#storm preparedness

[caregivervent]

Devastating flooding in my mother's hometown of Newport, TN

I was sad to see the destruction that Hurricane Helene caused in Newport, Tennessee. While all eyes were on Florida where the Category 4 storm made landfall, areas far away such as Asheville, North Carolina and Newport also suffered significant damage. Newport was my mother’s hometown, and always held a special place in her heart. The east Tennessee community in the shadow of the Great Smoky…

[justposting1]

Weather Preparedness and Safety: Essential Guide for Hurricanes and Wildfires

Weather Preparedness and Safety: Essential Guide for Hurricanes and Wildfires Weather-related disasters, such as hurricanes and wildfires, pose significant threats to life, property, and the environment. Preparing for these events is crucial to ensure the safety of your family and home. This article delves into how to effectively prepare for a Category 4 hurricane, the best survival kits for…

[westvalleyfaultph]

"Handa Pilipinas: Showcasing Local Innovations in Disaster Preparedness"

Scan the QR code to get this post on the go. The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) is set to host an exposition titled “Handa Pilipinas” in Laoag City from July 3-5. This event aims to highlight locally-developed technologies designed to enhance disaster preparedness, particularly in the Ilocos Region. Dr. Teresita A. Tabaoag, DOST 1 Regional Director, emphasized the urgency of this…

[walks-the-ages]

For anyone without timestamps for any reason, this is for the oncoming Hurricane Hilary, who will be making landfall in the USA in the next 2 to three days , August 2023!

HEY CALIFORNIA PEOPLE!

HURRICANE ADVICE FROM A FLORIDIAN!

Make sure you've got shelf-stable food and water for everyone in the house, including pets. The rule of thumb is a gallon per person per day. Freeze water bottles if you want cold water.

Make sure you have enough meds!

Make sure you have batteries, candles, flashlights, and a manual can opener. 

Make sure your electronics, including backup batteries, are charged. Unplug things you don't want fried in case of a power surge. 

Don't tape your windows, it doesn't help and you'll just be stuck scrubbing goo off of them later.

Put a mug of frozen water in it in your freezer with a quarter on top of it. If your freezer defrosts, the ice will melt and the quarter will sink and tell you you need to throw things out.

Get everything that's not nailed to a foundation out of your yard. That dead branch hanging on by a thread? Time to get it down (it was probably time to do that three days ago, but now’s better than never).

Park away from powerlines and trees if you can. Rain makes the ground soft and then trees fall over.

Have an evacuation plan to a shelter. Evacuate if they’re telling you to.

If you start to flood, don't go in your attic. You'll get trapped if the water rises too high and you can't hack through your roof. This happened to a lot of people in Texas and Louisiana. Get ON the roof.

Be safe, be well <3 

[etraytin]

Emergency Preparedness On A Budget

Hey all, just a reminder that even though many of us are looking at a warmer-than-average winter this year, warm on average does not mean we won't see winter storms! In fact, warm winters can produce some really unusual weather patterns that are even more likely to produce severe storms. The best time to prepare for a winter storm, or any other natural disaster, is well before it happens, ie, right now.

"But wait," you might say, "the economy is stupid and everything is expensive! I'm afraid my survival bunker is just going to have to wait until my lottery numbers come up, which will take awhile because I also can't afford to play the lottery." First off, good job not playing the lottery, and second, preparing for a disaster does not have to be expensive. In fact, if you start early enough, disaster preparedness can be done a few dollars at a time without much of anything in the way of special supplies.

In order to not make a single post that is a billion lines long, I am dividing my advice into a few different posts and will link them together when I am done. The links will be right here: Part 2: Medicine and Power

Food and Water Preparedness

FIrst and most important: food and water. The motto of disaster preparedness is "The first 72 is on you." In a major disaster situation, if the situation has not resolved itself within three days, that's about the amount of time it takes for outside help to get itself organized and start arriving in a meaningful way to a disaster area. Objectively three days is a pretty short period of time, subjectively it is a small eternity if you are not prepared.

Preppers (people who do disaster preparedness as a hobby, to greater and lesser levels of unhingedness) spend a lot of time discussing the best types of food and water prep for long-term storage and/or end of the world scenarios. We are not going to do that. We want cheap, easy, effective preparations that we can ideally do while grocery shopping in a Walmart. The easiest, simplest and cheapest way to do your food prep is this: Buy one or two canned, jarred or tetrapacked (that waxed cardboard box pack) meal items every time you can afford it, then set them aside. Find a little space in a closet, a cupboard, a shelf, whatever, and just keep those foods there until you have three days worth for everyone in your household, including the pets.

"Fine," you might say as you look skeptically at the back of your cupboards, "but that doesn't seem very specific. There are a lot of canned goods out there!" And that is fair! The basic rule of thumb is "Buy something you will eat, ideally without heating it up if necessary, that doesn't require much prep or cleaning." For example, my family is two adults and one adolescent, none of us with major food allergens or aversions. If I were trying for a 72-hour food prep for us on the cheap with no cooking available I'd probably go with six cans of chunky soup, which I get for a dollar each on sale, three small jars of applesauce (smaller jars are better if you have no way to cool food), a box of saltine crackers, three cans of tuna, and a big box of granola bars if I could keep them out of reach of the kiddo long enough.

It's not fancy and it may not provide great long-term nutrition, but it's enough food to keep us alive for three days in a form that will hold in storage for 1-2 years without needing to rotate. Even on a very tight budget you can probably accumulate this much food in a pretty reasonable amount of time (and a lot of it is the sort of thing you might get from a food bank anyway!) For pet food, pack up three days worth of your pet's food, ideally in a glass jar but any sealed container will do, and add any cans of wet food they'd get as well.

Water is another big prepping topic that we're going to go easy-peasy on. You need, at minimum, a gallon of clean water per person per day, plus extra for cleaning and washing. Water is annoying to store and takes a lot of room, so for a quickie 3-day prep, minimizing water use is ideal. If you can scare up enough paper plates, cups and utensils to last you three days, you save ever having to wash dishes. If you can get hold of a pack of wet wipes, you reduce the amount of water for washing your body. If you can bring yourself to pee in the woods or at the very least let urine sit in the toilet unflushed, you save a HUGE amount of water on flushing.

For your water prep, you can use the bit-at-a-time strategy again. Every time you get groceries, try to bring home a gallon or two of purified drinking water. They should be very cheap, usually around 1.25 in my neck of the woods, and they last for awhile. If you have a few extra dollars, buy a flat of bottled water until you have at least three gallon containers and one 12-pack for each human member of your household Tuck them away somewhere out of direct sunlight, and rotate them regularly, taking out an old gallon and flat and replacing them with new every couple of months.

Once you have your basic setup, you can start thinking about getting fancier. There are ways to find things like camp stoves and water filters fairly cheaply, usually by hitting up garage sales or looking in the clearance sporting goods section when camping season is over, but that's basically gravy when compared to just having something to eat.

Next Time: Medicine and Power

[sincosma]

Well, I guess I make big posts on Tumblr now about hurricanes because WHAT THE FUCK.

So, I live in the Tampa Bay Area, specifically in Pinellas County, which is the most densely populated county in the state of Florida. We haven't had a direct hit from a hurricane in over 100 years. And despite that, Helene completely devastated our county with 5 to 8 feet of storm surge.

I have friends and coworkers living in hotels and other people's homes who have lost everything. Our barrier islands reek with raw sewage and dead marine life. As I speak, they are still trying to remove the FEET of toxic sand on the barrier islands that the storm surge pushed inland. There were 12 deaths in my county from that storm surge. It's the worst hurricane damage our area has ever received in the modern era. And that was from a storm that stayed 100 miles offshore.

Hurricane Milton is currently heading our way. Right now, models are showing a potential landfall in the Tampa Bay Area as a cat 3, maybe 4, hurricane. We're still struggling to recover from Helene, and now we're right back in the crosshairs. My point here is that things can change very quickly. If you live on the west coast of Florida, please prepare and please stay weather aware.

If evacuations are called in your area, please spread the word to your neighbors, especially if they are elderly, have disabilities, live in poverty, or have other evacuation challenges. CHECK ON YOUR NEIGHBORS. I cannot stress this enough. If you live near vulnerable people, check on them and talk to them about their plans if evacuations are called. Check with your county website to see what services are available for evacuation and shelters.

Stay safe, fellow west coast Florida friends. <3

[intersexfairy]

As someone (from the USA) who survived a severe hurricane, if there is one piece of advice I could give, PLEASE listen to any evacuation orders. This goes for voluntary and mandatory, but ESPECIALLY mandatory. If you can't get outside the evacuation zone, even just getting closer to the boundary is better than nothing.

If you are in a mandatory evacuation zone and you stay, no one (no emergency services) will be coming to save you. You will have to hunker down for however long the storm lasts.

The time to prepare for evacuation is as soon as you know you're under evacuation order, at LEAST. Do NOT delay. You don't want to be like my family who only left once the flood began (thanks, dad). Not only did we have to hurry to pack, we weren't able to prepare. At that, here are some good things to do in a hurricane:

Have a radio - an emergency crank radio is good, since it uses mechanical energy. We also had walkie talkies.

Have a good first aid kit, especially if you cant get out.

Unplug anything that you absolutely do not need while home, unplug everything before you leave. We didn't do this and my house almost caught fire (fridge outlet) - only the flood put it out.

Have a working fire alarm, charge flashlights and devices. Make sure you also have candles and lighters, too.

Be VERY careful if you must wade or drive in flood water. There will be debris, there will be down power lines. It is deeper than it looks.

Stock up on water and nonperishable food. Eat your perishable foods now. Use coolers for any excess. MREs are good to have, you can order them online.

Put belongings you can't take with you as high up in your house as you can - prioritize things that cannot be easily/emotionally replaced. Leave space for you to go high up too, if you're staying.

Use sand bags (or DIY alternatives) as flood barriers. Tie or tarp down everything you can, and don't keep it in a wide open area.

Close windows, and stay away from them. You really don't want to be there when something comes flying.

This is all I can think of for now, others feel free to add more or correct me. Remember, your life is more important than objects. Losing your life is worse than losing everything but your life. Stay safe, and stay alive.

[25centsoda]

I am Once Again thinking about disaster preparedness

and, like, what are we doing?? D’y’all know how many tornadoes we’ve had in my area in the last month?? Way more than usual! A lot more flooding in the past 8 or so years also. What are we doing.

also shoutout to FEMA (US Federal Emergency Management Agency) for finally including considerations for disabled people on their easy-to-find infographics on disaster preparedness, I’ve been reading these articles since I was like 7 years old and it’s nice to see more than the assumption that everyone in a household is young and able-bodied. It just takes a few extra lines to say, or one more infographic to make

[sunny-rants]

little winter tips from your friendly neighbourhood Canadian:

- LAYER. layer leggings under pants, shirts under sweaters, scarves over hats, socks under socks if you have to, just layer everything

- tuck everything in: pants into socks, sleeves into gloves, scarf into coat, etc.

- if you can afford it, get yourself a pair of thermals to wear under clothes

- if you don’t have snowpants, leggings or thermal pants under a thick pair of sweatpants works pretty well

- wool socks

- shovel while it’s snowing. sounds counterproductive, I know, but a little fresh snow at a time is easier than a bunch of packed crusted-up snow

- run your car for a bit every so often, like when you’re shovelling, or right before bed. it keeps your engine from freezing or something, idk cars

- don’t go driving without a pair of boots & a coat, just in case

- salt your outdoor steps and walkways to prevent ice (careful if you have pets, this can hurt their paws)

- if you have a radiator in your house, put your wet and snowy socks, gloves, etc. on it

- moisturize more than usual

[threeriversforge]

My Feuerhand 280's flanking a Meva 863. Hurricane lanterns are a valuable asset to have around the house in case the electricity goes out, but they are also great just to create a wonderful ambiance. The warm flickering light is infinitely more pleasant than the harsh brilliance of modern lighting, so why relegate the lanterns to a life stuffed away somewhere until an emergency? When Hurricane Helene passed through here and made a mess of things, I was very glad to have oil lamps. Everyone else was scrambling for batteries or praying that the sun would peak through the clouds long enough to charge their solar jive.... but I was perfectly content with my aptly-named Hurricane Lanterns.

I didn't think of it at the time, but I had been inadvertently participating in my Culture, keeping those lanterns around, and it paid big dividends when the storm came through. I didn't have to scramble to find a way to bring light to the darkness. Culture is the collection of a million little things that you do every day. We cannot wait to celebrate the culture on one particular day of the year, throwing it on like a costume. The Hurricane Lanterns are a great example of one of those little ways we can participate. It might not seem like a big deal, but consider that no one brick in a wall seems like a big deal. I do have to admit that it's a little odd to see whole stores dedicated to selling candles, but people hesitate over using the much safer hurricane lanterns. This is especially true when you consider that Feuerhand offers their lanterns in a wide range of colors that are sure to match your decor.

[tornadoquest]

Tornado Quest Top Science Links For September 14 - 21, 2024 #science #weather #climate #climatechange #environment #hurricane #health

Greetings everybody! Thanks so much for visiting. The tropical Atlantic is quiet for the time being. While preparedness supplies are plentiful, now is the time to get prepared for a tropical storm or hurricane. I’ve plenty of hurricane preparedness information for you. Along with the latest US Drought Monitor update there are several good reads, so let’s get started. Tornado Quest micro podcast…

[liminalweirdo]

actually useful new years resolutions

If you never make New Years Resolutions, or are thinking about what you can do that’s actually going to be worthwhile:

Learn CPR and first aid. Depending on where you live and what season it is, ambulances are taking too long to reach emergencies because of pandemic-related staffing shortages. In some cases, this means several hours. NHS data released last week showed ambulance crews could not respond to almost one in four emergency calls because so many ambulances were waiting to hand patients over. Also, it looks good on a resume, if you care about that.

Start a garden (yes, even indoors). This should be self-explanatory considering inflation and the cost of food these days, but even one or two swiss chard or napa cabbage plants can go a long way in providing you with greens for the season. Microgreens are also a great way to go, because they’re ready to eat in just 1-2 weeks. If you have a balcony (or south-facing windows) tomatoes and bush-variety beans are a great vegetable to plant as well that should produce a pretty good harvest. Also, it’s good for you and the bees! If you want to try a garden but don’t have an outdoor space, microgreens will grow beside the window. Green onions, living lettuce, herbs, and celery are also possible to grow from cuttings. (Just be careful to keep toxic plants away from your pets, including tomatoes, green onions/chives.) If you need any advice on growing your own food, please feel free to send me an ask, I’d love to help you out.

Stock up on emergency supplies and learn basic emergency preparedness. Stuff like this should be normalized. I’m not telling you to start digging a bunker, I mean having things like enough bottled water, candles or a battery-powered lantern, dried goods (rice, granola bars, instant noodles, rice, pasta, tinned soup, canned veggies, canned fruits in your house (and a manual can opener, not an electric one). This will be useful for power outages and bad weather, both of which are increasing. Stock up on medication like Tylenol/Advil/Pedialyte or Dioralyte etc. for colds, flu, and general illness. I know it’s hard sometimes, but please try to keep your prescribed meds up to date. If bad weather is coming, see if you can get more. 

This doesn’t have to cost a lot of money. Put $5-$15 towards emergency supplies each grocery run and that should be enough to have a good amount of emergency supplies within a month or two. The best time to start is now. Having a supply of bottled water is great for power outages. Filling your bathtub or a bucket to flush your toilet in power outages is a great idea. If your water expires you can use it for cleaning household surfaces and flushing the toilet in a power outage. (Please be careful of small pets and small children if you have buckets/bathtubs filled with water uncovered/attended)

BUY A FIRST AID KIT. Buy two if you can. Keep one in your house and one in your car and replenish it as you use it.

Please feel free to add to this list. Feel free to send me an ask if you want/need any advice on how to prepare for emergencies. I can’t promise I’ll have all the answers, but I will try to help.

Stay safe out there i love you all

[stormsmart]

Prepare for the storm!!

-Have a radio to be able to keep up with storm warnings if you lose power. -Have all electronics charged and keep them charged whilst you have power. -Have extra batteries on hand for all necessary devices. -Have flashlights and the batteries that accompany them. -Have non-perishable food stocked up and on hand. -Have an ice-filled ice-chest, or ice packs ready for any refrigerated medications you may need. -Fill all water bottles and any spare containers with clean water. -Keep a full tank of gas in your car. -Have your windows boarded up and keep away from the windows during the storm -If possible, keep some cash on you as gas stations may not have electricity to run credit cards. -Have your important documents in a water-proof container and ready to grab incase you need to evacuate. -Monitor your local weather advisories, and be up to date on your evacuation routes.

IF YOU ARE IN A MANDATORY EVACUATION ZONE AND YOU STAY BEHIND, NO EMERGENCY SERVICES (medical, police, or fire) WILL COME TO YOUR AID.

Once the storm is over... DO NOT drive through standing water DO NOT step in puddles (as there may be live wires from downed powerlines you do not see) DO stay in your home until the storm is confirmed to be over and your area is safe (eyes of hurricanes can be decieving and lure you outside thinking it is safe)

JUST BECAUSE YOU DIDN'T LOSE POWER DURING THE INITIAL STORM, DOES NOT MEAN THAT THE POWER WON'T GO OUT LATER!

Be smart, Stay safe!

Feel free to message me for any questions you may have.

[harmonyhealinghub]

The Chilling Effect of the Polar Vortex: A Winter Phenomenon Strikes Regina, Saskatchewan, and Beyond

Shaina Tranquilino

January 20, 2024

As winter settles in across the Northern Hemisphere, intense cold snaps and frosty weather systems are not uncommon. However, every few years, a particularly extreme weather event occurs that captures headlines worldwide – the polar vortex. Recently, this frigid phenomenon has unleashed its icy grip on numerous regions, including Regina, Saskatchewan in Canada. In this blog post, we will explore what exactly the polar vortex is, how it affects our lives, and why it's important to understand this chilling meteorological occurrence.

Understanding the Polar Vortex:

The polar vortex is an area of low pressure situated near the Earth's poles. It is characterized by strong winds circulating counterclockwise around a center of extremely cold air. These winds form a tight spiral pattern high up in the atmosphere known as the jet stream.

Normally confined to the Arctic region during winter months, occasionally these powerful winds weaken or shift southward due to complex atmospheric dynamics. This results in a sudden intrusion of bitterly cold arctic air into lower latitudes — a phenomenon experts refer to as a "polar outbreak" or "polar vortex event."

The Impact on Regina and Beyond:

Regina, located in central Canada's prairies and often referred to as one of the coldest cities in the country, experienced firsthand the brutal effects of the polar vortex. As temperatures plummeted well below freezing point (reaching as low as -50°C), everyday life ground to a halt. Transportation was disrupted or delayed, and residents were advised to stay indoors unless absolutely necessary.

But Regina wasn't alone; other parts of North America also fell under the influence of this winter nightmare. States such as Texas faced unprecedented snowfall and record-breaking low temperatures that crippled infrastructure unprepared for extreme winter conditions. Similarly, Europe witnessed heavy snowfalls and sub-zero temperatures, causing travel chaos and affecting millions of people.

Coping with the Vortex:

During a polar vortex event, it is crucial to prioritize safety and take appropriate measures to protect oneself from the extreme cold. Staying indoors, dressing in layers, ensuring adequate heating, and avoiding unnecessary exposure are all vital precautions. Furthermore, maintaining communication with neighbours, especially vulnerable individuals such as the elderly or those without proper shelter, becomes essential.

Understanding Climate Change's Role:

While it may seem counterintuitive that global warming could cause severe cold spells like the polar vortex event, climate change plays a role in its occurrence. The melting Arctic ice due to rising global temperatures weakens the jet stream, causing it to become wavier and allowing frigid air masses to escape the poles more frequently. As a result, these events can intensify due to climate change but remain sporadic and unpredictable.

The recent polar vortex event has left Regina and various parts of the world shivering in an icy grip. Understanding this meteorological phenomenon helps us recognize its impact on our daily lives while appreciating the importance of preparedness during such extreme weather events. By taking necessary precautions and fostering community support, we can navigate through these frosty times together until warmer days return.

Note: It is important to keep up with local news sources and official guidelines regarding any current or future polar vortex events for accurate information and safety instructions in your specific region.

[country-corner]

How I'm going to do the roof of the root cellar/storage/storm shelter at my new place.

Yes, a moisture barrier to be laid over the top and completely buried afterwards.