Lessons learned in Self-suffiency. Sandy and Katrina

[thinwater]

Same thing will happen with the first severe snow:

1. Cars will get stuck and you will see office workers walking through the slush in office shoes and just enough coat to get from the house to the driveway. Like the snow wasn't predicted. I don't understand folks that don't have boots, gloves, hats, and insulated coveralls (or equivalent in the trunk. No shovel or rope either. Grownups. I don't feel at all sorry for them.

2. Houses loose heat. I can only guess these people never went camping. Winter camping there is never heat and campfires are only for postcards. You insulate. I do feel for the elderly, but not most folks.

3. They'll run on groceries, just like hurricanes. Like they didn't know it was going to snow in the winter.

Climbers go mountaineering with everything they need plus an equal mass of climbing gear, for a week at a time. Not fun for most folks, but it should put the situation into perspective.

Be prepared, make it do, or do without. No big deal. I think a background in camping and mountaineering was great preparation for cruising.

[avb3]

Moderator Note

Let's keep the political comments out of this thread if you want to keep it open. Some have been removed.

[Capt Phil]

Thanks, avb3... there are plenty of other forums where folks can vent their political ire if they wish. This is a CRUISERS forum. Most of the comments here describe lessons learned afloat about self-sufficiency that can easily be applied to a shore side emergency. All valuable info... Phil

[hpeer]

Before and after aerial shots

Superstorm Sandy: before and after - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

[Buzzman]

We get a lot of cyclones (hurricanes) in North Queensland and North-West Western Australia. The big 'kicker' was Cyclone Tracy, Xmas Eve '74, that totalled Darwin.

Since then, govts implemented building codes to 'cyclone proof' homes. Walls bolted to footings, roofs strapped down to walls, more fixings per metre on roof coverings etc etc.

Our State Emergency Service, volunteer run, State and donor funded, is usually the first responder in natural emergencies, and are seriously well trained crews. Boats, trucks, chainsaw crews, roof-tarping crews, you name it, we got it, and all local to every district - nationwide. Local people helping local people.

But if the power lines go down (as they are mostly overheads) most homes are 'dead' and people have no Plan B.

Smart folks have a gennie to at least keep power up to the fridge/freezer. Very smart folks have a rainwater tank and electric pump (running off the gennie or battery back-up).

Really, really smart folks have solar panels with battery back-up as well.

Oddly enough, most folks think of the pantry when 'stocking' for emergencies, but forget the most important thing - water.

One of the 'warnings' here when a storm is imminent is to fill the bath and any other large container with drining water - just in case the pumps or pipes go out.

Look at the recent Tropical Storm Haiyan disaster in the Phillipines. Thousands homeless and calling out for water. OK, so storm surges probably ate all their supplies, but one local Cruiser reported elsewhere here that a cuppla low flying choppers dumping a pallet load of PET bottles of water onto one of the outer islands probably saved the entire community from a major cholera outbreak.

Will this happen again if there's another storm in a few years time? Probably. Becasue they are all so poor it isn't viable to stockpile supplies of anything much, and don't have fridges, so go to the market every day. No markets. No food. People starve.

In summer, when we get most of our storms along the east coast (November thru March) we frequently have short outages of an hour to a day. When that happens to my place, I dig out the battery-op lamps, fire up the propane stove, fire up the genny and plug the fridge and TV into that, crack a cold one and relax - just like I do every night. And I always fill a 20L water container prior to a big storm, as the water often goes out due to power failures affecting the pumps.

Last major storm the neighbours asked how come my power didn't go out, as they could see 'lights' on and hear the TV operating.

They were utterly helpless and had no clue what to do. I explained my 'emergency set-up' and they said "That's a good idea". Then a few months ago they moved to a new house in a flood prone riverside location. Imbeciles.

I guess growing up in the country where you need to be self-reliant, and doing a lot of camping and hiking with my dad when I was younger, gave me the preparedness factor necessary.

It isn't just 'attitude' - it's also 'education' that can make the difference between those who manage and those who can't.

Those who 'won't' I simply have no time for. Let 'em drown. We could do with a few less morons in the gene pool, especially in the shallow end where most of them seem to come from.

Just sayin'....

[hpeer]

Elsewhere I was on a thread about a storm in Alaska that took power from a large number of folks for some days, and sent temps down to -40 and below. Many folks were not prepared, not just to loose power but to loose heat.

It seems your observations about people are pretty universal.

We live in a row house deep in the city but have a generator and water bladders. The boat is our bug out plan for if things get bad. It is pretty well stocked and in the water year round.