Emergency Diversification

[The Old Ram-Australia]

G'day ,thought I would throw in our 2 cents worth.

Fire and wind are our two dangers.When we were selecting the building site quite some time was spent and advice obtained re this danger.We have an area of over 50mts clear space around the house on all sides,we have our own water supply(2 x7000gal and 1 x2000gal tanks),we also have our own generator should the power supply fail.

We do from time to time get very high winds so the house is just under the top of a ridge and has a heavy band of trees in a semi circle from south-west to north-east and we have planted extra trees on the outer limit to protect the "old growth forest" which is the backbone of our protection.

This is a great topic and the members should give some time to the dangers they "could" face and take steps to minimize the possible impacts on their property.

.................................................T.O.R..........................

 

[k0xxx]

We plan to "shelter in place" for most scenarios. Even if the house was destroyed, as long as one of two outbuildings survived, we would stay and be fairly well equipped.

We have family or property within driving distance, of the fuel kept on hand, in four directions. Each vehicle has maps with primary and alternate routes marked, as well as communication gear to keep in touch.

We do have emergency kits in each of the vehicles, as well as BOB's (Bug Out Bags) in a convenient location in the house. We could be loaded into the vehicles, and ready to be away from home for an extended amount of time, in about 20 minutes. We've "practiced" twice within the last three years during local wildfires.

 

[KevsFarm]

Wow...great replies...KOxxx, man you guys don't mess around...! I like the drill routine,20 minutes is impressive, and the communications.Thats pretty smart, since it can be easy to lose most forms of communication during an emergency.
The Old Ram..Aust. I'd do the same thing in an area of fire threat, clearing a good sized area around the house of burnable debris/brush, whatever...Those firestorms are wicked scary stuff...! I'd have to bug out to the north, across long Is. Sound to Conn.in major emergency( like a cat.4 hurricane)Theirs no way out from the eastern tip of Long Is. except boat, or car.
The L.I Expresway is known as the world biggest parking lot, because its a jammed up nightmare in rush hour, forget an emergency escape that way...! I'd jump on my brothers 23ft seacraft and be in New London, Conn. in 1 1/4 hr...If the Millstone2 nuke plant, on coastal Conn. went amuck,then i'd be in big trouble..!I'm 110 miles east of NYC, and it really is a trap being at the tip of long island..! A hard place to escape from in a disaster....

 

[Icu4dzs]

Well, I'm in the desolate northeast corner of South Dakota. I live at the 1900 foot MSL level. Kind of like a 30 mile wide flat mountain top with rolling hills much like almost all of Virginia.
As I said in another post, this is a place to run TO, not away from...which is why I'm here and have been for the past 4+ years. BUT you have to tolerate the extreme cold here to be comfortable.

While we have some of the coldest weather, our snowfall this year was only 86" which was twice that of last year. We get frozen around early NOV and stay solid frozen until mid April...but then we get these April snow storms (like today) which can accumulate but don't last long. So you just call in "snowed" and wait for it to pass.

Being prepared eliminates panic. I have what I need for a while without leaving the house (although I do have to go out and feed the animals, etc.) so no matter what, I'm not stuck for too long.

We get very high winds here so that is why I put up a wind turbine. I figured to exploit that issue of wind since it can be annoying when trying to walk to the barn.

In truth, I do have a BOB, in the form of a large internal frame pack with enough survival/creature comfort items to do OK in pretty much any situation as long as I am healthy (despite my advanced age). I keep a winter survival pack in both my car and my truck depending on what I am driving and a GPS in each. It is really easy to get lost in the snow and wind here at night. The GPS eliminates that fear because I have it set for "GO HOME". It may take a while but I'll get there instead of walking in circles. One of them has a VOR capability so I know if I get off the "flight path" real quickly.

I imagine the only real need for that BOB now would be fire but that is almost impossible to imagine since there just aren't that many trees up here on the high prairie. So, when you get right down to it, dodging Zombies coming from the City is my only concern. We all know each other around here so the rule is "shoot first" then ask questions if anyone comes a callin' and they don't bring a pie.

Having spent a good portion of my life as a Green Beret back in the early 70's, we learned a lot about living on the land. I still remember those skills and teach them to anyone who shows even the slightest interest in learning them. Most folks now a days are only interested in electronic-narcotics and could care less because McDonalds is ubiquitous in our country...OK for them but not for me!

That is how I look at it. Don't need to go. Just stay alert and keep my head on a swivel. Most of what I do depends on what my town needs because I am one of the two doc's here. Can't really go off and leave 'em behind now, can I?

 

[hiker]

I have a BOB that I keep in each car. My family of four, including our 3 dogs can live out of it for 3 days. It wont be pleasant, but doable. The supplies are in rolling duffle bags so we can take them with us.

At home, I have about a 8 month supply of food, water, and supplies (fuel, toilet paper, waste management supplies, medical supplies (suture kits, antibiotics, painkillers etc). I plan on getting the remaing 4 months supplies in the next 6 months from the LDS cannery and Emergency Essentials.

Since you never know what could happen, I am trying to be prepared for a variety of disasters:
nuclear fallout (iodine tablets)
EMP (storing critical electronics in a "faraday cage" (used Microwave)
civil/economic collapse- guns/ammo and training
nautl

I also am working with a group of like minded friends to create a support system with specialized skills and responsibilites.

I have a second year garden and a 7 pullet flock of layers (Dual purpose- several breeds) as well as honey bees. I use rain barrles and compost most of our "soft" kitchen waste.

Having said all of that, I am trying to be "diverse" in my preparedness.

 

[freemotion]

The only disaster I can think of to prepare for here are blizzards, like others said, so staying home with no power is the big issue. Where we live now....we are in our tenth year here and we have never lost power for more than an hour, usually it is only a few minutes. We are near a main intersection on a busy state road, so I imagine that is why. Gets fixed fast.

But there have been times when we were out of power for 4 days in our last apartment and interestingly, we didn't suffer at all. We still had water, gas for cooking and for hot water, and going around the house opening and closing blinds for passive solar heat made a huge difference. Even then we had plenty of food. Lots of candles. It was a fun adventure, actually. Quite restful, not being able to go anywhere or do anything.

Years ago there was a huge ice storm in New England and some (including my brother and his family) lost power for several weeks. So I think of that possibility and have prepared somewhat for that. The only thing I need/want would be one of those heat-generated fans that sit on top of the woodstove, as we use an electric fan to distribute the heat throughout more of the house. It wouldn't be as effective, but it would be something.

I would get a lot of sewing done on my treadle machine!

 

[Icu4dzs]

Since you never know what could happen, I am trying to be prepared for a variety of disasters:

I also am working with a group of like minded friends to create a support system with specialized skills and responsibilites.

In "MY world", we called that an "A team". They do the same thing on submarines. Everyone has a primary skill, a secondary skill, but can do ANYTHING on the ship that needs to be done.

Good thinking Hiker, if you ask me!

 

[dragonlaurel]

This apartment building is strong, and safe about flooding and rock slides. Our mountain protects the building pretty well from tornadoes, but I've seen straight line winds in the parking lot edge. I wouldn't park in that section. The most likely hazards here are trees/limbs breaking from storms, Icy- Steep, curvy roads, or a forest fire on our mountain. Power failures are shorter cause we are near downtown.

I would go to the basement for close tornadoes and stay home during flooding or winter storms. We would bug out over a forest fire, because of the smoke. If there was enough warning- moving the cars out of 2 parts of the parking lot would turn it into a great firebreak. We felt a little of a distant quake once and a stronger one would be dangerous. I would try to get outside. Hubby already knows where I would go to and a good route to it.

I will have passive solar, a wood stove, a basement, and rainwater collection, so electric wont matter that much. Hubby is an old vet, and a touch paranoid so zombie protection will be covered. Hubby taught me to know what I could use to protect myself, even if I'm "not armed".

I always kept basic tools, oil, etc. in a container in the trunk of my cars + a small tent, blanket and rain gear. Maps, compass, a small window squeegie, and baby wipes go in the glove box. Umbrella is easy to grab between the seat and door. It was a good habit.

 

[Marianne]

No BOB here, as I'd stay put. I rarely leave the farm as it is, so nothing other than basic stuff in my pickup and car. The only kids left in the state know to start walking here if SHTF.
The biggest threats here are tornados, blizzards. We were without power for 8 days a few years back and I learned a LOT then. No water (we have private wells), no heat, lost everything in the frig and freezer.
Now I have more dried and canned foods, a wood burning stove, plans printed off and the stuff to make passive solar units, rocket mass heater and three VAWTS - if we'd ever make the time to assemble stuff. Sigh. Oh, and there's an old hand pump by the back well that needs attention to see if it will work.
And tornadoes? I'll hunker down and hang on to the toilet. The next house will be earthberm.

 

[pinkfox]

i wouldnt realy call it bug out bags, but i do have about a weeks worth of suppliues in my car for myself and my critters plus blankets and first aid stuffs...i also keep about a months worth of suppliues in th house...
here in ct our biggest worries are typically snow and floods...

when i move though im hoping to build a good storm shelter/root cellar and turn my home into a good bug out location so i have the stay put option...