View Full Version : Preparing for War?
In my community, there seem to be a fair number of people concerned about war with Iran, and engaging in preparedness efforts as a result.
Are you doing anything special for this, or other potential emergencies in your area?
I decided to go on a "war footing" last week, which in my case is identical to my response plans for a large winter storm, one of which is "likely" for later this coming week: made sure I have enough firewood handy, batteries charged, at least 1/2 a tank of gas in all the vehicles, that sort of thing. Nothing special.
I was surprised however about the newcomers to my community, who seemed unaware that our County emergency management agency issues guidelines for just normal run-of-the-mill non-warfare preparedness for those of us who choose to live in this remote spot. Some of the new folks seem to think everyone else will help them when the lights go out (which they did for a couple of hours yesterday due to high winds).
http://joomla.sanjuandem.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=68&Itemid=53
Teacher Terry
1-6-20, 11:42am
Living in a urban area no I am not worried.
Living in a urban area no I am not worried. Ditto. In winter we always leave the cars no less than half-full, there's an emergency kit in both trunks, there's cash in the house if we need it, we're fairly mobile if we need to be, we're not down to zero on groceries, and there are enough people around to pool resources so that planning does not go beyond that. "Remote" absolutely is not an issue here.
haha, in a way I moved to this remote island and away from urbania because, in the case of a geopolitical disaster, like war I'd rather be up here in Grand Isle than in the NY metro area. I'm not a prepper at all, but I have to say war/disaster crossed my mind when picking this place. I do feel safe up here, and we have built social capital. I've joked with my neighbors that if we ever had a nuclear war they are so skilled they would be able dig out scraps of wood and metal from their backyard sheds and build a fallout bunker in an afternoon. I just have to work on what my contribution would be in that case. I don't think my interviewing skills would have much value then.
I like the checklist on that website, bae, and I'm printing it out and will start working on it--not because I expect World War III but because after Hurricane Sandy I promised myself I'd do more common sense preparation, which I haven't so far.
Funny you mentioned this; one of my decluttering activities today was to get the old crank radio I bought my parents years ago and see if it still worked.
They had never used it, but the batteries had corroded, so we removed those and cleaned it out and got it ready for new batteries.
I cranked it and it worked beautifully. You get AM/FM, Weather, and TV, apparently.
We're going to leave it out and cranked up.
I locked in my home heating oil rate this year, which so far has not saved me anything and even cost me a little, but if prices continue climbing it will help.
I think I could get by without extra equipment or supplies for at least two weeks. I've used one of those emergency solar/crank radios a few times in power outages. It's a good reminder to charge up my lantern. Probably clean water and home heating would be some of the main challenges if some of those systems go down. I have some camping gear like stove, water filter, sleeping bags, and dehydrated camp foods that would be helpful.
The canned spam I had for Y2K 20 years ago is long gone, but would probably still be good.
I have enough food and water. I don't really need heat--in a previous week-long outage, I just hunkered down in bed. I should check my batteries and such, I suppose.
I watched a movie recently about a prepper who had a hidden storeroom stocked to the gills. Canned tuna was his thing - hundreds of cans. I keep thinking at the least I need to have some candles in the house.
I watched a movie recently about a prepper who had a hidden storeroom stocked to the gills. Canned tuna was his thing - hundreds of cans. I keep thinking at the least I need to have some candles in the house.
May I encourage you instead to consider some of the modern high-efficiency LED lanterns, and use rechargeable AA batteries? Then when it is a cold dark and stormy night, the fire department won't have to come out when there is A Candle Mishap, something we have happen here a couple times a year.
Good idea, bae. Just the other night we used the fireplace and DH accidentally left the damper closed when it went out. At 2am, the carbon monoxide alarms went off - scary. Also, when thinking about quick escapes for whatever reason, those of us with bedrooms in an upper story need to have a plan to get out if stairwell is blocked. All we can think of is a rope ladder??
Stay at home - If we lost the electric, we would lose heat, etc. No fireplace or wood stove, so that would be an issue. I think we could manage simple meals with the camping gear. Pantry is pretty well stocked, just the resources to prepare would take extra effort - manageable, but definite extra effort.
Leave the house - I had long ago prepared grab-n-go bags for each member/vehicle. Not sure of the status of each of them any more. I think I need to add a review of them to my to-do list.
ToomuchStuff
1-8-20, 3:24am
Unless they are planning on doing what I remember watching on tv as a kid, they may get some sleeper terrorists that do damage, but no real war on the homefront:
https://youtu.be/mbjq_Gg5JGw
flowerseverywhere
1-8-20, 6:36am
Trains derail, hurricanes, wildfires, water mains break, earthquakes, floods, tornadoes hit. If you are prepared for life with multiple skills and basic supplies on hand, you just need to keep on with it.
A few few days ago a tornado popped up about six miles from my home, and we are not in tornado alley. A water main broke a few miles in the other direction. Puerto Rico had an earthquake.
prepare the best you can for any hazard. Keep copies of any needed records safe. Our kids have a thumb drive with our info on it, as they do not live close by.
You never know.
I am wintering in southern Texas and just saw on the local news the possibility of Iran disrupting the water supply and power grid in the US. We are being warned. Time to prepare IMO. My only choice here is more cash on hand and a small stash of water. If need be, we will cross into Mexico.
Another trump blunder!
Living in a urban area no I am not worried.
Same with us but in a rural area. We are far enough from Washington DC that we are no where near any threat zone. Our town isn't on most maps as it is so good luck finding us. Haha!! There is a Navy Air Base in the next county over but even that isn't worth worrying about.
I'm not sure why living in an urban area gets any special exceptions from some sort of emergency like power outages, water or food shortages, or some sort of grid interruption.
I'm not sure why living in an urban area gets any special exceptions from some sort of emergency like power outages, water or food shortages, or some sort of grid interruption.
Urban areas generally get fixed first, and have easier access to supplies, etc.
Teacher Terry
1-8-20, 11:15am
If it’s winter I will just go to a hotel casino because they have generators.
Urban areas generally get fixed first, and have easier access to supplies, etc.
You would think, but if your city is poor without political clout it is another story. Fitchburg, MA no power for two weeks in the middle of winter. Lawrence, MA people kept out of their houses for months from fall into winter due to faulty gas lines.
Urban areas generally get fixed first, and have easier access to supplies, etc.
I fear for the folks in the Seattle/Tacoma area when we have the big Cascadia Fault quake.
I set up a deal some years back to let the FEMA/military folks use our island airport as sort of an aircraft carrier to help when that happens.
I fear for the folks in the Seattle/Tacoma area when we have the big Cascadia Fault quake.
Talk about the "big one". I hope for everyone in the pacific NW's sake that that earthquake doesn't happen in any of our lifetimes.
Powered by vBulletin® Version 4.2.5 Copyright © 2024 vBulletin Solutions Inc. All rights reserved.