What's Your Disaster?

[Weird Harold]

Got nothing even remotely dangerous to worry about here.

Except maybe trees. There is dense pine and birch forest in every direction from where I live. A dry summer and a spark at the wrong place would suck.

Sounds like my home town and the neighboring town, which had to evacuate because of a forest fire just two years ago. Are you prepared for that dry summer and unfortunate spark?

 

[Couture]

Shereads' comment about stocking up before a hurricane and myresponse about survival supplies not being a high priority for me prompted this thought:

What natural disaster is most likely to affect you and how well prepared are you for it?

Here in the Las Vegas valley, the most probable disaster is flooding, believe it or not. However, since I don't live in an area where I'm directly threatened or likely to be threatend by the direct effect of flooding, my preparedness is mostly to sit tight until the flooding is over and my normal shop-ahead and buy in bulk is sufficient to cover that eventuality.

The second mostl likely disaster is a "major" earthquake -- nothing approaching what California would consider a "Big One," but our building codes aren't as strict about earthquake resistance.

The Las Vegas Valley is laced with fault lines that have been quiet for a very long time so if there ever is an earthquake in this area, it is likely to be big and unexpected.

Las Vegas doesn't have an evacuation plan because the only thing that is likely happen that would require and evacutation is an Earthquake that destroyed the water supply and that would be a post-disaster kind of evacuation that wouldn't be time critical -- people would have time to pack and make other arrangments before leaving.

From the threats I can foresee, I'm well prepared except for an extended reserve water supply without needing to do anythng specifically for disaster preparedness.

Every place where humans live has some potential for a major disaster, so what's yours and how well would you be able to survive if it happened right now?

A secondary question is what are you doing to improve your chances if your disaster holds off for a week, month or year.

Disaster: Hurricane
I now have a gas tank and burner, so that I can boil water and cook food during a long power outage. Carboy for potable water that I fill up before hurricane. Large buckets for nonpotable water.

I have been without water, sewer, and electricity for over a week due to storm. I still don't have a generator and don't foresee buying one. But I do stockpile much more water than I used to.

 

[Liar]

Sounds like my home town and the neighboring town, which had to evacuate because of a forest fire just two years ago. Are you prepared for that dry summer and unfortunate spark?

I live in an eight story brick house with internal well and generators in case of a power blackout. I'll close my windows and invite the peeps from the lower floors up for a there-goes-the-neighborhood party.

 

[Weird Harold]

I live in an eight story brick house with internal well and generators in case of a power blackout. I'll close my windows and invite the peeps from the lower floors up for a there-goes-the-neighborhood party.

I hope your faith in the building is warranted -- it probably is, but I spent the summer of '67 fighting forest fires and I wouldn't want to hole up in an eight story brick oven unless there was absolutely no way I could run away.

 

[minsue]

I hope your faith in the building is warranted -- it probably is, but I spent the summer of '67 fighting forest fires and I wouldn't want to hole up in an eight story brick oven unless there was absolutely no way I could run away.

You're just a lil ray of sunshine today, WH.

And it's good that you point all of this out.

 

[Liar]

I hope your faith in the building is warranted -- it probably is, but I spent the summer of '67 fighting forest fires and I wouldn't want to hole up in an eight story brick oven unless there was absolutely no way I could run away.

I think it would take a surrounding fire pretty well. Good ventilation and even better isolation. I take -40 to +40 C without any discomfort indoors. The way they build stuff over here in general...a close range nuclear blast or a direct meteor hit would probably topple it over, but anything else would have to work for it.

 

[Weird Harold]

You're just a lil ray of sunshine today, WH.

And it's good that you point all of this out.

You know what they say -- "if it saves just one life it's worth the effort."

Seriously though, I've lived through a couple of floods and several forest fires and the last earthquake here scared me shitless -- and it was only a 3.0 that didn't do any damage.

I'm actually a fatalist and fairly pessimistic about what can go wrong. It works out in the long run though because I'm seldom surprised by things that I live through.

 

[SeaCat]

Momma Natures Blowjobs. (Hurricanes.) You know what they say, if she's blowing it sucks.

Dried and canned food for my wife and I as well as the cats for several weeks.

Two plastic 55 Gallon Drums for drinking water. (The Intercoastal Waterway for non Potable water. I don't think I'll run out.)

Generator as well as tanks for 40 gallons of gas. (The generator will run for 24 hours on 4 gallons if run continouse{sp})

Several cases of Beer as well as several boxes of Cigars. (Rotated on a monthly basis.)

Water Purification systems. (Filters as well as tabs.)

Plus such items as a rifle and handguns.

Important papers are packed away in waterproof bags in a safe.

House has been checked and maintained for maximum safety.

Last case evacuation plans have been designed.

Nope, we haven't thought about this one bit.

Cat

 

[yui]

Seriously though, I've lived through a couple of floods and several forest fires and the last earthquake here scared me shitless -- and it was only a 3.0 that didn't do any damage.

Last month, we had a 3.8 quake here in the mountains of NC where I'm staying. I didn't notice the trembling as much as a roaring noise and then complete silence. No insects, no animals. Complete. I've never heard such an absence of sound before; it didn't last long, but it was a very disorienting sensation.

In Florida, like Cat, hurricanes would be my disaster. I'm far enough inland that I don't have to worry about the tidal surge so much, unless we are talking a genuinely cataclysmic, planet-shaping storm. Structural damage from wind is always a possibility, but my house is stucco over cinderblock on a poured pad and it's very sturdy. My roof is newish and I have solid hurricane shutters. Flooding is possible, but not in a life-threatening kind of way.

Last September, we went 8 days without power, so I'm somewhat prepared this year for the loss of power and water; I have a generator, 25 gallons of gas, 20 gallons of drinking water, a swimming pool (and every vessel in the house that can hold water) for non-potable water (between the generator and chemicals, I can keep it from turning green for a few days), a propane cooking stove with two extra tanks and enough ramen to keep me alive for a long time. I also have a cell phone, one of those family network walkie-talkie things, and a nifty little Stihl chainsaw and 3 gallons of mixed gas.

 

[LadyJeanne]

somewhat [/B]prepared this year for the loss of power and water; I have a generator, 25 gallons of gas, 20 gallons of drinking water, a swimming pool (and every vessel in the house that can hold water) for non-potable water (between the generator and chemicals, I can keep it from turning green for a few days), a propane cooking stove with two extra tanks and enough ramen to keep me alive for a long time. I also have a cell phone, one of those family network walkie-talkie things, and a nifty little Stihl chainsaw and 3 gallons of mixed gas.

I'm coming to your house at the first hint of emergency.




(I'll bring the wine)

 

[CharleyH]

Shereads' comment about stocking up before a hurricane and myresponse about survival supplies not being a high priority for me prompted this thought:

What natural disaster is most likely to affect you and how well prepared are you for it?

None, I have been through enough as a child to know: Get out, try, survive and live. How prepared am I to live? Well, it does not involve stealing into your house for a stereo, but I would into your fridge with a thank you. Would you accept it?

 

[Belegon]

despite living in California, I worry far more about wildfires than earthquakes...the area around San Diego is not as vulnerable as other parts of the state...

I missed three days of work from being weak with smoke inhalation after spending a Sunday with a hose on my mom's roof a couple Octobers ago...fire got real close (like heat on my face close) before the magic men showed up at almost the last moment and turned it away...

Firefighters rule.

 

[Lucifer_Carroll]

despite living in California, I worry far more about wildfires than earthquakes...the area around San Diego is not as vulnerable as other parts of the state...

I missed three days of work from being weak with smoke inhalation after spending a Sunday with a hose on my mom's roof a couple Octobers ago...fire got real close (like heat on my face close) before the magic men showed up at almost the last moment and turned it away...

Firefighters rule.

The wildfires are killer, definitely. At the last big fire, my parent's house was surrounded on three sides by the fire and I helped them get ready for a possible evac. However, living close to the ocean, I worry less about it.

The earthquakes are a bigger worry at the moment as they're increasing in rate as of late and the fact that my bed currently lies underneath a bookcase (worst case scenario: broken legs for the duration of the disaster until my floor kills those below me) doesn't help.

 

[scheherazade_79]

Same as Earl. Nothing really. I'm about 50 miles from the nearest city, and live on high ground, away from any major fault lines, and in a part of the world that doesn't get such extreme weather.

The only potential "disaster" situation I can think of is if the chicken flu virus mutated and started being transmitted between humans. Survival technique? I'd do all my grocery shopping online and have it left on my doorstep, and I wouldn't go to work.

 

[shereads]

We had a tornado in Miami this week. The second one as far as I'm aware. Those are supposed to be a prairie disaster, dammit, not a coastal disaster. Waterspouts, yes, but not tornados.

PLEASE, people! Can each geographic region try to keep its natural disasters local, at least until we get used to having our chosen disaster more often and more severely? We don't need your tornados. Category 5 hurricanes have tornados as a component. (You can't order them separately; only as part of the Deluxe Interior Package.)

-----

Who else has experienced a disaster that couldn't be escaped by changing geographic regions? Mine was the 1980s.

 

[shereads]

Momma Natures Blowjobs. (Hurricanes.) You know what they say, if she's blowing it sucks.

Dried and canned food for my wife and I as well as the cats for several weeks.

Two plastic 55 Gallon Drums for drinking water. (The Intercoastal Waterway for non Potable water. I don't think I'll run out.)

Generator as well as tanks for 40 gallons of gas. (The generator will run for 24 hours on 4 gallons if run continouse{sp})

Several cases of Beer as well as several boxes of Cigars. (Rotated on a monthly basis.)

Water Purification systems. (Filters as well as tabs.)

Plus such items as a rifle and handguns.

Important papers are packed away in waterproof bags in a safe.

House has been checked and maintained for maximum safety.

Last case evacuation plans have been designed.

Nope, we haven't thought about this one bit.

Cat

Until I buy a generator (not the toy one I had after Andrew that could barely power itself, but a big kids' generator that can power an appliance or two) I worship the inventor of my battery-operated fan. If you set it beside the bed, no more than two feet from your neck and shoulders, you can almost feel a breeze. If you soak a wet cotton t-shirt in water before wearing it to bed, it's an almost cool breeze.

Ziplock baggies! Keep some toilet paper in there. Friends who have lost their roofs during hurricanes tell me that dry toilet paper is more valuable than gold.

I keep my important papers in ziplock baggies in the refrigerator. Not to keep them cold, but with a vague hope of keeping them dry and keeping them from flying more than a block from the house.

EDITED TO ADD: The best disaster plan is to become wealthy. That way, you can leave town during hurricane season/blizzard season/forest fire season etc.

If owning homes in various climates is out of the question, at least be wealthy enough that you can evacuate before the storm is officially headed your way, like the woman I spoke to at the dry cleaners' last week. "I think people are crazy for not finding a comfortable place to stay before it's too late," she told me. "If we don't fly someplace, we always book hotel rooms in Broward, Naples and Orlando, just in case."

"What about your job?" I said, knowing the answer but feeling bitter enough that I wanted to hear it. "They don't mind if you take off before there's a hurricane warning?"

She chuckled.

 

[Weird Harold]

Who else has experienced a disaster that couldn't be escaped by changing geographic regions? Mine was the 1980s.

While they have usually not been of "disaster" proportions, I've dealt with floods almost everywhere I've spent any length of time. Since I moved 22 times at government expense in 21 years, that's not an inconsiderbl sample of the world -- altough the USAF did seem to favor sending me to deserts and jungles except for the seven years spent in England or Germany.

 

[Stella_Omega]

Here in Los Angeles, it's earthquakes. And, possibly, terrorist activity. and, like yesterday, human error- most of the city and surroundings lost power for one-to-four hours, after some fool cut a primary feed at a relay station during routine maintenance.

I have my own little emergency going on, my partner broke his arm Sunday night. We have hardly any money, on account of how it's all going into the biz, and certainly no insurance. So, I am on my way to pick him up from the second hospital and bring him to the third... two days later.
On a day with NO emergency, County General- I brought him in there at about 12:00 yesterday. He called me at about 8:00 PM, and told me there were still 45 people waiting in front of him just to sign in. The receptionist told him it would be another 12 hours before he was seen for INTAKE.
He spent today at an Orthopaedic hospital, and just called me to say he's now been told they would splint him and send him somewhere else.
So he left before they could charge him for the splint, and I have to go get him and take him on to the next place.
Don't be poor, that's my advice! And more importantly- take the RED CROSS classes. I could splint him, if I knew how. And I have a feeling that, sooner or later, I will find myself splinting a lot of people.

 

[Stella_Omega]

Okay, guys here's another form of disaster to think about.
You know, I said in the previous post- that the hospital couldn't set the bone> well, here's why not.

My partner was talking to a nurse, who'd been there for 45 years;
It seems that this hospital would have been able to set his broken bone and give him a cast and do the follow-ups- just three weeks ago. but, it got bought by one of those capitol gains groups.
and they are selling most of the land- downtown Los Angeles, valuable real estate. The hospital will now only do pediatric care- no adults. She snuck his xrays out the side door for him, and I made a splint for him- (thank you google!) which is keeping him comfortable until tomorrow morning, when we will try again at yet a third hospital

This is WHY the waiting room at County General has 200+ people waiting as long as 18 hours to be seen.

 

[yui]

I'm coming to your house at the first hint of emergency.




(I'll bring the wine)

Oh, wine! Oh, yes! Hint, hint: Emergency, emergency! Come on over!

 

[SlickTony]

Hurricanes here. However, it's been about 16 years since we had a direct hit, and anyway, we live a sufficient distance from the ocean and out of the flood plain. Usually the most we do to prepare for the hurricanes that look like they might be headed our way is to buy extra batteries and nonperishable food, but I've given disaster preparation more thought since Katrina.

 

[cloudy]

Tornados here....and there's really no way to "prepare" for them other than having shelter, which we do.

 

[Slowlane]

Tornadoes – small ones- occasional bad winter storms. We went without power for a week once during a snow storm.

I don’t worry a lot about stocking up. But, we usually have enough food in the house for a week or two, we keep ten gallons of potable water, I have a generator and backup heaters because of my job, and I am usually pretty well armed. We have several different kinds of backup lighting and lots of reading material.

If I didn’t have most of this stuff anyway I suspect I would arrange for it. There isn’t much you can do for a tornado except duck into some shelter, but a few things around the house can make a winter power outage more bearable.

Oh, we have an equal supply of stuff for the pets.

 

[minsue]

Okay, guys here's another form of disaster to think about.
You know, I said in the previous post- that the hospital couldn't set the bone> well, here's why not.

My partner was talking to a nurse, who'd been there for 45 years;
It seems that this hospital would have been able to set his broken bone and give him a cast and do the follow-ups- just three weeks ago. but, it got bought by one of those capitol gains groups.
and they are selling most of the land- downtown Los Angeles, valuable real estate. The hospital will now only do pediatric care- no adults. She snuck his xrays out the side door for him, and I made a splint for him- (thank you google!) which is keeping him comfortable until tomorrow morning, when we will try again at yet a third hospital

This is WHY the waiting room at County General has 200+ people waiting as long as 18 hours to be seen.

Regardless of the wait - 12 hours, 18 hours, 24 hours, whatever - get that bone set. My brother (uninsured at the time) was turned away from the county hospital after breaking multiple bones in his hand because it was a Friday night, they were busy, and therefore told him it wasn't an emergency and he would have to go to a regular doctor instead of the emergency room. By the time he was able to get in to see a doctor monday, one of the bones had started to fuse back together and it had to be rebroken before it could be set. He's got a nice metal plate in that hand now, too, but I'm guessing that's because he shattered the bones so nicely not because of the wait to get it taken care of. (Never punch a hollow-core door unless you know for sure it actually is a hollow-core door)

 

[Weird Harold]

Okay, guys here's another form of disaster to think about.

...I made a splint for him- (thank you google!) which is keeping him comfortable until tomorrow morning, when we will try again at yet a third hospital

I haven't really thought about it in years because there has been a lot of "First Aid" training of various sorts in between, but I took a Civil Defense course in high school (ca. 1965) called "Medical Self Help."

It was a course built on the premise that through enemy attack or natural disaster, people would likely be isolated from medical care for long periods of time -- i.e. up to 90 days in a fallout shelter.

It covered broken bones, child-birth, fevers, and all of the things that people go to the emergency room and urgent care clinics for today.

I don't think there is any sort of equivalent course today short of going for a full EMT Qualification and, sadly, I don't think anyone would take it if there was one becaue of the litigious nature of America today and fears of liabiity lawsuits.