I Really See No Need For An Emergency Preparedness Forum

[Packy]

I really don't. No matter how prepared you are, something will happen that you are not quite prepared for, no matter how ready you thought you were. A person could devote all their resources & spend their entire life getting prepared, and the unexpected will happen. For instance: If a Sinkhole appeared under your house, and a volcano emerged nearby(like Paracutin in 1943), and meanwhile an earthquake caused a tsunami, would having a stockpile of "D" cell batteries that you've rotated to keep them fresh, and chlorine tablets solve your problems? Sorry, but I doubt it.

[bae]

So don't read it.

[happystuff]

For instance: If a Sinkhole appeared under your house, and a volcano emerged nearby(like Paracutin in 1943), and meanwhile an earthquake caused a tsunami, would having a stockpile of "D" cell batteries that you've rotated to keep them fresh, and chlorine tablets solve your problems? Sorry, but I doubt it.

In the "for instance" you gave - yeah, you are probably right. But....

If a storm happens to come through (like Sandy in 2013) and a transformer blows at the end of the street and there is no electricity for 5 days... I think I would be glad for the stockpile of batteries that I rotate to keep fresh. ;)

[Miss Cellane]

There are emergencies you can prepare for. And there are emergencies you can't prepare for.

I'm ready for up to a week of no power/heat/water after a blizzard or hurricane. In my experience, either things are fixed or help has arrived by that time.

Come the apocalypse as described in the OP? I'm not prepared at all.

There are people who aren't prepared for anything--you see them in the supermarket every time a major storm is announced, buying batteries and milk.

There are people who have enough supplies to live off of for a couple of years--I'm not willing to invest the amount of time and money and space necessary to accomplish this.

IMO, the really big emergencies are the ones you can't prepare for at all--the sudden untimely death of a parent or spouse/SO, the birth of a child with major handicaps/medical issues, the sudden and unexpected loss of the ability to earn an income, becoming disabled due to illness or accident.

Sometimes people spend a lot of time preparing for the wrong emergency.

[Packy]

There are people with whom I am slightly acquainted, but choose not to associate with, who believe that it is absolutely essential to stop at WallyPlace each time they pass near one, and buy their limit of Ammo, so they can be "prepared". I also know a couple, who are around 70, who plant a garden & cut wood so they can be "prepared". But, I believe it is an illusion. As was said about the aftermath of the bombings of Hiroshima: "The Survivors will Envy The Dead".

[Packy]

[QUOTE=bae;175473]So don't read it.[/QUOTE Mr BAE; If you don't agree with the question I asked in the thread, then don't read it, and comment. Thank you.

[bae]

I suppose it all depends on what stereotypes you wish to hang your hat on.

There are people with whom I am well acquainted, and choose to associate with, who will be spending 4 hours tonight working with me in the dark and the rain practicing technical rope rescue methods, so we can help out the next poor soul who falls down a cliff or runs his car off a road. Heck, we've even rescued stuck dogs.

I spent 4 hours with them last night learning how to deliver babies in the field.

[bae]

[QUOTE=bae;175473]So don't read it.[/QUOTE Mr BAE; If you don't agree with the question I asked in the thread, then don't read it, and comment. Thank you.

Sorry Packy, you don't get to control my words or actions. Thanks though.

If you haven't noticed these are "discussion" forums...

[awakenedsoul]

Packy,
I know what you mean. Do you stockpile any food? I keep and rotate about a month's worth of food. It has helped me when my business was in a cash flow crunch. I was able to eat that and apply my food money towards other bills. One time we had severe wild fires here, and I realized that in that situation I needed cash and a full tank of gas, not the food and water I had stored. I also couldn't fit my three large dogs, pot bellied pig, and chicken in my Kia Rio. I hadn't thought about having to flee on five mins. notice...
(Sent you a pm.)

[Alan]

I Really See No Need For An Emergency Preparedness Forum

I really don't. ...
You know, that's the great thing about a community where different people have different interests. After about 10 years of daily interaction on this forum, I've never once posted in the Personals forum, and yet sometimes other people do. I'd hate to think they'd lose it simply because I don't feel a need for it.

To paraphrase Simon & Garfunkel, "I may be a rock, but I'm not an Island". ;)

[Tammy]

I like preparation to a degree to cover those 3-7 day weather emergencies, etc. What I wonder about though is how things will play out in a bigger situation. If it goes on longer and chaos ensues ... Gangs of desperate people will want to take all the supplies from those who are prepared. Are they really willing to shot everyone who approaches them suspiciously? I know I wouldn't be. I don't see good answers for those situations.

[razz]

I like being prepared so that I have enough to help out in an emergency. I watched a TV news report and saw how a simple bottle of water made a huge difference to a person in need.
Different strokes for different folks - what works for me may not be another's choice. I like being able to choose though.

[Tradd]

My definition of emergency preparedness is a bit more than having some water, canned goods, etc. To me, it also includes having your pictures backed up - forget about a huge storm, what about if your computer crashes? So many people I know don't even have their pics from computer/phone saved elsewhere. I have extra copies of my important documents.

In the winter, I keep a blanket, some water, granola bars, and a snow shovel in my car.

[Packy]

Really, the biggest threat here, besides windstorms, are extended power outages during the depths of winter, due to ice storms and trees being downed. But, since the last one, I bought two more chainsaws(used ones, from people who bought after the storm), and am clearing any trees that may pose a problem if they are iced over. That, and I bought two enormous candles, to use as a light source.

[awakenedsoul]

We have a lot of wildfires here. I bought a couple of hurricane lamps at the thrift store. As I've gotten older, I've realized the need to have a living trust, my papers in order, etc. I've known many people who have died young for various reasons. With all of them, it was a shock. I try to go through my stuff once a year, so that it would be easy for someone to do.

[bae]

What I wonder about though is how things will play out in a bigger situation. If it goes on longer and chaos ensues ... Gangs of desperate people will want to take all the supplies from those who are prepared. Are they really willing to shot everyone who approaches them suspiciously?

Luckily, that isn't typically what happens, contrary to whatever TV dramas are trying to sell you. See:

http://u.s.kqed.net/2012/10/02/aparadisebuiltinhell.jpg


I don't see good answers for those situations.

Build community, ideally ahead of time. Makes it more pleasant even in non-emergency situations.

[Packy]

I live about 225 miles west of the New Madrid Fault earthquake zone, and near the two highways that exit the two major urban areas(St Louis & Memphis) that would be greatly affected by a major seismic event. I've wondered about problems from a mass migration toward this area, even if only from a small percentage of the people. But, the citizens here have plenty of guns, and the Governor would prolly utilize the National Guard to maintain order. But, it's something to consider.

[ToomuchStuff]

There is no block feature for forums you don't want to see and won't use, other then the one between the ears.

Maybe you should make an emergency prepareness kit of black paper and sicssors for times when you can't turn a blind eye.:laff:

[awakenedsoul]

I recently read Ashley Judd's book. She does a lot of work with women in Africa and other poor countries. I was thinking about how they teach them how to use mosquito nets, yet the atrocities they are dealing with are just so far beyond what we experience in our lives. It's so different when you have your basic needs met. Their daily life is such a struggle...

[ctg492]

I have done a great deal of driving alone the past 8 months. Through the worst winter snows since 1886. I had my trunk packed to the brim. Boots, gloves, shovel, blankets, water, dog food. I had a permanent basket of foods for me. Extra cell phone and charger. When after the first trip I realized I was totally alone with my dogs, I could not have enough stuff just in case.
Sadly however my home is not prepared. But I do read all the suggestions.

[ApatheticNoMore]

I like preparation to a degree to cover those 3-7 day weather emergencies, etc. What I wonder about though is how things will play out in a bigger situation. If it goes on longer and chaos ensues ... Gangs of desperate people will want to take all the supplies from those who are prepared. Are they really willing to shot everyone who approaches them suspiciously? I know I wouldn't be. I don't see good answers for those situations.

what bae said, 100%. I mean in the hypothetical I don't think there is an answer, it's really neither particularly morally preferable to kill others to survive or to die because one won't, if human life has value period, it's zero sum. But that's all philosophy and is not likely to come true in an emergency unless such prophesies became self-fulfilling. In reality cooperation is generally positive sum. Not only can various measures be taken to prepare at a community and city level (as imperfect as one's living situation might be) and yes I do have serious conversations with people who think about such things locally. But I simply think one should tilt the balance, or tilt at the balance of the world (not quite at windmills) to teach cooperation as the default response to people, as second nature, so that people's first response wouldn't be some media driven: oh, I know, let's go on armed rampages :). Such are the conclusions I came to when I was into doomer stuff (moved on some, because I really can't keep a mono-focus, I get busy w/ immediate survival, I get bored). And since teaching cooperation is really just being kind and cooperative, mutual aid etc., it's nothing they're going to lock you away for, basically just what should be anyway, emergency or no.

[rodeosweetheart]

When a hurricane passed through our neighborhood in SC, the National Guard drove down the street seeing if anyone needed help. We lived in a nice little town, pretty urban, tiny little lots, not much preparedness past having candles and water.

I was struck by two things--how quickly they showed up and how kind they were, very comforting to have them there.

Without air conditioning, I was toast, breathing wise. So I got into the bathtub in cool water and went to bed with wet cloths on me. Otherwise, I would have had flag those guys down and ask for a ride to the hospital.

I think it's an excellent idea to consider who you are, where you are, what you need in the case of interruption of normal life and normal resources.

Same with my folks, in a 10 day power outage in VA--they did not know that there were cooling stations in a nearby town for the elderly. They did not realize they could recharge their phone by using their car charger.

The world changes, resources change, our physical abilities change, and it's a good idea to have a plan specific for who you are and what you can do in an emergency.

And Bae, thank you, thank you, thank you for having such a strong sense of community and a kind heart, that you are there for your neighbors in such an important way.

[Yarrow]

Did not have a good experience when our city was hit by an ice storm a few years ago. Had no electricity in the coldest of winter temps for a week, and for others it was 2 weeks. Not alot of help provided for anyone and there were some deaths from hypothermia, sadly. I was glad I was prepared as much as I was, and I will always be prepped for any weather disasters in the future as much as possible.... It can mean the difference of survival or not, or just plain pure misery - like being chilled to the bone for days on end in a dark cold house. I did what I could to stay warm....which is all anyone could do. Some were lucky enough to have generators, but they were few and far between.

[iris lilies]

Did not have a good experience when our city was hit by an ice storm a few years ago. Had no electricity in the coldest of winter temps for a week, and for others it was 2 weeks. Not alot of help provided for anyone and there were some deaths from hypothermia, sadly. I was glad I was prepared as much as I was, and I will always be prepped for any weather disasters in the future as much as possible.... It can mean the difference of survival or not, or just plain pure misery - like being chilled to the bone for days on end in a dark cold house. I did what I could to stay warm....which is all anyone could do. Some were lucky enough to have generators, but they were few and far between.

But weren't there churches and etc place open with generators where people could stay? Seems like those kinds of places always turn up along with feeding stations.

[flowerseverywhere]

But weren't there churches and etc place open with generators where people could stay? Seems like those kinds of places always turn up along with feeding stations.

i think this is where community with your neighbors comes in. When our power went out for a few days after one of these massive ice storms we had a generator. Our house looked like a campground with sleeping bags all over because we had heat. We ate like kings for three days as everyone tried to eat as much stuff before it would spoil. After that there were many days of canned goods that would have kept us going. Between the six families that banded together we had plenty of fuel from spare gas cans and could have resorted to siphoning out of the vehicles. Water was on, as that would have caused difficulty after a few days. But there was lots of help in the area. We just did not have to venture out to find it. We had several houses full of people on our street, but quite a few vacant houses as people left for greener pastures once the roads were passable. We were one of the first to get power so when everyone could go home we ended up,with people from the surrounding areas taking their place. We were much less of a drain on the resources that came to help.

Now that I live in the far south I am more concerned with storing water and having means to purify as that is the most likely thing to cause a problem here in the heat.

[flowerseverywhere]

Luckily, that isn't typically what happens, contrary to whatever TV dramas are trying to sell you. See:

http://u.s.kqed.net/2012/10/02/aparadisebuiltinhell.jpg



Build community, ideally ahead of time. Makes it more pleasant even in non-emergency situations.

this is an excellent book that I read when Bae suggested it years ago. Also Zeitoun, an account of what happened post Katrina. The actions of the government towards many citizens were deplorable.

all you have to do is google hurricane Katrina preparedness and you will find article after article of tremendously useful information. Personal responsibility towards making your own preparations cannot be stressed enough. You don't have to be a crazy person or spend a ton of money to have the minimum level of preparedness for your own situation.

also, as Chris Christie said "get the hell off the beach" when hurricane sandy was coming. Know when to get off the beach and how to get out.

[iris lilies]

i think this is where community with your neighbors comes in. When our power went out for a few days after one of these massive ice storms we had a generator. Our house looked like a campground with sleeping bags all over because we had heat. We ate like kings for three days as everyone tried to eat as much stuff before it would spoil. After that there were many days of canned goods that would have kept us going. Between the six families that banded together we had plenty of fuel from spare gas cans and could have resorted to siphoning out of the vehicles. Water was on, as that would have caused difficulty after a few days. But there was lots of help in the area. We just did not have to venture out to find it. We had several houses full of people on our street, but quite a few vacant houses as people left for greener pastures once the roads were passable. We were one of the first to get power so when everyone could go home we ended up,with people from the surrounding areas taking their place. We were much less of a drain on the resources that came to help.

Now that I live in the far south I am more concerned with storing water and having means to purify as that is the most likely thing to cause a problem here in the heat.

You are right! I thought about my friend in the lily club who went out and bought a generator after his power was knocked out 2 times in a row, and for a couple of days. I"m sure his house would be full of people.

[iris lilies]

You people have forced me to request this book from the library, sounds good.

[iris lilies]

I live about 225 miles west of the New Madrid Fault earthquake zone, and near the two highways that exit the two major urban areas(St Louis & Memphis) that would be greatly affected by a major seismic event. I've wondered about problems from a mass migration toward this area, even if only from a small percentage of the people. But, the citizens here have plenty of guns, and the Governor would prolly utilize the National Guard to maintain order. But, it's something to consider.

yep watch out for us from St. Louis, we'll come storming your place, carrying guns.

Not.

jeez packy if I were going to drive 4 hours to abandon my pile of brick rubble, downed in an earthquake, it wouldn't be your direction.

[gimmethesimplelife]

I think it's a great idea to have some basic preparation for emergencies. I know of friends of my mother's that live in Central Arizona that had to evacuate their home during last year's fire when all those firefighters met their death. We are in a major drought here and the places that I'd like to live in around the state, outside of the Phoenix metro - all have some degree of risk due to wildfires. Not much I can do to control natural disasters but having quick grab access to basic important paperwork and to my cats and to photos that are important to me and some mementos with sentimental value - priceless. Rob

[Spartana]

I really don't. No matter how prepared you are, something will happen that you are not quite prepared for, no matter how ready you thought you were. A person could devote all their resources & spend their entire life getting prepared, and the unexpected will happen. For instance: If a Sinkhole appeared under your house, and a volcano emerged nearby(like Paracutin in 1943), and meanwhile an earthquake caused a tsunami, would having a stockpile of "D" cell batteries that you've rotated to keep them fresh, and chlorine tablets solve your problems? Sorry, but I doubt it.Well emergency preparedness isn't so much about how to survive a disaster as it happens (probably no getting out of that sink hole or erupting volcano if it happens under you :-)!) but it's about making your life a bit easier after you survive a disaster. Being able to have a few things to make you both more comfortable and secure while you wait for help to arrive or things to be restored to normal. And it doesn't have to be expensive or elaborate either. Think of the people during Katrina. If even a few of them had a little pack with a space blanket or small tarp and some fishing line, they would have been able to shade themselves from the relentless sun and torrential rain while they sat on bridges and waited for help to arrive. If they had a few bottles of water or a pump or chlorine tablets, they would have been even better off. Maybe some mosquito spray and some energy bars added to that and it would make a world of difference between misery and .... well not comfort but at least less misery and more independence. A small pack (bug out bag) with some basic, inexpensive supplies and maybe electronic copies of all your important papers and a bit of money, that you can grab in an emergency can make things much easier if you have to leave your home...NOW! I saw on the news that 125,000 people in San Diego county were evacuated due to wildfires yesterday. Some of them had no notice and police roamed the street basically saying "RUN! NOW! Do not get anything, do not get your car, do not get anything important, just GO! NOW!" So people were fleeing on foot , running with their pets, without anything. Having a second to grab a bug out bag placed by the door in case your house burns down or you evacuated for a long time, can make life a bit easier.

Same with keeping some extra things in your home and car. It makes riding out a disaster in place easier. It allows you greater independence since you are less in need of getting food and water elsewhere (and having to wait for FEMA or other aid agencies to deliver supplies, or stand in long lines to get supplies, and then having only a small amount allotted to each person before they run out) and it means that, because you are being self-sufficient and providing for yourself, that emergency supplies and aid from outside can go further for others in need. It also allows you to help others if you can with your own supplies, thus leaving even greater resources available to be distributed as needed.

So while we might not survive a disaster if it happens right at our feet or on top our head, if we do survive then having even the most basic of supplies can make live that much easier. And for those who are interested in the "survival" side of emergency preparedness, things like fire making, water finding, shelter building, animal hunting, etc... there are tons of classes out there to learn those skills of wilderness survival techniques. But for most having a few days supply of food and water, maybe a tent or tarp for shelter in our yards in case we can't go into our homes (happens in earthquakes a lot), a bit of money in case banks/ATMs are down, and copies of important papers and photos is all we need and can make a huge difference.

[Spartana]

I live about 225 miles west of the New Madrid Fault earthquake zone, and near the two highways that exit the two major urban areas(St Louis & Memphis) that would be greatly affected by a major seismic event. I've wondered about problems from a mass migration toward this area, even if only from a small percentage of the people. But, the citizens here have plenty of guns, and the Governor would prolly utilize the National Guard to maintain order. But, it's something to consider.I think if there was ever a need for mass migration it would be in a controlled way like it was done via FEMA for those who lost their homes in Katrina. Mass movement of people to relocate them in various areas of the country done by the government. Many people volunteered to take in Katrina survivors, to feed, clothe and house them. To help them find jobs and homes - as well as missing family members and pets. So that is what I think would happen if ever an area of the country was devastated. Not some sort of roaming bands of crazed gun-toting people bent on taking over other peoples horded supplies or taking over parts of the country. Yes there will be crime (unfortunately there always is) and probably a strong military and police force to deter that, along with curfews. But that happens at nearly every disaster worldwide and so far I've never heard of things turning out like in the movies. Now if the ZA (Zombie Apocalypse) happens worldwide then maybe that will be different case :-)!