Preparedness lessons

Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by Tracy, Jan 8, 2009.


  1. Tracy

    Tracy Insatiably Curious Moderator Founding Member

    So, having made it through being surrounded by those who were "snowed in" and "iced in" and now facing severe flooding and mudslides in the area which are also causing problems for nearby folks, I'm wondering:

    What have you all learned this season about your preparedness?

    Are you truly ready for your local catastrophe?

    Have you had to rely on any of your preparedness items or knowledge so far this season?


    :) Please share your experiences with us so that we may all learn from each other!
     
  2. Brokor

    Brokor Live Free or Cry Moderator Site Supporter+++ Founding Member

    I love this topic, Tracy!

    I have only been in the extreme weather of the Middle East this year, but from what I know from desert survival as a kid has helped me a bit. How weather traveling and survival in the desert is no joke, and it can test a person to the max.

    I found that a higher protein intake will help keep your body hydrated longer. Cool -warm water will be absorbed quicker than ice cold water, in extreme cases where hydrating quickly is a must, this is essential. Tea does not dehydrate you, it helps to quench thirst and replenishes you. Coffee can dehydrate you, however. Stay away from energy drinks and common rip fuels if possible. Stay clean -this is commonly overlooked, but the cleaner your skin stays, the better you will keep hydrated and healthy. Cover exposed skin and do not allow yourself to excessively burn. Occasionally remove yourself from the sun for a few minutes to check your heart rate and to hydrate, because most times you will not notice how quickly you are effected by the sun until it is too late.

    Cold weather living sucks almost as much, but I miss the snow of the Northeast...
     
  3. enough

    enough Monkey++

    I need more than one set of snowshoes. I have been planning to teach the kids to make up some impromptu basket shoes, but I've yet to do it. We had feet of snow, and it melted off. Now we have a fresh 3 inches. Not exactly snowshoe worthy, but it might be better to teach the kids.

    Good question.
     
  4. Seawolf1090

    Seawolf1090 Retired Curmudgeonly IT Monkey Founding Member

    Well, except for those pesky Hurricanes, and the sudden panic-buying induced shortage, we in North Florida had a good year!
    Since I had stored several 5-gallon cans of gas and other automotive/motorcycle supplies, it was almost a nonissue for me.
    Made good headway on other preps, and will continue this next year.
    Temps have been very good for us. The summer was comparitively mild, which saved me a bit on cooling costs, and the winter so far is very mild - only fortyish now in early January! It's usually well down into the low thirties by now, and sometimes into the twenties! Normally this kind of warmth means a lot of rain - but it has been moderate thus far - off-road conditions are perfect for our upcoming local dual-sport meet on MLK weekend. Water levels in local lakes and rivers has markedly improved over 2007's extreme drought! My one huge weakness prepwise is no off-grid water! I really need to get a well in my yard, and off-grid power to pump it. That is all in the works for 2009.
    The state has been hit with a budget crises (who hasn't....?) but it looks like we can weather it. I don't expect major layoffs here at work at the State agencies - they are dropping a lot of unfilled positions though, so work load will increase. I am in a good 'critical' position - not immune from cutbacks, but more so than other professions.
    As long as the new Administration doesn't play fast & loose with our rights and liberties - we can get through the coming economic storm.
     
  5. ghrit

    ghrit Bad company Administrator Founding Member

    I've been in the new house less than a year, so not everything is up to snuff for bugging in (which is now the plan vs. what had to happen in VA.) The initial setup for chow and water was ready (and tapped) when the 12 hour sub freezing power outage hit in November, but the gennie was not ready, nor the backup heating. Power is now ready, but not able to run the well yet due to power panel issues. I have a stopgap backup heating plan operable now as well, that 12 hours was getting chilly toward the end. (The local motels were already full, so that wasn't an option. Power came up just after I found that out.)

    Up here, about the only credible catastrophe other than economic and political messes is weather related. I need to take down two trees that will threaten the house in another major ice storm like the one that took out the power. In the meantime, continue accumulating stores for long term eating, and start thinking door garden. Refugees from major population centers are not a threat, finding this place will entail more work than a sheep would be willing to undertake; however, am ready for that. The field of fire is superb here.

    Good thread T. "Lessons learned"
     
  6. Seacowboys

    Seacowboys Senior Member Founding Member

    One lesson I learned when boarding up my windows for hurricanes, is to watch where you drive the nails. I broke a 5' x 7' x 3/4" smoked glass picture window just by chipping an edge with a nail.[taser1]'
     
  7. ozarkgoatman

    ozarkgoatman Resident goat herder

    Well not really the season but whole last year or so has been #&!! finachally. Quiting my job and starting my sawmill buisness in 2007 has been the worst finachual (sp) choice I have ever made (at least in the short term). I don't think I could have planed a worst time to attempt such a venture. But we never went to bed hungry. :D The woodstoves still keep you warm if your broke. ;) The garden still grew, and the greenhouse is back up and running. We have added some potbellied pigs to the homestead and had a real nice Xmas dinner with pork. Theres alot of chickens that are getting big enough to start laying and ready for butchering. We ended 2008 better than 2007 but still not out of the woods so to speak. My advice, keep those skills and supplies up to snuff in the good times because you never know when life will throw you a curveball. :eek:

    OGM
     
  8. Tracy

    Tracy Insatiably Curious Moderator Founding Member

    I learned that smart shopping means that you don't have to worry about having enough food to make it through the storm.

    Know your vehicle and your ability to drive it in any condition! We cruised past a lot of other 4 wheel drives, full of inexperienced or over-confident drivers, going the wrong direction on the freeway (and every other road).

    A wood stove is a great sense of comfort and security. No matter what the power situation, I have heat and a cooking surface. If ever I ran out of wood, I'd rip the fence out and burn it before freezing to death.
     
  9. Seawolf1090

    Seawolf1090 Retired Curmudgeonly IT Monkey Founding Member

    I saw a report on TV of somewhere up north - ice storms and freezing conditions, power had failed. A family DID rip up a wood fence and were buring it! They said if power wasn't restored soon, they would be burning furniture, then the house's floor! THAT is a true 'survival' situation indeed!
    Hopefully they will learn from that hard lesson, and be better prepared next season!
     
  10. Brokor

    Brokor Live Free or Cry Moderator Site Supporter+++ Founding Member

    I plan on having at least 4 girlfriends so we can all huddle together like Emperor Penguins. :love:[CRC]


    hehe, i'm watching the "Planet Earth" dvd series made by the BBC. It's amazing, and highly educational, too.
     
  11. Tracy

    Tracy Insatiably Curious Moderator Founding Member

    I understand the fence; sometimes you gotta' do whatcha' gotta' do :). However, burning the floor would expose more areas for cold air to get in. Seems to me that effort is wasted and would actually defeat their purpose.
     
  12. kckndrgn

    kckndrgn Monkey+++ Moderator Emeritus Founding Member

    I guess pulling up the floor would depend on what's under it. If they were talking about pulling up a wood floor that had a wood base prolly no biggie. Now if it was a laminate floor over concrete, that would make things way too cold for me.

    Now burning a wood fence might not be too good an idea. If the wood was pressure treated then it contains some nasty chemicals that I would not want to be inhaling any smoke from. Not that you would get a lot of smoke in the house in a properly vented chimney, just sayin' burning PT wood would be low on my list of items to burn.

    This reminds me of the movie "The Day After Tomorrow" when the group was in the library burning books to keep warm. They had chairs and tables made from wood that would have burned hotter and longer than the books.[loco] yeah, yeah I know, it's just a movie:D
     
  13. Brokor

    Brokor Live Free or Cry Moderator Site Supporter+++ Founding Member

    A really, really bad movie. We are talking like...Discovery Channel "scare you out of your freaking mind" + "Blair Witch Project budget" bad movie. But, good point. ;)
     
  14. Grand58742

    Grand58742 Monkey+++

    A bad movie, but some lessons that weren't said but need to be heard.

    Things could be learned or reaffirmed by a bad Hollywood movie that tried to put the global warming scare tactic in the population but failed.

    1) Don't ever, ever, EVER depend on the government to help you out of a crisis. Scariest words to ever hear? "I'm from the government and I'm here to help." God bless Ronald Reagan.

    2) Bug In as opposed to Bug Out during bad wather.

    Caveat on that, if you are going to Bug Out, be sure to do it early enough that you don't get trapped at the Mexican border :D Seriously, get out quick enough not to get caught by the mad crowds and/or get caught by the situation as seen in the scene where the President is leaving the White House.

    3) 95% of the population hasn't the first clue about cold weather survival. Even some preparedness minded individuals in warm(er) areas. It's an unlikely situation like the movie tells it, but cold weather can strike most anywhere at anytime in the CONUS. Provided it probably won't last long in a place like Florida or Southern California, but this is why we prepare, for the worst situation we could imagine.

    4) Situational Awareness. I.E. Walking on the top of a glass roofed building. Okay, bad example, but generic situational awareness will help in the long run in a SHTF situation.

    5) Use what you have immediately available to survive.

    6) First Aid is king. If you don't know how to do it, have a book to tell you how. "Books are good for something other than burning."

    7) Wolves can be tasty is cooked right. Use the fire axe, Luke! I'm not sure about cooking over paper, but it probably can be done.

    8) Never, ever follow the collective mind. Following the masses of sheeple can get you killed in a SHTF situation.

    9) The general public only has to have the hint of a natural disaster to clean out the shelves at a local suprmarket. Public hysteria over a situation is often funny. "Honey, there is a storm coming! I got us prepared! I bought a dozen cans of Spam and tuna and five gallons of water!"

    Things that weren't in the movie, but would happen in the real world.

    Looting, even in a collosal blizzard. General lawlessness. It WILL happen.
     
  15. Jonas Parker

    Jonas Parker Hooligan

    Back almost 20 years ago, I was at a Coast Guard Conference. A captain (who shall remain nameless to protect the guilty) showed up in full service dress uniform. Beneath his wings and ribbons he sported a huge yellow "smiley-face" button captioned "Hi! I'm from headquarters and I'm here to help you!" Needless to say, it was the hit of the conference, although Vice Admiral Eckert probably didn't think too much of it. The captain really didn't much care as he was retiring in two weeks anyway...
     
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