as the gear. Cut at waist level or below. Stay at least 30 feet from anyone running a saw and 2 tree lengths, roughly 150 feet, from anyone felling one. Check the wood for nails and cables first. With a spring pole or hung-up tree under tension, shave the underside slowly so it releases gradually instead of all at once.

In supplies: two large compress dressings, a wide roller bandage to go over them, triangular bandages for a sling, a moldable splint, trauma shears. Store the gloves and eye protection with the kit, not in the garage where they flood.

Why does a carbon monoxide alarm belong in a first aid kit?

Because carbon monoxide is the post-storm hazard your supplies cannot treat, and the alarm is the only item in the bag that works before you have a patient. CDC counts more than 400 unintentional non-fire CO deaths and over 100,000 emergency department visits a year. Symptoms are flu-like: headache, dizziness, weakness, nausea, confusion. If several people in a house get a headache at once, go outside first and reason about it second.

The storm numbers are stark. In Florida's 2004 hurricane season, CDC documented 167 nonfatal CO poisonings across 51 incidents plus 6 deaths across 5 more, averaging 3.3 people per incident. Of 47 nonfatal generator incidents, 34% had the generator outdoors, usually near a window or air conditioner, and another 34% had it in a garage. No CO detectors appeared in any medical record reviewed.

So: a battery or battery-backup alarm near sleeping areas, batteries checked twice a year, unit replaced every 5 years. A digital readout shows peak concentration, useful when deciding whether a room is safe to sleep in. Keep generators outdoors and at least 20 feet from any window, door or vent, per CDC's post-hurricane guidance, and see our portable generator safety and carbon monoxide walkthrough.

How do you handle heat illness and mosquitoes during cleanup?

With a thermometer, a shade schedule, and one number worth memorizing: 103 degrees Fahrenheit. CDC's heat illness reference puts heat stroke at 103 or higher with hot, red, dry or damp skin, fast pulse and confusion. That is a 911 call: move the person somewhere cooler, use cool cloths or a cool bath, and give nothing to drink.

Heat exhaustion looks different: heavy sweating with cold, pale, clammy skin, a weak fast pulse, nausea, dizziness. Move to a cool place, loosen clothing, cool the skin, sip water, and get help if there is vomiting or it runs past an hour. One detail people get wrong once the air conditioning dies: CDC says use fans only below 90 degrees indoors, because above that a fan can raise body temperature.

Mosquitoes run on a schedule too. CDC says nuisance mosquitoes spike immediately as floodwater eggs hatch, while the types that spread viruses may increase about 2 weeks after a hurricane. Repellent and permethrin-treated clothing go in the kit, and once a week you empty, scrub, cover or toss anything holding water.

How do you keep insulin and prescriptions usable without power?

By knowing the published limits before the refrigerator goes warm. FDA guidance on insulin storage in an emergency says insulin is normally held at about 36 to 46 degrees Fahrenheit, but may sit unrefrigerated between 59 and 86 degrees for up to 28 days and keep working. Never use insulin that has been frozen, and anything diluted or moved out of its original vial goes in the trash after two weeks. That is why a cooler and gel packs count as medical gear: keep insulin cool without letting it touch ice, because freezing ruins it as surely as heat.

FDA is blunt about water and medicine: medicines exposed to floodwater should be discarded, packaging or not. The exception is narrow: a life-saving drug with no replacement available may be used if it appears unchanged, then replaced as soon as possible. For inhalers, oxygen and refrigerated biologics, see our emergency kit for chronic medical conditions.

Documentation is the cheapest item in the kit and the most often missing. In a sealed waterproof pouch: every medication with dose and strength, allergies, prescriber and pharmacy numbers, insurance cards, that tetanus date. Photograph it too, but paper works when the battery dies.

Is water disinfection part of a first aid kit?

Yes, because you cannot irrigate a wound or swallow a pill with water you do not trust. CDC's numbers: a rolling boil for 1 minute, or 3 minutes above 6,500 feet. Without heat, unscented household bleach (5 to 9% sodium hypochlorite) at 8 drops per gallon, doubled if cloudy or very cold, then 30 minutes of wait. Chemical disinfection lags boiling on Cryptosporidium, so keep sealed sterile saline for wounds.

What goes in a tiered hurricane first aid kit?

Three layers. The base is a standard family kit, the add-ons make it a hurricane kit, and the medication plan is the part you cannot buy in a hurry.

Tier 1, the base kit. Use the American Red Cross list for a family of four as the floor: 2 absorbent compress dressings (5 x 9 inches), 25 adhesive bandages, cloth tape, 2 triangular bandages, 5 gauze pads at 3 x 3 inches and 5 at 4 x 4, 3-inch and 4-inch roller bandages, antibiotic ointment, antiseptic wipes, hydrocortisone, 81 mg aspirin, 2 pairs of nonlatex gloves, a breathing barrier, an emergency blanket, a cold compress, tweezers and a non-glass thermometer.

Tier 2, the hurricane add-ons. The layer general lists leave out:

• Battery or battery-backup carbon monoxide alarm, plus spare batteries

• Waterproof film dressings, to seal a clean wound before water contact

• Sealed sterile saline for irrigation, and nitrile gloves by the box, not the pair

• Two large trauma dressings, a moldable splint, trauma shears, fine-point tweezers

• EPA-registered repellent, permethrin-treated clothing, oral rehydration packets

• Unscented bleach, a medicine dropper, a marked measuring container

• Headlamp, heavy gloves, safety glasses, ankle-covering boots, and a sealed document pouch

Tier 3, the medication plan. Arrange this now, not during a watch:

• Ask your prescriber and insurer about extra days of each prescription, and rotate stock

• A cooler and gel packs, with insulin kept cool but never frozen

• Glucose meter, strips, lancets, spare batteries; rescue inhaler plus a spare and a spacer

• Printed medication list, allergy list, prescription copies, last tetanus date

If the broader storm plan is not built yet, start with our hurricane preparedness checklist and 72-hour plan, then layer this on top.

Frequently asked questions

What should be in a hurricane first aid kit?

A standard family kit plus the hurricane layer: a battery carbon monoxide alarm, waterproof film dressings, sealed saline for irrigation, large trauma dressings and a splint, insect repellent, rehydration salts, unscented bleach, and a waterproof pouch holding your medication list, allergies and tetanus date.

Can you get a serious infection from floodwater through a small cut?

Yes. CDC lists wound infections, tetanus, leptospirosis and melioidosis among floodwater illnesses, and Vibrio vulnificus can infect an open wound exposed to warm salt or brackish water. After Hurricane Ian, 87% of confirmed vibriosis cases in two Florida counties came from floodwater or surge contact.

Do I need a tetanus shot after a hurricane cleanup injury?

Possibly. Adults need a booster every 10 years, and CDC advises asking a health care professional about one for punctures or wounds contaminated with soil, feces or saliva. Keeping that date in your kit makes the decision quick.

How long does insulin last without refrigeration during a power outage?

FDA says insulin may be left unrefrigerated between 59 and 86 degrees Fahrenheit for up to 28 days and continue to work. Do not use insulin that has been frozen, and discard anything diluted or removed from its original vial after two weeks.

Where should a carbon monoxide alarm go after a hurricane?

Near sleeping areas, as a battery or battery-backup unit. Keep generators outdoors at least 20 feet from any window, door or vent, check batteries twice a year, replace the unit every 5 years, and if it sounds, get everyone to fresh air first.

The numbers, in one place

None of this requires being extreme. It takes a waterproof bag, an hour on a quiet afternoon, and a few numbers. The storm is the part you cannot control. The week after it is almost entirely in your hands.

You never know, but you can always be ready.

Sources: NOAA National Hurricane Center, Atlantic Tropical Weather Outlook; NOAA, Atlantic hurricane season dates; CDC MMWR, Nonfatal Injuries 1 Week After Hurricane Sandy; CDC MMWR, Hurricane Season Public Health Preparedness, Response, and Recovery Guidance; CDC, Emergency Wound Care After a Natural Disaster; CDC, Floodwater Safety Guidelines; CDC, About Vibrio Infection; CDC MMWR, Vibriosis Cases Associated with Flood Waters During and After Hurricane Ian; Florida Department of Health, Vibrio vulnificus; CDC, Tetanus Vaccination; NLM MedlinePlus, Tetanus; CDC, Chain Saw Safety; CDC, About Carbon Monoxide Poisoning; CDC MMWR, Carbon Monoxide Poisoning from Hurricane-Associated Use of Portable Generators, Florida 2004; CDC, Safety After a Hurricane or Other Tropical Storm; CDC, Heat-Related Illnesses; CDC, What to Do After a Hurricane or Flood; CDC, How to Make Water Safe in an Emergency; FDA, Insulin Storage and Switching Between Products in an Emergency; FDA, Safe Drug Use After a Natural Disaster; American Red Cross, Anatomy of a First Aid Kit.