Disaster preparedness, Are you ready?

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Sandblaster
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Disaster preparedness, Are you ready?

Post by Sandblaster » Tue Jun 04, 2013 1:01 am

Tornado's, Earthquakes, Floods, Fires, Tsunami's, Asteroid impacts, Chemical, Biological, or Nuclear accidents.... It seems like there is more ways then ever for us to suffer from a major disaster.
The US Government recommends a minimum of 3 days for food and water.
But is this enough?
Consider the hurricane Katrina.
How long did it take the Federal, State, and local governments, including the inept agency FEMA to respond?
Research it, it wasn't 3 days.
Don't get me wrong, 3 days is better then nothing but do you want your family to be without food and water in the event of a disaster?
I don't.
At the same time I'm not a dooms day prepper.
So how much is enough and what should you get to prepare?
Feel free to comment.
I will post a little info on what my family has done to help insure our safety.
If bikes are for kids I'll never grow up.

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Sandblaster
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Re: Disaster preparedness, Are you ready?

Post by Sandblaster » Wed Jun 05, 2013 9:41 pm

First thing we did was sit down as a family and make a plan.
Kids are at school most of the day and I work in another town about 10 miles from my home.
My wife while out on wild shopping sprees could be in a 50 mile radius from our home.
We started out with the what ifs... What if it's a earthquake, what if the dams above us break, what if the overpasses collapse making driving impossible, ect.
What if were in bed ay night and..... What if your at school and.... What if I'm out of town.
There is no limit on the number of scenarios.
So we made a list of what were the most likely to happen with earthquakes at the top, to the least likely such as a Alien Abduction Apocalypse at the bottom :lol:
Then we looked at what would it take to survive for 10 days, food, water, shelter, clothing, ect.
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Sandblaster
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Re: Disaster preparedness, Are you ready?

Post by Sandblaster » Sat Jun 08, 2013 4:01 am

Not knowing where to start, we went online to see what others were doing.
There is a lot of companies trying to sell you this and that, but really after we thought about it, water should be very simple.
So we started saving up soda bottles.
When empty we washed them out and filled them up.
Once a year we empty them and re-fill them.
How much did we save.
1 person gets 1 gallon a day x 4 people is 4 gallons a day x 10 days = 40 gallons = 75 (2) liter bottles.
We also bought some bottled water which we replace once a year,
We store our water in a cool, dark, dry place.
Now let's say that the water supply to your house is damaged or contaminated.
You still may have some water but, you need to act fast,
Shut the water main that feeds your house off ASAP!
Next shut off your hot water heater at your electrical box, why?
Because your hot water heater is fed by the same water that you drink from....
So you potentially have several gallons of good drinkable water.
Shutting off the electrical is a must because if you drain all the water from the hot water heater and the power comes on with no water in the tank, you will burn up the elements in it :o
And, most hot water heaters have a small faucet at the bottom for drainage so you have a easy way to get the water from it.
And yet, there is another place where you have drinkable water.... It's not pleasant to think about but your toilet tank is fed by the same water you drink from.
I guess it's a good reason to keep you toilet spotless :D
Of course if you have any warning time before the disaster you can fill your bath tubs, sinks, and every pot and pan.
Remember, you can't save up to much drinking water.
What will happen when your friends and neighbors are begging for help :cry:
Filters are cool.
You can suck up mud puddles and get good drinking water.
They also have water purification tablets which are good if you have to bug out as they are light weight unlike taking 40 gallons of water with you. :lol:
These are some simple, common sense things you can do to increase your chances of survival.
Suggestions, idea's, ect?
Feel free to add your idea's.
If bikes are for kids I'll never grow up.

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Sandblaster
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Re: Disaster preparedness, Are you ready?

Post by Sandblaster » Tue Jul 02, 2013 2:31 am

Now what about food?
You can find several sellers of meals in a bucket...
"Look ma we got 500 meals in the 5 gallon pale.."
Have you ever tasted that stuff?
It may keep you alive but there isn't much else you can say for it.
What's in it anyway? Soy grizzle and saw dust?
That stuff tastes nasty....
A buddy bought one of those buckets at Walmart for about 50 bucks.
I told him not to bother coming to my house in the event of a disaster because No, I won't pool our food together because he's too tight to buy something different :shock:
So what can you get?
I bought a mix of dried food and canned food.
My brand of choice for dried food is Mountain House.
mountail house.png
mountail house.png (306.46 KiB) Viewed 6638 times
It's available just about everywhere, tastes good, is available in a ton of different flavors, prepares easily, and is easy and light to have in your bug out bag if you gotta move quick.
It's not the cheapest but do you want to eat Soy grizzle and saw dust for a week or more :lol:
For the canned food I bought a wide variety of beans, chili, corn, green beans, ect......
It won't do you much good if you have to bug out but, if your locked into your home then eat up and enjoy :D

More coming on food..
If bikes are for kids I'll never grow up.

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