Emergencies...Would You Be Ready?

OneEyedDiva

OneEyedDiva

SF VIP
Location
New Jersey
Having been affected by Superstorm Sandy, knowing someone who's home was obliterated during the storm, being within only one mile of a house that blew up and having other buildings a few towns over suddenly become unlivable because of explosions or cave ins, I know that when least expected, emergencies can alter our lives. And of course across the country there have been devastating wildfires, floods and storms.

What if you were only given 15 minutes to grab your stuff and leave your home, with expectations that you wouldn't be able to return for 2 weeks or more, would you be ready? Do you have a "go-bag" packed, easily accessible "portable" food and bottled water? Now...what if you had to shelter in place for 2 weeks and as of when the emergency was announced, couldn’t get to the grocery store. Would you have enough to eat (even if you couldn't cook), enough drinking water and toilet paper? If you were without power, do you have emergency back ups for lighting and heat? Here are lists of what to do should various emergency situations arise.
https://www.ready.gov/prepare-for-emergencies


 

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No not really ,we had a huge storm here in South Australia 6 months ago ,Here is a photo of the beach 500 mtrs from my home ...this is a beach shelter that's normally on dry beach sand ..

There is no record of ever having such a vicious storm hit here in the past ..Then a couple of weeks latter we were hit again with a simular storm

The night of this storm we received a text message saying "Watch and Act " it frightened the life out of me getting the text 9.30 at night with the wind and rain howling outside .

The second photo shows after the water receded quite a bit ,the whole area is normally a very calm (water) Bay Area

We were without power for two days ,because the winds were so strong it bent and buckled huge pylons that carry power lines like matchsticks ,they were a long way from us,but supplied our power ..
 

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When we moved way out into the country, "emergency preparing" became a higher priority. We have a generator, gobs of extra food, plenty of flashlights/batteries, a Coleman stove and lantern, and a well for water(generator will run the pump). I suppose that unless we took a direct hit from a tornado, we could manage for 2 or 3 weeks....by then, things should be back to normal, or headed for total chaos(in which case, everyone would be in trouble). Oddly enough, in 14+ years, we've only had one power outage that last for more than a few minutes....in the city, 1 or 2 days every Winter(when trees knocked out power lines) seemed to be the norm.
 
OneEyedDiva said:

What if you were only given 15 minutes to grab your stuff and leave your home, with expectations that you wouldn't be able to return for 2 weeks or more, would you be ready? Do you have a "go-bag" packed, easily accessible "portable" food and bottled water? Now...what if you had to shelter in place for 2 weeks and as of when the emergency was announced, couldn’t get to the grocery store. Would you have enough to eat (even if you couldn't cook), enough drinking water and toilet paper? If you were without power, do you have emergency back ups for lighting and heat? Here are lists of what to do should various emergency situations arise.
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No go bags packed, but that's a good idea for sure. If we had to shelter in place we'd do pretty well. Food and water we have, wood, matches/lighters, generator, propane and propane stoves and lanterns, hand crank/battery operated radios and flashlights, water filter pump, emergency candles, CB radio, 2-way radio, lots of extra batteries, down sleeping bags, TP, etc. Since we've been on our own many times since we were younger and camping in remote areas, we have many of these things on hand that are ideal for emergencies. We even have some Y2k food, freeze dried and unopened, not ideal snacks or meals but would be valuable in an emergency situation.
 
Kadee, the contrast in those two pictures is indeed frightening! Is your residence anywhere near the shoreline of the bay? Are you at a high enough elevation to escape any storm surge? It must provide some comfort to be texted in time to evacuate, without having to use the media to search out the latest updates. Does your town provide those texts, or is it a group of people you know who share the information to help each other? Storms do seem to be increasing in intensity many places in the U.S., too. Stay safe!
 
If history is any guide it is not likely to be a problem in my area.

To be prepared I would need to add some drinking water, a battery powered radio and a more comprehensive first aid kit.

I would be ok to hit the road in fifteen minutes, the only limitation being the amount of gas in the tank or the availability of fuel.
 
I keep a portable file box with all the critical papers in it. Insurance policies, bank papers, tax documents, etc. We are on the highest ground in our county. Twenty years ago we lived in a very nice beach town where our street was 5 feet above sea level.
 
We are 500 meters from the beach ,The area has a cliff but the water was almost up,to the top of the cliff ...all pretty scary :eek:mg1:
at the time I have other photos where the car park is flooded ,but I need to resize before posting
 
No.

Documents, photos, any important papers that may get destroyed are safe in watertight fire proof water tight safes and safe deposit boxes.
My computer is 100% backed up online to the cloud and on USB drives.

But a go bag, I never considered it necessary where I live.
I guess you never know though.
 
Redlo Nosrep said:
I can't imagine how traumatic the effects of a superstorm like Sandy must have been for all of you who were in the area, even if your home was not directly affected. Good for you if it caused you to prepare for the next emergency by doing what you listed! FEMA put out a short PDF about how to do what you suggested: https://www.fema.gov/media-library-...4210b03b4cf5c398fa1bd6/ready_seniors_2014.pdf P.S. I love your avatar.
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Thank you so much for the link and the compliment Redlo! I don't know why I forgot to attach my intended link in the original post but I've added it. There can never be too much information on how to stay safe and I like that your link is geared toward we seniors...good info! :)
 
Don M. said:
When we moved way out into the country, "emergency preparing" became a higher priority. We have a generator, gobs of extra food, plenty of flashlights/batteries, a Coleman stove and lantern, and a well for water(generator will run the pump). I suppose that unless we took a direct hit from a tornado, we could manage for 2 or 3 weeks....by then, things should be back to normal, or headed for total chaos(in which case, everyone would be in trouble). Oddly enough, in 14+ years, we've only had one power outage that last for more than a few minutes....in the city, 1 or 2 days every Winter(when trees knocked out power lines) seemed to be the norm.
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Good for you Don M! How close (or far away) is your closest neighbor?
 
OneEyedDiva said:
Good for you Don M! How close (or far away) is your closest neighbor?
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There are about 20 families on this 800 acre forest "community", and we all know each other, and get along nicely. Our closest neighbors are about 1/8th of a mile away, and we chat frequently. I've become kind of a "caretaker" to an old guy who lives alone about 1/2 mile away...he had a stroke about 3 years ago, and I check in on him every couple of days to make sure he is doing ok...I have a key to his house, and all the contact info for his relatives in Nebraska.

Living in the boondocks requires a person to have ample supplies, and a plan for emergencies...besides, it has been my experience that if I plan for the worst, I usually don't need it...BUT, if I "assume" things will go well, that is usually when something goes awry.
 
Don M. said:
.... it has been my experience that if I plan for the worst, I usually don't need it...BUT, if I "assume" things will go well, that is usually when something goes awry.
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Ain't THAT the truth!
 

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