Author Topic: Post quake question.... Are you prepared?  (Read 4145 times)

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Offline SLOweather

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Post quake question.... Are you prepared?
« on: March 12, 2011, 08:54:28 PM »
In watching CNN just now, Wolf Blitzer was talking with a "The Economist" staff writer in Tokyo via Skype. The writer (sorry, I didn't note his name) mentioned that almost everyone there has a "go bag" packed and knows every way out of the building.

Everywhere in the world is subject to some sort of natural or man made disaster; wild fires, floods, blizzards, hurricanes, tornadoes, train crashes, pick your poison...

So, right there where you are, right now reading this, BANG... Could you and your family survive without any outside support for 72 hours/3 days? Got food? Got water? Got flashlights and batteries? Got a battery radio? Got a way to stay warm and dry?

What if you were in your car? At work?

Offline SlowModem

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Re: Post quake question.... Are you prepared?
« Reply #1 on: March 12, 2011, 09:00:34 PM »
After reading Alas Babylon, I have come to the conclusion that if it doesn't keep you dry, keep you warm, or keep you fed, or keep you safe, it's value is zero.  When you're on your own, bullets, food, water, coffee, salt, (and maybe a flashlight with batteries) will get you a long way.

Remember the Boy's Scout motto:  Be prepared!

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Offline scottm

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Re: Post quake question.... Are you prepared?
« Reply #2 on: March 12, 2011, 09:01:09 PM »
No way i could, i'd be up the creek.

Edit: In 2004 when Charley came through Orlando, we were without power for about 6 days. trucks would come by every day and hand out Styrofoam coolers with ice, and bottled water. After about the second day, we found a store that opened, a small store. We bought some charcoal for the grill, and basically lived on what we could eat raw/cold and or cook on the grill. The worst was being without A/C in the dead of the summer, that made it miserable. Travel was literally impossible for the first two, maybe 3 days. Roads were impassible, even police has borders where they wouldn't let you pass. All you heard all day long and some nights were the sounds of chainsaws, and backup alarms.


One of the aid drivers even gave me $20 and a pack of smokes because he asked me if i had any cash, and i explained that i couldn't withdraw any money because there was no power anywhere close, no ATM access or anything was even remotely close. Another aid driver brought like 20 pounds of hamburger, chips, soda, a radio, and some candy for the kids etc, we had a huge BBQ at my neighbors house like 4 houses down for the whole street. That hamburger meal was like steak and lobster for most of us. One of the families that owned a generator set up tables in his yard, and would server coffee for the neighborhood in the morning, and he'd charge up peoples laptops, cell phones etc, if they needed it. His house became the neighborhood hang out. I never met him before that really, but im sure glad there's people like him around.

Now remember, this in the middle of a 2.5 million metropolitan area, and Charley wasn't nearly as bad as a lot of the other hurricanes that has happened in history, i mean not even close, but it still caused us about two weeks of hell. You'd think after that I'd be more prepared right now, but if something hit right now, id be in the same position i was in 2004.

there's lots more details, but im sure its boring by now, just wanted to share my experience :)


Scott


Edit #2  I Guess the point of all my ramblings is, without the care and compassion of the ones who came to help, and my wonderful neighbors, i dont know what we'd have done. Im very thankful for those folks. Everyone pulled together and made the best out of a bad situation.
« Last Edit: March 13, 2011, 12:50:11 AM by scottm »



Offline ocala

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Re: Post quake question.... Are you prepared?
« Reply #3 on: March 12, 2011, 09:19:24 PM »
Given my location it would most likely  be a tornado , hurricane, or wild fire.  
A hurricane is pretty easy but my location in the woods really shields me from the real high winds. Not saying I couldn't get major damage from a hurricane because they do spawn tornadoes which  are like buzz saws moving at hurricane speed.  
A tornado, quite different. Everything you prepared for could be wiped out in seconds. Other then taking refuge in the middle of the house for protection there is nothing else you can do.
A wild fire is a major concern for me. Again being in the woods I am surrounded by forests that haven't burned in years. The under growth is very mature and any fire coming through would reach the canopy easily. My only protection is that all the trees in the yard are pruned very high. The grass is kept short at all times and I have no vegetation at all around the house. Every spring, now, the oak trees drop all there leaves. I spend a couple weekends making sure there are no leaves on the ground or anything that would feed a ground fire. The whole idea being that a fire would burn around my home because there would be no fuel for it.
Basically prepare for the worst, and hope for the best but sometimes that's not good enough either.
The blues had a baby and they named it Rock & Roll

Offline Downlinerz2

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Re: Post quake question.... Are you prepared?
« Reply #4 on: March 12, 2011, 09:25:25 PM »
    I have a bag with some supplies but it seems like it is always in a bit of a mess.
I recently got a catalog and it has an emergency backpack that comes full of supplies for 2 people (for 3 days) in case of emergency.  It has food for 2 (probably yuk), water for 2, first aid supplies, dust masks, light-sticks, gloves, thermal blankets, and other things.  I have been planning on getting a carton of MRE's as well.
    Another important thing to remember is to have a 3-day supply of the important prescription medications you are on.
     I don't think it is possible to be totally prepared especially for the emotional and psychological impacts.
      Mark
« Last Edit: March 12, 2011, 09:27:12 PM by Downlinerz2 »

Offline SLOweather

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Re: Post quake question.... Are you prepared?
« Reply #5 on: March 12, 2011, 09:49:02 PM »
That's better than most... Good for you!

Having lived through 2 or 3 wild fires, a couple of floods, and the San Simeon earthquake in 2003, we have Rubbermaid totes in each car with MREs, bottled water, toiletries, tools, space blanket, Sterno and matches, a cook kit and cutlery, cash, a little booze ;) and more. The RV is always full of gas, propane and water, other supplies, and a case of MREs.

I figure I could live out of my truck for 3 days. Every few years I rotate all of the MREs, buy new, and eat the old ones for lunch.

(I have an MRE story, but that's for another thread...)

RE: Yuk... You'd be surprised how good almost anything tastes when you are really hungry.

And, thanks for the reminder about prescriptions. I need to throw a few pills of my important script into my kit.

   I have a bag with some supplies but it seems like it is always in a bit of a mess.
I recently got a catalog and it has an emergency backpack that comes full of supplies for 2 people (for 3 days) in case of emergency.  It has food for 2 (probably yuk), water for 2, first aid supplies, dust masks, light-sticks, gloves, thermal blankets, and other things.  I have been planning on getting a carton of MRE's as well.
    Another important thing to remember is to have a 3-day supply of the important prescription medications you are on.
     I don't think it is possible to be totally prepared especially for the emotional and psychological impacts.
      Mark

Offline xykotik

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Re: Post quake question.... Are you prepared?
« Reply #6 on: March 12, 2011, 10:01:20 PM »
Around the Seattle area, there are a lot of TV PSAs and billboards that preach "3-days, 3-ways" to prepare for a quake, flood or volcano.

http://www.govlink.org/3days3ways/

My wife and I keep water, snacks and blankets in the cars at all times for the purpose.  It gets used during the winters if we get stuck on the mountain passes during avalanche control closures. Also a good multitool and two flashlights (one wind-up) plus in my car I have all of my work tools anyway.   At home we could do better with food storage, but we have private well, septic, propane and a whole-house generator, with always several containers of fuel ready, which I rotate through the lawnmower, etc. during the year.  We could sit tight for a few days, provided we could get home.  My mother-in-law and also my brother, both of whom live out of the area, are our designated emergency contacts.  On our phones (our kids too) they are listed as EMERG-1 and EMERG-2 in the contact list.  Phone service sucks during an emergency, so we all know to call those contacts to check in on each other, rather than trying to call each other directly from within the zone.  I work in the field, so if it is not in my car, it is not in my "go" kit.  My wife works downtown Seattle, and her company knows they will be stuck there if the big one hits.  They have "stay" supplies AND "go" kits available in a dedicated cabinet.

The 6.8 we had in 2001 happened mid-day, when people were at work and kids were at school. It didn't do too much to harm traffic, but it was a wake-up call.  Now, at our elementary, first day of school we are all asked to put together a "comfort kit" for our kids, including a granola bar, juice box, M&Ms or skittles, a family photo and a pocket-notepad with a written message in the front.  These are all kept secure in case there is an emergency and kids have to wait for parents to get them with bad traffic or other problems.  They have food and water for them, this is just something personal and "comfortable" from home to ease the stress.  On the last day of school, they hand out the unused kits and they have fun sharing the candy and sappy love notes with each other.

None of this is much in the scope of a disaster, but it falls in the "better than nothing" category.


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Offline mackbig

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Re: Post quake question.... Are you prepared?
« Reply #7 on: March 12, 2011, 10:31:54 PM »
Water is the big one for me.  Used to buy a ton at the depot and costco when it was on sale. Since getting a fridge with a filter/dispenser in it, we stopped.  Food we could last a week at least.   Fireplace for heat.  Gas for cooking.  Around here, natural disasters are pretty low on the probability scale.  Would still like to have a standby generator.

Nothing funny about the things happening in Japan, but some of the interviews are ironic.  "We have no water, no gas, no phones, but we have internet and electricity"  80% of Japanese are online.  I even saw one skyper that did not even have electricity but their laptop was still charged, and thier hi speed was working.

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Offline Andy Thompson

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Re: Post quake question.... Are you prepared?
« Reply #8 on: March 12, 2011, 11:12:06 PM »
For me in Minnesota it would most likely be Blizzards, Tornadoes, and Spring Floods.
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Offline ncpilot

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Re: Post quake question.... Are you prepared?
« Reply #9 on: March 12, 2011, 11:16:18 PM »
I've read that texting is better than trying to call via cell phone, more likely to get through...

I keep threatening to make up a go bag, but I'm only part way there... a bit embarrassing considering I went through CERT training...

Here are a couple of sites that are pretty decent for preparedness:

http://edcforums.com/ (they seem a bit more focused on the equipment)
http://zombiehunters.org/forum/ (seem a bit more focused on the reality of using equipment--don't let the site name put you off, these are down to earth people--check out their requirements in order to start your own chapter...)
http://www.bushcraftusa.com/forum/index.php (a new one I found recently)

So this past Thursday at work, I was talking with a few co-workers about some of my criteria for a "retirement" location (if I really ever get to that point), one of which was lack of natural disasters... one said that they'd much rather live somewhere with the risk of earthquakes rather than hurricanes... we're going to have an intervention for them on Monday...  ;)
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Offline Harryca

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Re: Post quake question.... Are you prepared?
« Reply #10 on: March 13, 2011, 12:06:24 AM »
I always like to stock up on more than what is suggested, instead of 3 days worth, I stock up for 6.  Especially after I saw what happened after Hurricane Katrina, somehow 3 days worth of food and water just doesn't seem to be enough.  But anyway, here is a disaster info web page that I started a long time ago and never finished.  For disaster supplies, there are links to several commercial websites that you can check out.

http://ucweather.org/disasterinfo.php

For something that has the basic stuff like food, water, and few other goodies, the Ark kits from Survivior Industries are pretty good.  I bought several of them (one for each member of the family and one for the car).  Price wise, they are the most reasonable ones I have found.  Besides the Ark kits, I have 3 backpacks full of more stuff just in case all of which I can throw in the car and go.

http://www.survivorind.com/packages.html

 
« Last Edit: March 13, 2011, 12:19:21 AM by Harryca »

Offline WeatherHost

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Re: Post quake question.... Are you prepared?
« Reply #11 on: March 13, 2011, 12:08:55 AM »
Home; no problem, I could hole up for a month or so.  Food, generator, fuel, wood stove, yadda, yadda, yadda.......

Car; got a few drinks and a blanket, not much else.


Offline SlowModem

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Re: Post quake question.... Are you prepared?
« Reply #12 on: March 13, 2011, 12:43:43 AM »
A few shelves installed in the storm shelter handily stores supplies for several weeks (or more).
Greg Whitehead
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Offline KeithBC

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Re: Post quake question.... Are you prepared?
« Reply #13 on: March 13, 2011, 12:45:22 AM »
We are pretty well prepared.  We have food for probably a month, lots of water and a hand-operated filter to purify it.  The "Big One" here would be a 9.0 on the Cascadia Subduction Zone.  Shelter would be the biggest immediate issue.  The house would be damaged but there is a good chance that most of it would still be standing after the shaking stopped.  We have tents, sleeping bags, etc.

A tsunami is not a big problem for us on the inner coast of Vancouver Island.  They estimate the maximum tsunami height in the Gulf of Georgia would be 2 metres.  We are about 100 metres above sea level, so not a problem.  The big issue would be access.  We are on a small island (pop. 1000) and would be cut off from contact with Vancouver Island and the mainland pending repairs to the ferry docks.  The only emergency access would be by helicopter.

So, certainly we would be on our own for 72 hours at least.  More likely for a month.

Offline BigOkie

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Re: Post quake question.... Are you prepared?
« Reply #14 on: March 13, 2011, 09:15:23 AM »
We are pretty well prepared.  We have food for probably a month, lots of water and a hand-operated filter to purify it.  The "Big One" here would be a 9.0 on the Cascadia Subduction Zone.  Shelter would be the biggest immediate issue.  The house would be damaged but there is a good chance that most of it would still be standing after the shaking stopped.  We have tents, sleeping bags, etc.

A tsunami is not a big problem for us on the inner coast of Vancouver Island.  They estimate the maximum tsunami height in the Gulf of Georgia would be 2 metres.  We are about 100 metres above sea level, so not a problem.  The big issue would be access.  We are on a small island (pop. 1000) and would be cut off from contact with Vancouver Island and the mainland pending repairs to the ferry docks.  The only emergency access would be by helicopter.

So, certainly we would be on our own for 72 hours at least.  More likely for a month.

I have enough for about two weeks and a gas powered generator.

I get to thinking about that living where I do (Oklahoma) and most people think I plan strictly for tornadoes or floods.  People forget about the New Madrid fault which gave the lower 48 some its largest earthquakes.  The 1811 one was estimated to be between 7.2 and 8.6.  So I prepare with that in mind as well.  And since we did recently (December) have a quake of 4.7 in Oklahoma, it drove the thought even further home.  I know that a large quake in the New Madrid fault won't likely do a whole lot of damage.  But after reading some reports on the 1811 quake that says it was felt as far away as New York (where reports say that it made the church bells ring there) I felt I should pack my emergency kit with both in mind.
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Offline Downlinerz2

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Re: Post quake question.... Are you prepared?
« Reply #15 on: March 13, 2011, 11:04:36 PM »
    Instead of starting a new thread I thought I would just put this here.  There is a program on National Geographic channel right now (11:00pm EDST), that has the Japan Earthquake in it.  The main thrust is about the possibility of a "magathrust" quake in the Cascadia zone.  It is called "Countdown To Catastrophe/Quake". It will probably be repeated again
    Mark 

Offline Mark / Ohio

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Re: Post quake question.... Are you prepared?
« Reply #16 on: March 13, 2011, 11:58:29 PM »
Being on city water one thing we don't have which we should is water stocked up.  We do have spring water and a couple of creeks close by.  They would not be drinkable though without filtration.  Other then that we could probably go a week if we had to.   I can get by, it's my aging parents with medical issues that worry me.  It takes very little to put them on the edge.  :sad:
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Offline WeatherHost

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Re: Post quake question.... Are you prepared?
« Reply #17 on: March 14, 2011, 01:20:19 AM »
Being on city water one thing we don't have which we should is water stocked up.  We do have spring water and a couple of creeks close by.  They would not be drinkable though without filtration.  Other then that we could probably go a week if we had to.   I can get by, it's my aging parents with medical issues that worry me.  It takes very little to put them on the edge.  :sad:  

When the whole area lost power for two weeks a while back including the water pumping station and water towers, I never lost water pressure.  Many others around me did, but apparently I was getting what was back-draining out of the main pipes.  Based on that, as long as the underground pipes don't rupture, I should be good for a few days.  I also have an 1,100 gallon cistern and a couple of other ponds and holding tanks that collect rainwater.  As long as I could boil ,that and add a few drops of bleach, I should be OK there.

And yeah, this all assumes no major damage to the house and no injuries or medical issues.  Rescue would be another matter since we just don't have significant resources around here and it would take several days to get to some areas.