Do you have a Disaster Perparedness Plan?

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• BU

  

  BuckneckudOriginal Poster

  Sep 15, 2012

  [quote]Water and canned goods are the most important thing, obviously. I would think many merchants would have back up generators these days, so your bank card should be ok.
  Are you on a well? If so, your well pump will stop working without a generator. Remember that a generator should be tested regularly. [/quote]Good point about water.. I was assuming that the utility was still intact and functioning...probably not an assumption I should make.  I just spent some time reading about how to install a GenTran panel. It is a pretty simple thing, something I can do myself.  Food is a given... Though I'm surprised how many people can't sustain themselves even a few days without access to the market.

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• ME

  Member

  Sep 16, 2012

  [quote]I would think many merchants would have back up generators these days, so your bank card should be ok.[/quote]Not necessarily.  In 2003, Hurricane Isabelle hit the Mid-Atlantic region (I live in Va). It hit on the weekend, and while some stores did have  power, they were taking cash only, because they couldn't get debit/credit card authorizations. I know 2 different 7-11's that I went to were cash only.
  
  Also, with cash, small bills (1's and 5's) are the order of the day. Yeah, it's a pain, but it's helpful for the stores that may not have a lot of cash on hand.
  
  Isabelle hit, and a lot of places didn't have a chance to make a bank run beforehand. When it finally blew over, it was Sunday, and of course, the banks were closed, so no bank run after.
  
  *shrug* Just a thought.
  
  
  

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• BU

  

  BuckneckudOriginal Poster

  Sep 16, 2012

  [quote][quote]I would think many merchants would have back up generators these days, so your bank card should be ok.[/quote]Not necessarily.  In 2003, Hurricane Isabelle hit the Mid-Atlantic region (I live in Va). It hit on the weekend, and while some stores did have  power, they were taking cash only, because they couldn't get debit/credit card authorizations. I know 2 different 7-11's that I went to were cash only.
  
  Also, with cash, small bills (1's and 5's) are the order of the day. Yeah, it's a pain, but it's helpful for the stores that may not have a lot of cash on hand.
  
  Isabelle hit, and a lot of places didn't have a chance to make a bank run beforehand. When it finally blew over, it was Sunday, and of course, the banks were closed, so no bank run after.
  
  *shrug* Just a thought.
  
  
  [/quote]That is definitely good to know, I'll be adding CASH to my disaster kit.

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• MI

  

  Mitch

  Sep 16, 2012

  I do, in a sense.
  I have camping gear too. I also took a class. CERT Community Emergency Response Teams.
  Upon completion I received a backpack with gear needed for survival: Food, water, blanket, rope, matches, candle first aid kit and other items.
  Check it out, there may be a CERT class in your areas!
  
  
  Stay naked!
  

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• BU

  

  BuckneckudOriginal Poster

  Sep 16, 2012

  [quote]I do, in a sense.
  I have camping gear too. I also took a class. CERT Community Emergency Response Teams.
  Upon completion I received a backpack with gear needed for survival: Food, water, blanket, rope, matches, candle first aid kit and other items.
  Check it out, there may be a CERT class in your areas!
  
  
  Stay naked!
  [/quote]Very cool! I'll look in to it. Thanks.

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• ME

  Member

  Sep 16, 2012

  I have a cookbook called "The Storm Gourmet, a guide to creating extraordinary meals without electricity" by Daphne Nikolopoulos. It has meal plans and shopping lists, and a list of manual gadgets (something you don't think about until you actually need it). She gives 5 and 14 day meal plans. Actually the beginning of the book has a lot of helpful little tips.
  
  barnesandnoble.com has it for 9.65.
  
  

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• BU

  

  BuckneckudOriginal Poster

  Sep 16, 2012

  [quote]I have a cookbook called "The Storm Gourmet, a guide to creating extraordinary meals without electricity" by Daphne Nikolopoulos. It has meal plans and shopping lists, and a list of manual gadgets (something you don't think about until you actually need it). She gives 5 and 14 day meal plans. Actually the beginning of the book has a lot of helpful little tips.
  
  barnesandnoble.com has it for 9.65.
  
  [/quote]I used to try to do an extraordinary meal every now and then - now I'm more likely to gather a bunch of raw fruits and veggies together and eat a sandwich. Hot meals are comforting when you are doing without other luxuries, and their preparation can give you something to do. I try to keep a large bag of rice, flour, yeast, sugar, dried beans, and canned goods in my pantry. No MRE's for me... I've had my fill of them! Love to make my own bread in a bread machine.. Another use for the generator, I have to have fresh bread! I went to Hastings today to find something to read and was detracted by all their games and electronics, I felt like an alien being. I left without buying anything; should have gone to Barns and Noble!

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• ME

  Member

  Sep 17, 2012

  We have recently constructed a new outbuilding, with space for 6 people to sleep if needed, and lots of storage space now for all the seasonal and camping equipment. Great storage for our canned food and spare household furniture too!If something terrible was ever to happen to our house, we have a building we can shelter ourselves in.

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• OP

  

  openrange

  Sep 17, 2012

  buckets of water for the bathroom ( well pump ), propane for the grill ( elect. stove ),
  
  a genny if you can afford one ( be carefull how and what you hook up to it !)
  
  and a lot of ice for the beer !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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• BU

  

  BuckneckudOriginal Poster

  Sep 17, 2012

  [quote]buckets of water for the bathroom ( well pump ), propane for the grill ( elect. stove ),
  
  a genny if you can afford one ( be carefull how and what you hook up to it !)
  
  and a lot of ice for the beer !!!!!!!!!!!!!!![/quote]We had a saying, "if it's yellow, it's mellow; if it's brown flush it down!" that helped everyone remember not to flush the toilet every time you went to the bathroom. The men were encouraged to go outside and have a look around. Beer is a nessecity right near the top of the list, I agree.

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• EV

  

  EvansBetterHalf

  Sep 19, 2012

  All great suggestions!  As a former resident of California (earthquake territory) we always keep large water bottles full, small propane tanks on hand and a large stocked first aid kit.  Not to mention the pantry being stocked.
  
  AndyDi are right....always remember to rotate!  Not just your food and water but also your first aid supplies.
  
  One think I would like to add, your prescriptions.  I always carry a two day supply with me for both my husband and I, then rotate it out every other month.  This works for emergency situations and should you find yourself spontaneously away from home, you are set.  We are back roaders and breaking down is part of the package so this has saved a lot of scrambling for a pharmacy.
  

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