#Disaster Preparedness

[neolithicsheep]

We are getting towards winter in the northern hemisphere so it's time for me to share my number one tip for surviving winter power outages from my time living off grid that isn't "get a wood stove installed".

Get a bed tent. You don't have to permanently install it with your mattress inside it although you will have to do some macgyvering if you don't. It will create a little cocoon that will stay warmer anyway but you can level it up a notch by buying a cheap king size comforter and draping that over it for more insulation. If your power goes out and you need to stay warm, load every pillow, blanket, and living creature that will reasonably fit into it and close the door. You will have a warm and cozy little cocoon to which you can add battery powered lights, a gallon jug of water to keep it from freezing, etc.

Also grab you solar lanterns (LumenAID makes great ones), soft beanie hats, hand warmers, and socks to sleep in, and consider sweaters for your pets for whom they're appropriate.

[zinjanthropusboisei]

Noticed something a little funky in the world around you and want to figure out what's up? Especially if there might be something you ought to be doing about it? Not sure what information sources to trust these days? If you're in the US, federal agencies like NOAA, USGS, EPA and more collect massive amounts of scientific data every day, much of which is publicly available online - if you know where to look.

A PDF version with clickable links is available for free on my itchio page (quakeandquiver); I'll add a direct link in a reblog.

[artemis-pendragon]

Okay so I'm not in the hurricane evacuation zone by any means but I do live in a horrendously natural disaster-prone region SO!! Here are the best tips I've gotten for surviving in a disaster zone.

1) Write your name and your emergency contact's phone number in DARK PERMANENT INK somewhere visible on your skin (wrist is good) so if you're unconscious or dead emergency response can ID you and get in contact with your family/friends

2) If you have any particular medical needs or conditions write that too!! Specific medications + doses, warning signs and symptoms to watch for, etc

3) During the disaster, if your circumstances change or may change soon, record a new voicemail message explaining these changes so anyone who calls you knows your most recent status and location. Whatever details you think might help!

4) Stock up on Rx meds before pharmacies close. Get some OTC meds too and make a watertight and portable first aid kit. If you're gonna be in flood conditions and your Rx bottles aren't fully sealed, wrap the lids with duct tape to make a tight seal. If you've got tampons and pads in the house, stuff those babies in there! Good for everything from periods, to bloody noses and open wounds in an emergency! Plus they're super absorbent and can be used to temporarily block up small spaces and cracks

5) If there's no bottled water left in stores buy the biggest and cheapest bottles of soda you can, dump them out, and fill them with fresh water. If you have sinks and bathtubs that aren't expected to flood, fill those bad boys up with fresh water, too. Store as much water as you can!!

6) Put all important documents such as Social Security cards, birth certificates, marriage certificates, or anything else you want to save into waterproof bags. Ziplock baggies double sealed with duct tape along the closed seams are great! Double bag if needed!

7) Special cool new thing I learned about hurricanes that I'm probably the last dumbass on earth to know but just in case I'm not: even if a hurricane makes landfall as a Cat 3, if it was a Cat 5 over the ocean on approach it will bring in Cat 5 surge. Downgrading the wind speed doesn't downgrade the flood potential

8) TAKE THE BACKROADS OUT OF MAJOR CITIES OH MY GOD PLS DONT GET STUCK ON THE FREEWAYS IT'S HELL

9) Last but not least, if you can't afford to evacuate or don't have a place to stay, some people under videos and posts tagged with current natural disasters are offering temporary places to crash for those in affected areas for free!! I've seen multiple cases now of people offering up their guest rooms or couches to evacuees and their pets in the last week that have worked out ❤️

If anyone else has more tips, and more experience with this type of disaster specifically, please add on!! Love you all and hope everyone stays safe 💕

[lesbianinthenightosphere]

Who knew that Anti-COVID activism and anti-eugenics are the key to communal solidarity? /s

[etraytin]

Emergency Preparedness on a Budget: Part Two (Medicine and Power)

Hey there everybody, time for Part Two of Emergency Preparedness When Money is No! You can find Part 1 (Food and Water) here.

Just a note on Part 1, someone in the comments made the extremely good point that having food is not super-useful if you cannot eat it because you can’t cook it or get into the cans. This is true! My example stash used Chunky Soup and tuna because they can be eaten cold and usually have pop tops, but a can opener is a great addition to the emergency kit. Many preppers will also include a propane camp stove in their food stash, but if you’re on a very tight budget, you can absolutely get by with a few days of cold soup. (A basic propane stove, tank and lighter runs about 30-40 dollars if you are interested in getting one.)

Now on to today’s topics: Medicine and Power

Once you’ve got your 3 days of food and water sorted, you want other important survival stuff in your kit. Being as how we are all here together on Tumblr, the odds are pretty good that you or someone in your house is reliant on at least one kind of medication that must be taken regularly. If that’s the case, you need to have at least 3 days and ideally a week of meds stocked up as well.

“Wait a second,” you might say, “a week of medicine is not going to do me much good if I starve to death after eating my three days of food,” and you would be right, if a bit dramatic. In a disaster situation, however, the food and water supply pipeline is basically the first thing that activates. I was in the Asheville area during Hurricane Helene and though it took about the expected three days for support to really gear up, there was food and water being passed around within about 24 hours despite no gas, no communications and highways blocked in all directions. In almost any situation, you are going to get access to food and water before you get any other kind of relief. Getting your own prescription medicines in the right dose, on the other hand? That’s a lot more dependent on the kind of disaster you’re looking at, so it pays to plan ahead.

If you are in the US and have non-controlled prescription meds, most insurance plans will allow you to refill your meds up to 7 days early. If you can set a reminder on your phone and do that a couple times, you will end up a couple of weeks ahead on your pills without any skipping or rationing. That’s a good place to be even without considering disasters, just because life does insist on happening ALL THE TIME and sometimes it’s hard to get to the pharmacy.

If your medicines are tightly controlled then this is a harder problem. One thing you should definitely NOT do is skip medicines to build up an emergency supply. The whole object of the game here is for you to be healthy and okay even when bad things happen, so it defeats the purpose if you are hurting yourself to try and prepare. Talk to your doctor about what you can do to get emergency supplies of your medicines, or what to do if there is a disaster. Usually they will be sympathetic, and hopefully they can help. If they cannot help you beforehand, they generally have more leeway to help if a disaster is looming and it’s worth trying to call them if the weather report is particularly grim. In a big disaster, especially if you’ve had to leave your home, get yourself to a Red Cross shelter and ask for Disaster Health Services. They can be really helpful in getting those important medications.

For nonprescription meds, it’s helpful to have a small supply of the basics in your medicine cabinet, built up over time. If you go into your Walmart or equivalent when you are not even sick and buy the generic version of all these meds, you’re probably going to save 50%, maybe more, over trying to buy them at the drugstore or gas station when you’re already feeling terrible. They’re just good to have around! Another thing to note is that medicines kept cool and dry will last a lot longer than their best-by dates, so you don’t need to go throwing them away every couple years. Here’s a short list of some of the best meds to have on hand in an emergency:

Painkiller/Fever Reducer: Advil or Tylenol in the US, ibuprofen and paracetamol elsewhere. Good for keeping fever down if anyone gets sick, or for treating sprains, muscle strains or headaches. Be very careful of the dosing since both of these can do bad things in high doses.

Anti-Diarrheal: Immodium or loperamide. It’s easy to accidentally eat something bad in an emergency, and diarrhea can be both a logistical problem (especially if water is off!) and a potentially life-threatening health issue.

Electrolyte Solution: Pedialyte, electrolyte drink, oral rehydration salts. If someone does get diarrhea or if the weather is very hot, hydration becomes a massive issue as well. Someone who is sick or dehydrated enough may throw up plain water, but electrolyte drinks are better tolerated and solve the problem much faster. If you do not have any of these, you can also make your own oral rehydration solution by mixing a three-finger pinch of salt and a one-hand scoop of sugar into about two cups of water.

Antihistamine: Benadryl (diphenhydramine) or Claratin (loratidine) This one’s especially big after hurricanes, tornadoes, or any other storm that really rustles the jimmes on the local vegetation. It can be a little slice of hell to be out clearing all the brush that fell on your house and be surrounded by vast clouds of pollen and the occasional swarm of really unhappy bees.

Antacid: Pepto-Bismol (Bismuth subsalicylate) If you’re already on a proton-pump inhbitor like Prilosec or Zantac, stock those up instead. Otherwise, Pepto-Bismol is a good all-rounder to cover heartburn, upset stomach and nausea, all things that might come from stress and weird food during a disaster.

First Aid: A first aid kit could be a post on its own, but you can get the basics for cheap and keep them in a drawer til you need them. For maximum versatility, get yourself gauze pads and medical tape because you can use them to make whatever size bandaid you need, a few butterfly closures for bigger cuts, a tube of bacitracin zinc for antibiotic cream, a long cloth wrap to brace a sprain or fracture, and a bottle of saline to wash a wound or clean your eyes.

Power:

A lot of the disasters you’re likely to face will involve power outages, whether it be just your neighborhood, half the town, or the ENTIRE TRI-STATE AREA (if you are Dr. Doofenschmirtz.) In our Modern Miracle Age just about everybody has at least one flashlight with them at all times, built into their phones, but that’s only going to get you so far when the lights go out.

Powering your phone is a top priority in a power outage, not so much for the light but because it is your main source of communication and information for as long as the cell towers are working. You will want a power bank for your emergency kit; a little battery pack about the size of a cell phone itself, that holds enough electricity to recharge your phone one or more times before needing charged. A basic power bank can be had for about $15, but they are nearly infinitely scalable both in cost and benefits. You can get them with built-in cords, with solar panels, with flashlights of their own, with capacity to charge multiple phones, etc. Buy whatever one fits your budget and needs, then make sure to keep it charged and keep the appropriate cords with it!

Given that you’ll need your phone for other things, you’re going to want some light sources in your emergency stash as well. The easiest and safest of these are battery-powered flashlights and lanterns. You’ll want a mix of lanterns to light a room, flashlights to carry around, and headlamps for reading and close work. All these come in a huge variety of quality and price, but you don’t need anything expensive, just something that will work. Watch for sales at the beginning and end of camping season. Once you have your lights, buy batteries for all of them but do not store them with the batteries installed! For best storage, put your batteries side by side (not touching end to end because they may discharge over time) in a plastic baggie and rubber band or tape the bag to its light. Put them with your emergency food and you’ll know where they are, even in the dark.

Candles are a power-outage classic because they’re cheap, cheerful and don’t need batteries, but be careful if you use them. Make sure it’s on a clean, hard surface with nothing around it to burn, and that you never leave one unattended or in a room with only kids or sleeping people. A mirror tile or flat mirror is great if you’ve got one because it’s not flammable and will make the light brighter. Make sure your smoke alarm is working! (If you don’t have a smoke detector, call your fire department or local Red Cross and they can get you hooked up with one.) Jar candles are usually the best in terms of burn time and safety, and you can often get them real cheap and barely used at garage sales. After-Christmas sales are also good, if you don’t mind the smell of off-season merriment.

There’s a lot more stuff out there for emergency power, from solar generators to backup power stations to uninterruptible power supplies. Preppers love power almost as much as they love weird food hacks, and that is a _lot._ Unfortunately, once you get past the power bank level, the prices start going up very fast. If you have a few hundred dollars to put into your preparations you can get a portable power station that can not only charge your devices but run small appliances for awhile on AC power. If you use a CPAP machine like me, a power station might mean the difference between being able to sleep soundly or not. If you get one of those, make sure to get one that can charge in several different ways, especially from a running vehicle. They’re really handy in a pinch! Watch very carefully for sales on these stations from companies like Jackery, Bluetti and EcoFlow. They compete closely with one another, and a new model on the market from any of them can trigger price wars. It’s worth doing a little research to get a better deal.

Next time: Temperature Management (Or “Too Hot and Too Cold.”)

[victusinveritas]

Everyone should be prepared. The list below is what you must have prepared to take and also scanned and uploaded (and password protected). More info in slideshow link below : They strike fast and with little if any warning. How to Prepare for and Survive a Wildfire https://www.slideshare.net/CoolGus/prepare-for-and-survive-a-wildfire-255302421

[thechurchoftheatom]

[captawesomesauce]

Disaster Prep is a full time 24/7/365 day a year thing, because no one should just go out and buy everything all at once, and times and circumstances change!

More importantly, there is no one size fits all way of thinking about your family, your situation, and your needs.

Some people do well with checklists, buy this and they're done. And that's ok! Some people do better with being asked questions and thinking critically about what they have, what they need, and what they'll do if x happens, or y happens. And that's ok too!

So having said that, a bunch of people I know and love have been filling my message boxes with questions asking me to tell them what to do, and so I made this quick little pdf as a starting point, not an ending point. This is the rough draft that I sent out, I've not proof read it, and I've found that days later, I'm still adding some stuff to it, but it's "good enough" for now and so I'll share it with y'all too...

[refugedepot]

Before you run those dandelions over with the lawn mower or douse them with weed killer, check this video out. Dandelions have various benefits, edible leaves rich in vitamins, diuretic properties, potential antioxidant effects, and use in herbal medicine. via @bodylovebytal

[neolithicsheep]

Ok so you're looking at the aftermath of Helene and you're thinking "shit, how would I keep my phone charged? What about my neighbors?" and you have some outdoor space and some cash. Your friendly formerly off grid sheep farmer is here to help.

You need this set up right here:

To that you will need to add:

Y connectors:

The 100aH (amp Hour) deep cycle battery of your choice - lead acid AGM will be cheaper, lithium (LiFePo) is more expensive but lasts much longer.

Finally, you need a small pure sine wave inverter like this one: https://a.co/d/70vRd79

Plug the panels into the Y connectors then into the single wire to run to the charge controller. They are now connected in parallel. Take them outside to a sunny spot and face them south and prop them up at about a 45 degree angle. This isn't perfect but it will be good enough.

Connect your battery and charge controller. Connect the panels to the charge controller. All of the places to do this are labeled and all you need is a Phillips screwdriver. I recommend doing it once in a non-disaster situation so you know you can do it but you'll be fine. Boom, you are getting electricity from the sun!

The inverter draws power even when it's not running so don't leave it hooked up when you're not using it. When someone needs to charge their phone, put those alligator clips on the matching color battery posts, turn the inverter on, and plug in the phone/radio. Voilà! A single 100aH battery is not going to run a bunch of things but it will help keep cell phones charged without using up the gas in your car.

The panels are weatherproof but everything else needs to be protected by the way so you'll need to set this up in a shed or garage or in the house. Lead acid batteries can produce hydrogen gas when being charged but just having one isn't a big risk.

FAQ:

Yes, you can permanently mount the panels to your roof if you own your home etc. They're designed for that!

It is true that places sell "solar generators" - those are a charge controller, battery, and an inverter in one box at a very high price point. When a component goes bad you will be unable to replace the component and must replace the entire $1000 box. They are also not upgradeable or expandable, this is.

You do not have to buy Renogy, I recommend them because they kept me in electricity for the years I was off grid.

You do not have to buy the kit, you can buy the components of it as and when you can afford them!

Remember to keep your battery on a trickle charger.

[zinjanthropusboisei]

Since the wildfire smoke has been hitting the east coast, I've been thinking about doing a flowchart-style infographic on where to find US hazard information - so many of the comments on the info I posted were like "huh. I was wondering why the sky looked so funny." With the state of the Internet, search engines, and social media today, it really isn't intuitive where you can go to find reliable information on something so vague as "I noticed something a lil funky today," and so many of the platforms and accounts that emergency managers have spent years building up trust and visibility for have disappeared or become unverifiable because of Twitter's meltdown. Best to go to straight to the source when you can, as long as you know where to start.

This would just focus on the federal government, and mainly on immediate warnings and alert information...I'd rather just focus on natural hazards as well since those are the resources I'm familiar with, but that might be too narrow. Any ideas for questions and flowpaths besides what I've sketched out so far are welcome!

[feminist-space]

If you don't already, it's a good idea to start committing phone numbers to memory.

Some of us grew up remembering phone numbers, but I think a lot of us now rely on our phones for keeping phone numbers.

There may be various emergencies ahead, with everything that's happening. So I personally started to memorize phone numbers of people I could or should call should things go awry. Like in a natural disaster situation, evacuations can happen very quickly and people might not have their devices on them to use to make calls.

We might not always have our phones with us in an emergency, so it's good to know we can call people even if we don't have our phone and its address book.

[labelleizzy]

Watching the TV news about the fires 🔥 🚒 raging through LA County, my epiphany is that most people have NOT been marinating in fictional apocalyptic scenarios for most of their lives.

I've had one literal go-bag for over ten years and a mental list of what to grab if I ever hit an emergency situation from home, for even longer.

Because when you talk about the end of the world and all the ways it might end, you think about your wants vs your NEEDS. I would absolutely grieve SO MANY THINGS about my house if I lost it, I have irreplaceable memorabilia and other possessions.

But if I had my husband, our cat, my meds, enough food and water, and the ability to access our bank account and credit card? We could absolutely bug out if required. That is a privilege, not going to lie. Because I've 🤔 thought about it for... Decades, I know what I'd need and what I'd grab or abandon.

Remember: the most important resources we have are between our ears. 🧠

Make a disaster plan. NOW.

[yogurt-boat-69]

Prepare now to keep your future self safe.

The US has always been a fascist country but we are now in a time of unprecedented surveillance and the mask-off fascism that we are about to experience will be more dangerous. If you are part of a demographic that might be targeted in the US, or if you plan on ever protesting or being a part of civil disobedience, now would be a good time to stock up. It is also a good idea for everyone else since we have more and more natural disasters and potentially less responsiveness.

-take out cash. If you can afford it, I'm talking a couple of thousand. And just keep it in a safe place for emergencies. Not under your mattress, that's where robbers would look if you got robbed

- make sure your passport is up to date

- buy physical maps of your area and surrounding areas, and mark on it things like bus stations, friends you would trust with your life, etc. Know various ways you could get out of your state and try to find out where toll roads are and where there might be backroads with less surveillance

- if you have public transportation in your area, buy physical tickets that aren't smart and have them on hand

-learn which of your items can track you- rings? Watches? Pedometers? Phones obviously. Car. Fast track. Computer. Tile. Just know ahead of time which things could be subpoenaed to get your location. Assume every tech company would comply. Know in case you ever want to not be tracked. And ideally stop carrying around so many things that can track you.

- plan ahead to see if you have access to a non smart method of transportation- bike, car that's not smart, etc. always a good idea to know your options.

- get a burner phone using cash and save it for a rainy day

- buy nondescript clothes, bags, and hats at a thrift store. I'm talking generic backpacks, rolly bags, baseball hats with ideally no logo, plain clothes and jackets. Stuff that is not easy to identify. Don't wear it unless there is an emergency. Maybe if they have cheap Halloween wigs too. Why not. Also get some generic glasses if you wear glasses and maybe get some even if you dont wear glasses.

-razor and a box of hair dye that's not your color in case you need to change appearance

- have a stock of non perishable, non-electricity requiring food (canned, bars, boxes) and a lot of water that you could eat and drink if there is a natural disaster in your area that knocks out electricity for a while (hurricane, blizzard, etc )

- its not a bad idea to have camping gear and a map of places where you could camp without registering ahead of time. Maybe also a pocketknife, rope, bungy cords and tarps in case you need to make a waterproof improvised structure if you are camping in rain

If it's possible to get extra of lifesaving meds so you have a supply that could last you in case you had to leave at a moment's notice.

-have a first aid kit. Include big bandages, sunscreen, bug repellent, sterile saline, menstrual supplies, allergy meds, Vaseline, a disinfectant like iodine, and maybe rubbing alcohol to sterilize things.

In general you should have an emergency kit that includes a flashlight and candles in case electricity goes out or in case you are staying somewhere without electricity.

I know that a lot of these take money, and a lot of people in the US don't have money, so don't get discouraged if these aren't all possible. Just do what you can. Maybe join together with friends and neighbors and see if you can communally have stuff like a first aid kit and candles for emergencies, etc

Spread it around and add your own. Keep each other safe. I'm not an expert just a person with anxiety

Look up ways you can navigate extreme weather in an emergency or without electricity for example there are ways to handle cold if you have no heat source like a terracotta pot and candle method or having a tent indoors. Look up best practices for extreme heat. If you live in an area with fires, build yourself an air purifier with a fan and filter.

Look up ways that the police used to try to track the UHC shooter and Luigi Mangione and learn from that.

[sugarcubedd]

In light of the recent California fires here's a tip from the child of a disaster preparedness professional: make a go bag.

A "go bag" is a tote bag or backpack filled with essentials kept within easy reach in case you need to evacuate your home. This could be fire, flooding, a tornado, earthquake, prolonged power outage, chemical spill, etc.

My personal go-bag has:

first aid kit

pet first aid kit

bottle of ibuprofen

sewing kit

pocket thermometer

hair ties

brightly colored ribbons or flagging tape

pads and tampons

small wrench

dehydrated washcloth

pens and highlighters

hand sanitizer

travel sized lotion, shampoo, and conditioner bottles

tea bags

emergency candle

lighter or matches

You might also want to add things like a spare phone charger, flashlight/headlamp/glowstick, whistle, water filter, MRE's, a space blanket, or a fire blanket depending on what kind of natural disasters are most common where you live.

Additionally, you should keep all your personal documents (or copies of them) together in a place you can reach easily. You should be able to shove them in your go bag on the way out of your house.