SHTF preparedness

[tango5]

was she here for the 89's earth quake?

being prepared for a unnamed disaster isn't being paranoid anymore than having a fire extinguisher in case of a fire makes one paranoid.

Now sure, some take it to an extreme and develop apocalyptic fantasies of battling a corrupt government by reenacting butch cassidy and the sun dance kid's last stand. But this is the extreme minority of everyday people.

Reasonable and sane people look at the 89 quake, the LA riots, hurricane Katrina and try and prepare as best they can. little extra food, water, simple medical supplies and yes...a gun in case there is a break down in local government like in the LA riots and or hurricane katrina.

She was here for the 89 quake, but i think she was like 6 years old or something. She is really cute, blonde, and huge boobs, but dumb as a bag of rocks. She has no idea of what could happen in a worst case scenario.

[Ishoot]

I've got at least 2-3 months of food, water for my family of 5 and our two mastiffs. =) Plus filters, tablets propane tanks, a generator.. etc. Call me paranoid I don't care. I sleep well at night knowing I did all I could for my family IF SHTF actually happens. I sure hope I'm just wasting the $$$ but hey, you never know.

[Spyguy]

She is really cute, blonde, and huge boobs, but dumb as a bag of rocks.

You've already confirmed the second part of that statement. Now we need confirmation of the first!

[cudakidd]

I've got at least 2-3 months of food, water for my family of 5 and our two mastiffs. =) Plus filters, tablets propane tanks, a generator.. etc. Call me paranoid I don't care. I sleep well at night knowing I did all I could for my family IF SHTF actually happens. I sure hope I'm just wasting the $$$ but hey, you never know.

Two Bull terriers here, involved in active obedience training (with Bull Terriers it's never ending) , extra food bowls and two days food in each vehicle, extra leashes, putting together pet first aid kits next.

[chaled]

My wife thought I was silly getting a $250 Katadyn water filter. I've got also got four cases of MRE's, weapons all over the house, BOB, ammo, more gear, etc etc...you are not alone in this!!!

[jamespres2001]

If I told my significant other things like this, she would call the doctor to have my head checked. What you describe is such a minor threat that it doesn't even register. BUT, in the event that you do feel the need to prepare for some water, buy some bottled water like normal people instead of drums in long term storage.

But even that is pushing it.

I know you will cite rare cases like Katrina and other natural disasters, but by that token you have to live every single day in a state of paranoia of WHAT IF it happens today? What if there's a riot/water shortage/food shortage/famine/war/rebellion/coup/etc.

Who wants to live like that?

IMHO 3 months food and water is not that big a deal. Just buy a little extra every time you go to the store. As long as you rotate the food and water you don't have to go all natural disaster. I have about 3 cases (and growing) of water in the garage hot I know but the water doesn't stay in the garage long.
It's not a matter of "living like that" it's just be a Boy Scout about it. I agree about the 'No Camo'
I'm not paranoid about SHTF but I do know, I can afford it and it gives me something to do. My Wife said " I don't know about this dear, but if something does happen, I will love you even more. You will be the smartest person I know"
You can get 3 day emergency packs at OSH.

[bbguns44]

Having some supplies, especially medicine, is a good idea. But stockpiling
large amounts is silly. Even the biggest earthquake is not going to destroy
every road out of the area so just drive 100 miles away & check into
a motel & order a pizza. You're worried about looting ? You've got
insurance ? If you're talking total anarchy, that's a completely different
situation and not worth planning for IMHO.

[Sunwolf]

If I told my significant other things like this, she would call the doctor to have my head checked. What you describe is such a minor threat that it doesn't even register. BUT, in the event that you do feel the need to prepare for some water, buy some bottled water like normal people instead of drums in long term storage.

But even that is pushing it.

I know you will cite rare cases like Katrina and other natural disasters, but by that token you have to live every single day in a state of paranoia of WHAT IF it happens today? What if there's a riot/water shortage/food shortage/famine/war/rebellion/coup/etc.

Who wants to live like that?

[MasterYong]

??? Or ostrich???

Who said anything about being paranoid and living in fear? This guy's just being antagonistic.

The supplies that I have in my stores are rotated regularly. They're the same supplies that I live on every day. It's not like I stare at my extra food every night and pray I don't need it tomorrow! I just happen to have extras of almost everything I need to live.

These folks that think the grocery store will always be there and the water will always be running no matter what are the ones that need to get their heads checked. America is one of the only countries in the world that hasn't recently been thrust into utter chaos by a war or some other political event. Even if there's just an economic depression, the folks that have supplies stored away will last longer because they'll need less.

Hasn't this realized that recently, China, Brazil, and other nations have had serious talks about dropping the US Dollar as a valid currency? What happens then?

I don't worry every day about some sort of disaster. I simply live my live in such a way that I acknowledge the very real fact that the supply chains modern society relies on are very, very fragile and even a small event could prevent me from having food or clean water for a time.

It's like a lot of the gun owners that state: "I'd rather have a gun and not need one than need a gun and not have one."

Well...

"I'd rather have food and not need it than need food and not have it."

"I'd rather have water and not need it than need water and not have it."

"I'd rather have medicine, ammo, shelter, and the skills to survive on my own, than need medicine, ammo, shelter, and the skills to survive and not have them."

[Bizcuits]

I get full support from the partner in crime. I have enough supplies and the means to defend it for what I deem is a short period of time. Anything longer and I'll be screwed anyways.

[BillCA]

The idea is to prepare for those periods when a disaster occurs so that you can survive until relief begins to open up supply routes again.

On average, being prepared for 10 days without services is prudent. This covers the majority of likely situations. And if you are prepared and can manage your supplies, you can probably last up to 2 weeks. By that time supplies should be coming in from outside the affected area.

For those who are concerned about longer term disasters or the collapse of the economy, preparing for the longer term means not only stocking up supplies but learning a multitude of things to barter services for food, heat or water. It means learning the nutritional values of foods like barley, lentils, grains and fruits to make low-meat meals. And learning some "primitive" skills like getting clean water or storing food without refrigeration.

Other thoughts:
Water heaters: Gallons of water available, but can you get to it? Check the drain valve on your heater. Is it corroded shut? You'll want some kind of filter to remove the white sediment (manganese mostly) that collects on the bottom of the tank.

Common household bleach can help purify water. But do you know how much to add to a gallon? How long to let it sit before consuming it?

Do you know to use "gray water" from washing dishes or clothes to "flush" your toilets? If you have dogs, have you thought about a tool to scoop up his poop and plastic bags to dispose of it? How do you avoid the problem of flies?

Even the biggest earthquake is not going to destroy every road out of the area so just drive 100 miles away & check into a motel & order a pizza.

Most people have no idea of what "the big one" means.

How big was the surface rupture of the 1906 Quake? Driving a 100 miles or so may not be enough. You may have to drive two or three times that to get away from the damaged areas.

1906 vs. 1989 Surface rupture comparisons

And you may need lots of fuel to backtrack when overpasses are damaged, roads closed from slides and trees block the roads. Traffic might back up for miles as people thread through debris-strewn highways one or two at a time.

1989 Hillslide closed Hwy 17 for 7 days. The concrete barrier separates the NB & SB lanes.

And you won't be alone. Expect a few hundred thousand people will be trying to reach the same outlying zone as you. Got cash? If a major quake strikes phone services are likely to be out or overloaded. No instant credit card verifications. No debit cards.

Sobering Illustration
The 1989 Quake killed 63 people and injured almost 3800. Houses in Santa Cruz and Watsonville were ripped off their foundations. Forty-five miles away, the SF Marina District's apartments sank 7 feet on the landfill near the bay. The approach to the Bay Bridge collapsed onto cars on the double-deck highway killing 42 people. An entire section of the Bay Bridge's upper deck pulled loose and fell to the lower deck. Five people died when part of a building's exterior facade gave way on Townsend street in SF.

And this quake was a pip-squeak compared to 1906.

In the 1906 quake, ground movement was as much as 21 feet in some areas. Average was 6-8 feet. The motion was so severe in Vallejo, 30 miles from the fault line that a stationary train in Vallejo was tipped off the tracks.

Ground motion in 1906 knocked this stopped engine off the rails.

The 1906 quake was felt as a noticable quake in Salt Lake City, Portland Or, and as far south as San Diego.

The graph below comes from Germany. The same seismograph was running in 1906 and 1989. The comparison between the two quakes should scare the bejesus out of anyone living in California.


1989 Loma Prieta trace (top 2 lines) vs.
1906 S.F. Quake (bottom 2 lines)

The 1906 quake was 7 to 10 times stronger than the 1989 quake. The Northridge quake was a 6.7 magnitude quake. The 1989 Loma Prieta quake was 7.1 and estimates of the 1906 quake range from 7.7 to 8.25.

The great Alaskan quake of 1964 measured 9.2 and went on for five full minutes. That's 100 times the power of the 1989 SF quake. Truely mind boggling!

Let's also not forget that after a major event, secondary quakes can sometimes occur on previously quiet fault lines.

Good luck ordering that pizza.

[smle-man]

I live about 25 miles from the epicenter of the Northridge earthquake and went through it in 94. I was at the 5 and 14 overpasses where they collapsed as soon as the sun came up and viewed the destruction first hand. 5 minutes after the main shaking stopped I had my CB radio on and heard the first calls from the truckers on the 14 and 5 about the collapsed roadways. The Santa Clarita valley was almost cut off for several days and travel was horrendous for weeks. Our power and water was off for 48 hours. We had everything we needed stored up and to my wife's surprise everything worked as it should. Since then I've added a 5kw generator and a circuit panel so I can plug right into the house and power it with the generator. I added a 30ftx15ft pool in 04; we have all the non drinking water we can use for a month right there. As long as a nuke doesn't go off in the industrial park like it did on '24' we'll survive.

[bbguns44]

"Good luck ordering that pizza"

Total BS. I was here in 89. I was in the garage & ran out to watch my
house sway for a few seconds. I remember that night sitting in my lazy
boy, drinking hot chocolate, eating cookies & watch TV coverage of the
damage in the Marina district of SF thinking I'd sure hate to be in those
pancaked buildings. I answered a few calls from family & friends concerned
about my situation. Then I went to bed.

89 was not that bad. Earthquakes are very unpredictable. While it may
cover a large area, only some small portions of the area will sustain damage.
All of the other areas will be just fine. Power, phone, roads, stores will all
be operational. I don't expect any problems getting my $10 large pizza.

[zachary2287]

"Good luck ordering that pizza"

Total BS. I was here in 89. I was in the garage & ran out to watch my
house sway for a few seconds. I remember that night sitting in my lazy
boy, drinking hot chocolate, eating cookies & watch TV coverage of the
damage in the Marina district of SF thinking I'd sure hate to be in those
pancaked buildings. I answered a few calls from family & friends concerned
about my situation. Then I went to bed.

89 was not that bad. Earthquakes are very unpredictable. While it may
cover a large area, only some small portions of the area will sustain damage.
All of the other areas will be just fine. Power, phone, roads, stores will all
be operational. I don't expect any problems getting my $10 large pizza.

Did you miss the ENTIRE point of his post. He was trying to demonstrate how MINOR the 89 quake was compared to other large ones and what the inevitable big one will be like.

[scc1909]

Total BS. I was here in 89. ... I don't expect any problems getting my $10 large pizza.

Yeah, me too. I felt nothing, but that evening watched it all unfold on TV. Then I think we went to that Thai place over by I-80 for supper...and they were open!

Disaster Preparedness if for sissies!

I lived in Citrus Heights, btw, how about you?

Now I live much closer to the Bay proper. Moreover, I moved out into the country. Soon after moving in we lost power and phone for a full day (a fairly common occurrence as it turns out...). The genset in the RV powered the fridge and freezer, so we didn't lose anything, but the 80-gal pressure tank emptied by the afternoon and we had no running water after that. In any event the episode got me to thinking about the possible effects of a serious earthquake, and I began preparing for a 1 week outage. Food, fuel, water and gas.

Then a couple of years ago I read that outlying areas could be without power, water and comm for up to a month in the event of a major Bay Area earthquake. The priority will be to keep the several million trapped in the Bay from dying of thirst and starving, so us country folk can be expected to be left to our own resources for several weeks. Be prepared or be prepared to move out!

I didn't stock up on bottled water and MREs. Instead we added a 2500 gal storage tank to our water system. For everyday consumables we simply added a bit to what we shopped for until there was a 30-day stock of everything from frozen veggies to meat to pasta to toilet paper. As stuff comes out of the pantry it goes on the list to be replaced on the next shopping trip. A little discipline and a little foresight and the earthquake can be a minor inconvenience rather than a disaster.