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Great article. Not only informative, but well written with a bit of humor tossed in.
A while ago I had DH built either doors that lock (simply way with a moving wooden bar thingie) or thin pieces of wook nailed on like a bannister (?) on all my cupboards. I have over 100 mason jars of herbs and if they fell from an earthquake, it would be a terrible loss and a terrible mess. I live in an area that very rarely has earthquakes but when it does - yowzers. PNW - last bad one was 300 yrs ago. A bad one happens about every 300 yrs...
There are companies that make natural gas house valves that shut themselves off if they sense leaking gas. Local codes may require it to be installed by a licensed plumber.
Having stuff handy in case of earthquake would also be useful in case of fire.
It would be a good idea to have no breakable glass en route to an exit. Windows can be tempered glass (which if it does break, becomes small rounded fragments rather than long knifelike shards). Pictures for wall hanging or desk display can be reframed with plastic fronts. Mirrors should be kept away from the door. Etc.
Most people fail to acknowledge that disasters happen everyday for a variety of reasons and do not prepare for what is actually an eventuality.
I am not talking end of world stuff here but fires, floods, mud slides, earthquakes, regional society breakdowns occur everyday in the United States and elsewhere.
To be unprepared for that eventuality just doesn’t make sense.
For those who feel they are prepared because the read something and put a kit together and call it a day, well, you have not thought this thing through.
Great you got started but are you analyzing your level of preparedness and improving?
Most don’t.
What happens if the disaster lasts more than 72 hours or your supplies have exceeded the expiration date? Well, you are back to square one and in danger of becoming a zombie, either reliant on the government who is ill prepared to deal with your unique requirements or you will become a looter and a possible casualty of someone who is more prepared and willing to defend their life or the lives of their loved ones.
Be responsible for your life and lay in stores for your unique needs. No one knows better than you what those are.
If you aren’t willing to acknowledge that life happens and prepare for a regional disaster then shame on you and don’t come running to the rest of us, as if we thought to lay in stores to bail you out. We didn’t.
When you shop by two or three of a thing you use regularly and set in a rotation. Place the items you just bought in the back of similar items and use them in order.
A just in time delivery system goes out the door when disaster happens and I have seen all too many times and been involved in them far to often.
When the electricity was unavailable in our neighborhood for the four days, I had plenty of candles, flashlights, batteries, food, water, etc.
I also have plenty of medical supplies.
My neighbors had nothing but what was in their fridge. No lights, no candles, no coal or extra propane and they lost their food.
Thing is when they tried to buy more at typical store there was no electricity and no way for the merchants to fulfill an order.
Think ahead. Life is going to happen.
Think tornadoes in Oklahoma.
Think floods in Oklahoma or even in Calfornia.
Think earthquakes. We just had a 7.2 in southern California and I hope there is little loss of life but there will be loss of life to infrastructure not being able to deploy with no electricity.
I have even been in snowstorms and found myself well prepared, at least for my needs and mentality. Sleeping bags and tarps can make a disaster seem like camping if you think it through.
bttt
bttt
Better to buy a plug-in rechargeable night-light/emergency light. These plug into a wall socket, and if power is lost, they "light up" immediately. Pull-em out of the wall, and you have instant flashlight. Always charged up. Use high-intensity LED's as sources, so burned out bulbs are virtually unknown.
Recommend that she toss a small pry bar in her kit. If she’s got room a set of those knee pads from the hardware store are handy, too.