Ten minutes to leave. What matters for medications.
During Hurricane Florence, 31% of storm-related emergency department visits in North Carolina were for prescription refills. Not injuries. Not illness. People who left home without their medications and had no way to continue treatment.
CDC's Prepare Your Health program lists prescription planning as a key step in emergency readiness. The minimum: keep a list of every medication, dosage, prescriber, and pharmacy in your wallet, on your phone, and in your go-bag. The better plan: bring the bottles (the labels are your refill key) and photograph every label in case the bottles are lost.
Refrigerated medications (insulin, some biologics, certain eye drops) need a small cooler with ice packs. Mark the cooler clearly. If you arrive at a shelter without insulin because it was left on the kitchen counter, the delay in obtaining a replacement can become a medical emergency within hours.
Ready.gov recommends maintaining at least a seven-day supply of essential medications at all times, with a 30-day supply as the planning target for anyone who can manage it. The practical method: refill at the earliest date your insurance allows and maintain the buffer.
Keeping a CPAP running without wall power
A CPAP machine is not a convenience. It is a medical device that prevents breathing interruptions during sleep, and going without it means oxygen levels drop, placing strain on the heart and brain. The American Lung Association recommends that every CPAP user have a battery backup or car adapter for power outages.
The single most important preparation: turn off the heated humidifier. A CPAP with humidification draws 40 to 80 watts. Without it, the same machine draws 5 to 20 watts. That is a three-to-five-fold difference in battery runtime. One night on a 300-watt-hour battery becomes two or three nights.
A DC adapter cable (specific to your CPAP model) that connects directly to a battery's 12V port is significantly more efficient than running through the AC inverter. The double conversion (battery DC to AC, then CPAP power brick AC back to DC) wastes energy.
Before the storm: Fully charge the battery. Locate the DC adapter cable. Turn off the heated humidifier setting in the machine's menu (so you are not doing it in the dark). Test the setup for one night before you actually need it. A tested backup that sits in a drawer beats a perfect backup you have never plugged in.
When the device that makes oxygen needs electricity to run
A home oxygen concentrator pulls oxygen from room air and delivers it at a prescribed flow rate. It requires wall power to operate. When the power goes out, the concentrator stops. For someone who needs supplemental oxygen, this is not a discomfort. It is a medical emergency on a defined timeline.
The American Lung Association advises contacting your oxygen supply company before the storm to confirm delivery of stand-alone oxygen cylinders (tanks) that do not require electricity. Portable oxygen concentrators with rechargeable batteries are a second option, but they need charged batteries and car chargers ready to go.
Notify your electric utility. Most utilities maintain a medical priority list for customers who depend on electrically powered life-support equipment. Being on the list does not guarantee uninterrupted power, but it can mean faster restoration in your area and sometimes proactive outreach before planned shutoffs.
If the outage will be extended and backup supply is running low, the right call is to relocate to a facility with power: a hospital, a friend's house, a warming center with generators. Staying home with diminishing oxygen is not safe.
When the pharmacy is open but getting there is the problem
During a pandemic, pharmacies may face supply disruptions, reduced hours, or staffing shortages. In-person medical visits may be delayed or shifted to telehealth. The window between "I should refill" and "I cannot get a refill" can close faster than expected.
Ready.gov recommends maintaining a continuous supply of prescription medications at home during a pandemic. CDC's Prepare Your Health guidance includes talking to your doctor or pharmacist about creating an emergency supply.
Most states allow pharmacists to dispense early refills during declared emergencies. Ten states permit up to a 30-day supply without provider authorization during a governor's emergency declaration. North Carolina allows up to 90 days. The rules vary by state, and many pharmacists are unaware of the provisions until they are activated.
The action that matters: contact your prescriber and pharmacy early, when you hear the first public health advisories. Request the maximum refill your insurance allows. Do not wait until the bottle is empty and the situation is acute. Early refills during a declared emergency are specifically designed for this purpose.
- Keep a written medication list (drug, dose, prescriber, pharmacy) in your wallet, phone, and go-bag
- Bring the bottles during evacuation. Photograph every label as backup.
- Refrigerated meds need a small cooler with ice packs
- CPAP users: charge a battery backup, locate the DC cable, turn off the heated humidifier to extend runtime 3-5x
- Oxygen users: contact your supplier before the storm for backup cylinders. Notify the utility company.
- During a pandemic: refill at the earliest date your insurance allows. Contact the prescriber early, not late.
- Prescriptions: Prepare Your Health — CDC. Emergency medication supply guidance, Hurricane Florence refill statistics.
- Preparing for a Power Outage as a Medical Device User — American Lung Association. CPAP backup, oxygen concentrator planning, generator safety.
- Build A Kit — Ready.gov / FEMA. Prescription medications and medical needs in emergency supply lists.
- Pandemics — Ready.gov / FEMA. Continuous medication supply during pandemic disruptions.
- A Review of State Emergency Prescription Protocols — Healthcare Ready. State-by-state emergency refill laws and 30-day supply provisions.