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It's September 13, 2017, just three days after Hurricane Irma blew over my home in Florida. It took two days for this storm to pass, and in it's wake it left nothing but destruction and in some cases death. As with all hurricanes of the past, the government officials warned us all to prepare for possible loss of power and water in and around our communities.

They tell us to put shutters or plywood over the doors and windows of your homes to protect the structures from dangerous winds and rain. To prevent projectile damages by cleaning up your patios or yards and bring all outdoor furniture and plants indoors. To prepare your grills and our generators, and to store them in a safe place until we need them. City officials also advise us to go out and get gas for our cars and propane tanks for your bbq grills. They want us to make sure that we have our necessary medications and refills if necessary.

They stress the need for us to get the most important items, enough to last for several days per person. Things like candles, flashlights, batteries, first aid items, personal hygiene items, non perishable foods stuffs, and the all important, the most necessary item we must have above everything and anything else is drinking water. Many of us, including myself have taken something that we are surrounded with in abundance for granted, that is until you don't have it.

You may have running water in your home after a hurricane, but one thing is for sure, it's contaminated by sewage, dirt, and sand, making it undrinkable without boiling it and/or adding bleach to it. On the other spectrum, you may not have water at all, it's been cut off by the city or other means because a water line may have broken, or the water is severely contaminated because of flooding from the rain and storm surges from the ocean. This is why people have implemented tricks like filling several bathtubs in their home full of water before the storm strikes. By doing this, you have water to boil and water to bathe, cook, and flush your toilets.

Unfortunately, no matter how prepared some are, there are people who run out of water and food, or they couldn't get enough of the items they needed because store shelves were cleaned out. People suffer without power, but they can continue to survive until help arrives, by keeping calm and safe within their homes if they can. The one thing that someone cannot survive without is drinking water, a simple, cool, refreshing glass of water to someone who had to go without is a gift better than all the riches in the world. My advice as a hurricane survivor, if you don't heed anything the officials tell you to do, make sure you have stocks of fresh, clean drinking water. It is essential to life.