Are you preparing and how.

[caseydog]

Rob, I like your ideas. However, earthquakes, floods and hurricanes are a different animal than the most common disaster where I live -- tornadoes.

To make matters worse, we don't have basements in North Texas, because they cost too much to build in our soil.

So, if I gather together a bunch of survival supplies, and my house takes a direct hit from an F3 or stronger tornado, my supplies will be scattered for miles. And, if since tornados are very local, if I don't take a direct hit, but suffer damage or lose power, I can stay in a hotel for a while.

My main concern when the tornado warning sirens go off is to stay alive. Not having a basement, I have to hope my small closet hideaway and racing helmet keep me safe.

Of course, being an avid camper, I naturally have a lot of stuff to help me deal with some other kind of disaster. But, tornadoes are one of those disasters where your number one focus is on keeping yourself alive.

CD

[iplay10us2]

Rob, I like your ideas. However, earthquakes, floods and hurricanes are a different animal than the most common disaster where I live -- tornadoes.

To make matters worse, we don't have basements in North Texas, because they cost too much to build in our soil.

So, if I gather together a bunch of survival supplies, and my house takes a direct hit from an F3 or stronger tornado, my supplies will be scattered for miles. And, if since tornados are very local, if I don't take a direct hit, but suffer damage or lose power, I can stay in a hotel for a while.

My main concern when the tornado warning sirens go off is to stay alive. Not having a basement, I have to hope my small closet hideaway and racing helmet keep me safe.

Of course, being an avid camper, I naturally have a lot of stuff to help me deal with some other kind of disaster. But, tornadoes are one of those disasters where your number one focus is on keeping yourself alive.

CD

I live in tornado alley, too. I've been hit twice by tornadoes now, so I am always a little fearful when the sirens go off. I have learned to keep my car keys, house keys and camper keys in my pocket while I hide in the closet. If my house gets smashed again, but car and camper survive, I want too be able to find the keys quickly. I also keep my driver's license in my pocket so that in the worst case scenario, my body can be identified.

I've worn my scooter helmet during tornadoes, too.

[48Rob]

Rob, I like your ideas. However, earthquakes, floods and hurricanes are a different animal than the most common disaster where I live -- tornadoes.
So, if I gather together a bunch of survival supplies, and my house takes a direct hit from an F3 or stronger tornado, my supplies will be scattered for miles.

Glen,

I'm glad at least a few are taking notice.

The idea though, isn't to stockpile a bunch of supplies as in "fill a small warehouse" or whatever, but simply to have enough food water and some way to stay warm for a few weeks.
"Supplies" for a family of two for 1 month can easily fit in a closet, a shelf in the garage, or where ever there is a little extra room.
Most will probably fit in a persons existing cupboards or pantry.
Instead of buying enough canned goods to only last until next Saturdays grocery run, buy enough to last you a month, put it on the shelves, and then continue to shop each week.
Use up the things you bought first and everything will always be fresh and ready to use.

I live on the Illinois prairie; tornadoes seem to like our territory too.
If a tornado wipes out my house, as you mentioned, simply staying alive is the only thing that will be on my mind.
Extra supplies won't likely be needed, as the impacted area will be small, and probably won't cause a disruption in the food supply/delivery chain.

But what if the West coast suffers major damage from a tsunami, earthquakes, etc?
Much of our food, at least in the cooler months comes from there, or is delivered from China and points east to shipping ports there.

The "disaster" does not have to happen in our neighborhood in order to disrupt the food delivery system...

If a tornado blows my extra supplies away, I'm out a couple hundred dollars.
Assuming I survive, I'll restock, because it is just too risky in my mind to not be prepared/able to provide for my family if something goes wrong.
Heck, we all have to eat and drink, it isn't like it is going to be wasted.


Rob

[48Rob]

48Rob,

Good post.

We talked about this preparedness thing at work one time after Katrina.

One of my coworkers mentioned his SHTF solution....."I don't store any extra food or water....My plan is to raid Amish and Mennonite farms.....they won't fight you for it."

Mormons are also supposed to store a year of food, but he said they will shoot you.

Woodstramp,

Interesting that you didn't call your co-worker a friend...

The "what might happen" scenarios can be frightening, and admittedly difficult to plan for.

The biggest issue I can see is not those who have a plan...like your co-worker, but regular folks who, after their food and water run out have little choice but to attempt to take what they need from someone else.
All sense of right and wrong seems to go out the window when it is your child/husband/wife/mother/etc. that is going to die tomorrow if you don't get them (fill in the blank) supplies.

Katrina is a good textbook to study.

As for Amish and Mennonite's, belief is powerful, but reality usually takes charge...

Rob

[stumphugger]

I've been through a few disasters. The worst was the 2006 flood when we were cut off for a few days. Our little neighborhood became an island. I had a friend at my house who could not make it home until the water went down and the roads reopened. We got a couple of neighbors and went to the bar, which was also on our island. Our theory was to drink their booze first, then when they ran out, we would drink our supply.

The bar was full of marooned, horny elk hunters. It was not a pleasant place.

We finally had to leave as they were very annoying.

Disasters during elk season are not a good thing.

[Engineer Guy]

Thanks to Rob48 and others for the timely 'consciousness raising' and pragmatic ideas.

I made sure our new House stays comfy w/o external heat, but there's more to do. Keep the Genny ready to run the Well, and start stocking Filters for Water in a Canyon Creek on our Land that runs year round. The 26-strong Deer herd around us get a 'pass' right now, but fresh Venison is always possible seasonally.

Of all I've ever seen, Solar or Heated Food Dryers sure work well; better than Canning to many. I may have to add Dried Venison to the Dried Fruits/Veggies/Rice/Beans 'Wish' List.

My Elk-raising Mennonite Neighbors will protect their 'stocks', and know how to shoot. They just do it as last resort [as when a sick Animal has to be put down]. Mennonites don't eschew Technology like Amish; they use it differently. They use PCs, but only at the Library. They're not allowed in the House. Cellphones are, but for Business by the Oldsters. The general point is to not let TV and other 'inventions' disrupt Family Life. Not a bad concept, given the Media 'swill' on the air all around us...

I'm buying my next mega-Shed from a local Mennonite Company because what they build is unbelievably stout and overbuilt AND very affordable. Make a little profit, but keep the Sons employed...

For Earthquakes, the Japanese Kids practice Drills with these cute lil pointed Quilted Hats on; sort of Oven Mitt material. As with Foil 'effectiveness' against Gamma Rays, I guess the passing thought is that Oven Mitt material will deflect falling Bricks, etc.. Conformity is King there, and it helps make Society work. Notice the absence of Looting and disorder there. That really is the way it is.

[mikeschn]

Good thread you guys have going here!

Mike...

[LDK]

ME ?

I stocked up on aluminum foil for a reflective suit and hat

I don't know about the radiation but my TV signal is a lot better

WOW, nice hand gun!!!

[Engineer Guy]

Hoo boy, do I wish this was a contest to provide the most clever caption for the pic above!

[Miriam C.]

Rob, that is great! My grandparents were farmers. They grew most of what they ate and put away enough for the winter. My aunt still grows most of her food. She now buys bread and what little meat she eats. She could probably live on what she cans for months.

Now Mike's grandparents were city people and did go to the store every few days...

We used to keep a few months of canned foods. If I knew of a family who needed food I could just go to the garage.....I guess I shouldn't have stopped that.

If I remember my maps right our area was where KC and Lawrence were supposed to evacuate to if there was an attack or if Wolf Creek became a problem. That tells me I should take care of myself as much as possible if anything happens in the surrounding area. As Rob said, any interruption in the supply chain can cause a problem.

[LDK]

I hope someday soon they'll actually develop nuclear fusion. They say it's suppose to be a whole lot safer. Better yet maybe they'll develope some kind of free energy device but, then the oil companys would find a way to supress that kind of technology.

[caseydog]

Rob, like I mentioned, just being a camper puts a person ahead of the game. If a disaster happens near me, but doesn't wipe me out, I have lanterns, a camp stove and a couple of sleeping bags. I have my grills and charcoal, and I can rig up the water filter from my fridge to filter water I can boil to drink.

And, all my years of wilderness camping have trained me not to need much, and have taught me how to improvise. In my backpacking days, I didn't have the option of packing up the car and going home if the weather turned nasty. Over time, I learned how to deal with adversity and actually enjoy camping in spite of it.

When I was a teenager, my little town in Ohio was hit by an F5 tornado. We all had basements, so only four people were killed. It missed my house by about 100 yards, so we were able to stay in our home -- and actually, had stay there, since all the roads were blocked by debris. We camped out in our family room, where we kept a fire going in the fireplace for heat. We had electricity restored in a couple of days.

I really have put a significant amount of thought into disaster preparedness, and I'll be fine, as long as the disaster is not a direct hit on my house by a tornado. If that happens, I'll be very happy to walk away alive.

Folks in California really need to make plans for that 8.0-plus quake. My parents in Houston have to be prepared for Hurricanes, because they live North of I-10, and they are told NOT to evacuate, to leave the roads open for those who live on the coast. They have a generator that my dad pulls out every three months and runs to keep it ready. It ran their refrigerator and a portable TV for almost a week after Ike hit.

CD

[doitright]

Thanks Rob. Your got me to thinking of my grandparents. They lived in the city and grew a war garden in there yard. If it was dirt they used it. There back yard was about 35' wide and 60' long with a side walk down it. In this garden they grew enough to can until the next season. In there basement they had shelves on all the walls from floor to ceiling. When I was young in the fifties they still kept them full but as time went on they slowed down. Wish I had all the jars. They were all blue. They did this not for survival but just to survive.
doitright

[Wolffarmer]

My thoughts, probably tick off a few folks. So be it.

All the supplies a person stocks in is worthless if they do not know how to take care of themselves. If they can't cope with an unusual situation they will be in trouble setting on a box of freeze dried food. Surviving in a city is different than out here in the country. Reminds me of Robert Persig's "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" he wrote something like that when the crap hits the fan you want a real farmer to help make the world work. About the only thing that worries me is if something happens in some very cold weather. Then I will be looking for a paddle as I will be up a creek.

People say the world will end in 2012 because the Mayan calender ends. Talk about a load of crap. My calender ended in December. I just got another one. No big deal. Just to be safe I got 3 and they all end this December. Guess I better stock up.

And there have been a lot more nuclear accidents/incidents than most people remember.
oops
One happened real close to me in Jan 1961 when a smallish test reactor at the INL went critical cause a tec manually pulled the control rod out to far. ( was a poor design as it only took one rod to let it go critical ) It took the reactor about 1/100 of a second to blow. The force of it made the reactor, 26000 pounds to jump 9 feet in the air. A control rod pinned one tec to the ceiling. Killed three people and they are buried in lead lined coffins with a nice thick cement containment poured around they. Except for the hands. They cut those off and buried them with the high level waist.

So, am i worried about the Japanese reactors? A little but not that I yet think much radiation will get here. I would be singing a different story if I lived next to them.

All of the control rods are in the cores. #4 is de-fueled. It is the old rods of that one in the cooling tank that is causing problems. #5 and 6 where down for maintenance and seem to be stable at this time. From what I have been reading the plant survived the quake and the back up generators had a wall for a 25 foot wave. Unfortunately a 30 footer hit them. They are now pumping sea water on #1-2 and 3. Those will never operate again a major hit to the economy. the other 3 might be able to start again. But who would want to let them?

Ok, I rambled on. So preparation for many folks means to gather up a pile of goods. To me it means to be able to handle the situation with what I got, make do, do without. And doesn't hurt to keep some food on hand. But I have never been a good mormon.

Randy

[48Rob]

All the supplies a person stocks in are worthless if they do not know how to take care of themselves. If they can't cope with an unusual situation they will be in trouble setting on a box of freeze dried food. Surviving in a city is different than out here in the country.

Hi Randy,

You are right, education and experience are very important.

A person can accumulate all the survival gear there is, and still fail miserably if they've never taken the time to learn how to use it, in a tough situation.
Starting a fire in your back yard on a warm summer day is not so hard, but doing it in the rain when it is so cold you can't stop shivering is a little more difficult.
Practicing in "real" conditions that would require those skills is the way to be sure you can really do it.

Anyway, I intentionally stayed away from the end of the world/worldwide disaster survival discussion.
There is plenty of info out there for anyone to study up on if surviving the collapse of mankind is a concern.
Protecting what is yours from those that didn't bother to plan, or that cannot mentally cope with turmoil is another "situation" that should be reviewed.

My message was simply to be able to ride out a few weeks of disruption is relative comfort, if for no other reason than to ease the pressure on the rescue and relief crews who are always so overburdened dealing with the people who have no plan, and apparently no clue that it would be wise to have one.

Rob