Be Prepared

[The Reaper]

Most packages offered are very heavy on grain and have a lot of sugars to raise the calorie count and are not something that you would actually want to eat for a year.

I would look closely at the menu and be sure of what I was getting before I ordered it.

You also need to look at shipping charges, and whether you actually have somewhere to store a couple of pallets of food under controlled climate conditions.

TR

[BadMuther]

Originally Posted by jatx

Per this thread, I am looking for a handheld VHF radio to add to my emergency supplies. I know absolutely nothing about radios.

What features should I look for? Are there any specific models you'd recommend?

Thanks very much.

Check Ebay for Bendix/King Radios. Also known as a PRC-127. User face programmable VHF (and UHF) radios.

http://wireless.fcc.gov/services/ind...e&id=multi_use

You can program it to the MURS freq's for local use.

Good compatible mobile VHF radios for vehicles and base are relm/regency/wilson mobiles on ebay. They are also user programmable.

I've used these radios for years in SAR and police work. Good bang for the buck, and the major advantage is they are easily programmable. Lots of Amateur radios today are very complicated to program and require you to take it to a shop where they program it from cables connected to a 'puter.

[Pete]

For you new people. Dean is churning out in the mid-Atlanitc.

Time to review this thread, blow the dust of the generator, check/rotate emergency supplies, check meds, review emergency plans to include commo, check the exterior of the home (gutters, etc) and yard (dead trees, branches, etc) etc, etc etc.

Read the thread.

Pete

[TF Kilo]

here's a question... anyone do any off-site caches, and if so, what are you caching?

[The Reaper]

Originally Posted by TF Kilo

here's a question... anyone do any off-site caches, and if so, what are you caching?

I do not think it is prudent to discuss where or what one is caching on the internet.

Having said that, it is reasonable to have modularity, and back-ups (remember PACE). Most people do not stay at home 24/7. If possible, people should have a certain amount of gear on their person (EDC or ruck), as well as at their workplace, in their vehicle, at home, and at any alternate location you plan to go to.

Someone living in Miami might want to have a secondary location with preparation at an alternate inland site, perhaps at a friend's or relative's house.

The purpose of the personal kit is to enable you to be prepared for a short duration emergency and to move to the next prepared location. If the evacuation has hopelessly crowded the highways, you need to have a plan to remain in place.

The kit in the auto should be appropriate for the season and the threat. What you would keep in a preparedness kit in Buffalo, NY in February would not be the same as New Orleans in August. The car kit should be designed to supplement your personal kit, and to allow you to survive in your car or on the move for a given period, perhaps 3-7 days, while you wait for rescue or move to a better location.

The home kit should be the bulk of your preparedness effort. If you plan to relocate to another location, you should still have the necessities so that survival there is an option. If you are planning to relocate, the home kit should be as portable as possible considering your transportation assets available.

A secondary location should be stand-alone as well as supplemental to the main effort. For example, if you are bringing firearms, spare ammo and mags would be a good idea, but you might want to have one or two firearms in the same calibers there, in case you arrive unarmed. A wise person will look at the laundry list of things that we have discussed and will make sure that additional iterms at the secondary site are complementary. Canned food is useless without a way to open it. Bulk wheat is not very palatable without a mill or grinder. Etc., etc. Barter items may be useful as well.

Hope that helps.

TR

[TF Kilo]

Good train of thought.

[clapdoc]

This is a great thread.
My wife of 26 years is very talented in the food preparation department.
She cans fresh vegetables so that we do not need refrigeration and i cure pork and venison so that we do not have to use a freezer.
During hurricane Katrina we were without electricity for 15 days and I can tell you that a butane cooker is about the handiest item you can use. Bottledwater is also very desirable, but in an emergency any water can be boiled to purity.

We actually saw desperate individuals pull knives on each other over a gallon of gasoline. Civilization breaks down very fast when people's immediate needs can not be attained.

I hope I never live thru another Katrina but you can bet your last dollar that my family is prepared.


calpdoc sends,

[Shar]

Originally Posted by The Reaper

Someone living in Miami might want to have a secondary location with preparation at an alternate inland site, perhaps at a friend's or relative's house.

....

The kit in the auto should be appropriate for the season and the threat. What you would keep in a preparedness kit in Buffalo, NY in February would not be the same as New Orleans in August. The car kit should be designed to supplement your personal kit, and to allow you to survive in your car or on the move for a given period, perhaps 3-7 days, while you wait for rescue or move to a better location.

The big difficulty we've run into is the frequency of moves we've had, space alloted us in quarters and weight allowances. Out of pure need things like our generator are now being stored at my father's home until we get a little more stable. Although, his house would likely be our secondary location - as you stated TR. I'm not sure if this is naive of me or not, but I'm assuming that if we are living on post our need for large, major things like generators should be lower. I wish we could have all the supplies with us for a long haul, but there is simply no room.

Since we anticipate another PCS soon, I also find myself in the position of starting to try and use up as much of the food storage I can to lighten our weight. I really wish we didn't have to do that, but I guess it helps with rotation and it helps the food budget on the way out! What stinks is trying to build it up again with each subsequent move.

We've been from Ft. Drum to Ft. Huachuca recently and the car kits and emergency supplies we keep in the car are very different. I don't dare get rid of the emergency blankets or other cold weather supplies though. With our PCS pattern, it is inevitable we'll end up using it again.

What we really need to buy is a trailer. Any recommendations? My husband has a full-size pickup truck but we wouldn't want to get anything too big, but we wouldn't want to kick ourselves later for going too small.

[The Reaper]

Originally Posted by Shar

What we really need to buy is a trailer. Any recommendations? My husband has a full-size pickup truck but we wouldn't want to get anything too big, but we wouldn't want to kick ourselves later for going too small.

What do you want the trailer for?

PCS or evacuation?

TR

[Shar]

I was hoping we could cover both bases with one trailer.

To complicate matters, my husband would like it to be something he could keep the family camping gear in when we aren't moving (and maybe when we are) so it wouldn't take so long to pack up for camping trips. I should also say that our camping supplies can and do double as our emergency supplies and all of it, if not most of it, would also be what we'd take with us in case of an evacuation. So we feel like the purchase of a trailer is an emergency preparedness move we'd be making more then just buying a trailer for PCS moves.

So... we're looking for a PCSing, evacuation, camping trailer.

[The Reaper]

Originally Posted by Shar

I was hoping we could cover both bases with one trailer.

To complicate matters, my husband would like it to be something he could keep the family camping gear in when we aren't moving (and maybe when we are) so it wouldn't take so long to pack up for camping trips.

So... we're looking for a PCSing, evacuation, camping trailer.

I would rent a trailer for PCS moves and doing a DITY. You can even haul all of the stuff that the movers won't take or that you don't trust then to haul.

If you want one to store stuff in or to evacuate in, you will need one that is weatherproof, theft resistant, and able to be slept in. You also need to be sure that you have a good prime mover that is safe to tow it when loaded. Do not forget that you will need a secure place to park it between moves.

That means probably a 12 footer or more with a side door, dual axle, with electric brakes if you are going to load it heavily.

TR

I am so glad that somebody started this thread again. I am printing the pages out now for future referece.

Now on a side note. In NEO we experieced our version of the "Perfect Storm" over the lower Great Lakes. It was a very deep low with a record barometer reading at the end of December 31 and through January 1 1976/77. Temperatures droped throut the day until sundown when we hit record lows of -10 to -20 degrees without wind chill which was on most occassions at 30 to 45 knots. It started in the morning when people were on their way to work and
within an hour we had already 7+ inches and the street plows where now begining to loose the battle when the accumalations began to reach the 14-16 inches. In fact they ended up buried themselves. The snowflakes were at least two inches in diameter visibilty was absolute zero I remember that people were stranded everywhere there was a road or highway. It snowed a record total of acumalation of 4+ feet and that was the least amount some people recieved to my AO had a total of 5+ feet. Now here is where it gets interesting. Thirteen people died on interstates 77 & 76. They died either (most of them) form Hypothermia or Carbon Monoxide poisoning. They waited for 2 days for rescues that didn't come until the ONG started flying rescue missions and this was until the ONG pilots could make into work. The Govenor mobalized the entire ONG to come to our AO and when they did come they came by M-113's, tanks with plows on the front, massive road graders, or by Chinook and Hueys. Now these stranded drivers were ALL within a few hundred yards to one or more houses. It would appear that some either were afarid to ask for help or didn't want to leave there vehicle while they were safe and warm. The people that died of Hypothermia had used up all their gas and just waited it out with no supplies or even a blanket. They went to sleep freezing and never woke up.

Now, why would these people not leave their vehicles and head for a house?
This still blows my mind when I read books on our "Perfect Storm. What could they possibly have been thinking as they were dying within eyesight of a house with heat and smoke pouring out of the chimneys?

[The Reaper]

From your description and the depth of the snow, they may not have been able to see them.

The best advice is usually to remain with the vehicle.

It is understandable, but rare for rescue to take that long.

TR

[TF Kilo]

One more reason I am opting for a stack on my truck. Utility outweighs appearance...

it's recommended if you're stranded to dig your rig out in terms of the exhaust, keep the windows slightly cracked if possible, and run the engine sparingly to prevent CO buildup.

Diesel motors also are safer in that regard, because of the lesser CO count output.

[nmap]

Originally Posted by MAB32

Now, why would these people not leave their vehicles and head for a house?
This still blows my mind when I read books on our "Perfect Storm. What could they possibly have been thinking as they were dying within eyesight of a house with heat and smoke pouring out of the chimneys?

I wonder if it might be possible to explore the mirror image of your question.

Let us suppose we have two people in one of those houses you mention. They are well prepared and comfortable. And then comes a plaintive knocking on the door.

If they invite them in, the load on existing supplies increases. That probably won't be an issue in the short term - but longer term situations occur. Given the amount of supplies most people keep on hand, one might need to tap the long-term survival supplies earlier rather than later. And, too, the number needing help is indeterminate. It might be one or two...it might be a family with 4 hungry teenagers...it could be a bus with the local university's football team. Will the existing supplies suffice? Is one prepared to allocate based on need - or eloquence of whine?

I suppose we have all read horrific accounts of what happened to people who opened the door to strangers. While a Quiet Professional could surely deal with the matter, not everyone has the skills and abilities of a QP. So - is one inviting a pack of wolves into the house?

Of course, the other side of the coin is that one might meet some splendid people, and spend a day enjoying good conversation and fun - in essence, a party where new friends were made.

I am not advocating any course of action. But I suspect the issue of what one does when the knock on the door comes is worthy of consideration.