Disaster Emergency Preparedness

[Sharon]

In our area they are really working to raise awareness on getting ready for the "Big One", an approximate 9.0 earthquake.  They say that we need to be prepared to be self sufficient for anywhere from several days to possibly a couple of weeks before emergency responders could reach the area.

I think this is an area where we would be able share our ideas on how prepared we are, how do you rotate your food stock, where do you store your emergency kit and what do you use to store your supplies or do you know you have most of it hanging around the house, somewhere.  Of course since this is Smart Spending any ideas on how to do this more frugally will always be appreciated.

Other things to consider: Do you have emergency contacts outside the area, Do you have an escape route if you are in a tsunami zone?  In my area Earthquakes are the big worry but I know in other areas it is Tornadoes and Hurricanes.

So what is your disaster and are you ready?

[Sharon]

I am just starting to get serious about getting ready.  I have had some water in the garage for years but today went out and got 5-1 gallon jugs of water.  The recommendation is 1 gallon per person per day with a 3 day minimum.  Then another gallon for the pets, mustn't forget our furry friends. 

I have flashlights in most rooms now in case of power outages but think I will pick up a few more, including one to put in the official disaster kit.  I also recently got a hand crank radio, that can be charged via hand crank, AAA batteries, solar, or car battery.  It also has a flashlight, flashing light, glows in the dark and will charge a cell phone.  Now I need to sit down and read the instructions and get it figured out.  This was purchased via Amazon gift card that I received as a gift.

One of the recommendations I saw for storing your stash is to get a wheeled garbage can and this is the way I think I will go.  Still researching but this seems to be the best option for me.

[Blonde Granny]

Our concern here in Arkansas is tornadoes.  If a house takes a direct hit, there won't be much left to worry about, so I don't pay much attention to the disasters you might be talking about.

I do however take some extra precautions for winter weather.  We get very little snow and if any does fall, it will melt quickly.  The real problem could be devastating ice storm which can knock out power for days or weeks.  So, I keep water & batteries, I have a non-vented fireplace which will keep the house warm and a gas cooktop. I also have a stove top coffee percolator (like the campfire ones) so I can still have my coffee in the morning.

This year I'll make some of my favorite soups and freeze them in individual portions and maybe some casseroles that also will freeze well too.

Other than that, I don't do much.

[Deleted]

I'm sort of with Blonde Granny here.  You can't really prepare for a tornado except to have a designated place of safety, etc.  We have a weather radio to alert us, etc.  There's stuff in the basement to make it more comfortable to be down there for an extended period of time.  There's water and flashlights, etc.  But if a tornado hits, the aftermath is different from an earthquake.  Those who weren't hit usually have utilities, etc.  So you don't have to plan for food shortages, etc.

However, winter weather can put you in your house for several days depending on how accessible your home is.  A freak blizzard in the middle of March in 1993 left us without power for a week.  We were totally unprepared because March is spring in Alabama.  We keep water and a fair amount of canned goods for times like this.  But the canned goods are just ordinary canned goods . . . soups, etc. 

We aren't prepping for the end of the world.

[Sharon]

I try not to think about disaster prepping that much. I know myself well enough to know that I could very easily go overboard and end up one of those people living in the woods waiting for the end. (I was seriously considering the Costco pallet o' freeze dried food at one point!).

I can easily see myself heading this way.  There has been so much media coverage in the area recently to try and get people to start thinking about "The Big One".  Apparently there is a 37% chance that this will happen within the next 50 years and when it does happen it will be the largest natural disaster ever in the country.

I was looking earlier for some the statistics I had read on how long it could take to restore power/water etc and couldn't find the exact link I wanted.  They are saying that I-5, the major highway that runs through, WA, OR and CA could be closed for over a year while repairs take place.  That will affect getting supplies in and out of the area.  Another statistic was it could take 3 months to a year for electrical power to be restored.

I do want to be prepared but how do you prepare without over doing it and then where on earth do you store all this stuff.  The Red Cross has put out a 25 page booklet on how to create your disaster kit and while not all of it is supplies etc. there still is a pile of stuff to store all together in a place that would be accessible if your house shakes off its foundation.

[weltschmerz]

I have enough food and water on hand for several days.

Ice storms scare me, like the one in 1998. Some folks had no power in subzero weather for a month.
I'd have to eat cold or frozen  food out of the cans, because I have no way of heating anything up during a power failure.

And escape route? I live on an island. The bridges will be impassable. Hey, I've seen those apocalypse movies!

[NancysSummerSip]

For us, our disaster is hurricane season, which is long (June 1-Nov 30). The good news is that we generally get a decent warning when one is out there.

I stock up starting in May: the basics like water and bottled beverages like club sodas and mineral water, low-cal Gatorade. Basic paper goods (plastic knives, forks, spoons, cups and plates), wipes and hand sanitizer, paper towels, napkins and toilet paper. Also basic spray and liquid cleaners, extra batteries and flashlights.

For the cats, I make sure I have extra litter and cat food handy.

For our food: soups, rice, pasta, canned fruits and vegetables, protein bars, applesauce and pudding cups, dried fruit, salt-free nuts, chili, hash, tuna, peanut butter, crackers, pretzels and cereal.

We have a grill, and I check to make sure we have fuel to run it.

Our first - aid kit is always stocked, but I get extra bandages and antiseptic.

Keep an eye on prescription meds; make sure you are not running out or running low.

Tarps, trash bags, shovels, rakes, hammers, tie-downs, nails, screws and saws for post-storm cleanup.

[Tennesseer]

Our biggest natural threats here are tornadoes/severe thunderstorms, ice storms and being in the area of the New Madrid seismic zone.

Damage from tornadoes and thunderstorms is localized.  Most areas will not be affected by those storms.  Ice storms cause wider damage.  Isolated power outages of up to 4 weeks long have occurred in the city and suburbs due to severe thunderstorms (July, 2003) and ice storms (February, 1994) while I have lived here in Memphis.  Neither affected me for more than 24 hours.  No a/c in the summer or heat in the winter is uncomfortable for anyone affected

While very few minor tremors related to the New Madrid fault have occured while I have lived here, it is a severe earthquake associated with the New Madrid that would and will cause the most damage and deaths in the city and surrounding areas depending on the characteristics of the quake.

I have enough items at home to survive for a few days..

 

[spartan7886]

Jun 19, 2016 10:16:47 GMT -5 Tennesseer said:

Damage from tornadoes and thunderstorms is localized.  Most areas will not be affected by those storms.  Ice storms cause wider damage.  Isolated power outages of up to 4 weeks long have occurred in the city and suburbs due to severe thunderstorms (July, 2003) and ice storms (February, 1994) while I have lived here in Memphis.  Neither affected me for more than 24 hours.  No a/c in the summer or heat in the winter is uncomfortable for anyone affected

I remember that thunderstorm. I got in town the day after for my grandparents' 50th anniversary party. We had to find a new venue on like 2 days notice since their church didn't have power, and they refused to call in and take advantage of their senior citizen status to move their house up the list to get power back on. We had two fans on extension cords from next door, and it was HOT that week.

Personally, we don't keep too much in the way of emergency supplies since hurricanes give enough notice to get out of Dodge, and we do for anything Cat 2 or higher. We have our plywood cut and keep the cars at half a tank or better and that's about it for specific hurricane prep.

[Tennesseer]

Jun 19, 2016 15:49:02 GMT -5 spartan7886 said:

Jun 19, 2016 10:16:47 GMT -5 Tennesseer said:

Damage from tornadoes and thunderstorms is localized.  Most areas will not be affected by those storms.  Ice storms cause wider damage.  Isolated power outages of up to 4 weeks long have occurred in the city and suburbs due to severe thunderstorms (July, 2003) and ice storms (February, 1994) while I have lived here in Memphis.  Neither affected me for more than 24 hours.  No a/c in the summer or heat in the winter is uncomfortable for anyone affected

I remember that thunderstorm. I got in town the day after for my grandparents' 50th anniversary party. We had to find a new venue on like 2 days notice since their church didn't have power, and they refused to call in and take advantage of their senior citizen status to move their house up the list to get power back on. We had two fans on extension cords from next door, and it was HOT that week.

Personally, we don't keep too much in the way of emergency supplies since hurricanes give enough notice to get out of Dodge, and we do for anything Cat 2 or higher. We have our plywood cut and keep the cars at half a tank or better and that's about it for specific hurricane prep.

July is not the month to lose electrical power here.

I was in Washington D.C. on a work assignment when the storm hit. I had turned the TV on in my hotel room to the Weather Channel and they were showing the soon-to-hit Memphis storm on their radar. I saw that and thought to myself 'That's not good.' The storm was nicknamed locally as 'Hurricane Elvis'.  The National Weather Service calls it the 'Mid South Derecho of 2003'.

One of the many scenes in the city after the storm that day.

[NoNamePerson]

I make sure I have a full tank of gas, cash in purse, packed suitcase, important papers, unplug all stuff, batten down the hatches and haul ass north to visit friends. Now this is only if my city is in the cone of hurricane warning. I just treat it as a mini vacation and hope I have a place to come home too.  

[Sharon]

I am prepared for extended loss of power etc.  Cooking could be done on the grill or the gas camp stove.  I spend my summer canning so there are always jars of canned fruits, veggie etc.  The pantry is usually pretty well stocked.

What they are wanting us to prepare for is hard to even imagine.  Complete devastation, most houses and buildings destroyed, probably fire from ruptured gas lines.  One of the items on the list of things to have in your disaster kit was a compass since so many landmarks would be destroyed.  The local paper is coming out every other week with items to add to your disaster kit.  They are doing it this way in hopes that people will actually create a kit, slowly but surely and not be overwhelmed by the list and the cost of the items on the list.

Supposedly this earthquake is anticipated to be along the lines of the one that hit Japan a few years ago that created the tsunami and destroyed the nuclear power reactors.

[Tiny]

Propane is nice to cook on - but you could supplement with 'solar cooking' if you needed to conserve propane.


This is pricey but you might find one second hand:
www.sunoven.com/sun-cooking-usa/why-use-it/benefits-of-solar-cooking/

(I'm biased. I have not one but 2 sun ovens - been solar cooking on the weekends for over 5 years. )

There's also the cookit (less expensive):

shop.solarcookers.org/?pn=CooKit&p=621&c=27

If you are more southern US this would work great - I used one in Florida and it worked scarily well. I suspect most of California (and many of the states in Tornado alley) are at good latitudes for this to work year round.  

(solar cooking doesn't depend on air temps its' all about quality sunlight and length of time -  I've made apple crisp with the sun oven nestled in a snow drift but holding 225 for a solid hour - in January with 10 F degrees air temp.  Only get about 2 hours of quality sun per day during January and I'm a bit too far North -- so can't cook much...)  The things normally hit 275 to 350 degrees for hours April thru November.

[mroped]

Tarps/plastic handy at all times. Sharp tools(hatchet, ax, knives) chain saw, ready at all times. We have three vehicles so we can crop together a full tank of gas- that unless my truck is full( most evenings).
Ropes and lighters in the truck at all times.

In the new house, my daughter asked me to put a trap door in her room to the crawl space.
"For the zombie apocalypse Dady!" 
Im happy to oblige!

[GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl]

A few random suggestions to add:

1.  Hand-operated/manual/old school household appliances and what not can be purchased from the Amish merchant www.lehmans.com/

2.  Consider life-threatening, anaphylactic, food allergies among family members when evacuations to emergency shelters are encouraged.  For many emergency shelters, one of the first tasks is to whip up a bunch of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for folks sheltering there.  For someone with a life-threatening allergy to peanuts, the shelter becomes as dangerous, or even more dangerous, than sheltering in place at home.

3.  Many emergency shelters do not/cannot accept pets.  Consider how you would shelter your pet if you needed to evacuate your home.  

4.  Keep a "to go" bag ready by an exterior window filled with an emergency kit, prescriptions, some cash, identification, etc.

5.  Go on a camping trip or two every couple of years to maintain basic skills such as putting up a tent, building a fire, cooking over an open fire, etc.  One hopes that things would never get to the point where we all need to live in tents, but this is one of those times when one can have some fun while practicing skills.  

6.  Identify neighbors who could be called upon for special skills: nurses, doctors, firemen, builders and other tradespeople, etc.  If you're the planning type, maybe hold a neighborhood gathering once a year or so to reacquaint with each other, share contact info, and offer specialized assistance.  

[cronewitch]

I don't prepare at all but I have a wood stove and lanterns so at least would have heat and lights. Food isn't a big deal for one person I have some rice and beans and other pantry staples and should lose weight anyhow so eating for a week or two on three days food is good for me. I assume the disaster is earthquake but my house has stood though quakes since 1949,1965 and some more recent without problems and it is brick, the garage is wood so I could move to the garage. I do have a wrench to turn off the gas if I have a gas fire or gas line break. I am far enough from volcanoes not to worry about them but they can ruin traffic too.
I don't worry about I5 they will have it fixed pretty quickly or decent detours, it won't take a year to drive from Seattle to Portland they just won't let that happen.

[❤ mollymouser ❤]

We have a waterproof plastic tub on wheels with emergency supplies: machete, whistles, solar-powered lanterns, crank-powered flashlights and radio, insect repellent, sunscreen, first aid kit, first aid instructions in english and spanish, english-spanish dictionary, photos of our ID's (plus photos and microchip info for our pets), knives, rope, emergency blankets, tarps, granola bars, feminine products, masks rated for the Hn-1 virus, gloves, and a hazmat suit for my wonderful DH. We have additional supplies throughout our home, including camping supplies, life preservers, fire extinguishers. We even have reflective safety vests.

We have two water heaters we can get water from, an in-ground swimming pool/chlorinated, and water purification tablets.

[toomuchreality]

Where do you store all this stuff?

It's kind of like the lock de-icer they sell... The time I needed it, I was away from home. If it had been in my car, I couldn't get to it, cuz my locks were frozen.   Now I keep some in my garage and some in the trunk, hoping I can get one of the car doors open (back seats fold down), or the trunk itself unlocked, if I'm away from home and it happens again.

I could get by for 2-3 days, probably longer, if I had to. But when the power went out here, about 1-2 months ago, for about 6 hours in the night, I was REALLY hating it! (I tend to be up in the night!  )

If you have pets, it's a good idea to mark their food (whose is whose) and attach feeding instructions to the container. This is helpful should someone have to feed your animals unexpectedly. If you buy pet food in large/bulk quantities, have some in a smaller container, ready to go. Store it in your pet's travel carrier, so you don't have to look for it in an emergency.


Going camping every so often is a good idea.

If there's an emergency and you didn't have house guests already, just give it a day, or two!

Truthfully, I just hope I'm not around.  Ugh.


If it happens before I 'see' you again, I wish you all the best.

[Sharon]

Here is a link to an article about the anticipated earthquake in the PNW.

Stretching more than 600 miles (965 km) along the coastline from Vancouver Island down to California's Cape Mendocino lies a sleeping, tectonic giant capable of causing massive devastation and drastically changing the face of the Pacific Northwest.

[kittensaver]

I'm in closest proximity to the Inglewood-Newport fault (the one that caused so much damage in the 1933 Long Beach earthquake). Although - I have to say that at the time (jumping back to present day), we lived over-the-hill in the LA basin (away from the San Fernando Valley) and the 1994 Northridge quake still caused $70,000 worth of damage on our house. There are many smaller faults throughout the La La Land basin, many of them, um, untested in modern times. As the crow flies I'm some distance from the San Andreas, but at 8.5 or 9.0 it probably doesn't make a whole heck of a lot of difference . Having also survived the 1971 Sylmar quake (albeit with a case of childhood PTSD because of it , I grew up in the SFV), I think I've learned a thing or three about preparedness.

I think the biggest thing I've learned is to not stash everything all in one place. What happens if all your emergency supplies are in a location you can't reach because that part of the building has collapsed or gets torched by a post-hurricane or post-quake fire? Think very seriously about putting smaller amounts of your supplies in two (or more) different places. Of course it's a crapshoot, but you can still try to tilt the odds in your favor . . .

A flashlight stays 24/7/365 in the headboard. So do a pair of sturdy shoes by the side of the bed. The fire extinguisher, another flashlight, a crow bar and the emergency gas shut-off wrench are all together inside the house in an easy to find place (with a duplicate set in the detached garage). Water and food are stored in both the house and garage - I'm a gardener who preserves food so we could probably live for a few weeks off of our stash. Without power the food in the frig and freezer will thaw and start to spoil in a few days, so I'd probably cook it all on the BBQ and invite the neighbors to help themselves. Once the fresh stuff is gone, we'd live on the canned stuff and walk to the garden to pull whatever is ready to harvest until power gets restored. We have camping equipment we could set up in the front yard, back yard or the driveway if necessary (including a personal port-a-potty). All of our important papers are scanned and stored in the Cloud.

There's also a small stash of supplies in the trunk of each of our cars (blanket, water bottles, granola bars, first aid kit, extra shoes, etc). We keep 3 propane tanks for the BBQ full at all times, plus a few pieces of cast iron cookware stay outside with the BBQ, specifically for a maybe-someday emergency. In a pinch we could feed the cats allowable human food - I'd crate them for safety if I can reach their crates in the attic. 

Sigh. It would suck to live through another major earthquake

[kadee79]

I'm not in an area that gets any of the major disasters....so far, knock on wood!

But having had folks evac from Fl. during hurricanes this is what I learned from them....
Have ALL of your insurance papers where you can grab them to go!  If you have a tornado shelter, have copies of all of them stored in there or a basement or even buried where you will KNOW where they are...in a non-rusting container.
Meds...be sure to have enough "on hand" when bad weather is predicted.  And like the insurance papers, keep them where you can grab & go!  I have a friend who's DH is on oxygen 24/7 and they are in tornado alley....they keep extra bottles of oxygen in their shelter along with enough food for them & their dog for 3 days....and rotate it at least once a month.
Any family keepsakes & photos....you might want to scan & burn photos to CDs so those can be taken out in case of emergency too.  It's also a good idea to have photos of all your belongings inside the house...furniture, appliances, etc. for insurance purposes....replacement value...if you are covered for that.
A safe deposit box might even be a good idea for things like birth certificates, insurance policy copies, etc.!


I think all the previous posters have covered most of the rest of the items most would need.  But we also have 2 generators that can run most of our house in case of power outage since we are all electric.  We also have a fireplace and wood pile for both heat & cooking if necessary.

[mroped]

To think that humans survived for ages without electricity and phones and remote controls is unfathomable! 
How did they get lights into a dwelling without switches, how did they cook without gas or electric?
You mean they didn't have any?
Unbelieveble!

[donnafreedman]

Anchorage reporting here: We have food and water stored, lots of firewood and extra batteries. Could cook on the Weber or use the outdoor burn barrel with a grill over it. Fireplace insert keeps the house cozy if you're in the living room and at-least-not-freezing if you're elsewhere (which is important, since we have hot water baseboard heating -- if that stuff freezes it'd be a pretty expensive fix). My partner never lets his car get below half a tank of gas, either.

Coincidentally, I just put up a giveaway of "The Penny-Pinching Prepper" book this evening. If anyone's interested, it continues through Wednesday (Aug. 17) evening. Since I've been away for so long I feel like a heel just showing up and saying "come read my website!" so I won't post the URL. But if you want a shot at winning the book just Google the name of the book and the word "giveaway."

It's very late and I doubt I'll do much more reading, but...Hello again.

[GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl]

Aug 14, 2016 3:55:35 GMT -5 donnafreedman said:

Anchorage reporting here: We have food and water stored, lots of firewood and extra batteries. Could cook on the Weber or use the outdoor burn barrel with a grill over it. Fireplace insert keeps the house cozy if you're in the living room and at-least-not-freezing if you're elsewhere (which is important, since we have hot water baseboard heating -- if that stuff freezes it'd be a pretty expensive fix). My partner never lets his car get below half a tank of gas, either.

Coincidentally, I just put up a giveaway of "The Penny-Pinching Prepper" book this evening. If anyone's interested, it continues through Wednesday (Aug. 17) evening. Since I've been away for so long I feel like a heel just showing up and saying "come read my website!" so I won't post the URL. But if you want a shot at winning the book just Google the name of the book and the word "giveaway."

It's very late and I doubt I'll do much more reading, but...Hello again.

  I am one of your biggest fans.  I LOVE your blog!!!  Penny-pinching prepping, huh?  Is there really any other way to prep?  

[donnafreedman]

In my opinion, no. Although some people don't have time/inclination to piece it together in a frugal fashion, and some are physically unable to, say, cut and stack firewood. Better to spend some dough to be prepared than to wind up in a cold, dark place scraping the last of the peanut butter from the jar, I guess.

And thanks, GRG, for the kind words.

[TheOtherMe]

I can't cut wood and my fireplace is gas. 

It's just me and the cat.  I have enough food to feed the both of us for a few days. 

My biggest threats are tornadoes and snow/ice storms.  Had a big snow storm last winter that kept me home for over 24 hours but I never lost power. 

Have had several tornado warnings since I have lived here.  Kitty and I go to the basement and hope for the best.  None of touch down here.

What I did get hit with was 14 hours of rain in 12 hours.  Sump pump could not handle the water and I got about 4 inches of water in the basement.  I got lucky.  I have a rural electric company while the other part of town has a different provider.  They lost power overnight and had water up to their main levels.  I didn't lose my furnace and water heater like they did.

[lund]

Here, the main problems are winter weather and strikes (though the last serious one was some years ago), since most food is imported.

I want to be able to keep us fed and warm and the house non-freezing, so we keep a nice pantry, a generator, warm clothing and warm bedding.
And it is a plus if we can still go to work or school, which might be expected.

After having had some days at home as a child where once we had no electricity for some days during the winter and once when there was a strike resulting in empty shelves in the stores and the neighbors coming to ask if they could borrow basic stuff like pasta, I prefer to have resources to cope with such situations.



Ms Freedman, it so nice to see you posting again! I hope that you will have the time to post a bit more often now.

[Deleted]

Oct 10, 2016 12:53:40 GMT -5 alwaysbeoptimizing said:

Had a good remind, we lost power Friday night. Not that big of a deal, except it helps illustrate how minor hardship piles on.


So, I was coming down with a cold, and I use a CPAP machine.  Power went out, just making it that much harder to sleep and making me unable to use my CPAP.  Result was a terrible night's sleep that made it harder to kick the cold.

On to planning:

Ordered stuff to create three GHB (Get Home Bags).

1 for DW to keep in her high rise office
1 for DW to keep in her car
1 for me to keep in car (i'm in a low rise and so is my car, so i'm betting on being able to get to my car, even if I have to stare down some self empowered safety DB that tries to stop my.

I face a 12 mile walk, followed by a 1/2 mile swim, followed by a 4 mile walk.

DW faces a 4 mile walk through an urban core, followed by 1/2 mile swim, followed by a 4 mile walk.

In our GHBs:
Windable/solar powered flashlight/weather radio/phone charging device ($25)
Paracord
Gorilla tape
Lifestraw water bottle
inflatable swim buoy to help us swim across lake
ponchos/space blanket
multi tool
glow sticks
Headlamp
energy food bars
good walking shoes/boots
wool socks
most of the dry stuff i'll divide into a couple of containers and use my food saver to make them waterproof (socks/shoes for example) so that if we have to swim, they can stay dry and once we cross the lake, we can put on dry hiking shoes and socks to walk home.  I'll include a ziplock or two also so that we can wear shoes prior to lake and after lake.

I should also put a couple hundred bucks in each in case we have to buy a boat ride across the lake and don't want to get on our knees to get it done.

I want to keep these light, as they don't have to get us far or long.

tagging JMA so he finds this thread @jma23

Thanks ! Smart spending is not the place I would of looked for a thread like this, but it makes sense. It's smart spending.

[Deleted]

Being retired which means no getting home from work scenario.  All our travel is in extremely rural areas.  The DW's and my emergency stash in the car is mostly warm clothes and inclement weather gear.  There is also means to make a fire and some spare ammo for our CC weapons.  We rotate out some dry food (crackers, jerky, etc.) in the car, but having water is a must have.  We also have one of those filter straws.  We are always wearing footgear for extended walks.  We always have to change into appropriate footwear upon arriving at various activities while accepting humorous jibes from our friends.  Quote; They'll be right in.  They're taking off the hiking boots right now.

[zibazinski]

What is a filter straw?