Lessons from Haiti?

[ORChick]

It seems logical to evaluate your most likely emergency scenario. Where we used to live - SF Bay area - it was earthquakes; where we now live I think forest fire would be our biggest worry. In an earthquake one's supplies oughtn't be in the basement (but who has a basement in earthquake country?); for forest fires, I'm not sure. What I have is in the garage. Worrying about "what ifs" if they really aren't likely (tsunami in Kansas) is a waste of effort.
My husband's cousin's wife grew up in East Germany (well, his cousin too, for that matter); Gina had a morbid fear of being caught without supplies. There was always a basket of food in the car when they traveled (even after the Wall fell, which is when I knew her). It was quite pathologic; I remember once that she would not go any further before buying a rotisserie chicken. The idea of traveling without food was terrifying for her.

 

[dragonlaurel]

First of all, my heart goes out to all those poor folks in Haiti. Someone from my hometown was found dead in the rubble. She was only in her early 20's.




Wow FD, you are really prepared! I have a nice sized sun-roofed wood shed. I can see in there with out electricity. Perhaps I should put an emergency kit of some sort out there.

I live in an earthquake, tsunami and volcano zone...YIKES!!

Get a rolling suitcase or rolling cooler and keep it packed for a evac kit. maybe put one in the vehicle too.

 

[k0xxx]

We have recently paid off a couple of our medical bills and that has left us with a small amount of extra money each month. We are discussing the purchase (actually rent to own) of a small (8x16) portable building for additional storage. We plan to keep dry goods and some emergency supplies in it, to free up room in our pantry for additional food stores.

In an earthquake, the small building would be unlikely to collapse, but even if it did, it would not be hard to get into. Just a thought.

 

[sylvie]

NE Ohio did have a significant earthquake in the mid 1980s. Theory was that it was caused by an injection well, but the epicenter was nowhere near that activity. Most anyplace could get an earthquake from a variety of causes. Its a new era with diagonal drilling, too.

I like the idea of a separate root cellar so nothing could collapse on it.
Multipurpose: store crops, tornado shelter, emergency goods like FD's, nuclear shelter from our "friendly" power plant(tho probably not that effective), place to ferment stuff in summer, etc.

 

[patandchickens]

I think the main lesson is that life is unpredictable, many things canNOT be avoided or made easier by storing away supplies, and "there but for the grace of God go I".

The only useful preparation a person could really have made for that sort of catastrophe would be *mental* preparations... both in terms of attitude, and in terms of knowing information and skills that would help you survive (and help you help *others* survive) if you didn't happen to be killed outright.

Sending all good thoughts and prayers to those in Haiti for whom this is *not* an abstract topic for contemplation,

Pat

 

[murphysranch]

FD: I had all those emergency supplies in my car for a few years too after Loma Prieta. I now have a smallish bag with some things, like H2O, flares, sm blanket, matches, rope, etc. I always kept my slippers right next to my bed, flashlight too, with a hand cranked radio under my bed, when the children were young. Also had a light in the hallway that only lit up when the elec went out. And three gallon jugs of water in the garage.

Now that I've moved, I still have my slippers and flashlight next to my bed. And I'm insistent that the mag lights that I have placed in three spots through out the house, return to their rightful spot each time someone uses it. (hopeless and thankless insistent request tho..)

With the three to five earthquakes that have happened on the West Coast in the last few weeks, one can never be too prepared.

 

[On Our own]

An underground storage culvert is what I would do if I had the money and land

http://www.nogw.com/download/2005_cellar3.pdf

Wow, the storage facility of my dreams! When we built our house we embedded the back of the basement into the hillside so that at least that part is fairly well protected. I would love a root cellar. Maybe some day.

 

[hennypenny9]

My first time in this section of the forum! Currently where I live it's easy to forget about natural disasters. We don't get many earthquakes (and they've been little so far), no hurricanes or tornadoes, no flooding, I live on a forested hill, so no mudslides, either (not that it couldn't happen, but this is the least of my worries!) and I'm far enough inland, and high enough not to worry about tsunamis. But I do live near an active volcano, Mt Baker. And if I move, I will be near another volcano, Mt Rainier.

So I'm slowly getting stuff together, since I think that a major lesson to learn from the tragedy in Haiti is that SOME preparation is better than NONE, which I believe is what most of those people had. If I had to suddenly evacuate for some reason, I might have time to grab an emergency kit. I'm thinking a backpack. I'm also thinking of my cat. Maybe an over-the-shoulder carrier in case I should have to walk. And I do agree that we can't prepare for everything, but especially for a volcano evacuation you can prepare. (I'm looking at you, Orting! At only 20 miles away from Rainier you would have 30 minutes before a lahar could potentially flow through you!)

 

[k0xxx]

Below is a small part of text from an article on SurvivalBlog.com titled "America is More Like Haiti than We'd Like to Think".

Teaching for the Moment

Elementary school teachers here in the United States use the phrase "teach for the moment," to describe turning current events into teaching opportunities. I recommend that any conversations amongst your neighbors, coworkers, or church brethren be used as opportunities to spread the philosophy of family preparedness. Water cooler chit-chat should not just be "ain't it awfuling" sessions. You should instead use such conversations to encourage others to actively prepare for similar situations. And if anyone says, "Oh, but it couldn't happen here," then just remind them about the aftermath Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Not only has it happened here before, but it is likely to recur often within our lifetimes.

The Haitian earthquake of 2010 is a stark reminder of the fragility of all societies. It shows us that we need to be well-prepared and vigilant. And for those of us that are not Secret Squirrels, we should also be quietly and persistently leading public opinion, locally.

I believe that we should all consider our duty, as members of this species, to try to educate others on preparations. Granted, there will always be some that are "unteachable". When I run into those types, I just change the subject and wait for the next "Teaching for the Moment" opportunity.

 

[xpc]

An underground storage culvert is what I would do if I had the money and land

http://www.nogw.com/download/2005_cellar3.pdf

Wow, the storage facility of my dreams! When we built our house we embedded the back of the basement into the hillside so that at least that part is fairly well protected. I would love a root cellar. Maybe some day.

I looked at those plans and according to 2012 you better make it into a submarine rather than a cellar.

Have your husband or yourself cut a door into the basement wall and construct a root cellar into the hillside.