Great thread, lot's of reading and realized a year ago that I needed to do some really hard purchasing for items listed through out the thread.
Here's the deal here today. High wind storms have more of the northern Kentucky and southern Ohio electric out. Schools are closed, college campuses are closed, Ohio is in state of emergency, ice supplies are already gone from the grocery's and gas stations, and most people are flooding the markets for canned food goods. It's not Katrina, but yesterday being without electricity was a surprise given it didn't come on till for us till about an hour ago. Most of some hundred thousand homes are going to be without electric through the weekend, at least that's the estimate.
How I was prepared as a result of this thread.
1. Food stores. I have three cases of MRE's. One more case if half eaten.
2. Coleman stove. Individual type with a store of 12 canisters. Used last night to make soups and heat canned beef stew and boil water for Minute Rice. Nobody here went hungry last night.
3. Light. Both a Coleman lantern and Surfire LED lights where used. Used the Coleman propane light outside and actually had neighbors on my patio with what beer they had left in a cooler with ice. Passed the time pretty well. We wound up having to come inside and use candles for light. I cooked another batch of canned beefstew and two more people enjoyed it with rice and hot sauce.
4. Radio. It's a combo AM/FM with solar, battery and hand crank power with an LED 60 lumen light on on the front. We listened to all the service announcements and then music while drinking beer. Had extra batteries for both of the Surefires and the radio. (I didn't trust the hand crank thingy)
Nothing to disastrous, but what was surprising was I was the only one with what supplies I had, other than beer.
We had heard of some looting up the street at the strip mall so my EDC gun was on my hip and longuns where inside loaded.
It was more like a psuedo camping trip. All is good at the moment.