Weathering The Storm

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roots66

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As Overland Bound members, we are usually prepared for any adventure and ready to hit the trail at a moment's notice. However, sometimes we may be so focused on getting out and exploring, we tend to forget about being prepared, not if, but when something happens at home. If this year has taught us nothing else, it is to be ready for anything, no matter where you live. How many people were expecting a "Texas Ice Storm"?

June 1st started the 2021 Atlantic Hurricane Season for the United States. I know many people may think of just the Gulf Coast states when they hear the word hurricane. And most people not living on the West Coast may not even realize there is also a Pacific Hurricane Season. But it is really no surprise that any given hurricane has the possibility to directly affect most of the country with the wind, rain and flooding that follows after they make landfall. There is also the residual effect of things like disrupted power, as well as the impact to goods and services across the nation. This year has already started off with Tropical Storm Ana forming in the Atlantic on May 22. The Pacific has already seen Tropical Storm Andres on May 9 and Tropical Storm Blanca on May 24.

Obviously, taking care of ourselves and our family is the first priority during any storm. But I don't know of anyone on Overland Bound that would not be ready to help others in need during a time of crisis. For those who would like to know more about how to prepare for a disaster and be ready to help themselves, their family, and others in need, below is a list of resources you can use.

The National Hurricane Center is a great source to track and learn about storms that may impact your area. A good place to start there would be the National Hurricane Preparedness section.

Disaster Relief Networks: Many areas have large numbers of local volunteers ready for the purpose of helping families in their efforts to rebuild their homes, their communities, and their lives. The American Red Cross has volunteer opportunities to match a wide range of interests and time commitment. Or, check with your local church to see if they are part of a network that enables and empowers church members to organize, prepare, mobilize, and respond quickly in the event of disaster. If they don't, see if you can start one!

Ready Campaign is a national public service campaign designed to educate and empower the American people to prepare for, respond to and mitigate emergencies, including natural and man-made disasters. There is a LOT of information here.

Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) educates volunteers about disaster preparedness for the hazards that may impact their area and trains them in basic disaster response skills, such as fire safety, light search and rescue, team organization, and disaster medical operations.

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) | Emergency Management Institute provides National Preparedness a searchable online Course Catalog and integrated information on courses provided or managed by FEMA.

You Are the Help Until Help Arrives: Life-threatening emergencies can happen fast and emergency responders aren’t always nearby. You may be able to save a life by taking simple actions immediately.

FEMA-ICPD Promotional Materials provides free preparedness publications.



 

grubworm

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great points. i moved down here to "hurricane alley" 30 yrs ago and was just in time to meet hurricane andrew head on. since then, i have been thru quite a few storms and most of them have knocked out power, with the longest power outage being 11 days in the brutal hot summer with no a/c.

being on subs in the navy, we took a "90 day loadout". the sub loaded up with 90 days worth of provisions and parts and the crew took 90 days of personal items, like soap, toothpaste, shampoo, etc. we had a laundry onboard, so obviously that didn't include 90 days worth of clothing. later, working overseas, i still held to having 90 days worth of some items, like soap, toothpaste, any meds, etc. and that proved to be a good amount. some jobs that were supposed to be 30-60 days, turned into more and those not planning ahead were scrambling and begging others to get what they needed since we were out in the middle of the ocean.

to this day, i still go with a "90 day loadout" where i try to keep 90 days worth of certain things here at the house. i keep a pantry full of extras like TP (after last year, this is very obvious), toothpaste, soap, dish soap, laundry soap, canned good, sugar flour, etc. the list can be very extensive if you want it to be and everyone will have certain items they feel are a necessity.

after losing power so many times, i bought a solar oven for back up and it works GREAT! i cooked a pot of beans from scratch in the solar oven and in the direct sunlight, the oven maintained over 300 degrees. so, i stash away a bunch of mason jars full or beans and rice and other items and try to think about items that i use on the daily and would want to have extras of if/when power is out or some other emergency is in play and travel is restricted. this is a mindset i have had for many years, so its not like i went hoarding. over time, i just collect a few extras of things and every time i'm at sams or walmart, i pick up and extra pack of razors, an extra shaving cream, extra bottle of shampoo, etc. i figure 90 days is good...that should buy enough time for things to get better in an emergency.
 
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Road

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As Overland Bound members, we are usually prepared for any adventure and ready to hit the trail at a moment's notice. However, sometimes we may be so focused on getting out and exploring, we tend to forget about being prepared, not if, but when something happens at home. If this year has taught us nothing else, it is to be ready for anything, no matter where you live. How many people were expecting a "Texas Ice Storm"?

June 1st started the 2021 Atlantic Hurricane Season for the United States. I know many people may think of just the Gulf Coast states when they hear the word hurricane. And most people not living on the West Coast may not even realize there is also a Pacific Hurricane Season. But it is really no surprise that any given hurricane has the possibility to directly affect most of the country with the wind, rain and flooding that follows after they make landfall. There is also the residual effect of things like disrupted power, as well as the impact to goods and services across the nation. This year has already started off with Tropical Storm Ana forming in the Atlantic on May 22. The Pacific has already seen Tropical Storm Andres on May 9 and Tropical Storm Blanca on May 24.

Obviously, taking care of ourselves and our family is the first priority during any storm. But I don't know of anyone on Overland Bound that would not be ready to help others in need during a time of crisis. For those who would like to know more about how to prepare for a disaster and be ready to help themselves, their family, and others in need, below is a list of resources you can use.

The National Hurricane Center is a great source to track and learn about storms that may impact your area. A good place to start there would be the National Hurricane Preparedness section.

Disaster Relief Networks: Many areas have large numbers of local volunteers ready for the purpose of helping families in their efforts to rebuild their homes, their communities, and their lives. The American Red Cross has volunteer opportunities to match a wide range of interests and time commitment. Or, check with your local church to see if they are part of a network that enables and empowers church members to organize, prepare, mobilize, and respond quickly in the event of disaster. If they don't, see if you can start one!

Ready Campaign is a national public service campaign designed to educate and empower the American people to prepare for, respond to and mitigate emergencies, including natural and man-made disasters. There is a LOT of information here.

Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) educates volunteers about disaster preparedness for the hazards that may impact their area and trains them in basic disaster response skills, such as fire safety, light search and rescue, team organization, and disaster medical operations.

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) | Emergency Management Institute provides National Preparedness a searchable online Course Catalog and integrated information on courses provided or managed by FEMA.

You Are the Help Until Help Arrives: Life-threatening emergencies can happen fast and emergency responders aren’t always nearby. You may be able to save a life by taking simple actions immediately.

FEMA-ICPD Promotional Materials provides free preparedness publications.
.
Very cool post and wonderful resources! Some of them new to me.

I've been through some doozies for hurricanes and nor'easters here on the Maine coast, tornadoes and floods in the Ohio River Valley, and was once chased east on I-40 through Arkansas by a tornado that NOAA said was a mile behind me at Exit whatever. Went through Joplin a couple times right after their major disaster in 2011 (zoom in on this image for the swath of homes completely flattened and go here for more about how it went right through town) and about lost my breath each time, the damage and loss was so devastating and widespread.

It's struck me since I was a kid that understanding the potential of nature's wrath and being prepared for the aftermath should be part of a family's planning, whether home or away.

I had family who worked in admin for the big grocery chain Kroger. One thing I learned is that they have semi-trailers stationed all over markets where they have stores, with generators, fuel, crucial supplies, bottled water, and more. Always stocked and ready to roll. Kroger (and sometimes Waffle House) are usually the first businesses to open back up in disaster-stuck areas, keeping neighborhoods going and volunteers and emergency forces fed and supplied. Amazing logistics.
.

great points. i moved down here to "hurricane alley" 30 yrs ago and was just in time to meet hurricane andrew head on. since then, i have been thru quite a few storms and most of them have knocked out power, with the longest power outage being 11 days in the brutal hot summer with no a/c.

being on subs in the navy, we took a "90 day loadout". the sub loaded up with 90 days worth of provisions and parts and the crew took 90 days of personal items, like soap, toothpaste, shampoo, etc. we had a laundry onboard, so obviously that didn't include 90 days worth of clothing. later, working overseas, i still held to having 90 days worth of some items, like soap, toothpaste, any meds, etc. and that proved to be a good amount. some jobs that were supposed to be 30-60 days, turned into more and those not planning ahead were scrambling and begging others to get what they needed since we were out in the middle of the ocean.

to this day, i still go with a "90 day loadout" where i try to keep 90 days worth of certain things here at the house. i keep a pantry full of extras like TP (after last year, this is very obvious), toothpaste, soap, dish soap, laundry soap, canned good, sugar flour, etc. the list can be very extensive if you want it to be and everyone will have certain items they feel are a necessity.

after losing power so many times, i bought a solar oven for back up and it works GREAT! i cooked a pot of beans from scratch in the solar over and in the direct sunlight, the oven maintained over 300 degrees. so, i stash away a bunch of mason jars full or beans and rice and other items and try to think about items that i use on the daily and would want to have extras of if/when power is out or some other emergency is in play and travel is restricted. this is a mindset i have had for many years, so its not like i went hoarding. over time, i just collect a few extras of things and every time i'm at sams or walmart, i pick up and extra pack of razors, an extra shaving cream, extra bottle of shampoo, etc. i figure 90 days is good...that should buy enough time for things to get better in an emergency.
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Great plan, grub. I like it, and plan to adopt it. I do some of it anyway, because I go out for months, though to plan it more consciously is wise.

One of the main things I looked for when researching trailers was being able to handle cargo; knowing at times I could put myself and my trailer to good use in some just hit area, from wild fires to floods to tornadoes.

The fact that I can carry a pretty fair amt of water and fuel, can generate my own power, can carry up to 2350# of cargo in the trailer and quite a bit in my van, and can ferry another person or animals in my canoe, all while still providing myself tight-to-the-weather sleeping quarters and my own sanitation, means I can be more self-sufficient and go on-site quicker than most to help in whatever ways possible.

Or at the least be able to set up a small aid station, offer myself to local authorities as mobile mini-command center to help coordinate efforts, help move debris, or bring in a pallet of plywood or bottled water, etc.

I'm going to make a 90 Day Loadout a permanent part of what I keep on board, including a great quantity of typical 1st aid items. For 90 days food for me, that's a lot of canned herring, Chicken-a-la King, and Triscuits :tonguewink: and I like the dry beans and rice idea, too. I found a box of unopened Triscuits buried in a van cubby last month, that had been in there since well before the pandemic hit, with a Best By date of Nov 2019, through a long Maine winter and the two weeks of summer we get. I opened 'em and ate 'em. They weren't bad at all.

Very cool thread, and I hope others add to it in the spirit of how it started and was added to.
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FishinCrzy

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great points. i moved down here to "hurricane alley" 30 yrs ago and was just in time to meet hurricane andrew head on. since then, i have been thru quite a few storms and most of them have knocked out power, with the longest power outage being 11 days in the brutal hot summer with no a/c.

being on subs in the navy, we took a "90 day loadout". the sub loaded up with 90 days worth of provisions and parts and the crew took 90 days of personal items, like soap, toothpaste, shampoo, etc. we had a laundry onboard, so obviously that didn't include 90 days worth of clothing. later, working overseas, i still held to having 90 days worth of some items, like soap, toothpaste, any meds, etc. and that proved to be a good amount. some jobs that were supposed to be 30-60 days, turned into more and those not planning ahead were scrambling and begging others to get what they needed since we were out in the middle of the ocean.

to this day, i still go with a "90 day loadout" where i try to keep 90 days worth of certain things here at the house. i keep a pantry full of extras like TP (after last year, this is very obvious), toothpaste, soap, dish soap, laundry soap, canned good, sugar flour, etc. the list can be very extensive if you want it to be and everyone will have certain items they feel are a necessity.

after losing power so many times, i bought a solar oven for back up and it works GREAT! i cooked a pot of beans from scratch in the solar over and in the direct sunlight, the oven maintained over 300 degrees. so, i stash away a bunch of mason jars full or beans and rice and other items and try to think about items that i use on the daily and would want to have extras of if/when power is out or some other emergency is in play and travel is restricted. this is a mindset i have had for many years, so its not like i went hoarding. over time, i just collect a few extras of things and every time i'm at sams or walmart, i pick up and extra pack of razors, an extra shaving cream, extra bottle of shampoo, etc. i figure 90 days is good...that should buy enough time for things to get better in an emergency.
At least 90 days of coffee! Toothpaste, TP, soap, shampoo, artichoke relish, batteries, rice, beans, salt, razors, cereal, powdered milk, Clorox, charcoal, firewood, Coleman fuel, motor oil and filters, all closer to a years worth.
Then there are things like generator, solar panels, travel fridge freezer, batteries of the larger variety, battery and rechargeable fans, water, water filters, all variety of tents, sleeping bags, mattresses, lights, lanterns, stoves, can goods, oh, and Gorilla Tape, that are must needs for comfort. At my age it's mostly about comfort. No need to suffer any more than usual. Just a little added work.

Hurricane Hugo, Sept. 20th, 1989. Helped some people pull what was left of their stuff from N. Mt. Pleasant. 40 mile wide eye. Lots of dead birds, squirrels, etc. Big pine trees and phone poles snapped off about 16 ft. up....the whole forests were twisted mess. Tornados inland had power off near Charlotte for couple weeks in places. Crimped metal roofs rolled up like old sardine cans. Then '93 went to work at state health & environmental agency and became a disaster planner after ten years in the field with various emergencies. Some things it's almost impossible to plan for. We always planned for 3-4 days in extreme before outside help would arrive in any capacity to assist the public. Even then it may not be enough for the people that haven't planned to survive on their own for a while. Then, there's the hospitals, nursing homes, prisons, roads, bridges and infrastructure...they have plans but they only get you so far.

I watch the weather religiously!
 
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FishinCrzy

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Impossible to prepare for a once in a 100 year event.
Yes, we are due for an earthquake around here. We had a big one (approx. 7.1) back in 1886 that would be devastating with today's population and infrastructure.

Ha, before I retired I had them planning for tsunamis and EMPs. They were probably glad for me to go! BTW, there were plans for pandemic too. That was on the health side of the agency and I wasn't involved but just the ones I was, like hurricanes and floods, it seemed like upper management and local officials never read the plans and tended to reinvent the wheel each time.
 
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ThundahBeagle

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We were followed by tornado while driving through Nebraska en route back home from Yellowstone a couple weeks ago.

This all reminds me that while I am mindful of these things (we get cold, snow, nor'Easter and the occasional hurricane here), I'm not as prepared as I should be. Some stuff I have, and some I dont. Time to reassess.
 

ThundahBeagle

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Never expected, just like the Quebec Ice Storm.
Impossible to prepare for a once in a 100 year event.

View attachment 201498
Actually it is possible to plan for a once in a 100 year event. Its hard, though. Town and city planners take that into consideration all the time, but likelyhood vs cost comes into play. If the merrimack river rose to x height 100 years ago today, we should not plan to build houses in the area it flooded 100 years ago. Or we should put those houses on stilts.
 

FishinCrzy

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Actually it is possible to plan for a once in a 100 year event. Its hard, though. Town and city planners take that into consideration all the time, but likelyhood vs cost comes into play. If the merrimack river rose to x height 100 years ago today, we should not plan to build houses in the area it flooded 100 years ago. Or we should put those houses on stilts.
Agreed. Some things can be planned to avoid problems. Some things like roads and bridges washing out, dam failures, wastewater plants/mains under water, teaching people not to drive through unknown water, etc. it gets problematic. Then, there is the inevitable after affects like mold, mosquitoes, snakes and animals where they don't usually be, agricultural warehouses releasing chemicals, fuel tanks flooded, on and on. Makes life interesting! I think one of our last floods was like 500 or 1000 year event...so the guvna said. There certainly wasn't anything in written records of last four hundred years.
 

roots66

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Good advice from everyone, thanks. Having lived in FL, MS, LA & TX, I've seen my fair share of bad weather. But it was the ice storm of 2008 when we lived in MA that really got us motivated. 2 weeks without power in sub-freezing temps, living in one room with only a fireplace for heat can change a person. We were even there for the tornado outbreak in 2011. @ThundahBeagle, you know! :wink: When we moved to where we are now, we went through the 100+ days of 100+ temps that same year, then lost our barn roof to a tornado a couple years after that. I've also see the destruction of Joplin, and the Jarrell, TX tornado hit just a couple miles from our house.

Anyway, we started "prepping" before we knew it was even a thing and currently maintain an extra years supply of dry goods, 375 gallons of fresh water, a generator with 30 gallons of fuel, our own veggie garden, orchard, and chickens/ducks for eggs & meat. My wife also cans meat, vegetables, and fruit for long term storage. People who know we do this were all "you're just over worrying", until Austin had the first ever boil water notice that lasted for 2 weeks and nobody could even buy bottled water. Before the ice storm hit this year, we tried to tell them to at least have a few items on hand instead of shopping on a daily basis, just in case. But, it's hard to break the habit of thinking things will always be available.

I think the biggest issue other people have about preparing is the stigma that has been attached to the term "prepper", basically from 99.9% of the YouTube crowd that caters to End-Of-World/SHTF scenarios. Plus, they say things to us like, "you live on a farm and have room to store all that". True, but you don't have to store a whole years worth. We just are able to. Like @grubworm, @Road & @FishinCrzy said, 90 days is probably good enough for most situations and can fit in any extra space in your home, like under the bed. We don't "prep" as much as we just make sure we are "prepared". Being 12 miles from the nearest store (23 miles to Costco), we can't afford to shop all that often, so we are already buying a month's worth of food anyway. Getting a little extra everytime just makes sense to us.

Just like the Overland Checklist you can get here, there are several reliable resources for this exact situation. A couple of the best are the Red Cross Emergency List & FEMA Basic Supply List (attached). We took them and modified it to fit our needs, then worked off that....over several years.
 

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roots66

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Never expected, just like the Quebec Ice Storm.
Impossible to prepare for a once in a 100 year event.
You shouldn't prepare for an actual event. That's too limiting. Be prepared for what comes after. Most disasters bring with them common problems, regardless of the cause.
 

ThundahBeagle

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Good advice from everyone, thanks. Having lived in FL, MS, LA & TX, I've seen my fair share of bad weather. But it was the ice storm of 2008 when we lived in MA that really got us motivated. 2 weeks without power in sub-freezing temps, living in one room with only a fireplace for heat can change a person. We were even there for the tornado outbreak in 2011. @ThundahBeagle, you know! :wink: When we moved to where we are now, we went through the 100+ days of 100+ temps that same year, then lost our barn roof to a tornado a couple years after that. I've also see the destruction of Joplin, and the Jarrell, TX tornado hit just a couple miles from our house.

Anyway, we started "prepping" before we knew it was even a thing and currently maintain an extra years supply of dry goods, 375 gallons of fresh water, a generator with 30 gallons of fuel, our own veggie garden, orchard, and chickens/ducks for eggs & meat. My wife also cans meat, vegetables, and fruit for long term storage. People who know we do this were all "you're just over worrying", until Austin had the first ever boil water notice that lasted for 2 weeks and nobody could even buy bottled water. Before the ice storm hit this year, we tried to tell them to at least have a few items on hand instead of shopping on a daily basis, just in case. But, it's hard to break the habit of thinking things will always be available.

I think the biggest issue other people have about preparing is the stigma that has been attached to the term "prepper", basically from 99.9% of the YouTube crowd that caters to End-Of-World/SHTF scenarios. Plus, they say things to us like, "you live on a farm and have room to store all that". True, but you don't have to store a whole years worth. We just are able to. Like @grubworm, @Road & @FishinCrzy said, 90 days is probably good enough for most situations and can fit in any extra space in your home, like under the bed. We don't "prep" as much as we just make sure we are "prepared". Being 12 miles from the nearest store (23 miles to Costco), we can't afford to shop all that often, so we are already buying a month's worth of food anyway. Getting a little extra everytime just makes sense to us.

Just like the Overland Checklist you can get here, there are several reliable resources for this exact situation. A couple of the best are the Red Cross Emergency List & FEMA Basic Supply List (attached). We took them and modified it to fit our needs, then worked off that....over several years.
Ice storm of 2008, yep. I was there. Ice storm of 1998, yep I was there too.

I've been here for the holy trinity of storms here. The trifecta:
Blizzard of '78
April Fool's storm of '97
That crazy dumping of 34 and a half inches back in 2015

Plus some others, life the Perfect Storm and what have you. That's all since 1970, and every time, they said it was a once in a lifetime event. I imagine I must have lived 9 lives in the last 50 years, then!
 

ThundahBeagle

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Good advice from everyone, thanks. Having lived in FL, MS, LA & TX, I've seen my fair share of bad weather. But it was the ice storm of 2008 when we lived in MA that really got us motivated. 2 weeks without power in sub-freezing temps, living in one room with only a fireplace for heat can change a person. We were even there for the tornado outbreak in 2011. @ThundahBeagle, you know! :wink: When we moved to where we are now, we went through the 100+ days of 100+ temps that same year, then lost our barn roof to a tornado a couple years after that. I've also see the destruction of Joplin, and the Jarrell, TX tornado hit just a couple miles from our house.

Anyway, we started "prepping" before we knew it was even a thing and currently maintain an extra years supply of dry goods, 375 gallons of fresh water, a generator with 30 gallons of fuel, our own veggie garden, orchard, and chickens/ducks for eggs & meat. My wife also cans meat, vegetables, and fruit for long term storage. People who know we do this were all "you're just over worrying", until Austin had the first ever boil water notice that lasted for 2 weeks and nobody could even buy bottled water. Before the ice storm hit this year, we tried to tell them to at least have a few items on hand instead of shopping on a daily basis, just in case. But, it's hard to break the habit of thinking things will always be available.

I think the biggest issue other people have about preparing is the stigma that has been attached to the term "prepper", basically from 99.9% of the YouTube crowd that caters to End-Of-World/SHTF scenarios. Plus, they say things to us like, "you live on a farm and have room to store all that". True, but you don't have to store a whole years worth. We just are able to. Like @grubworm, @Road & @FishinCrzy said, 90 days is probably good enough for most situations and can fit in any extra space in your home, like under the bed. We don't "prep" as much as we just make sure we are "prepared". Being 12 miles from the nearest store (23 miles to Costco), we can't afford to shop all that often, so we are already buying a month's worth of food anyway. Getting a little extra everytime just makes sense to us.

Just like the Overland Checklist you can get here, there are several reliable resources for this exact situation. A couple of the best are the Red Cross Emergency List & FEMA Basic Supply List (attached). We took them and modified it to fit our needs, then worked off that....over several years.
About that living in one room with a fireplace for 2 weeks...back in December '79 we did that for the remainder if the winter. We had moved from Boston to a rural area in upstate New York, between Lake George and Champlain to a house built right after the RevolutionaryWar. It was so cold you could piss and lean on it. I was 10 and started logging that year. Well, in as much as it meant getting firewood for ourselves
 
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Road

Not into ranks, titles or points.
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Advocate III

3,379
On the road in North America
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Road
Last Name
Dude
Member #

6589

Good advice from everyone, thanks. Having lived in FL, MS, LA & TX, I've seen my fair share of bad weather. But it was the ice storm of 2008 when we lived in MA that really got us motivated. 2 weeks without power in sub-freezing temps, living in one room with only a fireplace for heat can change a person. We were even there for the tornado outbreak in 2011. @ThundahBeagle, you know! :wink: When we moved to where we are now, we went through the 100+ days of 100+ temps that same year, then lost our barn roof to a tornado a couple years after that. I've also see the destruction of Joplin, and the Jarrell, TX tornado hit just a couple miles from our house.

Anyway, we started "prepping" before we knew it was even a thing and currently maintain an extra years supply of dry goods, 375 gallons of fresh water, a generator with 30 gallons of fuel, our own veggie garden, orchard, and chickens/ducks for eggs & meat. My wife also cans meat, vegetables, and fruit for long term storage. People who know we do this were all "you're just over worrying", until Austin had the first ever boil water notice that lasted for 2 weeks and nobody could even buy bottled water. Before the ice storm hit this year, we tried to tell them to at least have a few items on hand instead of shopping on a daily basis, just in case. But, it's hard to break the habit of thinking things will always be available.

I think the biggest issue other people have about preparing is the stigma that has been attached to the term "prepper", basically from 99.9% of the YouTube crowd that caters to End-Of-World/SHTF scenarios. Plus, they say things to us like, "you live on a farm and have room to store all that". True, but you don't have to store a whole years worth. We just are able to. Like @grubworm, @Road & @FishinCrzy said, 90 days is probably good enough for most situations and can fit in any extra space in your home, like under the bed. We don't "prep" as much as we just make sure we are "prepared". Being 12 miles from the nearest store (23 miles to Costco), we can't afford to shop all that often, so we are already buying a month's worth of food anyway. Getting a little extra everytime just makes sense to us.

Just like the Overland Checklist you can get here, there are several reliable resources for this exact situation. A couple of the best are the Red Cross Emergency List & FEMA Basic Supply List (attached). We took them and modified it to fit our needs, then worked off that....over several years.
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I worry most about my kid and her kid if I'm away adventuring, and continually go over both being prepared and what-to-do-after with them, from having the right stuff in their vehicles to having a sufficient plan and stored goods at home. I keep a generator, fresh water, extra fuel and extra food nearby all the time, though most of it goes with me when adventuring. I need to set them up better and teach them how to rotate fresh water, run a generator, and keep sufficient supplies of food, and more about first-aid and being first-responder for the neighborhood.

RE: After the Disaster & Recovery - Because I helped start the Land Use - Leave It Better Than You Found It section of these forums a few years ago, I was contacted recently by OB member @Barclay about volunteer opportunities with ITDRC, which is the *Information Technology Disaster Resource Center* "America's premier team of volunteer technology professionals - Connecting Communities in Crisis™ ."

He is seeking volunteers for the fire season and other events, specifically in the SoCal region where he lives. There is some FEMA training involved, evidently, and they're looking for everything from:
- IT (networking, telephony) skills, desktop support
- wireless and/or network engineers, HAMs license can be useful
- logistics, asset management, etc
- project management
- transport, manpower, and general gruntwork

If interested, I suggest you contact @Barclay directly for more info instead of re-directing this thread more than I already have.

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Barclay

Local Expert Southern CA
Launch Member
Member

Influencer I

3,325
Los Angeles
Member #

10140

Ham/GMRS Callsign
K6BDO
Yes, please contact me if interested! It's nationwide, but I'm in SoCal, so I'm particularly invested in trying to drum up support for firefighters for the summer fire season.

Thanks for the exposure, @Road.

-B