Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Emergency Preparedness ???

In channel surfing on the TV guide station, I came across Doomsday Preppers..  a program about people and families preparing for all sorts of doom and gloom to hit our country.  It could some from cyber attacks where all electronic are blown to all out war and destruction.  I have to say, I did watch a few minutes of one program to see where it was headed.

This particular family had home canned and store bought canned goods, water, weapons, ammunition, bows,knives, wood chopped, etc,  and all sorts of  "live on our own" stockpiles.  They were prepared to protect what they had and to survive for months, on their own.

Another family was a member of a group that worked together.  All had different skill sets to draw from, in event of an attack of whatever may happen.   These folks had purchased shipping containers to be buried in the desert... adjoined to become living quarters, underground. Of course, they too, were stocked full of food and supplies.

Ok, that is the extreme.  I did also catch a portion of Anderson Cooper talking to quests about such preparedness vs. the average person's needs, in a local disaster.  He said, in his experience, that in such events as Katrina, Haiti, the tsunamis, etc., the government will not be there to help you.  You need to have a 2 week supply, at least, of food, water, some sort of shelter, flashlights, and a battery powered radio.  All right...  I can see the 2 week preparedness in the event of a tornado, hurricane,  or ice storm maybe, that affects a wide area, other than the one that is destroyed,  that may not have their power restored for days, if not weeks.   But, in all of those other natural disaster scenarios, Katerina, etc., your 2 week supply is pretty much toast I'm thinking.  

Remember back to the 1999 New Year's Eve going into 2000?  Whoa,... the doom that was forcasted for that.  Computers will run amok!  Banks will close.   Power plants will falter. We did get a little more cash to have on hand, and we did fill up both vehicles.  My entire "home"  preparedness for that was to buy a kerosene heater for my husband to use in the garage...or we could bring indoors if necessary.  The other thing I did was buy a couple of packages of dried beans for chili.  There ya go.  

My next experience with disaster preparedness was Hurricane Irene, last summer.  We eventually drove inland to weather the storm in a hotel.  Anderson Cooper was on my beach (7 miles from our house)  telling the world this is where Irene was going to hit land, which at that time was a Cat 3.    Until noon on Friday, before she was due to hit that night, I had bought 2 cases of bottled water..... and some extra tuna and soup. I did go to Walmart to get a battery powered radio only to learn they don't carry them.  Seriously... Only Radio Shack  did and it was a fancy schmancy thing that was $40.00.  I did not go get one.  That's when I called Terry again and said, "we really should not stay here..we should run for the hills and we did. "  As it turned out, Irene downgraded to a Cat. 1 and power was restored by 2pm the next day. 

Needless to say, I'm a poor example of disaster readiness.  I do not have an emergency kit in my car. ( blankets, water, food )  I do not have a legitimate "First Aid Kit" in my house or car.  My first aid preparedness consists of a box of bandaids and some antibiotic ointment.   When my girls were small I always had Bactine as well.  That's it.  

The bottled water from last summer in still stacked in the bottom of my coat closet. I still don't have a battery powered radio. Am I the odd one out?  My grocery supply turns into empty shelves before I will go shopping.  I just detest that job.

 Are the rest of you stocked and ready for even a  disaster? 

8 comments:

Chatty Crone said...

You are funny. My motto is everything in moderation! sandiae

Intense Guy said...

:)

One "key" tip about disaster preparedness... "Never ever tell anyone that lives nearby what you have n readiness" or they will come by to loot things afterwards. :) So I have absolutely nothing, no water, no extra food, no extra clothes, nothing.

Outside of water to drink, I can probably go a couple weeks on "flab rations" anyway...

Kathy said...

Thanks for stopping by to let me know you had posted! I've missed your posts :) Welcome back!

I've watched The Doomsday Preppers, and boy are some of these people prepared! Many are a bit "extreme"(to put it mildly) for my taste, but some are ordinary people like you and me.

I think there is a "movement" catching on, with many people just quietly preparing for hard times ahead. Some people are getting "back to basics" because they are tired of eating genetically altered foods. Both seem like good ideas to me.

I'm claustrophobic, so you won't find me living in an underground bunker :), but we're currently in the process of trying to learn how to grow our own garden again--from heirloom seeds this time! This should be interesting :)

Mary said...

I could squeak by for about two weeks with what I have on hand, but I would like to have more. I would also like to get a 3 day "bug out kit" or what ever it's called. It's got everything you need including shelter for 3 days. Other than that, I am not as prepared as I would like to be. I take it pretty seriously though. I haven't seen that program though. Any medicine you are prescribed should be at the top of any list too. A 2 week supply of that.

Far Side of Fifty said...

We live in Minnesota..where a blizzard could happen at anytime. So during the winter we have lots of supplies..milk..is something that we would run out of..although I have powdered milk in the cupboard. I most likely could eat decently for a month..I have dried fruit on hand too. And everything to bake bread with.
We have one of those Solar Crank Radios from LL Bean..a red one.
We have our own well and a generator..and a wood stove outside and a gas fireplace inside..and lots of rabbits squirrels and deer in the yard if we get real hungry.
I saw one of those bunker shows..the one with the 8,000 dollar steel door. My daughter said "Oh those people are just hoarders"
We have a jump bag for medical emergencies..and always keep medications up to date..and plenty of dog food on hand too:)

Anonymous said...

We store 2 backpacks in a shed. They are full of things we will need in a fire or hurricane or earthquake that might make our house unlivable. The Red Cross has always been there to help people in Hawaii, even in a house fire, so I don't worry too much.

Suldog said...

My nearest level of emergency preparedness is to have enough cigarettes on hand to last three days. I figure after that I can loot the nearest 7-11.

Kathy ... aka Nana said...

No, not stocked or ready for a disaster. So you are not the only odd one out. ;-)

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