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Old 03-02-2010, 07:52 PM
 
5,019 posts, read 14,080,178 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by HappyTexan View Post
While I love the list (in general) the fact that "portable toilets" made the top 3 made me laugh and laugh and laugh.

Scenario #1: Short-term emergency such as a flood or hurricane where water supply is limited. Follow Grandma's Rules: "If it's yellow, let it mellow, if it's brown flush it down". Use recycled water from the filled tubs or water heater. If you think you may be stuck for more than a day or two, follow your dog's lead and do it in the woods. Dig a shallow hole away from water sources. Geeze. Did no one else grow up back-packing???

Scenario #2: End of the World. Do you really think you are going to care where you urinate and defecate? Seriously??? Good enough for a bear, good enough for me.
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Old 03-02-2010, 11:52 PM
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by plaidmom View Post
Good enough for a bear, good enough for me.
Does poop stick to plaid ?

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Old 03-03-2010, 09:19 AM
 
Location: Corydon, IN
3,688 posts, read 4,999,389 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Gerania View Post
I'd pull the battery out of any vehicle that I couldn't lock up in a garage, maybe even then.

This made me laugh -- it's a good call and seems so obvious once someone SAYS something in the context of that kind of scenario!

"We've got the guns, we've got food supplies, we can last here for weeks as long as we maintain mobility and are prepared for a rapid escape, so we can just -- what's that? Is someone pulling into the driveway?"

"Um, no... that's our car being stolen."
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Old 03-03-2010, 10:10 AM
 
Location: Corydon, IN
3,688 posts, read 4,999,389 times
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Just browsing through some internet links after googling "preparing for disaster".


As M4AS already posted, just ONE plan of action really can't cover all bases, and the "grid layout" idea is a good one to allow for determining where plans need to differ and where they conveniently overlap.

What KIND of disaster? Different areas are prone to different catastrophes.

In September, 2008 we were hit locally by the remnants of Ike to the tune of several days without power, many roads untenable due to downed trees and/or power lines, houses damaged or destroyed (a tree damaged my own home extensively) and local crews were absolutely SWAMPED with the need for repairs.

There was our hurricane. Twice more we've had "hurricane force winds" blow through, although nothing as devastating as the post-Ike incident. A hurricane in the Greater Louisville area -- who the heck would ever have thought it?

The following January we were hit with the worst ice storm to strike our area in MANY years, again resulting in downed trees and power lines everywhere, not to mention the treacherous conditions which pre-empted repairs. Work crews were once more swamped.

In my area we're part of Tornado Alley and tornadoes sweep up through the Ohio Valley fairly regularly during the season.

We're struck by some absolutely BRUTAL thunderstorms and electrical storms with a fair degree of regularity.

Although we're not part of the Floodplains, we are an area rife with streams and rivers; flooding is far from uncommon, even if it's generally short-lived. When a flash flood washes away your house does it really matter whether it lasted three hours or three weeks?

On the flip-side, unless we end up with a 2012 scenario (referencing the movie, not the hokey "prophecy") I can't say I'm particularly worried about earthquakes (although we got a temblor in 2008 which shook the area fairly well) or volcanic eruption/fallout.

That would be M4AS's area. Not to mention the potential she has for wintry disasters, although she should be better prepared for them than I.

Definitely a lot of things to consider and map out.


I. Stay Put Scenario
A. Stay put with minimal family
1. Who is included in "minimal family"?
2. How are limitation criteria decided?
B. Stay put as a hub for extended family
1. Will our home be the place others come to?
2. Who is included in "extended family"?
II. Bug Out Scenario
A. Bug out with specified destination(s)
1. Where?
a. Can we get there?
b. Are there alternate routes in case of blockage or closure?
c. What is required in order to get there safely?
2. Who will be there?
a. Is this family on whom we can safely rely?
b. Have they planned for disaster?
c. Have they planned for our presence?
d. Will they underestimate refugees or overestimate resources?
B. Bug out with hopeful destination(s)

C. Bug out with NO destination
III. List of Disaster scenarios
A. Tornado
B. Earthquake
C. Hurricane
D. Electrical storm
E. Rising waters flooding
F. Flash flooding
G. Blizzard or Ice Storm
H. Extended Power Outages
I. Political unrest and/or Rioting (metro areas)
J. Military Actions
K. Chemical spills (train derailments, trucks, etc.)
L. Dam failure
M. Wildfire
N. Heat/drought
O. Tsunami
P. Volcano
It's easy to see how in just a short while this kind of list can prove daunting but it also makes it easy to see WHY preparation and forethought are essential.

Making this kind of list and taking steps to prepare don't mean you have to dwell on the topic of disaster 24/7 -- it means you WILL have to tackle certain steps once in a while, but many of these things, once done, will REMAIN completed until such time as they prove necessary, while others will require a certain degree of maintenance and upkeep.

I slapped this together in about five minutes of casual thought while at work (thank goodness I can touch-type) but I think it's a good beginning. Please, anyone else, feel free to edit, cut, paste, dismiss, argue, corroborate -- whatever you feel is pertinent, and let's put our heads together to build a few working lists.

I think breaking out scenario lists FIRST is a good step since not all scenarios apply to all people. After that, we could pick ONE and dissect it before moving on to the next, allowing us to pick each others' brains and slowly build our own lists at home, selecting and/or discarding as we deem pertinent while the list evolves.
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Old 03-03-2010, 01:51 PM
 
Location: Londonderry, NH
41,478 posts, read 59,566,204 times
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Stay put and wait it out.
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Old 03-03-2010, 04:25 PM
 
Location: Great State of Texas
86,052 posts, read 84,169,407 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by GregW View Post
Stay put and wait it out.
Good luck.

Here's an account of what's going on in Chile..they are now looting peoples homes.

SURVIVING IN ARGENTINA: “I had to shoot people! Do you understand what that means?”

It's in the paper referenced in this blog here:
Google Translate
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Old 03-04-2010, 07:49 AM
 
Location: somewhere in the woods
16,880 posts, read 15,143,766 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by brubaker View Post
I've heard that filling up your bathtub with water is a good idea.
I'd never thought of that.

I mean you may get tired of being dirty after a few weeks and need to marinate yourself in a nice long Hollywood Soak! Hahaha of course I'm kidding.

Any other ideas?
Something not obvious I mean...


actually, I would think that in a national emergency, the 1st overlooked thing would be the route home.

since people tend to work 5 days a week, the chances are pretty good that a person will be at work if a national emergency happens. people would tend to take the route home they drive the most. when an altenate route might be better and safer.
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Old 03-07-2010, 03:55 PM
 
Location: Interior AK
4,731 posts, read 9,909,252 times
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Urban Sasquatch - here's some more scenarios for you:

A. Mud slide
B. Nuclear fall out (both from power plants or terrorism/war)
C. Biological & chemical contaminants (either bio-terrorism, or just tainted water & food supplies)
D. Epidemic
E. Disruption in the distributed food supply system - no food in the groceries stores
F. Rationing (food, fuel, supplies, medicines) due to civil unrest, limited supply/depleted resources, disaster, etc
G. Animal attack (either wild animals, or feral pets left stranded after a disaster)

Some people may laugh at that last one, but even if there aren't a lot of large/dangerous wild animals in your area, it is well-documented that stranded pets become predatory problems in a very short time. Go rent the movie "The Pack" if you have any doubts about what kind of damage Fido and Fluffy can do.
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Old 03-07-2010, 07:20 PM
 
Location: Way on the outskirts of LA LA land.
3,051 posts, read 11,562,965 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MissingAll4Seasons View Post
Urban Sasquatch - here's some more scenarios for you:

A. Mud slide
B. Nuclear fall out (both from power plants or terrorism/war)
C. Biological & chemical contaminants (either bio-terrorism, or just tainted water & food supplies)
D. Epidemic
E. Disruption in the distributed food supply system - no food in the groceries stores
F. Rationing (food, fuel, supplies, medicines) due to civil unrest, limited supply/depleted resources, disaster, etc
G. Animal attack (either wild animals, or feral pets left stranded after a disaster)

Some people may laugh at that last one, but even if there aren't a lot of large/dangerous wild animals in your area, it is well-documented that stranded pets become predatory problems in a very short time. Go rent the movie "The Pack" if you have any doubts about what kind of damage Fido and Fluffy can do.
How about insect infestation? According to the Biblical account, it happened in Egypt during the time of Moses. What's to keep it from happening again?
Obviously, the probability of this happening is low, so it should be treated as such, but if your survival strategy is in growing and harvesting grain, it could be much more of an issue.

These are good lists that have been compiled about potential threats to our survival. Each one will have to be weighed for probability for each of us, and a course of action based on that probability would have to be created. Then the steps necessary to accomplish that course of action would have to be identified. Then, of course, we need to identify what materials and skills will be necessary to fulfill those steps, and once identified, we need to acquire said materials and skills.

This has been a thought provoking thread, if for no other reason than to help identify the potential threats to my own survival. I value the input all of you have put forward, and look forward to using it to create my own preparedness plans.
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Old 03-08-2010, 02:29 AM
 
Location: Interior AK
4,731 posts, read 9,909,252 times
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The most difficult aspect, even scary to some, is the fact that some of the scenarios can be from a multitude of sources and not all of them natural. Things like tainted water & food, etc. So, not only do you have to prepare for the threat, but you have to identify the cause of the threat... the uber-threats, so to speak. Once you identify those, you'll be flooded with additional possible immediate and long-term threats they can cause directly and indirectly. Worse still is that some of the uber-threats open a pathway for other unrelated threats to come pouring in... epidemic leading to civil unrest and food shortages, civi unrest leading to open warfare and increased acts of terrorism. Unnatural threats are nothing if not opportunistic... even some natural threats are opportunitistic in a fashion.

You can't account for everything, nor can you mitigate everything. Obsessing over it all is unhealthy and will lead to paralyzing paranoia. But rational assessment and action to provide some protection about the most obvious and probable threats does afford you with some security against a great many threats you can't foresee and plan for... the very mindset you cultivate and develop with these exercises will offer you a good deal of advantage in any circumstances you're presented with in the long run.

I'd have to say that having the proper mindset is the very first thing you need in an emergency/crisis situation and it's the one thing that many Americans (at least) haven't cultivated very well. Looking at the devastation of national morale following events like the Twin Tower bombings went a long way to illustrating that Americans suffer from a hugely unrealistic sense of safety. When things like that happen in other countries, they handle the blow much better because there culture doesn't have the same overblown sense of security. But you can live a wonderful and full life accepting there is risk and that you are not 100% safe... you just have to come to terms with it before you are crushed by your own fear and sense of futility.
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