Emergency Preparation

[Bestwifeever]

Quote:

Originally Posted by EllisWyatt ....I second everything W2R listed. Having undergone two protracted evacuations - the family evacuated from Saudi (when Saddam came for his little visit to Kuwait) and all of us evacuated from Katrina - I try to keep my "Zombie Plan" fully charged at all times....

I think our level of needing to feel prepared rests a lot on what we've gone through. As a child way way way back, I and my family were evacuated from a hostile country after lying low for maybe a couple of weeks. After that my father made sure to always have plenty of beer and cigarettes on hand to last him lest a similar situation arise.

Not living anywhere near hurricane country, our family is more likely to be dangerously affected by winter power outages than anything else, so I could see having a generator on hand, although not likely to be needed. We have been without power twice for extended periods (a week to ten days), both in the summertime, which was depressing but not life threatening.

If I lived a mile down a gravel driveway, I don't think I could sleep at night if I didn't have a firearm in the house.

[BigNick]

I'm making a list of people online who reveal that they have $1000 in cash in the house.

[brewer12345]

Quote:

Originally Posted by BigNick I'm making a list of people online who reveal that they have $1000 in cash in the house.

Make sure you note the presence of firearms, guard dogs, etc. on your list.

[EllisWyatt]

Actually, the mile long gravel road provides a nice feeling of security - in conjuntion with having the well-respected retired Sheriff of the Parish at the head of the gravel road and a 185 mastiff at our end (who looks extremely intimidating, even is he really is just a big Goomba).

[HFWR]

I wasn't really talking about planning for Armaggeddon, but should that occur, living out in the boonies on a self-sufficient homestead would eventually attract unwanted attention.

If thugs will knock an old lady in the head for her purse...

[devans0]

Having been there and done that, I look at things MUCH differently now. I was extremely lucky. I was married to a lady that rolled up her sleeves and worked and didn't complain. We were each others rock.
I had splurged on a generator the year before. It saved our butts. I lost nearly all of my tools, but was able to save a few. The most useful gun was a screw gun. In a few hours, We had shelter.
All of our banks were down, so access to money was completely lost for a couple of months. That was unexpected! Our safety deposit documents were all destroyed. We had saved our most important documents such as taxes, titles, passports, etc. and our computers. Our safe was inoperable and it's contents were destroyed. It is now in a hole under our basement. It was too heavy to move. That is how I learned how Stonehedge was built. I also have learned how to make potable water.
Looting wasn't a problem, except for a few scum that tore out plumbing and electrical wiring for the scrap copper, and the licensed contractors that upped their prices to 10X what they charged before. The people that weren't handy were at their mercy. I had always done my own work, became homeowner licensed, and we came out okay. It was neighbors that watched out for each other and helped each other that made it worthwhile. Those are the people that are the heroes.
I am better prepared now. I picked up a truck camper and a F350 diesel. The abuse that I put my Scion BoX through, hauling cement, 4 X 8s, countless 2 X 4s, PEX, tools, gas pipe. was unbelievable. It came through when I needed it and is still my favorite. A heavy truck would have been easier.

[braumeister]

Ham radio will always be the communication mode of last resort, that gets you in touch when nothing else will.

It's easier than ever these days to get an Amateur Radio license, and equipment is affordable, available, and easy to use.

The best place to begin, if you're interested, is:
American Radio Relay League | Ham Radio Association and Resources

[Ready-4-ER-at-14]

The crank radios are a great idea and I have one, as well as a backup plain old 9v radio, but even then check them as my rechargable internal battery seemed to have given out just sitting on the shelf.

I also have two separate small solar panels that can trickle charge a portable deep cycle 12 v battery and a couple small inverters to run ac off of dc.

In an emergency, those of us with old fashioned water heaters can shut off the incoming valve and gas and get drinkable water from that. Of course being this close to lake Michigan with 129,000,000,000,000 gallons of water, and water down maybe 12 feet below ground I doubt if that will be a huge problem here. People yes. Water no.

[REWahoo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ready-4-ER-at-14 The crank radios are a great idea...

Yep. I think every crank should have one...

[freebird5825]

I have a very minor "emergency" (water outtage) to report, but an interesting one from the perspective of a lack of preparedness.
Approx 3 miles from my house, a municipal water main broke and caused a large sinkhole in the road. It took 4 days to repair it. Several of my friends who live there reported they had no water on hand in the house for drinking or cooking. No showers or toilets either.
I am on a different municipal water main than the one that broke. I asked each of my friends why they didn't call me to come up and fill jugs of water and use my shower*.
All I got were blank looks. They had simply assumed that all of the water supply feeds were down. Their focus was so narrow on their own localized outtage and the road closure that looking for a solution less than 3 miles away never occurred to them.

* I was afraid to ask what they did for a toilet. We do live in the country after all.

[braumeister]

I keep 10 one-gallon milk jugs full of water in the basement. I recycle the water through the house plants and the birdbath, but I always have the ten jugs on hand. The idea is that if we ever experience a water main break, we will at least have some water available for drinking and flushing toilets. If the repair takes longer, we can always buy water at the store, but I like having some handy.