Menu
What's new

Prepping for disaster scenarios

Carol Reed

Carol Reed

In Memoriam
Messages
5,533
Location
Coolidge, AZ
It has occurred to me that there have been an extraordinary number of disasters around the world lately. Not Armageddon or something like that, but fires, floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, etc. that seriously disrupt how we normally live. So how prepared am I when the ground shakes around here and the normal infrastructure is trashed for a period of time?

First issue is flight or ride it out. It you flee, where to go and what to take are major issues. All the resources are at home, so that is the first choice. First problem, get there, if you are not there when disaster strikes. Second, all fuel tanks at least half full all the time in case you have to change your mind and flee. I have the advantage of living in a motor home, so nearly all comes with me if I have to move. Now I need think about what is in my storage sheds I'd wish I had with me. Maybe a reloading of the motorhome basement for storage is in order.

The coach has a 7.5 KW genset, so power is not an issue. But the lab built a two panel solar collector on wheels with a pair of deep cycle batteries and an inverter that I plan to duplicate. It only needs sun to operate and sooner or later that will break out. They use when out in the desert with a rocket or high altitude balloon launch. They live stream their efforts back to the lab for the rest of us to watch. Fascinating stuff. That set up would easily power the motorhome's basic needs. Not electric hot water or AC, but everything else ought to work.

I drink bottled spring water that I get in three gallon bottles directly from the bottler in town. I go through 6-8 gallons a week normally. I had three bottles on hand and normally did not get water until I was on the third bottle. Re-thought that. Got two more bottle this past week. Will still get water when I am on the third bottle, but I will have a two weerk supply on hand if I can't get there. Today I will pick up a second propane tank for the grill. That will handle cooking. I'd fill the coaches 35 gallon tank, but I'd have to move the coach to do it. Can't get it delivered. They won't deliver for less than 100 gallons.

Now I am working on a grocery list of unperishables to have on the shelf. I plan to rotate them so it has to be stuff I can normally eat regularly.

Thoughts on what you would do next?
 
In the winter - our worst weather - I make sure I have gasoline. I fill all the cars and I fill the 2 gas cans. I have (3) 2.5 gallon gas cans. I make sure I have 5-10 gallons of water on hand, sometimes I fill the Tub with water. I will also make sure I have a week of firewood inside.

Worst thing for us is a really bad snow storm. A bad storm gives us 24" of snow. That will slow us down for about a day, maybe 2. If we loose power and get 36" or more, we potentially could get slowed down a week.

If I loose power I as loose the well, hence I cannot flush, and I need water.

I need gas for the snow blower.

Even with the most severe snow, we are mobile in 2 days.
 
We're pretty set if Armaggedon sets in and we have to stay here. Plenty of water, freeze dried food, gas, diesel and most importantly, toilet paper. :rofl: Our biggest threat in case we have to bug out would be from a wildfire. Since we've had so many around us this year (and it's not even official fire season yet), we decided to take the officials literally and have a "get out" plan. My futon is dedicated to "go bags" that include three days of clothes. Also all our important documents. Dog leashes/cat carriers/food. Bags for our pcs to throw in at the last minute. I'm currently making a checklist as most of the stuff will migrate back to their normal place after November. We even have two designated meeting places in case something happens when I'm in town and our highway may possibly get closed. So with all the lightning strikes happening lately, I feel better that we are ready to go. As long as Brent can get the camper loaded up, we can get out within 30 minutes. I'm sure whatever we need, we can buy in town. Oh and I forgot, Brent's favorite guitar is on the list to grab. Everybody should have a plan
 
When we lived in SoCal, we kept a week's worth of freeze dried food, plus a pantry with lots of canned food as well. Water was in the form of a couple of flats of bottled water, plus a couple of plastic Jerry cans of "utility water" stored outside of the house. My wife, having lived her whole life there, was very adamant about never letting her car get below half a tank of gas. I, on the other hand, was not as careful about that as I should have been.

The one time we did have to bug out (due to wildfire), I was able to gather important papers, jewelry, photos, computers, guns, guitars, and dogs in about 15 minutes. Fortunately, we had an offsite storage unit nearby where I could drop of everything except the dogs, and friends' houses we could stay at. (I ended up staying at the house because the authorities let us back onto our street a few hours after each evacuation. We had three evacs that week.)

Here in NM, I can't think of any natural disaster that would force us out of our house, and these days we're pretty well stocked with food and water to cover things for a week or more. And if it's an unnatural disaster (i.e., civil unrest), we're pretty well stocked to protect what's ours. Pity the fool... ;)
 
So the new thing for me thus far is load up on toilet paper. Fortunately I Mae a Costco run for that just a couple weeks ago. Now not to waitlist to buy more u until I am at the last roll!

Also more information on freeze dried food and brands, sources, etc. would be appreciated.

As for civil unrest, well, I am not as prepared as some but I am also not defenseless. Time to connect with Jim Burr again on that matter. Since I am rather mobile at the moment, having a like-minded group to go to would likely be the best defense.
 
I have this same discussion with people often. They come to me for some advice since I was desert, jungle and arctic survival trained in the Marines. No matter where you are, the first thing for survival is water. Not shelter or food. Without the first all else is irrelevant. Some think shelter comes first, but it doesn't. You can go a lot longer without shelter and food than you can water. I store a lot of water. I run on a well, too. Even if power is out, I have a secondary pump that is hand cranked and I can still get water. I keep regular canned goods on hand that would usually be eaten. And, MRE's. I go with the military MRE's because of the high protein content they usually have and they are also generally 1600 to 1800 calorie meals. When you are surviving you aren't worried about losing weight. The higher the calorie intake the less of them you have to eat. Shelter can be anything. I have tents. I have tarps. I have trees. I can get along just fine. If it really gets long term I can shoot game. I have that here. So, to me whether it be earthquakes, tornadoes, hurricanes, or zombie attacks you gotta keep the priorities straight. Water, shelter, food. Some may not agree with this but it is tried and true methodology. Trust it and you stand a better chance of surviving.
 
Yeh, we have a lot of those boxes of drinking water with a little bleach in them to preserve them (guess we should do an annual recycle of them like we do more frequently on our dozen gas cans). Also, we have a water filter that would allow us to drink out of the swimming pool if it got that desperate. Now if Brent would just tell me where he has it hidden

Carol, not sure what brand of freeze dried we got (probably from Costco). We've never tried them so not sure how "good" they are.

I keep telling Brent, we need to practice some weekend. Friday night, turn the circuit breaker off (and no cheating by using the generator). Fish out the lanterns and survive for 2.5 days. If neither of us kills each other by the end of it...I'd consider it a success :wave:
 
I believe my BIL always lives by the "Guns and Water" plan, he says "With those, he can get the rest". :rolleyes:

Outside of tornadoes, we're not in a hazard prone area. We do keep a well stocked pantry and drinking water on hand. We've got a generator and multiple heating sources for the house in winter. A pool for water if need be year round. Since 9/11 I've always kept at least a half tank of gas in the cars, this also helps prevent the fuel pump from overheating and melting the wiring to the pump, which occurred often in my old Silverado, which stopped happening after I started keeping a half full tank. ;)
 
For those who have not tried some of those freeze dried foods, you might want to sample some of them. And, be ready for a shock. I can't remember any of the brand names now, but some are total garbage. I would not want to depend on some of those for survival. Comfort is preferred for surviving events and good tasting food goes into that category. I know the military MRE's aren't always the best of things, but I have not had any that made me wanna go eat tree bark. :rofl:
 
OK. I am thinking a two week scenario. By then the infrastructure should be back to normal, sort of. So I am thinking regular commercially canned soups, veggies, meats, fruits, etc. Some boxed foods like potatoes and noodles. Have no idea where to buy MRE's or if I'd want to. Not planning for the zombie scenario here.
 
Aw, come on Carol! I had to throw the zombies in for fun. Two weeks is what I always planned for. With what you are doing sounds ok. You can buy MRE's at most surplus places and online. They have a long shelf life. But canned stuff properly rotated will work well. Go for it! Don't forget a good first aid kit.
 
We tend to keep a stock of "no cook" foods on hand that we rotate as part of normal consumption. Basically peanut butter, crackers, tuna fish, sardines, etc.. Even if you have fuel you might not have time.

One of the guys over on Sawmill Creek was at ground zero for Irma and has both a rather terrifying description of the events and some good suggestions for tools, etc.. that he found useful. Specific areas and circumstances may of course differ but he made quite a few interesting points.

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthr...ect-hit-by-a-Cat-5-Hurricane-ground-zero-USVI
 
We tend to keep a stock of "no cook" foods on hand that we rotate as part of normal consumption. Basically peanut butter, crackers, tuna fish, sardines, etc.. Even if you have fuel you might not have time.

One of the guys over on Sawmill Creek was at ground zero for Irma and has both a rather terrifying description of the events and some good suggestions for tools, etc.. that he found useful. Specific areas and circumstances may of course differ but he made quite a few interesting points.

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthr...ect-hit-by-a-Cat-5-Hurricane-ground-zero-USVI
 
I was talking to a co-worker the other day about the 5 things to take if you had to leave your home and knew that you could loose everything. Your passport and cash were top on the list. If you lost everything....how would you prove your identity? If power is lost then your credit is useless to buy anything as well.
I have a bag prepared with small items such as flashlights, batteries, radio, water, snacks, names and addresses of people, extra car keys and cash. I hope I never need to use it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top