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What happened after Sandy is a tragedy. There are a lot of people suffering now. I'm praying for them.

But, like Katrina and the tornadoes in Alabama a couple of years ago, what is happening in the Northeast gives us some insight into what would happen in a similar disaster here. And, for the most part, many of those affected knew days in advance that it was likely to be bad. It is amazing to me that two days after the storm, some have no food. I do understand that some people lost their houses and whatever stored provisions that they had. But there appear to be many more just waiting around fro someone to come in and help them.

Here is a funny story. One of our preparedness group was in a Wal-Mart yesterday when it suddenly went completely dark in the middle of the day and for no apparent reason. As she reached into her pocket to retrieve her cell phone and confirm that it wasn't an EMP, she said that her mind was going through a set of actions - find the bikes and a trailer for her very young daughter, grab enough food to get them through a journey to their home. Stop by the car and grab her extra ammo. She reports that all went through her mind within a few seconds while everyone around her was still trying to determine what had happened. Thankfully, the generators kicked in shortly afterward and her cell phone confirmed that it was nothing serious. She reported her own surprise that her thoughts were calm but immediate.

For me, preparedness is the difference between the two mind sets. It is simply an extension of self-defense. I don't think its possible to have enough stuff in advance to prepare for any eventuality. Some might condemn the woman in my story above for being paranoid. I applaud her. She was prepared to take charge of her own survival and that of her daughter. Like all of us who run BG scenarios in our minds while walking in and out of stores, she was trying to mentally deal with a potentially bad situation. I think a population that thinks like she did is preferable to one that stands around and waits for the FEMA trucks but that is probably just me.

Dave2 wrote:

chasfm11 wrote:

Dave2 wrote: How can the city prevent you from putting rain barrels in the backyard? Drilling a well, I get (and disagree with), but have they seriously said you can't collect rain water?

Yes. It is another wonderful example of government protecting me from myself. This area is having the worst West Nile season ever and has even made the National news because of it. Their excuse is that you cannot have standing water anywhere. When I built my barn two years ago, they nearly flunked the grading because there was standing water within 3 feet of the foundation. The foundation was 46 yards of concrete and was 8 inches above the ground. The building is all metal. No matter. No standing water.

They have a whole raft of other bizarre rules, too. It would take more than a couple of adult beverages to explain them.

No standing water? Tell them water in barrels is clearly "sitting" not "standing", and that you don't appreciate them keeping you from participating in water conservation efforts during this severe, worst-in-a-century drought.

Trust me, there is no dealing with these people on a logical level. We have large green trash containers and they cannot be stored where they are visible from the street. Code inspectors run around verifying they are not. It took just one building project for me to never want to deal with any of them again. We replaced just about the whole council during the last election. I hope that things are going to get better.

One of our EP committee members has a great rain water barrel setup because she lives in a different town. It wasn't cheap to setup but it appears to work well. If I can figure out a way to camouflage it... But I live on a corner lot and that isn't easy.

Dave2 wrote: How can the city prevent you from putting rain barrels in the backyard? Drilling a well, I get (and disagree with), but have they seriously said you can't collect rain water?

Yes. It is another wonderful example of government protecting me from myself. This area is having the worst West Nile season ever and has even made the National news because of it. Their excuse is that you cannot have standing water anywhere. When I built my barn two years ago, they nearly flunked the grading because there was standing water within 3 feet of the foundation. The foundation was 46 yards of concrete and was 8 inches above the ground. The building is all metal. No matter. No standing water.

They have a whole raft of other bizzare rules, too. It would take more than a couple of adult beverages to explan them.

Sangiovese wrote:One quick thing to consider. It doesn't make it onto a lot of "lists" but it is important if you plan to "bug in" or shelter in place to ride out a temporary disruption.

Sanitation/waste disposal.

Anyone stuck in a city/suburb without running water for even a few days will be dealing with a major problem once the toilets stop flushing. There are several "bucket with a seat" style commodes available, with disposable liners. On the plus side, you can store other preps in them until you need to use it.

I only mention it because it is something that I personally overlooked for a long time, and rarely see mentioned.

This is a part of planning that I've spent some time on. If we can remain at home, we have a septic system and would be good for years. Unfortunately, our city supplied water is very fragile and typically is out for 5-8 days sporadically throughout a summer. The city has little appetite for allowing us to have a backup, either by letting us drill or own well or to use storage barrels to catch rain water.

Alternately, we have an RV with a fairly large holding tank. My wife and I can go up to about 10 days if we manage that tank. Again, one of the limiting factors is having water and our fresh water tank becomes a limiting factor. If we managed to out of a serious situation early with the RV, we could get about 800 miles and many days before needing anything. We keep the RV stocked for a rapid departure.

Thanks for the information on the History Channel, Charles. I had not heard about that.

What I have heard is stories like this one.

http://bangordailynews.com/2012/08/20/p ... -doomsday/

There is also an unsubstantiated rumor of a significant number (600+) of high bank executives who are investing in "prepper" type properties around the world. While I don't put much stock in any news without sources, it does give one pause.

I remember the doom and gloom that preceded Y2K. That, too, was going to be the end of the world as we knew it. It turned out to be a very much ho-hum event. Personally, I'm less interested in the doomsday planning than I am trying to sustain through a protracted power outage or natural disaster. I'm betting that if I can get 800 miles from my current location, things would be better. The means to do that at the drop of a hat, in the face of thousands of others trying the same thing as in the Texas hurricane evacuations is daunting enough to consider.

AustinBoy wrote: It really suprises me that there doesnt seem to be more interest in survivalism on this board. (yes, I know survivalism isnt a word, yet)

I am not a "end of the world as we know it" kinda guy, but I do have some preps.

Here are my thoughts:

1. Topics like CHL and emergency preparedness are extensive. There is a lot of information in each area. Mixing them all together does help me to retain and use the necessary information. I belong to this forum but I also participate in emergency preparedness forums and belong to an EP group. We just had a meeting last night.

2. Bug out bags are great for individuals. Those of us with wives and children who want to help protect them in a disaster situation have to take a different approach.

3. The EMP scenario is fine as a consideration. If you want to pursue that line of thinking, I suggest reading "One Second After" and "Last Light" I have. Each book approaches the situation differently but they share many of the same ideas and the realism of the ideas is born out if you also study the aftermath of Katrina or the tornados in Alabama a couple of years ago.

4. If you perform a risk analysis on possible disaster events, you may find as I did that there are many of them that are more likely than a TEOTWAWKI scenario. Many of the preparations for those lesser impact situations can also be used toward the more significant disasters.

5. I've concluded that the likelihood of a singular individual surviving for very long in a true TEOTWAWKI event is not very high. The key for me is to try to re-establish some sort of society among like minded individuals and to use the collective capabilities of the group to try to extend survival chances. Think about this: you cannot remain awake 24 hours a day for very long and who will handle your security when you aren't awake? I recognize that there are parts of this country where you could be truly lost of months but your chances of getting to one of those after an EMP type of event are inversely proportional to your current distance from it.

There are people and resources available for emergency preparedness in your area. If you are really interesting in this topic, you might benefit from finding them. Having a BOB is only the beginning of the discussion.