Prepare for disaster? (San Antonio, Howe, Anton: house, buy, tornadoes)

[LovingSAT]

My inlaws have encouraged us to prepare for disasters for years, Y2K, and several other recent events have led them to bring over tons of water and canned goods... for us to be prepared.

Now with Haiti we are getting the encouragement once again. Is anyone here in San Antonio concerned or prepared for any disaster local? And if you are prepared, how so?

[elnina]

Huh ??? What kind of disaster???

• 1 Natural hazards
• 2 Natural disasters
  • 2.1 Land movement disasters
    • 2.1.1 Avalanches
    • 2.1.2 Earthquakes
    • 2.1.3 Lahars
    • 2.1.4 Volcanic eruptions
  • 2.2 Water disasters
    • 2.2.1 Floods
    • 2.2.2 Limnic eruptions
    • 2.2.3 Tsunamis
  • 2.3 Weather disasters
    • 2.3.1 Blizzards
    • 2.3.2 Cyclonic storms
    • 2.3.3 Droughts
    • 2.3.4 Hailstorms
    • 2.3.5 Heat waves
    • 2.3.6 Tornadoes
  • 2.4 Fire
  • 2.5 Health and diseases
    • 2.5.1 Epidemic
    • 2.5.2 Famine
  • 2.6 Space
    • 2.6.1 Gamma ray bursts
    • 2.6.2 Impact events
    • 2.6.3 Solar flares
    • 2.6.4 Supernovae and hypernovae ?????

[LovingSAT]

My thoughts exactly! I do not know. I am not kidding everytime we hear of something they start over reacting. They say the world is changing and we must prepare! So we buy water and such and of course no disaster other than we are broke from spending and tossing things out!



Might I add, my husband is in total agreement and there goes more shopping and more being prepared!

[Steel Man]

I wasn't a Y2K fan and same for 2012. However, I do believe in good old fashioned disasters. Here are some good local disaster planning web sites:

Secure San Antonio

San Antonio Area Chapter - Services - Disaster Services

[TangoUniform]

Apparently, this entire forum is.

MRE's at the commissary?

[Lee W.]

Here's one site I have bookmarked.
Meals Ready to Eat, MRE, MRES, Full Meals, Sopako, Sure-Pak 12, Sure-Pak Plus, Heaters, Zesto-Therm, FRH, self-heating meals
It wouldn't hurt if people put some emergency supplies aside...of course, many can't afford to do that. There's been an unusual number of disasters during the last decade.

[majormadmax]

Actually, I am quite concerned over Gamma ray bursts, there is really no way to prepare for them!

Seriously, it is amazing how people worry about things that are beyond their control, and don't bother with the things that they can control. A few years back Time magazine had an article titled 'Why We Worry About The Things We Shouldn't...And Ignore The Things We Should!' which pointed out that heart disease and accidents around the house are much more likely to cause your demise than plane accidents (which most people survive, by the way) and natural disasters (ditto).

We learned in the military that a little situational awareness goes a long way in ensuring your survival. For San Antonio, earthquakes and killer snow storms are not much to worry about; but flash floods are. That's almost good news in that with a little common sense, you can avoid becoming the victim of a flash flood. Mostly, that involves not driving across flooded roads (the primary killer related to flash floods). We also get some nasty thunderstorms during the summer but you can survive those easily by finding shelter well in advance.

Now, as for prolonged periods without electricity, compared to Florida we don't see those as long or as often, but again they are easy to survive. First, do have some non-refrigerated food stocks on hand; and more importantly, potable water. A case of bottle water will do the trick, as you really don’t need that much water to survive. Have an abundant supply of flashlights on hand, and a few battery-powered radios as well to pass the time. If it’s cold out, then bundle up and start a fire if you can. Otherwise, stay put and ride it out.

And about life without the Internet for a while; well, you may not be able to pass the time on this terrific forum, but you’ll survive that as well! Books are what people used to read before information was available in digital form, a few survival guides in the library might make for some entertaining reading while you are weathering out the storm.

For the minor emergencies, I would recommend having a good first aid kit in both your home and vehicles. It is amazing at how handy those things can be, and how often you use them. In most European countries, they are required. A fire extinguisher is also a good idea; I’ve carried them for years but have yet to use one. If you do put one in your car or home, be sure to maintain it on a regular basis. For the powder-based ones, you need to bang them on the ground every month or so to keep the powder from solidifying at the bottom; otherwise they are useless if you try to use them.

While Armageddon may make for a great movie plot, I honestly don’t think we’ll see such events happening in San Antonio. New Orleans and Katrina was a disaster in the waiting, but the founders of our great city were smart enough not to build it right on the Gulf and below sea level. San Antonio has also done a lot to channel water out of the city, so flooding isn’t a huge issue until you get to the suburbs. Even then, simple common sense is all you’ll need to ensure your survival; and no amount of gadgetry, guns or MREs will serve you better than using the brain God gave you!

Cheers! M2

[Bo]

For those who may not be aware or who want to explore the subject more broadly, City-Data has a Self-Sufficiency and Preparedness forum. This thread is appropriately focused on preparedness in San Antonio, so it is on-topic here.

[TexHwyMan]

The types of large-scale natural disasters that might suddenly limit access to medical care and grocery stores for a significant period of time (i.e. earthquakes, hurricanes, blizzards, etc.) are pretty rare here, and a nuclear/bio/chemical attack is probably just as unlikely. Still, it makes sense to have some emergency supplies stashed away just in case the unthinkable happens. To that end, I have some MREs, water, and other basic supplies under the stairs-- just in case. But no gas masks or bomb shelter in the backyard.

[torero]

Originally Posted by majormadmax

Actually, I am quite concerned over Gamma ray bursts, there is really no way to prepare for them!

Seriously, it is amazing how people worry about things that are beyond their control, and don't bother with the things that they can control. A few years back Time magazine had an article titled 'Why We Worry About The Things We Shouldn't...And Ignore The Things We Should!' which pointed out that heart disease and accidents around the house are much more likely to cause your demise than plane accidents (which most people survive, by the way) and natural disasters (ditto).

We learned in the military that a little situational awareness goes a long way in ensuring your survival. For San Antonio, earthquakes and killer snow storms are not much to worry about; but flash floods are. That's almost good news in that with a little common sense, you can avoid becoming the victim of a flash flood. Mostly, that involves not driving across flooded roads (the primary killer related to flash floods). We also get some nasty thunderstorms during the summer but you can survive those easily by finding shelter well in advance.

Now, as for prolonged periods without electricity, compared to Florida we don't see those as long or as often, but again they are easy to survive. First, do have some non-refrigerated food stocks on hand; and more importantly, potable water. A case of bottle water will do the trick, as you really don’t need that much water to survive. Have an abundant supply of flashlights on hand, and a few battery-powered radios as well to pass the time. If it’s cold out, then bundle up and start a fire if you can. Otherwise, stay put and ride it out.

And about life without the Internet for a while; well, you may not be able to pass the time on this terrific forum, but you’ll survive that as well! Books are what people used to read before information was available in digital form, a few survival guides in the library might make for some entertaining reading while you are weathering out the storm.

For the minor emergencies, I would recommend having a good first aid kit in both your home and vehicles. It is amazing at how handy those things can be, and how often you use them. In most European countries, they are required. A fire extinguisher is also a good idea; I’ve carried them for years but have yet to use one. If you do put one in your car or home, be sure to maintain it on a regular basis. For the powder-based ones, you need to bang them on the ground every month or so to keep the powder from solidifying at the bottom; otherwise they are useless if you try to use them.

While Armageddon may make for a great movie plot, I honestly don’t think we’ll see such events happening in San Antonio. New Orleans and Katrina was a disaster in the waiting, but the founders of our great city were smart enough not to build it right on the Gulf and below sea level. San Antonio has also done a lot to channel water out of the city, so flooding isn’t a huge issue until you get to the suburbs. Even then, simple common sense is all you’ll need to ensure your survival; and no amount of gadgetry, guns or MREs will serve you better than using the brain God gave you!

Cheers! M2

I would not have expected this to be your stance on preparedness, majormadmax. When I saw the video below (forward to 43:52-- yes, its North Star Mall!), it crossed my mind that you and "nutnfancy" might be the same person.

In any case, I didn't know anything about this topic until I read McCarthy's "The road" -- great read, by the way. I find the topic and people's reaction to it to be fascinating.

(
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVkntkChnnM)