Disaster Preparedness

[Downtown]

OK - so everyone now has read about how we should have duct tape and plastic sheeting ready, 2 weeks of water and food, flashlights and a radio, and an evacuation plan ready. Is anyone actually doing this?

Rob and I actually got in a huge fight yesterday about whether or not i should fly out to visit my brother in LA (from albany), with "impending terrorism" looming. I want to go, he doesn't want me to go. Now, fine. I don't mind having a couple extra gallons of water in the pantry, and it always makes good sense to have working flashlights in the car and house, but duct tape? plastic sheeting?

sigh. do i really want to be getting pregnant?

[Chet]

Yesterday was the first day I heard about duct tape and plastic sheeting. If I were in DC or NYC I might stock up, but not in the suburban setting I'm in - we're too dispersed for anyone to cause significant havoc.

Water might be another issue. I'll probably buy a bit more of the bottled stuff if In think of it when I'm at the store.

Our Utility guys just had a homeland security briefing with the state DNR and the EPA. Basicially, the system plans are no longer to be a freely accessible public document. Strange paradigm shifts abound, huh?

[Tranplanner]

My plan is to be one of the first looters out on the street.

I've collected a bit of kit, but not with disaster-preparedness in mind. It's basically just a collection of odds and ends that I've gotten over the years - flashlights, thermal blanket, matches, flares, first aid kit, etc. - mainly just extra stuff from my auto-emergency kit.

Oh, and I still have a closet full of canned food and water left from my Y2K emergency kit

[Mary Poppins]

I was watching the news last night and they showed all the people buying thier "emergency supplies" and people had carts piled with anything and everything you could possibly imagine.
They said that the tape and plastic would do nothing if there was an attack so it wasn't worth buying. I really don't want my house full of crap that I am not going to use. I am more worried about my brother who is being shipped out to Iraq on the 21st, I would just like to see him come home, that is my only concern right now.

[Repo Man]

Uhhhh..I have duct tape and some extra garbage bags laying around, will that work? I have so much canned food that I never eat. I could probably last 2 months.

[nerudite]

I have had the same emergency pack in the back of my car for 15 years now, and I have a similar one in the house. Growing up in California, it was pretty normal to have an emergency pack in the back of your car for earthquakes mainly. But I've kept it around now that I'm driving through rural areas on icy roads to get to work every day.

It has:

An emergency blanket
A whistle (takes less energy than screaming when you are stuck)
Candles and matches
Rope
Water
Food (which reminds me it's time to change it)
A transistor radio
A knife
Work gloves
Tennis shoes
Extra socks
An extra $20 (which, come to think of it I think is still in US $... hee!)
I can't remember what else is in there...

My mom put this together when I started driving because she was afraid that I would be stuck somewhere in LA when there is an earthquake and I would need to walk 20 or 30 miles to get home. It's been handy from time to time (I've used the knife and matches a few times). I've actually added to it since I've been here (kitty litter and a shovel). One of my phobias is getting stuck in the snow.

As for my house... I just have extra water around (but that's still more from growing up in my mom's earthquake preparedness program more than worrying about terrorism).

[NHPlanner]

Originally posted by Mary Poppins
I was watching the news last night and they showed all the people buying thier "emergency supplies" and people had carts piled with anything and everything you could possibly imagine.
They said that the tape and plastic would do nothing if there was an attack so it wasn't worth buying. I really don't want my house full of crap that I am not going to use. I am more worried about my brother who is being shipped out to Iraq on the 21st, I would just like to see him come home, that is my only concern right now.

Well put....and I agree, we're not exactly right in the target area for attacks. I know that Ben is the first thing I think of every time I see war news.

Have a great day at work hon! :h

[el Guapo]

We have had the emergency supplies gathered and ready since pre-2000. I have extra fuel, water, food, batteries and all sorts of commo. The key is to have lots of ammo. Eventually you may need to harvest your neighbors. :0

That last line was a joke. These supplies are a good thing to have because disasters that are even non-terrorism related do strike. You would never know that because of the media frenzy. We lost power for a day back in 2001 during a fierce blizzard. With all of our preparedness we were able to cope quite well.

If you are truly interested in this subject I recommend the Emergency Preparedness & Survival Guide which has 108 articles on all facets of preparedness on CD for $12.95 from Backwoods Home Magazine. This is the best post disaster - planning for zero assistance from the government for some time - guide you will find. Be sure to print them off before the disaster because your PC may not work afterwards.

Some of you may find the politics of BWHM distasteful. I assure you it is the mildest of the self reliance libertarian web sites. I recommend reading John Silveria's works for a peak in to the classical libertarian/conservative mind.

If this custard hits the fan you can hunker down with me at
N 39.79956
W094.80636

Bring Food and Ammo and Healthy Child-Rearing Age Women.

Approach from the west at 9:00 am. Pop green smoke on odd days, and red on even at 100 meters.

[Jeff]

Save your duct tape and plastic sheeting. If the area you live in is hit with any sort of bio/chem weapon, you are never going to seal up every draft in your house.

Keep a shortwave radio, and guns in the house. Some water and canned goods, and you'll be good to go.

[Planderella]

I'm still well-stocked with batteries, non-perishables and etc. from this past hurricane season.

[The Irish One]

This is about a nuke going off in one of the 2 major federal services areas -being Washington and New York. So just get your water, food, plenty of toilet paper and a weapon or two. the Feds are going to be so busy restoring the civil nerve network., like financial services for ensuring credit and the safe distribution of precious commodities. Until things get going again you'll want to avoid stores. and wait by your computer until Cyburbia comes back on.

The key is to have lots of ammo. Eventually you may need to harvest your neighbors

I completely agree, humans can get pretty ugly and your best commodity is a supply of ammo/ weapons accompanied by a stable mind.

[ecofem]

I don't really know how concerned to be about stocking up on water and plastic sheeting. If something crazy happened today, I'd just have to survive off of the 12-pack in my fridge and cans of tomatoes and beans in my pantry.

Our accounting staff is somewhat freaking out about the "Code Orange" alert. Maybe the bean-counters know something that I don't....

[Chet]

Well, you can always sve the plastic sheets for the bedroom in case PlannerGirl and Mastiff come over to play.

[giff57]

Originally posted by El Guapo

If this custard hits the fan you can hunker down with me at
N 39.79956
W094.80636

[Mastiff]

Originally posted by bturk
Well, you can always sve the plastic sheets for the bedroom in case PlannerGirl and Mastiff come over to play.

Oh yeah...

But you know what is killing me? They want me to develop some strategic plan for the community water system by 2004... Now I have dozens of firms calling me to "help" with the plan... for a fee, of course.

If someone wanted to contaminate a water system, you can plan all you want, and you'd never stop it. Find an out of the way water main, dig two feet, drill a small hole, stuff a hypo without the needle in the hole, and inject whatever nasties you want.

[The Irish One]

now north korea can nuke the western US, left coast is just so vulnerable. I can't live my life in fear, but I know the mushroom cloud over one of our cities is coming.

[Chet]

Originally posted by Mastiff

If someone wanted to contaminate a water system, you can plan all you want, and you'd never stop it. Find an out of the way water main, dig two feet, drill a small hole, stuff a hypo without the needle in the hole, and inject whatever nasties you want.

Its even easier than that. Hook up a drum and compressor to any domestic faucet, turn on the facet, and pump against the relatively low water pressure of the municipal system. Do this from a dozen apartments around a mid sized City - it would be impossible to pinpoint the source and would take weeks to flush the system clean.

[Tranplanner]

Gee, thanks guys - you're making me feel soooooooo much better.

[Downtown]

the only thing i really worry about is an emergency involving an evacuation. albany/schenectady/troy, like most cities, would be a total mess.

[Bullwinkle]

Originally posted by Mastiff
If someone wanted to contaminate a water system, you can plan all you want, and you'd never stop it. Find an out of the way water main, dig two feet, drill a small hole, stuff a hypo without the needle in the hole, and inject whatever nasties you want.

Even easier than that here: we use surface water. Surface water that comes from a lake with a lot of recreational boating. Surface water that comes from a lake within 200 feet of a state highway. Surface water that comes from a lake that is ringed with roads, homes, sewer lift stations, a couple of commercial marinas with fuel pumps, several unground fuel tanks upgradient within a few hundred feet, etc.

Our concern is not terrorism, but your plain-vanilla everyday stuff: leaking underground storage tanks (LUST!), a chemical spill on the highway, fuel (hydrocarbons, MBTE, and other nasties) contamination from improperly fuelled boats, a major malfunction in a sewer lift station, that kind of stuff.

I'll let somebody else worry about terrorism. I'll worry about the things that are more likely to happen here.

[Jeff]

Just stay away from the buffet table....that's all I can say.

Funny how everyone I know used to think I was crazy when I used to say that the war on our turf would begin at the Wendy's Super Bar.

That was pre 9-11 though.

[donk]

If you are supposed to put plastic over your windows, i must be really prepared as it is done already.....

But only to keep the winter drafts out.

But seriously, on the water items, considering we regularily have boil orders who could tell the difference?

In my car I keep a flash light, lighter, candle, blanket, book to read, gloves, hat, boots suitable for walking in, and extra windshield washer fluid.

[SGB]

Originally posted by KMateja
the only thing i really worry about is an emergency involving an evacuation. albany/schenectady/troy, like most cities, would be a total mess.

I can't imagine it being any worse than the Friday evening northbound traffic on the Northway during ski season.

[Downtown]

Originally posted by SGB


I can't imagine it being any worse than the Friday evening northbound traffic on the Northway during ski season.

hee! i can't even imagine what a nightmare exit 24 (busiest toll plaza on the entire stretch of 90 in NYS) on the thruway would be!

[Mastiff]

Originally posted by The Irish one
now north korea can nuke the western US, left coast is just so vulnerable. I can't live my life in fear, but I know the mushroom cloud over one of our cities is coming.

They'd probably miss and hit Canada or Mexico.