www.TK560.com

[jegner]

always be prepared. Have a Bug-Out-Bag on hand for each family member. You never know what the weather will throw at you, and you need to be ready for anything.

Here is some info about the Bug-Out-Bag [BOB]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bug-out_bag
http://www.survivaltopics.com/survival/bug-out-bag/

Funny how much water a person goes through. You don't really think about it when you are at the office sipping coffee all morning, then drink a 'big gulp' at lunch, and refill it a time or two during the afternoon. When you get home more sodas, or Tea till bed time. The survival guide says 1 gallon per person per day! And you should always have a three-day supply of water. Thats a lot of water for drinking, washing and cleaning.

Food. We were in decent shape, and a last minute trip to the dollar store loaded us up with snacks, and food stuffs that did not require any heating to eat. This is ok for a day or so, but pretty quick, you will want something to eat that is better than twinkie and a bag of chips. The US military knows this all too well, and the MRE was developed. I was too late to get any MREs the last time, so this time, I was really hoping to have gotten some before the storm. I did not. Those things are sold by the case, and cost $100 shipped! Thats about $8.35 per meal. As fate would have it, the county I live in, on the 4th day after the storm, started distributing US military MREs by the case. I got 4 cases before they stopped distributing hurricane disaster relief. If I can keep from using them all, I hope these will be ok for a few years.
Here is a link:
http://www.mredepot.com/servlet/the-270/MRE-Military-USGI-Meal/Detail

Our neighborhood banded together and cooked out on the grill, food from the freezers for the first 4 nights. By then the food was starting to run low, and folks were looking for alternates to the BYOF. We had all we could eat, but by the 4th night, we decided to fend for ourselves.

FEMA never did show up with supplies, but the county I live in took maters into their own hands, and distributed food, ice and water. I took advantage of the relief aid [to include the MREs] and it was appreciated. None of it will go to waste. There were some strange offerings, though. One day it was a box meal, that had a can of Spaghetti, some UHT milk, cereal, pudding, and chips, the next day was flour tortillas, tuna, and oranges! To something called a HeaterMeal. You never knew what they were going to distribute. The ice was the real trick, and that was the hardest part to keep. A day or so and it was all gone, even with a catering cooler.

Batteries. Man, you never can have enough, and in a disaster, you can't just run down to the store and get some either. And forget the rechargeable kind too, when they go dead, you don't have an easy way to recharge them. We were using flashlights each and every night and even with 'D' cell flash lights and lanterns, after a few days, they start to go out. Have at lease one fresh set in the light, and one spare set per.

Gasoline. We were lucky, gas as available through my wife's work, but we were limited to 10 gallons a day. My generator used 7 gallons a night. Thats not a lot of extra gas for the car.

Have a radio but thats only going help for the first day or so, try to get a battery operated TV. I had one from the 1970's and I guess in a few months I won't be able to use it due to the digital broadcast changes. It's funny how fast a radio station will get back to playing the same old lame songs, and how fast they stop reporting news and important information.

Forget the internet. I'm sorry to say, the cable modem was the last service to be restored and the first thing to go out. Rely on other forms of information during trouble.

Generator. Get a good one and use it from time to time. I have a Generac 7500/13500. It has a 240v 50 amp circuit on it, and I plan to wire a special panel for it so I can flip a breaker, and power the house with that thing. I put it off from the last storm, and I won't be doing that again. Also, be sure to chain your generator up to prevent a thief from stealing it. Two things that get stolen in a disaster, generators, and guns.

I could go on about all this, and may start a section on this very subject. The main thing is, be prepared. But thats all for now.

Jim

[crashmann]

Great information Jim!

A 72 hour kit would certainly help you through most difficult situations. We were hit with hurricane Isabel back in 2003 and lost power for 7 days. Plus we were new parents with a 7 month old baby. Fortunately, our area did not get any flooding, and power was still available in other neighborhoods.

We were also fortunate that the power was still working at both our parents houses so we could go there after the second day. Boy, that shower felt great!

The fish in our tank were looking pretty rough, and we were changing out the water to try to keep them alive. I was just about to plug in the DC to AC inverter in my truck to power the air pump and filter when the power came back - whew!

During the outage, the neighborhood hummed with the sound of generators, and after talking with my friends, chaining up your generator is VERY important!

We also had the community barbecues to eat up the refrigerator food before it went bad. Why does it seem like we only lose power after the big trip to the grocery store?!? Do not open the refrigerator unless it is absolutely necessary, otherwise you are just letting out the cold air.

I kept an eye on the sump pump well to make sure the water didn't get too high and flood the basement. One option is to get a sump pump that will also run using municipal water pressure if you lose power. Using a small UPS is probably not a reliable backup solution, since by the time you need the power, the battery will have worn out.

The power in our neighborhood used to be very flakey, and would go out if the wind blew too hard. The power has been much more reliable lately, but I'm still considering getting one of the Generac propane generators tied in to the house circuit breaker. If I can set aside $12,000, I'll get it installed

Thanks for sharing your lessons learned Jim!

Charlie

[jegner]

Ah, the propane powered backup genny. I have seen some low end ones at Lowes. To run an average house you would need one that could handle a 200amp meter. You are right, thats about $12K. Cool idea though, and the gas at the house has never gone out. Something to think about.

Jim

[CJanssen]

Thanks for sharing Jim, those 72 hour kits are a great idea to have at the ready. I do alot of hiking so I am fortunate to have most of that stuff packed in backpacks already. I think alot of people figure that kind of thing wouldnt happen to them and dont figure they need to be prepared.

An alternative method of storing food that I have learned is dehydrating it myself. I can take virtually every leftover meal that I have and stick it on the dehydrator, let it run overnight, seal the food up in the food saver vacuum machine....and if dried and packaged correctly can last 5+ years (they say most dehydrated food starts to lose some nutritional value after 4-5 years)

No one in my house eats leftovers except for me, so I always have something to dehydrate....and I hate throwing away food.

CJ

p.s. if you have fruit trees, drying fruit makes great snacks
_________________
"What, you think your some kind of Jedi?"

[CrazyFool]

jegner,
I haven't made any Bug-Out-Bags but I have been thinking about it. Thanks for the advice.

Years ago I did look into long term food storage. I didn't want to buy food that might spoil within a few years. After looking high and low I was told by Hormel or Libby's (I forget which) that their Corned Beef in a World War I type twist key can was estimated to last at least 30 years or more... and perhaps indefinitely. Nearly all canned corned beef with the old fashioned (but tried and true) twist key opener is made in Brazil or Argentina. I don't think it matters what brand you buy. Even Safeway slaps their own label on these cans. A single can supplies plenty of fat and protein and 720 calories to sustain one adult for one day. (You don't need any carbohydrates to survive. In fact, carbohydrates make people hungrier while fat and protein suppress appetite.) WWII concentration camp victims survived many months on less calories while doing hard labor. I recommend buying two or three cans every now and then. It will start to add up pretty fast. The price is reasonable. The contents can be eaten raw or cooked.







CF

P.S. Twist key cans only. Not the new, pull off (pull-tab type) bottoms. The pull-tabs are not as secure a seal as the proven twist key design.