Disaster prep Poll

[Tailgate]

With Harvey event, I finally put together the disaster box I've been meaning to assemble forever. Only the Gov suggested stuff for a 3 day event. No chance of flooding here, except for a Biblical event, but tornados are another thing entirely. Don't see the need for a 'go-bag', but we probably should assemble just a few things for a car breakdown.

Have you prepped for an event.. just curious about this group.

 

[Blue Collar Guy]

I have between 30 and 60 gallons of bottled water at all times (in .5 litter bottles). I have those Wise emergency meals that are good(so they say) for 25 years. Enousgh for 5 people for 2 weeks. A few hand guns with maybe 1000 rounds. And 2 shotguns with #4 buck (maybe 200 rounds) in case they breach the door. Hurricane lamps with less than 3 gallons of lamp oil. and about 4 -8 cases depending on the time of year of 7 day candles. cash and gold. No bug out bag, I decided Ill stay in place with my 92 year old mother and either die with her or live thru it with her.

 

[Koogie]

Cue the complaints about the poll choices in 3,2,1....


I was actually talking to someone at the pier in Houston today about the current situation... I said it makes shoveling snow up here in the winter suddenly seem more palatable...

 

[RobbieB]

Of course, I live in CA -

 

[Blueskies123]

Yes, having lived through a bad storm I have food and all other resources for one to two months.

 

[W2R]

Well sure, it's part of the way we live down here. It's not something I dwell on, but adequate preparation for hurricane season is sensible.

 

[easysurfer]

Cue the complaints about the poll choices in 3,2,1....


...

Feels a bit like we are on the stand... Just answer "yes or no!" .

 

[CoolRich59]

I have a history of getting prepared, and then "backsliding".

Way back during the Y2K event, I was very prepared: we had weeks (even months) of non-perishable food stockpiled; we had lots of bottled water stockpiled too, but also had purification tablets on hand in case we needed to start using water from our swimming pool. We also attended a seminar put on by some local wilderness trekkers who taught us some amazing survival skills.

Once Y2K came and went with a whimper, we eventually worked through our stockpile without replenishing it. We moved across the country not long after and gave away the rest.

We had more room in our new home, and I again stockpiled a lot of nonperishables goods. This time, I matched it with the regular foods we ate.

For example, we use a lot of canned tomatoes and pastes in various recipes, so instead of buying a couple of cans of tomato paste, I would buy a couple of cases. I dated each case and would rotate them so that we were always pulling from the oldest stock. Once we finished a case, I would buy another on the next trip to the grocery store so that at any one time, we had three or four cases of tomato paste on hand. I did the same thing with canned vegetables, canned fruits, soups, etc.

After a couple of years, however, I backslid on doing that.

Right now, the only thing I've done is put together two "get home" bags (as opposed to "bug out" bags). I have one in my car and one in the wife's. They just have some basic survival gear (emergency blanket, flashlight, warm clothes, etc.) in case there's some kind of disaster and either of us is stuck away from home

 

[NW-Bound]

We always have too much food on hand. With two fridges full and an overflowing pantry, I have been begging my wife to buy less food.

Water is another thing. Hard to stock water, but I have a 25,000-gallon swimming pool in the back. It may have too much mineral and salt in it due to evaporation. I lose about 1/3" of water each day, hence the salt and mineral build-up. Drinking that water is still better than dying of thirst, I guess.

 

[Meadbh]

I can't answer the poll, but as I live in a wildfire zone I prepare an emergency kit every summer. Its pretty basic, just a tote with important documents, jewellery, clothing for several days, and a list of things to toss in if an evacuation order is given, like medications and electronics.

I don't hoard cash or canned goods and I have no firearms.

 

[REWahoo]

We don't have any formal disaster prep at the moment but a few years back when drought conditions made the surrounding vegetation a bomb waiting for a spark we put together a bug-out bag and list of things to grab on the way out the door.

 

[RunningBum]

Wildfire on the mountain is my most likely disaster to deal with. I have a list of things I want to make sure I grab quickly and not forget anything vital. I review this periodically. In winter or if storms are predicted at any time I might do things like fill a bathtub with water or stock up with stuff in case I can't get out for a week.

 

[FIREd]

I had a pretty well stocked emergency kit when we lived in San Francisco. In case of a major earthquake, we would not have been able to go anywhere safe quickly due the geography of the city and the potential widespread damage to the surrounding areas. So we planned on sheltering in place. We had a lot of bottled water, freeze dry food, a small butane stove, full camping gear in case we had to camp out, fully loaded first aid kit, etc... Enough for 2 weeks.

Tornadoes are the main risk where we live now. Since tornadoes are short lived events and the path of a tornado is usually pretty narrow, survivors can leave the disaster area pretty quickly after the hit. After the last tornado outbreak here, many people drove to nearby cities (that were unaffected) to wait out the power outages for instance. So our emergency kit is a lot smaller here. I try to gas up the car before bad weather so that we can bail out. And we have enough food/water/butane at home for about a week in case we decide to shelter in place. We should probably get a tornado shelter though.

Of course if the New Madrid seismic zone gets active again, then all bets are off.

 

[NW-Bound]

We always have too much food on hand. With two fridges full and an overflowing pantry, I have been begging my wife to buy less food.

Water is another thing. Hard to stock water, but I have a 25,000-gallon swimming pool in the back. It may have too much mineral and salt in it due to evaporation. I lose about 1/3" of water each day, hence the salt and mineral build-up. Drinking that water is still better than dying of thirst, I guess.

Forgot to say, I have a built-in generator in my motorhome, plus a portable one. I set up the motorhome for boondocking, and so its batteries and a 2kW inverter will let me power the fridges without having to run the generator 24 hours/day.

AZ is not threatened by any natural disaster, other than a heat wave that can cause brownouts. I do not know about the excess capacity of the grid, and how much safety margin they have.

 

[euro]

We are susceptible to hurricanes and flooding too, so yes, we do have some emergency supplies stashed. NOT prepared for WW3 (like BCG) though...

 

[CyclingInvestor]

Nice map of the danger level of cities

 

[MarieIG]

Very little. DH has a generator if we lose power, and tends to run out to the store to stock up in the event bad weather is imminent. We lost power for nine days during Hurricane Sandy; that was our max thus far.

 

[shortstop14]

We're fairly well prepared to shelter in place for a couple of months, or to evacuate. Earthquake is our most likely risk in our immediate area, but floods and wildfire are common in the region.

160 gallon water tank in the garage, plus the hot water heater. Wood stove and firewood, as well as camping equipment. A few months of food, but I'm working on a better food rotation system to expand that. Small arms and ammunition. Flashlights, lanterns and batteries.

If we have to leave, we have 72 hour evacuation bags with water, food and clothing. Tools are always in the vehicles. Cash in small bills.

I volunteer in disaster services, so I've seen enough situations that make me want to be prepared. Not quite at the survivalist / prepper level, but some of the techniques they employ are useful.

 

[Texas Proud]

Even though you think it is an easy question.... the question seems to be pretty vague when reading your description....

When something is coming our way, we prepare... buy dry food, bottled water, fill up the gas tanks, put water in bottles (we have a hot tub so have plenty for toilets)....

But it seems like you want to know if we are prepped all the time... we are not...


So, how do I answer

 

[NW-Bound]

Nice map of the danger level of cities

Interesting map, but there is no explanation of the different colors.

How about this world-wide map? According to this, the entire US is high in natural disasters! Does that sound about right with all the hurricanes, earthquakes, tornadoes, winter storms, droughts, and floods we have?

Where to go? Among developed countries, Scandinavian countries look the best. Could it be another reason they are the happiest people?

Complacency is underrated. When one is always on the alert to evacuate, he is too busy to be happy.

 

[kimcdougc]

Yes, we live in the Seattle area and have a "bug out" bag ready, just in case.

 

[brewer12345]

I already buy staples in bulk since I am raising two kids and want the best price. I also have lots of grain handy for homebrewing which would double as food in a pinch. Where we live is not especially disaster prone, but floods, fires and a bad winter storm are all in the realm of possibility. The real challenge for us would be water, but even then we are probably good for a couple of weeks minimum and if I knew something bad were coming every empty keg, brewing kettle, etc. would be filled up with fresh water.

 

[akck]

We normally have enough canned and dry goods to last several weeks when you include our frozen goods. If power goes out, it's usually restored in less than a hour. If it can't be restored, we'd cook any proteins so they last a little longer and eat what won't last. For where we live, we'd stay in place as there's no place else to go.

 

[Aerides]

Yes, it is called "hotel reservations 5 hours away" for after, and hurricane windows for during.

 

[travelover]

I keep an unopened, extra fifth of whiskey, just in case.