Some things to think about before a hurricane

Prepare now for what could be an active hurricane season.  If we had a direct hit, we could be without power and without grocery stores for 7 days or longer.  (Think worst case scenario like Katrina.) 

Ask yourselves:

Do we have alternative lighting, and batteries?

Do we have alternative ways to cook food?

Do we have enough water stored or ways to purify water?

Do we have cash on hand if there are no ATMs?

Do we keep at least a 1/2 tank of gas in our cars at all times?

Do we have easily prepared meals which do not need refrigeration? (These are called "shelf stable" meals.)

Do we have a non-electric can opener?

Do we own several weeks worth of baby formula, diapers, food, toiletries, and prescriptions?

Do we have a battery powered radio?


Can we save some clean sodapop and juice bottles to store more water in the back of closets?  This could be used to flush toilets.

Can we fit more canned goods under the bed?

Can we buy some solar powered yard lights? (These work great as indoor lighting when the power is off.)

Can we get another 20 lb. propane tank to use with our grill?

Can we buy an alternative recharger for our cell phones?

Do we have a paper copy of the phone numbers of friends and family, if our cell phone is dead?

If the GPS is dead, do we have a paper map to help us evacuate?

Can we buy a generator, or at the minimum, a small solar battery charger and rechargeable batteries?

Four Things You Need When Disaster Strikes

This is a great article by Creek Stewart, I really think the pictures are useful, so if it takes awhile to load, have patience.  I like the picture of the firestarters the best.

These four categories are what you need to include in your "bug-out bag", also known as a "B.O.B." or a 72-hour-kit.

http://www.wnd.com/2013/02/4-things-youll-need-when-disaster-strikes/

Morrisville's emergency notification system

I got this information off of the Town of Morrisville's newsletter.

"Morrisville recently changed its emergency notification system to ReadyWake!  Make sure you register your number at https://wakecounty.onthealert.com/ to be notified in the event of an emergency.  The system will only be used for emergency purposes such as:  drinking water contamination, utility outage, evacuation notice and route, missing person, fires or floods, bomb threat, hostage situation, chemical spill or gas leak or other emergency incidents where rapid and accurate notification is essential for life safety."

You may wonder if any of these scenarios could ever happen here, and if you would need to be notified.  I was interested to see that a train derailment caused 300 people to be evacuated because of possible hazardous chemicals in eastern North Carolina just a couple of days ago:

http://www2.wnct.com/news/2013/feb/04/clean-continues-after-eastern-nc-train-derailment-ar-2995710/

Dec. Challenge: Buy Preparedness Gifts

December Challenge: Buy emergency preparedness items as CHRISTMAS GIFTS for many of your friends and family members.
Gifts for lighting or making a fire during a power outage. Flashlights, lanterns, oil lamps, glowsticks, solar powered yard lights, candles, Bic lighters.


Gifts for keeping warm in a power outage. Winter clothing, down coats, down blankets, ski pants, knit caps, mittens, snow boots, wool socks, tents, sleeping bags, sleeping pads, wool or down blankets, indoor emergency heaters.


Buy gifts for auto emergencies: Battery charger, fix-a-flat, wool blanket, emergency kit, star wrench, jumper cables, car phone charger, flares, fire extinguisher, maps.


Buy gifts for coping with disasters: medical emergencies, cooking without power, camping, etc.


I am sure you can think of a lot more!

Panic buying in Northeast

Mac Slavo has written an article about the panic buying going on in the Northeast right now, ahead of Hurricane Sandy's arrival.  I urge you to stock up on preparedness items now, so when a big disaster hits our area someday, you won't have to deal with these kinds of crowds.

http://www.shtfplan.com/headline-news/panic-buying-grips-the-east-coast-mad-rush-for-supplies-ahead-of-mega-storm_10292012

October's Challenge was to practice your skills at the Ward Campout.

At our recent ward campout, what did you learn?   Did you realize that while you were camping you were using the same skills and supplies necessary for coping with a disaster?  For example, you cooked without electricity, slept without your normal bed, had no fridge or freezer, and lit your tent without electricity.

Now ask yourselves:  

Did you pack enough food for your family, and were you successful at preparing it outdoors?

Did you have enough lighting, did your tent protect you from bugs and from the weather, was your bedding adequate?

Did you have the right type of gear, or do you need to obtain something better?

We are all familiar with that statement “If ye are prepared, ye shall not fear.”  (Doctrine and Covenants 38:30).  But we must also bear in mind that this most powerful statement has an equally powerful but completely opposite meaning—“If ye are NOT prepared, ye SHALL fear.”

You might think camping is no fun, but when you look at it as a dry run for a disaster, you can practice your skills and test out your equipment, and know that each camping trip is making your family more prepared.

An Emergency Kit to keep under your bed

Calamity Janet describes the kit she keeps under her bed, in case there is ever another earthquake or train wreck in her town.  This is really a great idea, and you could tweak her supply list to cope with disasters which are common in North Carolina, like ice storms, tornadoes, and hurricanes.

http://www.calamityjanet.com/oh-sht-kit.html

Another firsthand story of the Derecho of June 29-30

This man's story of the big windstorm at the end of June 2012 is a real eye-opener, he begs everyone to test out all their preparedness supplies BEFORE a disaster happens.

http://www.thesurvivalistblog.net/effective-prepping-and-survival/

Preparedness Article in August 2012 Ensign

I don't have my August Ensign yet, but this article is already online.

Elder Stanley G. Ellis talks about being in the path of Hurricane Rita in 2005, and how the Lord inspired each stake president, each bishop, and each family how to prepare.

http://www.lds.org/ensign/2012/08/natural-disasters-we-dont-have-to-be-afraid?lang=eng&query=over+over

How to convert a gas generator to a propane generator

Picture this:

There's no power.  Gas stations have no way for their gas pumps to work. There you sit at home with your expensive gas-powered generator, and all you have is the small amount of gas in your gas can which was meant for mowing your lawn.  Now what are you going to do?

Here is a great article on how you can buy a kit for around $180 which will make your gasoline-powered generator so it is able to use either natural gas or propane.  What a great idea!

(If you buy this, make sure you install it BEFORE a disaster.  It sounds like it will take some time, and you sure don't want to be doing this installation while everyone is suffering and your freezer is thawing.)

http://www.shtfplan.com/emergency-preparedness/the-multi-fuel-generator-dont-depend-on-just-gas_07162012

Letter from a windstorm survivor

Very interesting insights from someone who lived through the big windstorm a week ago.  (I don't know this person, I just saw it on the internet.)

http://stevequayle.com/News.alert/12_Cosmic/120706.VA.power.outage.html

Hurricane articles, part 2

Here is a link to "Survival Lessons Learned from Three Hurricanes" which was posted on "The Survival Mom" blog.

Part 2 or 3:  http://thesurvivalmom.com/2012/06/30/survival-diary-from-3-hurricanes-lessons-learned-part-2-of-3/

Here are things I learned from this article written by Stephen Clay McGehee:

He talked about how expensive it was for the gasoline to run the generator.  He said he would be more picky about what he wanted to use the generator for.

Have plenty of gasoline containers and learn to store them safely.

Get to know your neighbors AHEAD OF TIME.  He shared electricity and water and food with his neighbors.

Store some Gatorade for hydration during hot weather power outages.

Store mosquito repellant and sunscreen and allergy medicine.  You will be outside more.

He had a "Preparedness Organizer" notebook, where he had recorded much of the information he needed.  This is a great idea!  You are NOT  going to be able to look up stuff on the internet!

Super Windstorm Experience, told by Karen G.

Karen and Doyle G. picked a terrible time to move from the Raleigh, North Carolina, area.  First, it was a record-breaking 107 degrees that day.  Next, Doyle, driving their U-haul truck, and Karen, driving their car, left Morrisville late in the evening, Friday June 29, 2012, to drive to the Washington D.C. area to visit two of their children before moving west.  Little did they know that they were heading straight into a devastating windstorm, the "Super Derecho of 2012".

Karen called me on Sunday from Washington D.C. and told me of their experience.  Since it was a phone call, I took notes as fast as I could, I hope I don’t make too many mistakes in retelling their story.

Karen said, “Amy, maybe you have been through disasters in your life, but this was the WORST DISASTER I have EVER lived through.  I have to tell you so that you can tell people on your blog.”

“We left Morrisville Friday night to get to D.C.  Our son and daughter-in-law had come to D.C. to go to the temple.  We have another son that lives in D.C., and he was moving to a new house nearby.”

“We had been busy packing, so had never heard any weather reports.  By the time we got to Richmond, gigantic trees were falling on the roads.  These trees were large, with huge branches and full of leaves, the fallen treetops were about the size of four cars in width.”

“We had left Morrisville so much later than we had planned, it was about 1:00 a.m. and there were all these trees on the roads.  Most cars were staying in the right hand land because the trees were in the left hand lane.  Cops kept going by us, and stopping and putting flares in front of the trees.”

“By the time we got to Richmond, the Spirit said to me, STOP.  So we stopped and got a hotel, even though we had already paid with our credit card to hold one farther along.”

“Doyle’s U-haul truck had been weaving all over the road because the wind was so bad.  At that time, we thought the storm was local.  We had no idea it was so widespread, (later found out it covered Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Washington D.C., New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania.)”

“We slept 4 hours, and got up early, still trying to get to D.C. to babysit so our son and his wife could go to the temple.  Our son finally left the kids with his wife and went to the temple by himself, and found that the temple was closed because of all the trees down.”

(Karen said they attended a D.C. ward on Sunday, and heard someone tell in his  testimony that several temple patrons had come from far away to do their own temple work or to be sealed or maybe married on Saturday, and that people in that ward had sacrificed much to get to the temple grounds and clear the limbs and trees so those people could go through the temple.  The temple had to use a generator to run that one session, and everything else on Saturday was cancelled.)

“When we finally got to the hotel we had originally planned to stay in, it was Saturday morning at 10 am.  We had reserved it with our credit card, but since we hadn’t gotten there they had given our room away.  We thought we could get it for Saturday night.  They said their hotel had power, so it was full.  They said that with a disaster this size, all the locals immediately fill up the hotels because they don’t want to stay in their homes without electricity.  So by Saturday morning at 10 am all the hotels were full.”

(Karen was telling me this on Sunday from D.C.) 

“The radio here says that there are 1.5 million without power in D.C.  They are telling them that some of them won’t have power until Friday July 6.  So many traffic lights are out.  You cannot believe how impossible it is for a 4-lane road to intersect with another 4-lane road without any stoplights.  There is no protocol, no one knows how to get through that.  Besides the traffic lights being out, there are many, many roadblocks, with yellow caution tape, because of trees across the road.  It took us an hour and a half to go what should have been 20 minutes.”

Karen called me later on Sunday night to tell me more.

“We went to sacrament meeting today, we just randomly picked an LDS church building to go to, and we were lucky because it was the only ward in the whole area that was having sacrament meeting.  After that, everyone went home because even though the building had electricity, they didn’t have air conditioning.

“I heard of so many problems with generators.  The radio is announcing that several families are hospitalized, these families almost died from carbon monoxide poisoning because of using their generators incorrectly.  One put their generator in the basement.  One put their generator on the front porch, but the exhaust came in through the door.  Another put their generator outside, but it was too close to the house and caught the house on fire and burned it down.  The radio announcer said to be sure to get a carbon monoxide monitor if you have a generator.”

“Today there are grocery stores rationing how much ice or water they will sell to you.  

“I just want to tell everyone that at first we thought everything was so awful, because our one son couldn’t go to the temple, and our other son couldn’t rent his U-haul to move, then we realized that our troubles were so small in comparison to everyone else’s.  We had no idea the storm was so large.”

“Everything worked out great for us.  We got a hotel room because someone else had reserved it and didn’t show up.  Our son who was moving just stayed in his old house for a few extra days, it had power and his new house didn’t.”

 (I can’t remember what Karen said about her other son’s family, I’m sure she had some news about them but I didn’t write it down.)

When she called me Sunday night, she was driving through West Virginia.

“In West Virginia some water treatment plants got messed up so they are ordering the people here to boil their water.”

“I thought of something else I wanted to tell you.  The cell phone situation was awful on Friday night and Saturday.  When we woke up in our hotel early Saturday morning, we still  had to drive four hours to D.C.  The cell phone kept cutting off.  I couldn’t phone my husband, who was driving the truck right in front of me.  I couldn’t tell my son he would have to be late to the temple.  It was terrible not being able to communicate.  You just can’t count on cell phones during an emergency.  We found out later all the cell phone towers were messed up from the windstorm, but at that time we didn’t know.”

“My daughter would call, and I would only hear a few words and then it would cut out.  But then she would send a text message and I would get it fine.  We learned that in bad situations, text messages will get through when phone calls won’t.”

One more message from Karen.  “The hotels are filled everywhere we go.  Cambridge all full, Zanesville all full, Columbus is all full.”

My thoughts about the Super Derecho Wind Storm

I thought I had better write about the huge human tragedy that is unfolding in the states just to our north.  

Many of the people here in Raleigh, North Carolina, might have slept through the high winds which whipped through our area on Friday night, June 29, 2012.  The heavy winds hitting my bedroom window woke me up at midnight, and I went downstairs to find my husband and son going in and out of the house, watching the trees blow, and rescuing our trash cans which were rolling into the neighbor’s yard.

On Saturday I saw a tree down at the Raleigh Temple, but other than that, it was a normal (but extremely hot) June day.

We were sad to turn on the internet on Saturday and find out what devastation had been wreaked all across approximately 7 states just north of us.  13 deaths were caused by this storm.  

The headlines say, “DC Grocery Stores out of food”, “Gas unavailable”, “Grid Down as Summer Heat Rages”, “Catastrophic Damage to Power Grid”, “Hell Commute: Thousands of Stoplights Dark”, 

Media is reporting that some residents of the affected states may not expect power back until Friday July 6, a full week after the storm.

I think it is strange that the meteorologists are using the new term “Super Derecho”, I wonder if they made up a new term because they have never seen a non-hurricane this bad before?

My husband gave his testimony in church on Sunday, and reminded the congregation that if that storm had only been a little stronger in our area, we wouldn’t have power either.  Sitting in our nice, cool, comfortably air conditioned chapel, I felt very grateful for the electricity.

Today, Monday July 2, there are still 3 million people without power.

And here I sit, with no disaster affecting me.  But I am feeling a little stunned, because we usually have the advantage of being warned a week ahead of disasters (when they are hurricanes.)  It makes me feel uneasy, seeing a pseudo-hurricane happen near us with absolutely no warning.  It opens my eyes to the fact that we need to be constantly vigilant for all weather events, not just when a hurricane is spotted.

I am thankful that I have shelf stable food, which will stay good without refrigeration.  I am thankful that I have gasoline in my cars.  I am thankful that I have ice already frozen in many sodapop bottles in my freezer.  I am thankful to have many types of alternative lighting methods, alternative cooking methods, and stored water.

It is vital that we prepare for events such as these.  

(Next, a report from a friend of mine, who called to tell me about her experiences in Washington DC during the windstorm.)

Lana Richardson on video

http://www.sugardoodle.net/joomla/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=6255&Itemid=200049

This is an excellent video by Lana Richardson, who tells about sanitation, laundry, cooking in a disaster situation.  Some of the best information I have seen in a video.

Challenge: Use Stored Water for Cooking, Drinking

I have already put this challenge on my blog on June 1, but since we are having 2 challenges in June, I need to remind you that it is time to do the 2nd challenge.

(Have you done Challenge #1 yet?)

2012- A Year of Preparedness

Our June challenge is: Use Stored Water.

Challenge 1:  Pick one day during the first two weeks of June, and flush toilets with stored water for the entire day.  

(You will need to refill the containers, because later this month you will be choosing one day to cook and drink with stored water.)

Goals:

Learn to use stored water to flush the toilet, using a bucket of water poured into the bowl, not the tank.  You’ll need about 3 quarts of water per flush.

Learn to flush the toilet less often.  (Ever heard the old saying, "If it's yellow, let it mellow, if it's brown, flush it down"?)

Rules:  Early in the morning, shut off the valve leading from the wall to the toilet.

Put masking tape over the flush levers on all your toilets.

Keep track of how much water you use for flushing in 24 hours.  Email Amy with what your family learned. 

Challenge 2:

 Our next challenge will consist of choosing one day to cook and drink with stored water. Please complete this challenge during the second half of June.

Goals:  Use purchased water or stored tapwater for all cooking and drinking for one day.  Find out how much water it takes for one day, and email your experiences to Amy.

Rules:

Put tape over all your sink faucets early one morning.

Put filled water containers near every faucet.

Do not use any water from the faucet today. Drink and cook today using just stored water.

Also brush your teeth and wash your hands with stored water.

Prepare all three meals at home and wipe the kitchen counters with stored water.  

It is okay to shower, use the dishwasher and washing machine, and flush toilets as usual.

Flushing a toilet using a bucket

One of our challenges for this month is to choose a day, and use stored water to flush toilets for 24 hours. Record how much water you used, and email me with your experiences so I can put it on this blog.

I tested how to use stored water to flush toilets, and found out YOU HAVE TO USE A BUCKET.  Do not try to pour water out of 2 liter sodapop bottles, it comes out too slow.

My toilets flushed just fine pouring at least 3 quarts of water into the bucket, then pouring the bucketful of water QUICKLY straight into the hole in the bottom of the toilet bowl.  This created suction, and it flushed very well.

Things to avoid:

Do not pour the water slowly.

Do not pour in less than 3 quarts.  (Your toilet might have to have more, 3 quarts worked in mine.)

Do not use purchased bottled water, it is expensive. In times of disasters, you could even use recycled water, like dish rinse water or bath water, or even pond water, to flush your toilets.

Do not pour the water into the toilet tank.  I tried it with 4 quarts and it wouldn't flush at all.  I would have had to use a lot more than 4 quarts.  Just take my word for it, and pour the water into the bowl, that takes only 3 quarts.

Don't flush very often.  Remember the old poem, "If it's yellow, let it mellow.  If it's brown, flush it down."  Disgusting but true.

Challenge for June: Use Stored Water

2012- A Year of Preparedness

Our June challenge is: Use Stored Water.

Challenge 1:  Pick one day during the first two weeks of June, and flush toilets with stored water for the entire day.  

(You will need to refill the containers, because later this month you will be choosing one day to cook and drink with stored water.)

Goals:

Learn to use stored water to flush the toilet, using a bucket of water poured into the bowl, not the tank.  You’ll need about 3 quarts of water per flush.

Learn to flush the toilet less often.  (Ever heard the old saying, "If it's yellow, let it mellow, if it's brown, flush it down"?)

Rules:  Early in the morning, shut off the valve leading from the wall to the toilet.

Put masking tape over the flush levers on all your toilets.

Keep track of how much water you use for flushing in 24 hours.  Email Amy with what your family learned. 

Challenge 2:

 Our next challenge will consist of choosing one day to cook and drink with stored water. Please complete this challenge during the second half of June.

Goals:  Use purchased water or stored tapwater for all cooking and drinking for one day.  Find out how much water it takes for one day, and email your experiences to Amy.

Rules:

Put tape over all your sink faucets early one morning.

Put filled water containers near every faucet.

Do not use any water from the faucet today. Drink and cook today using just stored water.

Also brush your teeth and wash your hands with stored water.

Prepare all three meals at home and wipe the kitchen counters with stored water.  

It is okay to shower, use the dishwasher and washing machine, and flush toilets as usual.

See “Emergency Water Storage” Ensign, Aug. 2006, p. 71

Another story by Calamity Janet

After the train wreck, here is the next disaster Calamity Janet experienced, which made her want to be prepared.

http://www.calamityjanet.com/the-blizzard.html

Why did she want to be prepared?

Here is the story of how Janet was startled into wanting to be prepared.  (In case you don't know, a "prepper" is someone who is interested in preparedness.)

"How I Became a Prepper" by Calamity Janet.

http://www.calamityjanet.com/the-train-wreck.html