That's a whole lotta stuff, Rivkadr.
Are these things you'd use to, as they say, "shelter in place"? That is, stay in your home?
Have you figured out what you'd grab if you had to evacuate?

Heads up on a new "Survival" program coming on Discovery Channel

Is anyone getting ready for the big snowstorms? I heard that out in the NW they expect roads to be closed etc.

It's "Alas Babylon" in which the local doctor is assaulted and his glasses broken, right? And he can't see at all?

Lately, I keep wondering, why didn't he have his old pair hanging around?

I think that novelist never wore glasses himself. Any of us who wear glasses keep the old pair (or two or three) around, just in case we drop the current ones, or lose the screw on the ear piece.

In fact, every year I have the same argument w/ my DD, who wants to just get new lenses in her old frames, and I tell her she can't. Because she needs to keep her OLD glasses intact, so she can wear them again in case something happens to mess up her current ones.

I think he kept his spare in the doctors bag which was stolen with the car. Randy had Bill look specifically for it when they caught the highwaymen. I don't think they found it.

I think I have 20 pair of my "walk around " glasses #10's which I get from Carol Wright catalog. and I have 4 of my prescp reading glasses.

I just finished reading Alas Babylon for the umpteenth time. My favorite. I'm disappointed in that new series Jericho, talk about ill-informed people. As I said before, as long as the bar is open they seem to be happy enough.
I understand there is to be one more episode then they are off until Feb.
BTW I just heard on the news that they found a family of 4 who had been missing for several days. They were huddled together in their vehicle. Another good reason to keep some supplies in the auto. IMHO

Want to see what is going on in the world disaster-wise?

This site is live. You can click a button to explain the icons,

A lot has been made of being prepared while traveling by car, especially since the tragic accident out west this past week. One newscaster advised keeping one or two old CD's in the car. These can be use for signaling; they would act like a mirror when trying to signal a rescue aircraft of some sort.
A good tip I think and one that wouldn't take up much room.

talley_sue_nyc

I even have extra teeth!!

I have about 6 pairs back, of glasses. Of course, they're as ugly as all get out (funny--they weren't then!), and some of them have slightly broken frames. But I could see if I *had* to.

It's been a while since I've been to this thread. pammyfay posted:

That's a whole lotta stuff, Rivkadr.
Are these things you'd use to, as they say, "shelter in place"? That is, stay in your home?
Have you figured out what you'd grab if you had to evacuate?

Yes, a lot of the stuff is emergency supplies that we just want to keep all in one place, for "sheltering in place". But all of these things are stored in a large rubbermaid storage container in the closet by our front door that could be immediately loaded in our car. If we did have to evacuate, I figure we could be out of the house within 5-10 minutes (the majority of that time being us getting the cats into their carriers) and out into our car, and on the road. Now, the one thing I am working on is figuring out what stuff to put in the backpacks so that if we had to walk out or be taken out in someone else's evacuation trucks, what we would want the most. Still thinking about it.

Yesterday while touring Walmart I saw a nice mesh backpack in the sporting gifts section. I got one It is a nice size and I thought it would be good to have on hand I think it was only $3.97.
Have you added anything to your stash??

Interesting thread. The biggest question I have is: Do we go or do we stay.I live in South Fla (NAPLES) and of course hurricanes are our most common threat and we stayed for Wilma (Cat4)2005. My brother in TX tried to evacuate his family for Rita but he turned back after 4 hours of highway gridlock because he found it was more dangerous on the road.
I feel the same way here in FL because we are so far south and only one north-south exit highway (I75) and because hurricanes change direction so rapidly. Many people evacuated to the east coast of FL and then back to the west coast.
We were without power for almost a week although neighbors across the street had power in 4 days.
Here's what we learned: it will be nearly impossible to get local information after the event. There is no central government agency letting people know what's going on (Katrina WILL happen again, in a different place).
We didn't mind lack of electrical power but the sewer lift station was electric and when that didn't work then sewers started to backup and we were advised not to flush even though we had water stockpiled for that reason.
Because 80% of the people did not evacuate they continued to flush and shower and you could smell the sewer outdoors.
Food and water was not a problem. Lack of toilet was.
We left town each night to the nearest motel that had a room and returned each day to check on things and to see if power had been restored.
Our biggest complaint was the total lack of information on the radio since there was no electricity for TV or internet.
I have no faith at all in any government entity in any disaster, large or small.
Make your own plans and decisions. Keep cash on hand, gas in your tank, water in gallon jugs, toilet paper and paper towels.
One good sign-our county now has a shelter where pets are welcome. That's the reason so many people didn't leave New Orleans or go to the shelters, they couldn't abandon their pets. Our dog died a year before Wilma and we know how much more stress that would have added to our small ordeal.

Denise in Naples FL

Thanks for your input Denise.

We have to take on the responsibility ourselves I agree. We don't live in an atmosphere of fear when we are prepared as best we can be.

Thanks for starting this thread Claire--because altho we live in SoCal and don't have hurricanes, we actually had a little tornado in our town. It took out the electricity and thanx for this opportunity to think about it, I could put my hands on matches, a battery operated lantern, and a battery operated radio. I was surprised at how dark it really got and how you had to know where the stuff was. with our earthquakes we always have flashlights around though and lots of batteries, first aid kits, water.

Speaking of electricity:

I drove with DS to KMart to see if they still had the Superman lamp we saw there last week, (He's a collector) Anyway when we got there they had no electricity. They were gathering people to the front from the back. We got in and I went right to the area where the lamp was - still there. We can't ring it up was the answer from all the clerks. No electricity, no scanners, no registers to open etc. So we said we'd pay cash. The manager said ok. fortunately they had a hand held add mach to figure the tax on 12.99 @ 8.25%. "Make it $13" Ds said it would be easier to figure. Then he gave her the money - rounded up also. She said she couldn't give us a receipt but I said you can just hand write one...ah ha what a solution.

We had just been talking about reports from the snow bound states where it has been a problem for stores to conduct any business especially since the trucks can't get in to replenish the shelves etc.
I just thought the KMrt situation was one that no one had anticipated.

you can just hand write one...ah ha what a solution.

Isn't it funny how people end up enfeebled by technology?

i remember once, when i was working at McCall's, I needed a caption to be written and approved by an editor before she went to into an hours-long meeting. But the computer server was down. "I can't write it," said the edit. assistant.

"Use a pencil," I suggested. Oh!

"But how will I know if it's long enough?" she wondered. (Normally, she'd set the margins to the proper length.)

"Count the characters," I said. Oh!

I live in Oklahoma and did some eleventh hour preparations before we were hit by an ice storm last week. Fortunately, we haven't lost power, but I was planning to put food in an ice chest outside, if necessary. I have thermometers to monitor the temperature in those containers -- especially if you plan to store meat or other perishables that could result in food poisoning if not at proper temperatures.

quandary

Good idea. I'm glad that you didn't get the outages.

What did you find most helpful of your supplies this season during your own weather crisis - if you had one?

We haven't had one yet but I'm thankful that I do have a supply of heating materials and lighting supplies on hand.

We had a severe ice storm here in upstate NY a couple of weeks ago. Lost cable for 24 hours but kept electricity, tho many weren't so fortunate.

When we have had power outages, I use the hand-held Scripto fire lighters to light the electric start gas stove. Just have it lit and by the burner when you turn the stove on (or use a match) just as if it were an old gas stove, before they had electronic start.

The vests are fishing/fly fishing vests. What a great idea.

Anybody caught in the big snows??

I received this e-mail and thought I'd share. I wrongly followed #6 during an earthquake a few years ago.

My name is Doug Copp. I am the Rescue Chief and Disaster Manager of the American Rescue Team International.

The information in this article will save lives. There would likely have been 100 percent survivability for people using my method of the "triangle of life."

The first building I ever crawled inside of was a school in Mexico City during the 1985 earthquake. Every child was under their desk. Every child was crushed to the thickness of their bones. They could have survived by lying down next to their desks in the aisles. It was obscene, unnecessary and I wondered why the children were not in the aisles. I didn't at the time know that the children were told to hide under something.

Simply stated, when buildings collapse, the weight of the ceilings falling upon the objects or furniture inside crushes these objects, leaving a space or void next to them. This space is what I call the "triangle of life" The larger the object, the stronger, the less it will compact. The less the object compacts, the larger the void, the greater the probability that the person who is using this void for safety will not be injured. The next time you watch collapsed buildings, on television, count the triangles" you formed. They are everywhere. It is the most common shape, you will see, in a collapsed building. They are everywhere.

TEN TIPS FOR EARTHQUAKE SAFETY:
1) Most everyone who simply "ducks and covers" WHEN BUILDINGS COLLAPSE are crushed to death. People who get under objects, like desks or cars, are crushed.

2) Cats, dogs and babies often naturally curl up in the fetal position. You should too in an earthquake. It is a natural safety/survival instinct. You can survive in a smaller void. Get next to an object, next to a sofa, next to a large bulky object that will compress slightly but leave a void next to it.

3) Wooden buildings are the safest type of construction to be in during an earthquake. Wood is flexible and moves with the force of the earthquake. If the wooden building does collapse, large survival voids are created. Also, the wooden building has less concentrated, crushing weight. Brick buildings will break into individual bricks. Bricks will cause many injuries but less squashed bodies than concrete slabs.

4) If you are in bed during the night and an earthquake occurs, simply roll off the bed. A safe void will exist around the bed. Hotels can achieve a much greater survival rate in earthquakes, simply by posting a sign on the back of the door of every room telling occupants to lie down on the floor, next to the bottom of the bed during an earthquake.

5) If an earthquake happens and you cannot easily escape by getting out the door or window, then lie down and curl up in the fetal position next to a sofa, or large chair.

6) Most everyone who gets under a doorway when buildings collapse is killed. How? If you stand under a doorway and the doorjamb falls forward backward you will be crushed by the ceiling above. If the door jam falls sideways you will be cut in half by the doorway. In either case, you will be killed!

7) Never go to the stairs. The stairs have a different "moment of frequency" (they swing separately from the main part of the building). The stairs and remainder of the building continuously bump into each other until structural failure of the stairs takes place. The people who get on stairs because they fail are chopped up by the stair treads - horribly mutilated. Even if the building doesn't collapse, stay away from the stairs. The stairs are a likely part of the building to be damaged. Even if the stairs are not collapsed by the earthquake, they may collapse later when overloaded by fleeing people. They should always be checked for safety, even when the rest of the building is not damaged.

8) Get Near the Outer Walls Of Buildings Or Outside Of Them If Possible. It is much better to be near the outside of the building rather than the interior. The farther inside you are from the outside perimeter of the building the greater the probability that your escape route will be blocked.

9) People inside of their vehicles are crushed when the road above falls in an earthquake and crushes their vehicles; which is exactly what happened with the slabs between the decks of the Nimitz Freeway. The victims of the San Francisco earthquake all stayed inside of their vehicles. They were all killed. They could have easily survived by getting out and sitting or lying next to their vehicles. Everyone killed would have survived if they had been able to get out of their cars and sit or lie next to them. All the crushed cars had voids 3 feet high next to them, except for the cars that had columns fall directly across them.

10) I discovered, while crawling inside of collapsed newspaper offices and other offices with a lot of paper, paper does not compact. Large voids are found surrounding stacks of paper.

Spread the word and save someone's life!!!

Thank you Marie, that is very important information. It makes sense, yet if I hadn't read it, I might have resorted to my ''duck and cover'' days. Thanks for sharing this.

Thanks Marie. I hope you don't mind I'm going to post this over on our AOL Be prepared board!!

I think it has very important information. Please feel free to post it anywhere. I'm sure the person who emailed it to me would agree.

With crazy things going on all over now it pays to be prepared for anything I think. Thanks again for the post!!

Ummmm.... I thought this e-mail ran its course years ago. And now you are passing it along again...

The American Red Cross disputes his findings
http://www2.bpaonline.org/Emergencyprep/arc-on-doug-copp.html

as does Snopes
http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/household/triangle.asp

Well, that's nice to know but I still think the bulk of the email is good advice. Thanks for your post

Here is what the Red Cross site posts regarding what to do when in an earthquake: Personally, I think getting out of the car and not staying in bed make more sense. I lived through a bad earthquake about 7 years ago and I'm not taking this lightly. Weeks of aftershocks really do stay with you.

Prepare a Home Earthquake Plan

Choose a safe place in every room--under a sturdy table or desk or against an inside wall where nothing can fall on you.
Practice DROP, COVER, AND HOLD ON at least twice a year. Drop under a sturdy desk or table, hold on, and protect your eyes by pressing your face against your arm. If there's no table or desk nearby, sit on the floor against an interior wall away from windows, bookcases, or tall furniture that could fall on you. Teach children to DROP,

First aid kit and essential medications.
Canned food and can opener.
At least three gallons of water per person.
Protective clothing, rainwear, and bedding or sleeping bags.
Battery-powered radio, flashlight, and extra batteries.
Special items for infant, elderly, or disabled family members.
Written instructions for how to turn off gas, electricity, and water if authorities advise you to do so. (Remember, you'll need a professional to turn natural gas service back on.)
Keeping essentials, such as a flashlight and sturdy shoes, by your bedside.
Know What to Do When the Shaking Begins

DROP, COVER, AND HOLD ON! Move only a few steps to a nearby safe place. Stay indoors until the shaking stops and you're sure it's safe to exit. Stay away from windows. In a high-rise building, expect the fire alarms and sprinklers to go off during a quake.
If you are in bed, hold on and stay there, protecting your head with a pillow.
If you are outdoors, find a clear spot away from buildings, trees, and power lines. Drop to the ground.
If you are in a car, slow down and drive to a clear place (as described above). Stay in the car until the shaking stops.
Identify What to Do After the Shaking Stops

Check yourself for injuries. Protect yourself from further danger by putting on long pants, a long-sleeved shirt, sturdy shoes, and work gloves.
Check others for injuries. Give first aid for serious injuries.
Look for and extinguish small fires. Eliminate fire hazards. Turn off the gas if you smell gas or think it's leaking. (Remember, only a professional should turn it back on.)
Listen to the radio for instructions.
Expect aftershocks. Each time you feel one, DROP, COVER, AND HOLD ON!
Inspect your home for damage. Get everyone out if your home is unsafe.
Use the telephone only to report life-threatening emergencies.

Thanks for posting the earthquake info. I heard tht it is a good idea to keep jugs or a jug of water in each room. I think I'd sleep with my cell phone in my pj pocket or near-by.

Our local emergency group is taking issue with some of this Red Cross advice. They are in line with the Doug Copp advice and his makes much more sense to me. Frankly, I'm out of the house if it's that bad and it would be a heck of a quake if you can feel it while driving.

Anyone living in earthquake country should have tall funiture attached to studs. No heavy pictures over the beds.

Minnie, the cell won't do you any good if the earthquake is that bad. Chances are the towers will be down.

Gloria

Minnie, the cell won't do you any good if the earthquake is that bad. Chances are the towers will be down.

That's true they were down during our 2000/2001 ice storm here too.

What a fascinating thread with priceless information. Thank you!

Please add a few of your ideas. We welcome all the info we can get and welcome aboard!!

Today I bought a keychain with 6 different little screwdrivers . I won't use it as a keychain but will keep it in the glove compartment.

Also from the $ store I bought a little velcro strap thing for the wrist and it has a little flashlight on it. Who knows when something like this will come in handy.

Just keeping this thread up. Anyone planning any summer provisions not mentioned before??

Well, my goal for the summer is to clear some space in the basement so I could actually go down there if I needed to during severe weather. I'm working on it the entire summer, since I imagine it may well take three months! (First I need to clean out the garage to make room for stuff removed from the basement.) The whole space needs a major makeover, but cleaning it out is a start.

You're so lucky to have a basement. I wish I had one. Get it ready first then worry about where to put stuff!!IMHO

Any visitors out there? We need your input!!

Wow. I printed out pages of helpful info. What I had set aside was too basic. I really like Minnie's six screwdrivers and I have one of those tiny flashlight things too. Never found a use for it but now its going in one of my emergency backpacks, thanks to Claire.

Well, I can see this topic is almost a year old, and it's time to go through my backpack and look everything over, recheck the batteries, etc. I actually needed a small pack for a weekend trip and I thought about dumping everything then, so I could use it for the weekend! It's not a bad idea really, to take it out and ''testdrive'' the pack itself, since I've never really done that. Hhmmm, I may just have to plan another weekend trip!

After GD goes back to California I have major rehauling to do in the garage. Nice to see you all!!

Hey, I would like to say that if you are traveling by car to keep your seatbelt fastened at all times and please do not keep unnecessary items in your car. Please keep them tied down, closed in a glovebox or your trunk. I know that sounds weird but last year a tornado picked me up while I was driving and carried me down the street. If I would have had some stuff in my car it could have hit me. Right now I keep a sleeping bag, a flashlight, and a first aid kit in my trunk.

~Surfer~

Gee Surfer that was awful what an Experience - thanks for the tip. Also DS said not to keep carbonated drinks in the car since they will explode in extreme heat too.

I posted this at the KTable too Since we have supplies stored up it is good to check to see if you hve any of these Castleberry items

even in non-weird accidents like Surfer's tornado incident, it's best not to hav ea lot of loose stuff int he car. I know I've read recommendations from state police agencies about that.

Surfer, that's a great reminder. I'm sticking the cover back on in the back of my car and keeping it closed.

I've read a lot of useful info on this forum on how to react during earthquakes but fortunately we don't have them here. We do have plenty of hurricanes, tornadoes, forest fires, and zombie attacks. In elementary school, we always had hurricane and tornado drills, but it was the same thing - we would go out to the hallway, kneel down and put our arms over our heads.

I am most concerned about tornadoes.
My house is very open with lots of windows. We don't have a basement. When a tornado appears, the students have to leave school and go home where it's safe. So we have to run in the rain to our cars and drive home. Of course no one wants to ride with me because of what happened. When I get home, where is the safest place to be? Upstairs (the attic office) or downstairs(everything else)? An open area or one surrounded by walls? Near, on, under, or away from furniture? Is it possible to prepare for a tornado, or will my supplies just blow away?

Ooo I have an idea.
I take most of my classes in an old theatre. Downstairs, below ground level, is an old greenroom where the students always hang out and eat lunch. I think it was built to the 1950s bomb shelter code. Do you think that instead of going home like I'm supposed to and risking another flight, that it would be a good idea to just chill in the greenroom until the tornado stops?

Tornadoes:

Go in the bathroom. Get in the tub.

You want to be as low a possible--away from the winds, and below the dangling tail of the tornado.

You need to be away from glass, with solid walls around you.

Bathrooms are often good places to be bcs the room is small, and that adds to the strength of the walls.

I can't understand why your school would send you out INTO a storm. If someone got hurt because they were forced to leave, the school could really be liable! Were I your mom, adn I found out you were in that car because the school kicked you out of the bldg because of the storm, I'd sue their pants off!

I'd be screaming at the board of governors at the next meeting!

The car is one of the worst places to be in a tornado; you're supposed to get out, and get in the ditch. That school is sending you OUT into danger! What morons!

Absolutely, the basement of ANY brick building is the safest possible place to be--you're almost untouchable. And a former bomb shelter is a great idea.

Surfer, I've lived in Tornado Alley most of my life. The bomb shelter is the first place everyone should go in a tornado. I remember growing up, I went to a very old school that was built in the early 1900's. The basement had been turned into a fall-out shelter in the '50's, and if there was ever threat of tornadoes, the entire school would end up in the basement. Underground is best, and like TS says, away from all glass.

The main bathroom in my house wouldn't be a good choice, (even when there was a tub) because there's a window nearby. We do, however, have a very small bathroom in the middle of the house with no windows, and if I didn't have time to make it to the basement, that's where I would go. If you're at home, pick a closet on an interior wall, closest to the middle of your home. You want to be surrounded by walls and no windows, on a ground floor if there's no basement. My mom would always stuff that particular closet with her extra pillows and bedding for some extra cushion around her. She was horribly afraid of tornadoes, yet lived in a house without a basement. It certainly kept that closet clutter to a bare minimum!

Can you prepare for a tornado? Not really, regarding supplies. The best thing you can do is prepare a place to go, or know where the basements are around you. If you need to head there, grab a cell phone and hunker down. I think you were extremely lucky to have survived being picked up in your car. F5 tornadoes like the one in Greensburg, KS are rare, but being prepared and going underground is the only thing that kept that town alive.

I still remember the day we had a hurricane brush NYC, and my DH *insisted* that I go home.

So I did, and there I was, standing on the open, elevated subway platform, when the winds were at their worst.

And I'm still grumpy that they closed our building at noon on Sept. 11--sending us out into the streets to get in the way. Subways weren't running, how was I supposed to get home?

On Sept. 11, the smartest thing anybody did was, the schools chancellor said, "schools will stay open, and kids can stay there, until their parents come get them."

At least we all knew our kids were in a safe place, sheltered, and not running around.

I still can't BELIEVE they throw you out of the building--out of shelter--during a tornado warning. Or do they send you home the minute it's a tornado watch? That seems excessively alarmist to me, too.