Hurricane prep tips from a survivalist

My Fox Tampa Bay ^ | 02 Jun 2009 | Laura Moody

[appleseed]

TAMPA - Brenda Derby is a born fighter— 20 years in the army, retired.

She remembers when Hurricane Charley hit. Back surgery put her out, unable to prepare, she was alone.

Then came Frances, Ivan and Jeanne. She promised herself never again would be she be unprepared. Now hurricane season is here again.

"I love, it enjoy it. That pyschs me up," Derby said. "I'm a survivalist. That's my time."

{Cut}

It's not just food either. Derby keeps a fully stocked first aid kit, dozens of lifejackets, with whistles attached, Maglites for everyone.

She's the woman you want to know when the hurricane hits. She has some good tips, too- like storing first aid and canned food in and around the hot water heater where there's space and it's out of the way and keep a can opener tied to the piping.

"Canned yams are good, tuna fish, beans, Vienna sausages," she goes on. "The day before it hits, lower your temperature down on your refrigerator, colder. You'll hear it click on."

Before the power goes out, hit your breaker, she says, for your a/c, your air handler, your appliances.

"You don't want it to surge," Derby said.

[appleseed]

I wish just one MSM article would mention guns and ammo. In a disaster like a hurricane, Katrina showed that looters are on the prowl for big screen tv's, designer clothes and shoes and beer. Remember the Korean grocers with shotguns defending their property? Overall, it is a decent article. It lists some some good stuff to have on hand no matter what the crisis.

[appleseed]

Self Reliant/Survivalist ping list

[Le Chien Rouge]

My mother lives in Florida and says when hurricane warnings go out, the first food item to be sold out at Walmart is ALWAYS ....pop tarts.

[stevie_d_64]

Don’t forget to keep your tanks full, and never let the gas tank fall below half for very long, especially when we have one in the gulf...

As far as guns and ammo...Well, I kinda like a lot of mystery...Those that know...Well, they know that this is important...Those that don’t become news stories or statistics...

In this day and age and folks running the funny farm up in D.C. know what the score is...

The thing is that if you have a place to rally to, you are blessed, and if we have to go, all I do is pack up the dog, the wife and me in the truck, lock the door to the house and leave...We have “things” stowed away up north that will get us thru...

Don’t forget to document (digital photos, reciepts, videos and pdf scans of anything that can prove to insurance) the “stuff” you leave behind, and have that info safely tucked away with your “stuff” (as George Carlin would say) to recoup the losses...It does make a difference when you present your eveidence to insurance and the claims seem to go a lot smoother when they see that you got your game on...They can’t poo poo on your claim as much...

Since Hurricane Rita this is our game plan...

When you reside yourself to the fact that you might just come home to a slab, it makes the preparations go a long way to your piece of mind, and that having the right priorities, and to be able to travel light on your feet or vehicle, makes the time you do have to evacuate (or even hunker down) much more bearable...

Plus I know some people (FReepers) who live on the other side of Houston that know how to party...And that is something that lifts me to no end...

[DvdMom]

Being prepared ping :)

[metmom]

My mother lives in Florida and says when hurricane warnings go out, the first food item to be sold out at Walmart is ALWAYS ....pop tarts.

Oh,..... GAG!!!!!!

[metmom]

A FReeper has a bug out survival kit suggestions. ChocChipCookie, I believe it was. Maybe appleseed could post a link to that here.

[I Buried My Guns]

I live in Houston, and discovered that my house has an old fallout shelter under the back yard. I pumped it out recently and it is NASTY. I am considering making effort to rehabilitate it.

Query: Is it the norm to have underground shelters or basements here? I ask because I just assumed the high water table would preclude it. Indeed, I have a pond that is actually above the shelter.

I would love to turn it into a hurricane survival shelter but wonder about the wisdom of going underground while it rains cats and dogs.

[southernnorthcarolina]

Some good, common sense ideas here. I don't live on the coast -- if I did, I might think otherwise -- but I would be inclined to evacuate only if a Category 5 hurricane were approaching. Anything less, and I ride it out, having made appropriate preparations, of course; once you leave, the "authorities" often won't allow you to return and protect or repair your property for many days after the storm has passed.

I agree that guns and ammo are a glaring omission here. I also find it curious that no mention is made of an emergency generator. Particularly if you're in well-and-septic territory, you need to get power to the well pump, in addition to the obvious need to keep refrigeration and at least minimal lighting operable.

A few rolls of quarters make sense, but I'd also have at least $1,000 in small bills hidden away, preferably in a waterproof bag in a built-in (floor or wall) safe, which every home should have. And if you are concerned about something more serious than mere weather -- an economic collapse and/or a major civil uprising, for example -- a few gold coins isn't a bad idea.

[dennisw]

More hurricane tips from a survivalist:

• Have silver coins and change on hand. There will be no "breaking a $20" a stores and ATMs will have no power
• There will also been no electricity for fuel pumps at gas stations and no ice machines (dry ice is easily available and is a better choice)
• Expect Raw Sewage in streets
• Fill bathtubs up with water, bleach them first.
• Flatten full toilet paper rolls and put them in ziploc bags
• 1-2 hours before the storm:
• Turn off your breakers to A/C, air handler, water heater and any appliances/electronics-- protect them from a surge
• Lower temperature in freezer and refrigerator 1-3 degrees or until it clicks on--
• Once the power goes out, do not open freezer (even to peek) -- it will stay frozen for at least three days and then you call pull food out and begin to cook on your grill (gas or charcoal kept in waterproof container)
• Use all the space around your hot water heater for canned storage space and first aid kits. Stack it tall and keep at least 2 can openers tied to the pipes.
• Have first aid kits, bug spray, sunscreen, bottled water or gatorade, battery-powered fans, weather radios, regular radio (this is where you will get your information), spray paint to paint name of insurance carrier on house, life jackets with whistle, flashlights, spare batteries (all sizes), playing cards

Good canned goods to have on hand:
Combinations

• SPAM and Pineapple rings
• yams and cranberry sauce
• baked beans and peaches in syrup
• Peanut Butter and Jelly
• Beans
• kidney beans
• white beans
• red beans
• butter beans
• navy beans
• Fruits
• peaches
• pears
• mandarin oranges
• pineapple

Other Items

• Canned Vegetables
• Tuna Fish
• Fruit Cocktail
• Vienna Sausages
• SpaghettiOs

 

DennisW's add ons------>>>>>>

made in India propane cook stove. I have one made in Venezuela bought at flea market

• Have two BBQ propane tanks filled and ready to cook food on yr grill
• and even better get a cheap propane cook stove not camping stove
• I have one with two burners just like they use in the 3rd world
• Getting warm food and soups in your belly is comforting and very important in a crisis
• Get some plastic 5 gallon bottles filled up w water
• I have six of these ready to deploy
• Eat your luxurious frozen foods at start of hurricane season so you don't get upset if your refrigerator and freezer thaw out
• After hurricane hits with electric out eat your most expensive foods first and invite neighbors over
• Think about group meals with neighbors
• Have scrap plywood and nails around for temporary repairs
• 5 gallon bucket of roof tar too.... The Lowes and HomeDepots will be mobbed after hurricane
• try to have a laptop to function off your computer battery backups. Last time we had no electric but Comcast and BellSouth were functioning
• Have some brown rice and dry split peas on hand they cook very fast on your propane fueled camp stove. White beans cook fast too
• have green cash at home 500$ is good
• When electric is out so are the ATM machines and the supermarkets can only take cash
• fill up all vehicles gasoline tanks full
• and get a siphon for taking gasoline out of one car and putting in another
• have some beer and liquor stashed away
• have candles and have a safe way to deploy them

[Moonman62]

I wish just one MSM article would mention guns and ammo. In a disaster like a hurricane, Katrina showed that looters are on the prowl for big screen tv's, designer clothes and shoes and beer.

In the South Florida area, I'd say there was less crime than usual right after hurricanes, and there are a lot of thugs around here.

[dennisw]

 

DennisW's add ons------>>>>>>

made in India propane cook stove. I have one made in Venezuela bought at flea market

• Have two BBQ propane tanks filled and ready to cook food on yr grill
• and even better get a cheap propane cook stove not camping stove
• I have one with two burners just like they use in the 3rd world
• Getting warm food and soups in your belly is comforting and very important in a crisis
• Get some plastic 5 gallon bottles filled up w water
• I have six of these ready to deploy
• Eat your luxurious frozen foods at start of hurricane season so you don't get upset if your refrigerator and freezer thaw out
• After hurricane hits with electric out eat your most expensive foods first and invite neighbors over
• Think about group meals with neighbors
• Have scrap plywood and nails around for temporary repairs
• 5 gallon bucket of roof tar too.... The Lowes and HomeDepots will be mobbed after hurricane
• try to have a laptop to function off your computer battery backups. Last time we had no electric but Comcast and BellSouth were functioning
• Have some brown rice and dry split peas on hand they cook very fast on your propane fueled camp stove. White beans cook fast too
• have green cash at home 500$ is good
• When electric is out so are the ATM machines and the supermarkets can only take cash
• fill up all vehicles gasoline tanks full
• and get a siphon for taking gasoline out of one car and putting in another
• have some beer and liquor stashed away
• have candles and have a safe way to deploy them

[appleseed]

Good info. on how to prepare for most stuff.

http://www.thesurvivalmom.com/

[Alkhin]

Thats really unusual that you have an underground shelter. It is precisely because of the high water table that most native Houstonians have no idea of the concept of ‘basement’ - I wouldnt go underground. Downtown Houston has an underground tunnel system and it invariably floods under extreme weather conditions like a hurricane...or even a tropical storm. TS Allison (cant remember the year) caused more water damage than Hurricane Alicia (1983).

[miele man]

I bet this woman passes a lot of gas during hurricane season.

[metmom]

I would love to turn it into a hurricane survival shelter but wonder about the wisdom of going underground while it rains cats and dogs.

I understand that you hate to waste something like that, but......consider that you had to pump it out.

[I Buried My Guns]

I pumped the shelter out and it appears to have maintained its' integrity. No new water is seeping in.

It is a 1950s-era all-steel unit that has an angled entranceway but lacks the actual stairs (you gotta install those yourself). It looks to be about 10 by 12 feet in size.

It once had electricity, and there is an old faucet on one wall that I dare not open; I'm afraid of more gunk and slime. It will take a lot of shoveling crud and scraping rusty walls to rehabilitate it.

All my friends want me to turn it into a man cave.

[TalonDJ]

Ping for reference

[dennisw]

Two burner propane cook stoves at ebay. They are easy to hook up to a BBQ gas tank but get an extra black rubber propane line (I have four) because you have to cut off the end to jam it into the cook stoves intake. Also make a wind shield for it. But you can use indoors too during an emergency as long as the cooks are safety conscious

 http://home.shop.ebay.com/items/Inside-the-Home__propane-stove-Coleman-Camping_W0QQ_nkwZpropaneQ20stoveQ20Q2dColemanQ20Q2dCampingQQ_catrefZ1QQ_flnZ1QQ_sacatZ159888QQ_trksidZp3286Q2ec0Q2em282

 

[SERE_DOC]

hurricane preparedness,

IDAHO.......

be there!