Water Storage for Hurricane Preparation

This is my recent Facebook post as hurricane Irma approaches.
Most of my posts are generated as a result of questions people ask me. 

Questions about water have been coming at me steadily, especially now that people cannot find water. It is safe to say that the entire state of Florida is in full-on hurricane preparation mode, as they should be.

The thoughts below are general and not comprehensive, for details about water storage and purification, visit this website and the links provided

• A few people have asked why we are all stocking up on water. There are several reasons. Water supplies may not be available or safe for drinking and cooking after a storm hits, again for so many reasons. Water pipes break, electricity goes off, preventing wells from running, water supplies have to be shut off during repairs, etc. 
• In my case, during hurricane Frances, we had a tree uprooted in our front yard and it broke the main water pipe to our house. We were the only home on our street that had this problem. 
• In our current neighborhood of 37 homes, we all share the same water meter. If something happens to the water pipes at one home, most likely, it affects all of us at some point, even during the repair process. 
• If you are storing water in your own containers, DO NOT re-use plastic milk jugs for water you are planning to drink or cook with. ( I learned this from Susan Bucklew many years ago.) 
• If you are filling containers with water, put them in your freezer to fill up any open spaces. This will keep your food frozen longer in the case of no electricity.
• If you are filling your bathtub with water, clean and disinfect the bathtub prior to filling. Use this water for flushing toilets and washing hands.
• We have always saved our bathtubs as back up "safe spaces" where we could go and put a mattress over our children/us if things got really bad during a strong storm. We fill the 5 gallon "Home Depot" buckets to keep in our bathrooms for flushing toilets.
• If you have a pool, that water can be used for flushing, also.
• Even if you have running water after a storm, here are 2 major thoughts 1) Confirm it is safe for drinking or eating (a notice from your local government 2) You may still lose running water during times of repair so keep a supply on hand.
• The above information is meant to help and is not complete. For more in depth information, go to the site  linked at the beginning of this post and use the links that may apply to your situation or answer your questions about water storage and purification.
• The main focus is safety, safety, safety. 
• Don't take chances