Ask Slashdot: How Prepared Are You For a Major Emergency? 562
The northern US has been buried under snow several times this winter, and flooding has struck quite a few places in the southwest. Those pale, though, beside the recent disasters in Haiti, New Zealand, and Japan, and the seemingly inevitable arrival of a serious earthquake on the West Coast of the US. All of which has me thinking about my (meager) preparedness for a major disaster. Despite plans to stock up in case of a major storm or other emergency, right now I'd be down mostly to canned beans, sardines and Nutella. How prepared are you to do deal with a disaster affecting your region? Is your data safe? What about your family? Do you have escape, regrouping, or survival plans in the event of an earthquake, tsunami, hurricane, industrial accident, or whatever hazards are most relevant where you live? It would be helpful if in comments you disclose your region and environment (urban? rural? exurbs?) and the emergencies you consider worth preparing for, as well as talking about any steps you've taken or plan to take.
No (Score:5, Informative)
I am not prepared.
Re:Tips from the hurricane prone (Score:4, Informative)
Stockpile water and gasoline
Petrol goes stale. Don't stockpile it. Ditch the wheezy underpowered unreliable petrol engines, and get a diesel car and a diesel genny.
I'll Tell You (Score:4, Informative)
How many ducks and deer do you think there *are*? If there was an actual disaster, the deer, duck, quail, and lizard populations would plummet as a teaming horde of well-armed people suddenly ravage the landscape.
Cornell University Cooperative Extension [wildlifecontrol.info]: "Today there are over 20 million deer in the United States and numbers are rising. [...] Densitites may exceed 40 deer per square mile in some rural areas, and over 100 deer/square mile have been documented near many eastern metropolitan areas. [...] As long as adequate food resources are available, deer populations can double in size every 2-3 years. Eventually some form of population management is needed to control herd growth and maintain deer numbers within the social carrying capacity."
There are plenty of deer.
Rural Canada (Score:4, Informative)
I've found the best emergency preparedness is being on good terms with the neighbors. If you know everyone within an hour's walking distance you tend to benefit from a larger skill set than what you have on your own. One guy's a hunter/trapper, I have access to a pile of radio equipment, the nice old lady about a mile down is a hardcore homesteader (I think she only buys milk), so we're all set up to help each other out.
Here is my list (Score:5, Informative)
Home:
40 cu ft Pantry full of food
5 gal jug filled with dried beans
5 gal jug filled with rice
8000 sqft backyard garden (mostly root crops this time of year)
5 x 5 gal jug filled with drinking water
half a cord of Firewood + ax and bow saw for collecting more
Several sacks of charcoal
Spare tank of propane
Box of candles
Large first aid kit
Iodine tablets
Fire extinguisher
Deep cycle battery + trickle charger + inverter
Large toolbox full of tools
Rechargable flashlights in every bathroom
A fireproof safe, bolted to a concrete floor, containing:
Original copies of important documents
Several USB drives with backups
Cash, other valuables
AR-15 assault rifle + 500 rounds of ammo + cleaning kit
pockets:
cellphone (the lcd screen can be used as a flashlight)
fine tip sharpie pen
on keychain:
4GB USB thumb drive
mini leatherman (scissors, knife, tweezers, screwdriver)
screw top tube containing:
needle+thread, safety pins, waterproof matches,
asprin, antibiotic pills
trunk of car:
Jumper cables
flares
First aid kit
Water
Breakfast bars
plastic bags
duct tape
epoxy glue
needles / thread
parachute cord
pliers
screwdrivers
scissors
$200 in twenty dollar bills