Evacuees from Florida’s gulf coast have reason to be concerned about a number of things. The state of their homes and whether their pets are safe, for instance. But one content creator said that, with this one handy tip, you’ll at least be able to tell whether your power was down and if the food in your refrigerator is spoiled.
Brooklyn Karasack (@brooklynkarasack), who said she lives in St. Petersburg, shared her hack on Monday—one day before she planned on evacuating her home. As of Tuesday morning, her clip had amassed more than 2.1 million views.
“Hurricane prep! Two hurricanes in a week and a half what a treat,” she quipped in the accompanying video caption.
What’s the hurricane hack?
To check whether your power was out—and to roughly determine how long, if so—Karasack said that evacuees need to first fill a clear cup with water. Karasack demonstrated using a glass cup that she filled with tap water.
After the cup is filled to the brim with water, she said, put it in the freezer. And once it’s frozen, put something on top of it (e.g. a penny or a coin).
“If you come back and the penny is still on top… the power didn’t go out long enough for stuff to thaw,” Karasack explained. “If it’s halfway down, it wasn’t down extremely long.” But, if the penny has sunk to the bottom of the cup, she added, then your food is probably spoiled.
Karasack said that her mom reminded her to do the hack on Monday since the content creator planned on evacuating later in the week.
“I didn’t have time to do this [during a previous storm] and I ended up having to throw away stuff in my fridge because I didn’t know how long my power was out,” she said.
But Karasack said that she swears by this “simple trick” and encouraged fellow evacuees to follow her guidance.
@brooklynkarasack Hurricane prep! Two hurricanes in a week and a half what a treat 🙃🙃🙃 #hurricaneprep #hurricanemilton #hurricane #hurricanehelene #poweroutage ♬ original sound – brooklyn
Floridians plan to escape Hurricane Milton
Hurricane Milton is a ferocious storm that could land a once-in-a-century direct hit on the Tampa Bay region. According to the Associated Press, almost the entirety of Florida’s west coast was under a hurricane or tropical storm warning as of this week. It predicted that the worst of the storm could start on Wednesday, as Milton could come ashore and devastate the heavily-populated Tampa Bay area.
Florida’s elected leaders, including Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), have urged residents in the hurricane’s path to evacuate before Wednesday.
“Now is the time to make decisions to keep you and your family safe,” the governor said. “We must be prepared for a major, major impact to the west coast of Florida.”
Forecasters have warned of a possible eight to 12-foot storm surge—the highest ever predicted for the region. As much as 15 inches of rain is expected in certain areas of the state, too.
The Daily Dot has reached out to Karasack via TikTok comment but, as of press time, the content creator said she would determine her evacuation plans on Tuesday “cause the path and everything can change so fast.”
Commenters react to the water hack
In the comments section of Karasack’s video, many users applauded her ingenuity.
“That is honestly so smart,” one viewer said.
“Great tip,” another added. “Florida native here& never learned this.”
“This is so creative omg,” a third person wrote.
Meanwhile, some users suggested slight tweaks to Karasack’s hack. For instance, many warned against using a glass cup.
“I wouldn’t use glass,” one woman explained. “Ice expands when frozen and your glass one day is gonna shatter cause it can’t withstand that.”
“I strongly recommend a plastic cup, not glass,” another confirmed. “The glass can shatter as it’s re-freezing.”
And if, for instance, you don’t have a plastic cup handy or don’t have time to wait for the water to freeze, several other users shared their own hacks for food safety during the hurricane.
“If you’re in a pinch for time, get a cup of ice and put the penny on top and put [it] in the freezer,” one commenter advised. “Does the same thing but you don’t have to wait for the water to freeze. From a Texan who’s been there.”
“Having been thru Katrina a good idea is to put all your fridge items in a garbage bag inside fridge. Do same for freezer,” another comment read. “So you don’t lose your fridge.”
“Empty your ice maker if you have one,” a third Floridian wrote. “Or it melts all over the floor.”
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