Posted on 10/12/2014 6:20:37 AM PDT by BobL
Now that it's proven that Ebola transmission doesn't necessarily respect international borders and confine itself to "those countries", perhaps it's time that paranoid types (me included) update our supplies and get ready for what may come. I'll state what I see as worst-case, and others are welcome to chime-in and comment (or contradict) what I say.
First, if the virus spreads out of control (which I consider possible, as long as it is being given civil rights), there is only one way to stop it, and that is a near-complete lock-down of the country, with only essential workers allowed out of home confinement. The country will basically look like a giant ghost town with a small number of people in space suits trying to keep order and hand out supplies to the 98% of the people that are totally unprepared. They will also try to keep operating utilities such as power, natural gas, clean water, and sewage treatment. Not much need for gasoline though as our consumption rate will drop to next to nothing (so stockpiles will last a long time for those allowed to use it).
The next question is how long will the confinement be. I suspect that the confinement will be at least 30 days (longer for people having some contact with victims), and it will take some time to clear the streets.
So, as far as disasters go, this is actually one of the easier scenarios (try thinking about a landscape covered with radioactive fallout, for example, or even no water/power and a badly damaged house after a hurricane). In this case, you may lose water/power, but not right away. As far as being prepped to go out in public (i.e., clothing, masks, etc.) or taking care of Ebola patients, that's way out of my league. Others can discuss it, but I won't try.
So, my recommendations are as follows:
WATER
1) Storing Fresh Water: Ideally, you go on stored water. It can be bottled, although my first-line method is to take a large trash can, line it with 2 heavy duty trash bags, and then fill it up about 2/3s with tap water, that's good for about 20 gallons, which or about 20 man-days if used for drinking. There are also devices that fit in bathtubs for storing water, although these are getting hard to find.
2) Purifying Other Water: As a minimum have always fresh bleach, and be sure it's really fresh, as its shelf life is only 6 months. Even if you hate Wal-Mart, that's a great place to buy it, since they have huge turnover so your bleach will be fresh. Only buy PLAIN bleach, not scented or otherwise cute, and visit the Clorox site to get instructions on using it. When used properly it will kill off the vast majority of bugs that can get you, if your water supply is not clean. Lots more can be done beyond that, but it will cost some money.
3) Rain Water Collection: If your house has gutters, then try to come up with a way to collect that water. It is usually doable, and the water may be quite yucky (especially at the beginning of a storm), but it certainly beats not having water. If you have decent purification capability, you can live on it (even bleach is probably sufficient for most rain water).
FOOD
1) I think having 60 days tucked away is a good start, with half of that being starches (rice, noodles, etc.), which cost next to nothing, and the other half being yummy stuff, being not requiring refrigeration. So canned/dried food is good, with canned food being very cheap on a per calorie basis and lasting for years. I've been eating my 5 year old cans of food that were stored without any regard to temperature, reaching well over 80F in the house for 2 summers in a row. They are well beyond their expiration date, but taste great, with only slight changes from the newer stuff.
2) Beyond the above, you can then buy perishables, frozen/refrigerated food, since you'll likely have power for much of the time. At worst the power goes out and food ends up in trash bags at the curb. And BE SURE to have a lot of heavy trash bags.
3) For cooking, if you plan to rely on starches, you really need to have a way to cook them without relying on power or natural gas. I've about lost count of my ways to do that - starting with a propane stove, propane grill, gasoline (camping) stove, second gasoline stove, butane stoves and probably some other options. Don't try to get cute with a "solar stove" or "wood stove" only - you want something easy to use, and powerful. Just be sure whatever you have can boil water efficiently and that you have enough fuel to keep going (and that can be a lot of fuel if you boil). I like gasoline because I can pull it out of my cars, if I need to.
HEATING
Heating can certainly be a challenge. Here in Houston, it actually can get (relatively) cold, dipping well into the 20s for a few days each winter and not getting much above 40 during those spells. But every region and every home is different so I won't try to give a single set of recommendations. But a few things to consider: Electric blankets can make a boatload of difference for someone trying to stretch out a tank of propane (of course you need power), likewise thermal underwear. There are actually propane heaters that operate indoors although you need to have some air ventilation to prevent Oxygen depletion (and with the depletion Carbon Monoxide will be given off - otherwise, no Carbon Monoxide). Butane is similar, but I don't know where to find a space heater rated for indoor use. Never burn gasoline/wood indoors for heating without direct venting, because Carbon Monoxide will always be given off as a product of combustion. (burning gasoline indoors for cooking - I'm not really sure there, but I'd be very careful to have lots of fresh air, at a minimum). Needless to say, a battery powered Carbon Monoxide detector is a must if you have any indoor combustion.
OTHER STUFF
Lots of other items - just think of what you normally use, and have a decent supply. Also think of what might get used more, especially things like plastic bags and have a large supply of them. Paper items are another good thing to have - if water/soap is tight, you may want to use paper plates, for example. Batteries, of course. And also consider what happens if the power goes out. Do you have a manual can opener?
So that's it for now, I'm in pretty shape with the above (actually really good shape). Even if you're not a prepper you can still do a lot of the above on a temporary basis and then slowly consume the items (like food, paper towels, etc.) and your net cost is nothing, you simply bought the stuff a bit earlier than you otherwise would have. Even with food, you don't need to buy food that requires cooking (you may not be used to it, but most canned food doesn't require any heating/cooking to be safe, and yummy)...but it will certainly cost more than starches.
Good Luck!!
“Don’t use lawn and trash bags as your water container/can liner. I’ve read (some of) these are treated with pesticides. Not sure about the white/kitchen type liners...of their food grade quality.”
Maybe so, but first, why treat with pesticides? You may be thinking just of the chemicals used to manufacture them. This is the best that I could find, from the USDA:
“The use of plastic trash bags for food storage or cooking is not recommended by USDA “... because they are not food grade plastic and chemicals from them may leach into the food.”
Not a very strong warning and as far as I’m concerned, it’s telling me not to make a habit of drinking out of them because my risk of cancer may increase by 0.01% (or whatever). I looked at my Husky Bag box, and it has a strong warning regarding suffocation risk, but only a “not recommended” advisory regarding food storage - same as USDA.
But in these situations you have to weigh relative risk, and it is much more likely that I’ll get sick from not having a large supply of fresh water (and thus having to rely on questionable water) and a slight (maybe) increase in cancer risk...if that. Just as likely though, Husky didn’t bother to try to certify their bags for food storage because they didn’t see a need.
Plastic tarp. Sheets of plastic(enough to seal windows and doors) and duct tape. We always think of what happens when the SHTF, but something we need to take into consideration is, what happens if it hits our home?
God forbid something happens to us or our family. And if does, what will we do? Does anyone have a death kit? Will you seal off the room, bury the body, burn the body?
I am not a prepper so I do not know if this is something taken into consideration. How would you handle this? In my home, having extra water and food for a couple of months is the norm. Gloves and masks were sealed and stored a while back for no other reason then I believe every home should have it.
Funny thing is, I keep plastic and duct tape for sealing my windows in winter. But I also keep it in the event I have to SSS.
What are your thoughts on a “death kit?”
“Learn to eat like a Mexican. Simple flour tortillas, beans, rice, eggs( keep a few chickens), onions and hominy.”
You’re getting me hungry...and now I’m thinking of adding canned tamales.
Thanks!
“What are your thoughts on a “death kit?””
Really scary. If your kid gets a cold, what do you do? You can stick him in a room and tell him not to leave until recovered. If you have an bathroom you can assign it to the kid. You drop food at the door...and then when he is bedridden...
I can’t go there, even though thousands in Africa are already there.
With the second patient in Texas look for the stock market to take a nosedive.
Obama’s created a real good excuse for the economy to go into the crapper.
It’s not his/liberal democrat policies fault, it’s Ebola that caused it.
BTW, the last 3 times there has been an orchestrated economic recession a terrorist attack or an attempted terrorist attack against the economy has followed. There is always a 1-2 punch.
Bookmark.
Gee...our mail in ballots get sent out next week...why does October always seem so full of calamities?
I printed out the information to make drinking water safe and taped it to the inside of a storage cabinet in the basement.
They give the amount of solution to make to make drinking water drinkable, but what if you wanted to make two gallons of disinfectant for a sprayer to prevent contamination from viruses? I haven’t been able to find anything for that yet.
“I printed out the information to make drinking water safe and taped it to the inside of a storage cabinet in the basement.”
Smart. I’ve thought about that...just too lazy. A notebook with critical survival information. Maybe it’s time to for me to step it up a bit.
I feed my dog raw turkey/chicken. I've always used 1/4 cup/quart of water in a sprayer for surface/dish/utensil disinfecting. Perhaps overkill, but since I'm still using mass-produced bleach and I can't test its 'decay', better safe than sorry, imho.
bttt
Bleach+water solution is effective for one day only. It must be discarded every day or it is not effective.
Have on hand OTC meds, like aspirin, acetaminophen, etc, and antibiotic ointments, band aids and other, similar drugstore items..if this whole thing turns out not to be very bad, all these things will be useful anyway..
If possible, have extra doses of prescription meds on hand, too.
Keep at least one vehicle’s gas tank full, and keep said vehicle in good repair...
Be very quiet around your neighborhood and town about what you have, be it extra food, ammo, etc.,in case things DO get really bad.. it’s called self-preservation!!
Agreed Rad with all your points. However, most fail to realize that bleach+water is good only for one day. It still smells ‘bleachy’ after a day, but is not an effective sanitizer. It must be remade every day.
Just a coincidence I’m sure.
I’m also sure the Obama adm not taking any steps to stop Ebola from coming into the country and we are now looking at a second case of Ebola right before the season premier of “The Walking Dead” is also just a coincidence.
Got a really nice bridge for sale, anyone care to buy it?
Agree...it would have wiped out the African countries by now if it spread so easily. The point of my thread is that it there will be a level reached where people will start to panic (either because of reality, or perception). It could just be one slip by a “health official”, saying something like “it appears it can be transmitted more easily than thought” (my quote, people, don’t panic, no one official has said that [yet]).
By then it’s very late to start prepping as supplies and equipment will quickly dry up. But for the non-preppers that at least think about what they need (how much food, fresh bleach, etc.), they will still have the advantage when the rush to Walmart and Sams ensues. They will not have to look at labels are calculate quantities. They can also get their Amazon orders in ahead of the surge.
So, even for the non-paranoid types, there are some easy things to do that cost nothing, other than thinking thinks out a bit, that will still help a lot - should the starting-gun fire off regarding panic time.
The following is true...and I am old enough to remember the limit of 2 rolls per customer at my supermarket when it happened:
“Be very quiet around your neighborhood and town about what you have, be it extra food, ammo, etc.,in case things DO get really bad.. it’s called self-preservation!!”
That advice is ALWAYS SMART, and includes co-workers. Figure that anyone you disclose your prepping plans to will show up at your door if that day comes, just as happened on Twilight Zone.
One of the “nice things” about this scenario is that will not be too many zombies and shooting them on sight if they pose a threat to the integrity of your residence will likely not be met with many questions from the police. Again, this is one of the easier scenarios to deal with (believe it or not), if you prep right it can simply be a month-long stay-at-home vacation.
A Nigerian medico got it just like that. Touching a doorknob.
I can find the video of an interview about that if you want.
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