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Author of Be Ready for Anything and Bloom Where You’re Planted online course
I hope it’s going well with your daily challenges! If you missed the previous challenges, you can catch up here:
Onward to today’s challenge!
Yesterday, we discussed the emergencies that each of us is most likely to face. Today we are going to build on that by asking ourselves the following questions about each potential emergency.
- Will I be likely to lose electricity if this emergency happens?
- Will I have running water?
- Will I be able to purchase more food and supplies or will I have to rely on what I have already?
- Will I have to evacuate?
- Are there any members of my family who will be particularly affected?
These 5 simple questions will help you identify the places you need to focus on the most in your preparedness efforts.
If you want to qualify for the free ebook, be sure to pop over to the forum to post your answers. ????
I expect to loose power at any time. Natural gas fired generator at our principal residence. Also a gasoline unit that needs about an hour’s work. Diesel tractors (2) can spin a generator at weekend place and B.O.L. Wells at both locations can be pumped with generators. Several weeks of shelf stable food and tasty things in freezer (eat that first). My “Mormon” (LDS) friends think I need to stock more shelf stable food. Yeah, maybe, but for just empty nesters wife and me? (son and daughter’s family are well stocked). How many days? Asking for opinions.
I have always been told that famines historically come for 7 years. I know I don’t have 7 years worth of food, but more is better.
Marc,
Hubby and I are empty nesters too although our non-prepping son lives next door. We have food for at least a year. The longer the better. An EMP could last YEARS! Do what you can and pray… The Lord will give the increase if we are faithful with what we can do.
Not really for me
1. Loss of power likely with earthquake or high winds. I have a gas generator and a propane generator.
2. Have never lost running water in all the time I’ve been here – 70 + years.
3. Usually can purchase, but I have plenty of food stocked up.
4. Not likely to have to evacuate.
5. No special needs for us except for certain meds.
Tropical storm/Hurricane
I will lose power, 7 days without power after Michael. 2 dual fuel generators for house and well. At least 5 methods of cooking and heating water. Grills, wood cookstove, 2 solar ovens, colemen stove with 8 gallons of fuel, 2 rocket stoves and cast iron pans/dutch ovens for direct on coals cooking. After hurricane Michael I have enough fire wood and bio mass to last for the next 20 years.
I will have running water, generator specifically for the well with enough propane for at least 6 weeks for the well. Only run it an hour or so a day to replenish on hand supplies and help neighbors. 375 gallons on hand. Looking into get deep well hand pump installed.
I was able to buy additional supplies although I had plenty to last me. Because I was on the edge of the hurricane I only needed to travel about 35-40 miles to get supplies, gas and propane. People in the center had to drive at least 50 miles and more.
I may have to evacuate if the storm is coming directly and is a major hurricane Cat3+. I have 3 backroads routes out if main roads are jammed.
I live alone, other family members not in hurricane area normally.
I have a well on solar power. Only if an EMP or tornado takes out my panels will I not have water. Here our water table is 700 feet, so hand pumping is not an option. I have rainwater entrapment, but we have not been having rain.
I have generators, but without gas it won’t run. It is 25 miles to the nearest gas station. We are off grid but not 100% self sufficient.
I have a small garden, small green house and poultry. Getting animal feed will be a problem. I would quickly reduce down as many of the unneeded poultry as possible. I live 100 miles to the nearest decent grocery store and 80 miles to the nearest feed store. I would have to depend on what I have on hand.
My husband and I would have to take care of our own health and not leave. There is no where to go with 10 big dogs.
Will I be likely to lose electricity if this emergency happens? Possibly, but historically it has not been an issue.
Will I have running water? Possibly not. We do have back up sources…but would probably not smell so great if it lasts too long!
Will I be able to purchase more food and supplies or will I have to rely on what I have already? Would not matter unless it is a long term (6 weeks +) as we have reserves.
Will I have to evacuate? Probably not.
Are there any members of my family who will be particularly affected? 4 1/2 year old, 6 year old, and 12 year old grand kids. Also pets. And, yes, they are family.
I was just told by a Walmart employee, that as of today walmart will no longer be selling .223, 5.56, 7.62, or any pistol ammo. They will sell only what they have in stock………
Yeah. They got a lot of my business in the past. Time to find an alternative. Ammo is simple. Tons of reputable on line suppliers far cheaper than Wally world anyway.
I guess they forgot what happened to Hechinger’s…another national chain who went anti-gun. Or Gillette, who insulted 90% of their customer base. What a bunch of shmucks!
And just to remind everyone… 22LR IS PISTOL AMMO !
Can’t wait for Uncle Remus to get back from vacay over at Woodpile Report to hear his take on this abomination.
Walmart has been slowly going to crap for years. They just went full retard.
With a recent damaging wind storm, many of us lost power. We had lithium ion battery backup (solar recharge) that we hooked our fridge to, so no problem. Our friends had to use gas powered generators to keep their well and freezers going, but at least they had access to them. Our most serious threat is storms, then either New Madrid fault earthquake or emp.
#1 danger here is wildfire. We’ve had two big fires in the area started by lightening. There is no fire help in our area. Not county or state. Sometimes volunteers show up from neighboring areas especially if they have a pumper truck. We depend on our wells. I keep a minimum of 400ft of new or not leaking hose on hand.
If power is out we are reduced to tractor drag guidelines and bucket brigades if someone has water stored.
My 9k generator could power the 220 well pump. The two smaller generators can’t do that.
My second concern is winter heat. I have a rocket stove with a hopper and 3″ pipe that feeds to a burn basket in the burn area. I can also burn wood chips from when we’re cleaning up in fall. Take off the hopper and it can burn twigs up to 2″ diameter sticks 4′ long. The 16″ round double metal heat chamber holds a pot with 3 gallons of water on it and a large tea kettle with nearly a gallon of water in it. Those can come off and I can cook there in winter. If it drops to -10° to -20° we move in by the heater and put a heat buddy on a 5 lb propane bottle and aim from the kitchen down the hall. The heat activated fan blows the heat toward the bedroom and bathroom. That keeps the plumbing from freezing. We keep a weeks worth of pellets inside and the rest of the 2 tons about 100ft away in an area out of the weather. I keep a pile of branches nearby and a bucket of charcoal under my homemade BBQ. I often cook there summer or winter. I’ve been known to cook out there standing in 8″ of snow. I don’t cook out in 3′ of snow unless I first shovel off my paths.
Being snowed in for a while or roads out for a while isn’t a real big worry. We stay well stocked and usually just shop once a month. We could easily eat all winter just the two of us. This week I plan to can some yellow squash with onions, amaranth greens, and pickle 3 pints of purslane. I have herbs to gather and dry. Its time to gather amaranth and Lambsquarters seeds starting now and over the next few weeks. I’ll let a few radishes go to seed to save. We save seed not just for planting but also for sprouts during the winter. I’m already saving heirloom tomato seeds and seed for things I’ll plant more of, like berries, and tree fruits. I’ll save Cherokee wax beans, heirloom cucumbers and mellons and more for seed. I can always use more fruits besides the regular veggies in the garden. We have a nice crop of Thompson seedless grapes this year. We eat fresh, can a few pints, and dry the rest for rasins. They are just beginning to ripen. I have some very hardy root stock for grapes to get planted. In spring I’ll graft on more of the Thompson seedless. I’m looking for some cuttings of upstate NY or New England wild grapes. They are great all around grapes and cold hardy. Cuttings wrapped in cool damp paper towels ship ok but they need to arrive within a few days. A neighbor started a vineyard and winery from cuttings shipped from France. I just want some for eating, juice, and jelly. I love growing all I can of what we eat.
1. Electricity.. It would probably go off. Not at my home as its 100% solar. The well and neighbors would be off.
2. Running water… My 9k generator could handle it an hour now and then for flushing and drinking water. I have lots of stored water.
3. Food and supplies… Might not be able to get out if roads were closed in winter by ice or snow or in summer if a large monsoon hit us. Arroyos come down from the mountain east and west of us a n the road could be washed out. We’d be fine with what’s stored here. I mostly shop just once a month anyway. If we didn’t get out again for three to six months we’d still be ok. If neighbors needed help then were down to a tight three months of soups and stews.
4. Evacuation…. Not likely but possible with a wildfire.
5. Family … 2 sons an hour away and neighbor here on my land. Neighbors same problems we would be facing. Sons probably not affected. Girls on each coast and in Idaho all face different dangers. Younger son and wife could come here if SHTF in the major town he lives in. Older son and wife would go to her mom’s place.
Pickled purslane?
Would like ideas on preserving it. I have so much.
Dear Clergylady,
You are always so eminently sensible! May I ask how you acquired the Thompson seedless grape stock? My favorite grape!! I have not seen them in the store in years I did not know they were around or that it was possible to grow them. Would love to know where to purchase and get.started.with them!
To answer Daisy, our most likely issue is hurricane, expect loss of power. It was 11 days with Irma, 3 or 4 with Wilma, etc After a few days, trucks start rolling again and food and fuel again are available. When Hurricane Andrew hit the Miami-Homestead area, it was over 3 weeks before trucks could get in, water could get in, disaster relief people could get in. Expect municipal water lines to break and that water source being unavailable until the lines are repaired, several days at least. Keep good water on hand, and have containers available to fill with tap water beforehand for flushing. 5 gallon buckets work well. Can expect to evacuate under the more severe circumstances. Keeping building envelope intact imperative. There was a couple in the Miami-homestead area who made it through Andrew with their big dog. When Andrew was over, their roof was destroyed, home destroyed, tornadoes/high winds had sucked out their food and they had half a jar of peanut butter for the three of them. So thankful we did not live there!
So glad I found your site, Daisy!! Many thanks to you, Clergylady and other positive posters!!
Thank you Daisy for setting up the National Prep Month Challenge. I sent the link to our church’s prepper group and I pray they all read them!
Following up on Severe Thunderstorms, my kids are the most likely to be impacted. They’re a but overly reliant on their tech and therefore Electricity.
Electricity is probably the most likely to be effected by Severe Storms, but evacuation, drinking water, and supplies shouldn’t be an issue.
Really good questions
Yes to power but we have a genny to help with the must haves and we’re looking into solar & battery backup
yes to water got a tap on the 5000ltr rain water tank and a heap of stored water
Yes to food in a small town but not for long so we stock up every week in the shopping
Yes we my have to so we bought a trailer to tow and have slowly collected camping gear for us all
And our 3 boys are all autistic so we run through these drills regularly in the hope that when we need to they can without thinking
I will most likely lose power.
I should have water for a bit, not certain how long.
I will not go to town for more supplies.
I will not evacuate.
I do not have any family with special needs.
If a national or worldwide financial crisis happens, I won’t lose electricity because we sell it back to power company with our solar power.
We will still have running water from our well.
We will not have to vacate our home.
We can still buy food for awhile.
Sudden drop in income would affect rx purchase and Dr. Visit to get the script for DH.
Yes, probably, no, maybe and yes.
Most of the time, we would most likely be sheltering in place, living off our preps, since we don’t have a car and my mom is not very mobile. Our friend could get us to a shelter in the rare instance of an evacuation of our senior apartment complex, but the town would likely have a bus available.
Lack of transport is why I prep, because during the winter, bad weather episodes, low income episodes, and when I’m working and can’t get to the store regularly we live off our preps. Besides which, you should be rotating your supplies and getting used to the food anyway.
I love about 1 1/2 miles away from a creek . There is no other way to get there except down the fairly populated neighborhood streets
Being handicapped I would have to use something like a grocery cart, stroller or maybe a walker .
But I have a pool in my yard and a water distiller besides my stored water supply.
I have several solar generators, flash lights, candles , and oil lamps, plus a big stash of batteries .
I most likely would loose power but could probably get along for at least several months or more.
I have enough shelf stable food to last for several months
Or more .and several ways to cook it .
!. Will lose electricity. 2. Will lose running water if it is a major power loss. 3. I will have to rely of supplies I already have on hand. 4. Low chance of needing to evacuate. 5. I am my family, yes it will affect me.
Oh goodness, all FIVE are relevant right now, but probably #4 is the one that still requires some more preparation.
Yes power out is a automatic. Water, will probably be running out brown. (It usual here even when it rains slightly, along with water boil notices) so stored water is a must. The waters and most supplies are gone from stores in less than 48 hrs. Will I have to leave? A high chance yes. I’m not sure what you mean by Q. 5…. I have a 4 month old soooo yes?