How many are preparing emergency kits?

[CrispyQ]

Poll question: How many are preparing emergency kits?

After Katrina we all saw what we suspected: the Federal govt has been gutted to the point that they are incapable of responding if something catastrophic happens. You better be able to fend for yourself for at least a month, maybe longer.

There were some threads on emergency kits, what to stock, etc. & I wonder how many of us are actually following through & getting our kits together?

Poll result (51 votes)
Yes, I have started collecting emergency/survival supplies.	(23 votes, 45%)	Vote
I already have a kit.	(10 votes, 20%)	Vote
I have a kit & am reinforcing it with additional supplies.	(10 votes, 20%)	Vote
No kit. The Feds/State or someone will be there to help.	(2 votes, 4%)	Vote
No kit. I always land on my feet & will be fine regardless.	(6 votes, 12%)	Vote

[Dunvegan]

1. Yes...but, then I live in San Francisco, earthquake-ville...

...and as a first-responder I not only have a response pack at the ready for response, we also know and preach it's just prudent to have 72 hours of supplies and water on-hand at all times.

You should too.

[imouttahere]

2. A pair of walking shoes and a bottle of water....

in the car, in case there is a big earthquake while I am away from home. Beyond that, I'm phucked.

[liberalnurse]

3. I had a kit set up years ago. With Ed in the Air Force

we have a nice stock pile of MRE's. I do need to get a CB radio.

[SteppingRazor]

4. Other --

No kit, that is no box or case filled with supplies, but I have everything I might need in my house. Flashlights, kerosene lantern, canned food, guns 'n' ammo, a couple cases of water, etc., etc.

[calico1]

5. I am the child of parents who grew up during the

Depression. I learned from my parents, especially my mom to have plenty of food in the house. I did not however have that much in canned goods. I have tried to stock up for at least two weeks worth but my fiance thinks I am out of my mind. Can someone direct me to one of the threads mentioned?

[CrispyQ]

13. Here's one I started

& somewhere in there is a link to another thread. Great, great advice in these threads!

My husband thought I was a little nutso too until Katrina happened. Also, remember the blackout in the Northeast (was it fall of 2003?). In Cleveland the water pumps went out & in less than 48 hours those people had no water. I think our infrastructure is more fragile than most people believe as it has not been updated or put to the test.


on edit: Duh! here's the link!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.ph...

[calico1]

20. Thank you! n/t

[FlaGranny]

15. Reminds me of my mother.

She also was around during the great depression. She wasn't happy until every food storage area was stuffed to overflowing. During hurricane season I try to keep my frozen foods to a minimum to avoid losing them, though.

[slackmaster]

6. I've NEVER relied on government to bail me out in an emergency

This is hard reality, people. We who are aware in earthquake country have known it for a long time: When the Bandini hits the Westinghouse you may be on your own for several days or even weeks.

ETA I have more than 50 gallons of drinking water stored in my house now.

[TechBear_Seattle]

7. I've had one for years

I had an emergency kit ever since college. Living in Eureka, California, where the local paper had a weekly "earthquake report" of every quake in the county during the the previous week, kind of *ahem* shakes the fear of disaster in to you.

My supplies have been expanded since I moved to Seattle and got my own apartment, but I still have a grab-and-go backpack with the vital necessities, should I need to get out quickly.

[trogdor]

8. We don't get severe weather where we are.

We have 100+ inches of snow every winter. We get used to it. We tend to stay stocked up on stuff.

[triguy46]

9. slowly, but surely

A little here, a little there, always want water on hand, etc. We do have an emergency 'grab bag' that has copies of important documents, files on flash memory, a couple hundred bucks, passports. so if we have to run from katrina, or lemme see, hmmm, the fascistas at the door, at least we have a start.

Of all places, and giving my age away, last month's AARP tabloid had a very good article on such emergency preparations, what you need, don't need, etc.

[Arkansas Granny]

10. I live in tornado alley and have always kept my camp gear in

the same closet I would use for shelter. If the house was damaged I would have tent, flashlight, battery radio etc. I am now adding non-perishable food items and water to last for at least a week, maybe longer.

[rbnyc]

11. I have just enough money to supply what we need week to week.

I don't have enough money to stash anything away. If something happens, we're all screwed.

[gratuitous]

17. It's tough, but you don't have to do it all at once

Buy one more gallon bottle of water next week, scrimp somewhere else. In another month or so, get another gallon. Little by little, you can accumulate many of the supplies that will keep you self sufficient for 48-72 hours.

For example, it doesn't have to be a Craftsman crescent wrench costing $20. Go to the Dollar Store and get one for a buck. (Note: A crescent wrench is recommended to shut off the main if you have natural gas to your home and an earthquake threatens to rupture the line.)

[rbnyc]

18. Good advice.

Thanks.

[pitohui]

22. if the water comes in a plastic container

you are just wasting yr time following yr suggestion, by the time "another mo. or two" rolls around, it is time to use or discard the old water & replace it w. the new

you can keep water longer in glass with a dot of chlorine in it added at the time of storage, but glass is heavy

water simply isn't practical to store in great quantities, if you really want to save lives, demand greater responsiveness from the authorities, do not pretend huge quantities of water can be saved & transported by evacuees in event of disaster

some ppl really do have limited $$$ to throw away

[gratuitous]

24. Water in plastic is good for about a year or so

So if you keep rotating your stock, drinking the bottles before they age out, you'll have a fresh supply on hand, with nothing being more than a few months old.

The idea is to be self-sufficient for the first few days after disaster strikes, so that first responders can devote their attention to people hit directly by whatever catastrophe has happened in the immediate aftermath. The emergency kit presumes that you and your household are intact, but that vital services such as water, gas and electric have been interrupted. While it would be nice if the authorities were so greatly responsive that they could attend to even this peripheral inconvenience, there is a certain level of personal responsibility (feh!) that nearly anybody can take on for themselves.

[Bridget Burke]

23. If you get SOME warning, you won't need much bottled water.

Before Katrina, I washed water bottles I hadn't recycled yet with hot water & detergent. Then let them sit in a bath of water with a bit of chlorine. Finally, I filled them with tapwater. This may not be recommended for water you're going to store a long time, but would have helped if Houston had been hit hard.

I've already got a supply of food that will keep & can be eaten raw. Plus ramen, etc., that could be cooked on my gas stove. (No earthquakes here.) Remember extra pet food (& litter) if you've got furry dependants. I plan to buy one of those cranking radios, since it can get scary if power goes out & you're cut off.

I know things are different in earthquake country. But my "hurricane kit" would also be useful if we got a few days of hard freeze. Hasn't happened in Houston for a long time, but pipes burst, power lines go down in ice storms & NOBODY here can drive on ice.

[Coastie for Truth]

12. I have a kit & am reinforcing it with additional supplies.

NOTE - MY AVATAR IS THE "RED CRYSTAL" -- THE "RED CRYSTAL" IS THE NON-DENOMINATIONAL, NON-SECTARIAN RED CROSS EMBLEM -- I AM A RED CROSS DISASTER VOLUNTEER

I lived in New Orleans (on St. Charles Ave., between 6th and Conery, around the corner from "Commander's Palace") when I was in the U.S. Coast Guard.

"Emergency Kit"

Assumption:

Our threats are
(1) An earthquake (we live in a post-Northridge, post-Loma Prieta high rise, fully sprinklered, fully smoke detectored/alarmed, "post-Northridge, post-Loma Prieta" seismic architected and compliant.)
(2) Flooding from an earthquake - breach of the Sacramento Delta Levees (we are not in that flood plain) and/or the Guadalupe River Channelization (we ARE in that flood plain - but we are on a small hill, and above two floors of garage - you can be cautious but agoraphobia is no help).

I have looked over the Water District and Corps of Engineers maps - it's risk we can "self insure" against.
(3) Terror attack - we are pretty far from the Transamerica Tower, the Golden Gate Bridge, and the Bay Bridge.
(4) Fire in the building - fully code compliant sprinklers, smoke detectors, state of the art construction.

Our fire insurance rating is the highest (i.e., lowest risk and premium - and that's from State Farm)

Survival- Immediate Evacuation (Fire, earthquake w/ loss of structural integrity)

(1) Cat carrier (and cat)
(2) File case - for a week's supply of meds, CD and flash memory backup of the "My Documents" folder (I work from home), important records like pass ports, birth certificates, marriage license, copies of insurance records, copies of car title, etc. (this is an 8" by 10" by 16" plastic box)

Backups of documents sent to my sister in law; CD/flash memory on ISP server)

Longe Term - Less Acute Survival- Anything Less Then Immediate Evacuation (Fire, earthquake w/ loss of structural integrity)

Build from the above using the Red Cross, and the Citizens Corps Community Emergency Response Team syllabus.

Assume that the landline net and the cell phone net will be dead - remember the cell phone net "piggybacks" on the land line net - and the repeaters and hubs and transmitters depend on electricity and the land line net.

Either

(a) Get a satellite phone, or
(b) Get a "No Morse Code" Technician Class Amateur Radio License and a 2 meter handi talkie - those GMRS and FRS radios are toys good for barely a mile.

<>

Start Here - the life you save may be mine

[LuCifer]

14. Time to restock ammo and canned goods...

...yeah, we can sure bank on FEMA (aka MORONS!) giving a CRAP about my county. Anyone from Okeechobee out there?! If so, you know the deal: trap freakin roofs EVERYWHERE...from LAST year's hurricanes...lovely.

Lu

[i_c_a_White_Ghost]

16. I need a Kit! n/t

[lpbk2713]

19. I live in Central Florida and have no kit as such.

Not a "formal" kit. I always have canned goods, batteries, water in jugs, a gas BBQ grille, cash on hand, etc. Last year the power was out for four days. Lost what was in the freezer, had some minor damage to the house and trees. Other than that we got thru OK.

[pitohui]

21. yes but i learned in katrina you get separated from yr supplies

a huge expensive kit is useless, you won't be able to get to it, unless you 1) refuse to evacuate AND 2) you don't end up on yr roof or attic

2-3 days of supplies can come w. you to a shelter, less if you have to provide for pets

if you evacuate in yr own car, you can bring a week's worth -- but every consumable you bring is one less photo album or other irreplaceable you can't bring so there's that

ppl don't seem to "get" that water is heavy and takes up space

i have much less faith in my kit now that i was unable to get to it for almost a month after katrina

don't make a huge investment in supplies, it is a waste