10 Principles of Disaster Preparedness

Part 3

    This is third in a series on my Principles of Disaster Preparedness.  I believe your preparations should be guided by certain principles that provide boundaries and direct your plans. Growing your pantry and gaining supplies is all good, but without definable, workable parameters, your efforts may be for naught.  If you missed the last two weeks, check out my blog for the installments you missed.

Principle #7.  Develop useful skills. Learn to cook without relying on prepared, pre-packaged, “high in everything that’s bad for you” fare.  Practice getting by without a daily trip to the grocery store.  Learn to fix things without calling a professional or buying new.  I remember my dad building the most ingenious gate latches or other gizmo out of what he had on hand.  The lessons learned in the Great Depression years stayed with him all his life.  The “make do” philosophy has served our family well.

Principle #8.  Get first aid training.  Similar to #7 above, but so vital, it deserves its own category.  Take a class in first aid.  Build skills that will be invaluable if there are injuries in your neighborhood.  Put together a first aid kit that includes such things as a suture kit, (available online), blood pressure cuff, and inflatable splints.  There are video classes at www.redcross.com to teach skills in cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR).  Learn about triage and why hard decisions have to be made in times of disaster.  When the time comes, you will be an asset rather than a liability.  YouTube videos are a great source of information.  For example if you need to learn to use that suture kit, there are YouTube videos covering the topic.  Also check out the Patriot Nurse, a straight-talking prepper who pulls no punches when it comes to medical readiness.

Principle #9.  Build relationships with your neighbors.  Mapping Your Neighborhood is a program which gets you acquainted with your REAL first responders.  When disasters strike, the Police, Fire and Emergency Medical Responders are all going to have their hands full with someone else’s emergency. Having an inventory of your neighborhood skills is vitally important when it comes to response on a down home level.   It is imperative you know who in your neighborhood may need your help and who has the skills to be of assistance. Are any of your neighbors elderly and may need assistance?  How about propane tanks or natural gas shut-offs?  All these questions are covered when neighbors get together and inventory their assets.

Principle #10.  Spiritual  preparedness.  I may have saved the most important for last.  Your core values and belief system will always be your first line of defense, and will be the first point of challenge in an emergency.  How you are guided by your beliefs and values will dictate how well you respond and whether or not you will be successful.  Time after time survivors interviewed after a disaster proclaim their strength to survive came from their faith.  

Will you be a source of strength and stability for others or will you be yet another basket case demanding attention?

As always send your comments and questions to disasterprep.dave@gmail.com. 

Dave’s 10 Principles of Disaster Preparedness

Part 2

    Last week I started a series on my 10 Principles of Disaster Preparedness.  It is my sincere belief that your preparedness should have a plan.  Being prepared is more than a full pantry of Spam, rice and beans.  Preparedness begins with a mindset that says, “No matter what happens, we’re going to get through any disaster thrown at us!”  Accumulating extra stores and planning ahead is all part of the overall picture, but there should be some guiding principles behind how you prepare and for what reasons.  In case you missed the first three principles, see last week’s column or check it out on my blog.  

4.  There is value in redundancy.  An old joke among government employees is that somewhere deep in the bureaucracy swamp known as Washington, there is an agency known as the Department of Redundancy Department.  This principle sounds a bit like #3, “Always Have A Plan B,” but if you only have one way of purifying water, then two ways is even better.  If you have one case of toilet paper, two is better.  The more you have stored, the more you have available for barter or charity.  Equally as important are the qualities of versatility and flexibility. Disasters don’t follow a rigid design, so it’s best if you design your plan with a certain adaptability factor as well.

5. Don’t make preparations out of fear.  Several months ago we held a class at our church on Disaster Preparedness.  There were about 25 people in attendance.  We discussed some of the reasons for prepping including the possibility of a mega-earthquake.  After the class one of the attendees went home, gathered her children and pitched a tent out in the middle of a field in fear of an earthquake destroying her house.  I carry a spare tire in my car, not out of fear of a flat tire, but just in case.  I have Band-aids in my wallet, just in case.  The story is told of an 80 year old woman confronted by police.  It was found she had two handguns in her purse, one in her glovebox and a shotgun under the seat.  The officer asked, “Ma’am, just what is it you are  afraid of?”

Her reply, “Nothing!”  When you lay in extra stores, do so with the posture of “just in case.”  Not because you’re afraid of what might happen.

6.  Beware of “Style Over Substance!”  Politicians are fond of making laws, usually with great pomp and volume, that are long on publicity and short on actual effectiveness.  We all know of products that don’t live up to their billing.  Not everything labelled “Survival” will be of benefit when actually put to the test.  I am convinced that much so-called “survival” gear was designed by the P.T. Barnum School of Marketing.  You’ll recall their motto, I’m sure:  “There’s a sucker born every minute!”  When making a purchase for your preparations, do your research and think it through. First ask yourself if you know how to use it.  Then try to determine the probability of necessity if there is a disaster.  Make smart, well-informed purchases before you invest.  It’s not only your money at stake, your life may depend on this thing.

Next week we’ll continue with more of my Ten Principles.  As always send your questions,  comments and suggestions to disasterprep.dave@gmail.com.  

Dave’s 10 Foundational Principles of Disaster Preparedness

This week’s column begins a series of my Ten Foundational Principles of Disaster Preparedness.  Call them core values, immutable truths or life rules, I feel one must develop their own personal “prepper philosophy” so there will be some direction and structure in your planning.  Although mine are a work in progress, here they are:

1.  Prepare BEFORE the disaster happens.  I am always mildly amused and somewhat bewildered by the ones who run to the store either at the last minute or after the fact.  That’s a bit like having a fender bender then calling your insurance man to buy some coverage.  In my observations of situations like Katrina and Sandy, I see people who had plenty of advance warning still getting caught empty-handed.  The chaos, frustration and desperation that characterizes the unprepared can all be avoided by simply planning ahead.  Your family is worth it.  A biblical proverb says, “A prudent person foresees danger and takes precautions.  The simpleton goes on blindly and suffers the consequences.”  (Proverbs 22:3, New Living Translation)  Plan ahead.

2.  Avoid ready-made kits. There are literally thousands of ready-made kits available for purchase.  Almost every disaster preparedness blog (except mine) has a kit for sale.  I think some of them are pretty well thought out and actually very cool.  However there is a certain satisfaction in building your own, choosing quality components and actually designing the kit for your specific needs in your specific neighborhood.  The person that lives miles out in the hills will have different needs than the person who lives right in town.  Some families have babies and their kit will require diapers and anti-rash ointment.  Others will have “seasoned citizens” in the household and their needs are unique to their circumstance.  Check out the ready-mades to get ideas on what you might need, but make your own list, then fill it to your satisfaction.

3.  Have a plan “B” and a plan “C.”  Every experienced battle commander knows his plan is perfect until the fighting begins. Most plans unravel somewhat once they’re tested.   This is a huge flaw I see in the National Geographic Channel’s “Doomsday Preppers.”  Every featured group I have seen prepares for a specific disaster scenario.  Just imagine how disappointed they’d be if they prepared for a nuclear attack and got hit with a coronal mass ejection (solar storm) instead.   Now I am convinced if you live in hurricane country, then plan for a hurricane, but have two or more different evacuation routes.  Prepare two or more retreat locations, just in case.  If you live along the Oregon Coast, plan for an earthquake-tsunami episode, but always have a plan B.  Your first escape route may be blocked with debris or a bridge may be impassable.  Make alternate plans.

Next week we’ll continue with my Ten Basic Principles.

    As always send your comments and questions to disasterprep.dave@gmal.com

Evacuation:  To Go Or Not To Go

There is a concept among preppers known as “Bugging Out.”  I remember the term from watching reruns of M.A.S.H.  Whenever Radar O’Reilly, Major Henry Blake  and Hawkeye were ordered to move their Mobile And Surgical Hospital unit to a new location, they would make plans to “bug out.”  Today’s preppers use the term to describe an evacuation process to be executed when the current abode becomes too dangerous to stay put or uninhabitable.  

The likelihood of evacuation in our area is usually minor.  Our weather events don’t equal the hurricanes of the East Coast and Gulf Coast states.  Nor do we get the blizzards of the northern regions of our country. We have had isolated instances of evacuation due to flooding and landslides in the past, and for those living in the tsunami inundation zone, bugging out could certainly become a reality.  

You can be assured if I lived in a major city or in the hurricane zone, my preparation plans would include how to get my family and supplies out of town on short notice.  (Or in prepper lingo, “Out of Dodge.”)  Living in rural Oregon we have several things to our advantage.  Our relatively sparse population is far more self-sufficient and more  good-neighbor minded than big city folks.  If you’ve ever watched the news during a big storm or hurricane in a dense-population area, you see looting and other outlaw behavior.  

There seems to be a segment of society always on the cusp of criminal behavior.  This group of potential criminals allow themselves to be drawn over the line of unacceptable behavior at the slightest provocation and pillage, loot and even worse when they know the police have their hands full with other matters.  You can bet your emergency generator this group has never laid in an extra flashlight battery or can of Spam.  Their “plan” such as it is, will be to take your supplies in the event of a disaster.  This is precisely why, if I lived in a metropolitan area, I would be planning to “get out of Dodge” if necessary.

If you have relatives or loved ones in the big cities, send them a copy of this column and suggest they make plans to ‘bug out’ if the need arises.  

Speaking of tsunami inundation zones, if you’d like a copy of the latest map showing where a tsunami is likely to reach, send me an email and I’ll forward it to you free of charge. Specify if you live in the Coos Bay area, or in the Coquille River area.  Also if you’d like to read more on the topic of bugging out, there is an excellent blog titled, “Listening To Katrina.”  The author was forced to evacuate his family in the face of Hurricane Katrina.  The blog is over 100 pages long so consider your ink supply before you hit the “print” button.  He has a very balanced and intelligent approach to preparedness and bugging out.  Another of my favorites is a book titled, “One Second After,” by William Forstchen.  This book has been cited on the floor of Congress as one all Americans should read.

As always send your questions, suggestions and inundation zone map requests to disasterprep.dave@gmail.com.  

Amateur Radio

    Ever since Marconi tinkered with wireless transmissions in the early 1900’s,  people have been fascinated with communicating via the airwaves.  Today there are over 700,000 amateur radio licenses issued to private individuals in the U.S.  In Coos County alone there are approximately 300 license holders.  Granted not all of those are active, some haven’t touched their radio in years and some are simply no longer with us.  

Amateur radio operators (also known as “hams”) have played a vital role in disaster response for decades.  Groups such as A.R.E.S (Amateur Radio Emergency Services) and R.A.C.E.S. (Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service) are well established and have good working relationships with other local disaster planners.  In Bandon alone there are ham radio stations set up at Southern Coos Hospital, the City Hall and the Fire Department.  In the event of an emergency this equipment is designed to operate free from the electrical grid and would be manned by personnel from A.R.E.S/R.A.C.E.S. Emergency communications networks can keep the local responders informed of developing events, while having the capability of communicating on a global basis.   Other cities have similar setups with their amateur radio folks.  

One might think with internet technology  such as Skype or Facetime, making video calls to loved ones all over the planet, that amateur radio would be relegated to the dustbin of “last millenium technology”.  Quite the opposite is true. Over the past five years the Federal Communication Commission reports issuing nearly 25,000 new licenses.  Digital radio equipment is less expensive and more powerful than ever before.  When an earthquake or similar event could sever fiber optic cables and bring down electrical grids, a battery powered ham radio can still transmit and receive vital messages throughout the county and around the world.  Even to outer space.

    During my time in Viet Nam, every G.I. knew if he wanted to call home, he would simply go to the local M.A.R.S. (Military Amateur Radio Station).  The M.A.R.S folks would make ham radio contact with another ham operator in the States, who would in-turn initiate a collect call to your home then do a “phone-patch” and presto, you could talk to your loved one.  Of course half the planet could listen in on your call and after every phrase you had so say “over” so they would know when to key or release the microphone, but it was a touch from home.  Those calls were considered invaluable to preserve the sanity of our guys half a world away living in unspeakable conditions.  So on behalf of a multitude of Viet Nam Veterans, I’d like to extend thanks to all those amateur radio operators we never got to meet or thank in person.

    As always, send your questions, comments or ham radio stories to disasterprep.dave@gmail.com. 

   

Food Supplies

Getting a kit together is a lot like planning for a camping trip.  Let’s see, we’re going to be gone for six days so we’ll have to take food for 18 meals, plus snacks, s’mores ingredients and drinks.  Then comes the sleeping bags, extra clothes, tent, camping stove and on and on and on.  The only difference between packing for a camping trip and preparing for a major disaster is with the latter, we really don’t know how long to plan for.  Those living in Hurricane Sandy territory last November were still without some services up to 60 days following the arrival of the storm.  By that time F.E.M.A. had arrived and other services, including food were brought in from outside the area.  

I have read that grocery stores in the region were sold out within three to four hours, there were similar reports from other stores dealing in camping gear and supplies. Someone recently approached me and asked about food resources locally.  Although there are a few food banks in the area, they really are not set up to serve our entire region in the event an earthquake  strikes our region.  The food banks receive supplies either from donated sources, program funding from various agencies which can be affected by the ebb and flow of available money or the generosity of local food drives and private individuals.  These food banks routinely provide groceries to families in need in our communities.  There is no cache of groceries in our county set aside specifically to be distributed in the event of a disaster.  

Back in the Civil Defense days of the 1950s to 1960s, there were some resources on hand to be “activated” in case of enemy attack.  There was an entire military field hospital stored in one of the buildings at the North Bend Airport.  This unit contained everything, with the exception of medications and staff, needed to set up a Mobile And Surgical Hospital (M.A.S.H.) .  That unit was dismantled sometime in the late 1970s.  There are currently no government (or private) warehouses full of food in our area to be distributed in case of disaster.

So now we’re back to the Y.O.Y.O. scene.  You’re On Your Own!  Building a pantry doesn’t require a huge extra outlay of funds.  Start by watching the sales.  Take advantage of the ‘buy one get one’ bargains.  One lady wrote to me and bragged she had saved $7000 in a year’s time by using coupons, online bargains and shopping the sales.  The side benefit was she had built up a very tidy stockpile of groceries as she did so.  

If money is no object, or you’re looking for a good way to spend some of your tax refund, there are literally hundreds (or more) websites selling disaster preparedness food supplies.  You can order freeze-dried, dehydrated, canned or a combination of all the above.  Some even offer free shipping.  A word of caution, all the experts recommend storing food that you are accustomed to eating.  During times of emergency, your body is already stressed and introducing an entirely foreign diet could result in some unpleasant gastric distress.

As always, send your comments, questions and arguments to disasterprep.dave@gmail.com.

Chicken Farmer

I just purchased 22 baby chicks in hopes of starting some kind of productive (and successful) poultry program. This is not my first attempt at chicken farming.  (Or is it ranching?) The first year I started with nine and lost them over a period of months mostly to murderous raccoons.  I woke up on the morning of December 24 and discovered the last five had all been killed the night before.  Two months later, determined to get it right, I ordered another batch.  (Did you know they’re shipped through the U.S. Mail?)  This time I started with nearly two dozen chicks. Over the next several months they were slowly picked off by raccoons, but mostly by the neighbor’s dog. The final ones were killed sometime around the first of the year.  This time I think I’ve got all the holes plugged in my fence and the neighbor’s dog seems to be no longer a factor, especially since mine weren’t the only chickens he feasted upon.  No further comment.  So maybe the third time’s the charm?  

If you’re interested in disaster preparedness, then maybe you should consider chickens as a part of your plan.  First of all once they mature, they provide a steady supply, and sometimes an overabundant supply, of fresh eggs.  Everybody knows once you’ve had farm fresh eggs, it ruins you for the store-bought variety.  A little bit like home-canned tuna versus store bought tuna.  Some folks even get a rooster and work at hatching theirr own chicks, thus perpetuating your flock. No you don’t need a rooster to get eggs, only if you want those eggs to hatch into baby chicks. If that confuses you, then you need to ask your mom to review “the talk”!  

Then some raise chicks especially to butcher.  There are some varieties that gain weight very quickly and can be butchered in six to eight weeks time.  Certain breeds are better for laying eggs, and still some are a good cross between both types.  The feed store where I bought my last batch of chicks orders in the most popular breeds, among which are Rhode Island Reds, Barred Rocks and Buff Orpingtons.  If you research what kind of chicks you want, the feed store will order them for you or you can order them directly and eliminate the middleman.  Some hatcheries require a minimum order so if you’re just testing the waters, you may want to start small and buy from the local feed store.  Another advantage to doing business locally is they have the waterers, feeders and the proper feed to start your little peepers.  Most chickens start laying in 20 to 24 weeks so there is a pretty fair time lag to production.  Once they start laying you might just wind up with more than you can eat so you’ll find your neighbors, relatives and fellow church-goers are happy to take them off your hands.  

As always send your comments, questions and chicken stories to me at disasterprep.dave@gmail.com.