Emergency Disaster Planning...

Flying Crane

Sr. Grandmaster
How many people have thought about creating a Disaster Survival Kit? After witnessing Hurricane Katrina in 2005, I've been giving this some thought, and I finally took some steps toward putting something together.

I live in San Francisco, and our biggest threat on that level would be a catastrophic earthquake. The Golden Gate Bridge, and the Bay Bridge could be put out of commission, as well as the Bay Area Rapid Transit tubes going under the bay. This would clog the highways heading south down the peninsula, leaving them and the bay Ferry systems the only way out of the City. Water and power supplies could be shut off for days. Food deliveries could be slow and undependable.

So I've put together a few things to last at least a few days.

I've got a box of canned and jarred food that needs minimal or no cooking, boxes of cereal bars, bags of trail mix, and some freeze-dried camping meals from REI. I also picked up an 8 gallon portable water tank, a good water filter and water purification tablets. I still need to get a compact camping stove, but that's next on the list.

I also picked up a good tent from North Face. I figured if we need to evacuate the city, there might not be a convenient place to go and we could end up sleeping in the tent for a bit. We've got good sleeping bags and pads as well.

I packed some extra rolls of toilet paper. Don't want to be stuck without that for a few days. And a first aid kit. Another thing for women to consider would be Feminine Hygeine products. Could be inconvenient if disaster struck and you found yourself unable to get these things if you needed them. I also got some rinse-less hand-sanitizer from REI, in case we don't have extra water to wash with.

I've got a couple of battery-less flashlights that you operate by winding them up. I've got a couple regular flashlights as well. Knives and camping hatchets as well, and string and rope. Never know when that kind of thing might come in handy. Cy-lume chemical lights as well.

And in the mean time, I've been thinking about getting into hiking and camping, and some of this stuff will come in handy for that kind of thing.

Another thing to keep in mind is that even if the power goes out, your regular food supplies won't go bad immediately. Food in the pantry would keep, and food in the refridgerator will be good for a while if you keep the door closed. Regular cooking capabilities might be eliminated, tho.

Anybody else do something like this? Any good ideas you might like to share?
 
When James posted on another board for additional suggestions my response was thus :

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SOCKS.

Can never have enough. I'm learning this the hard way with each monthly drill in the Cold, Cold Woods.

You might consider bungee cords such as these:

http://www.actiongear.com/cgi-bin/tame.exe/agcatalog/level4s.tam?xax=30042&M5COPY%2Ectx=8163&M5%2Ectx=8163&M2%5FDESC%2Ectx=Field%20Packs%20%2D%20Army%20ALICE%2C%20Tactical%2C%20LBE%20%2D%20Load%20Bearing%20Gear%2C%20Accessories&level3%2Ectx=results%2Etam&query%2Ectx=bungee&backto=%2Fagcatalog%2Fresults%2Etam

In place of parachute cord in the event you need to make a tarp or poncho bivvy. Much less aggravating and much faster to put up, and can be just as quickly broken down and evacuated.

In place of lightsticks you might also look at Krill lamps:

http://www.actiongear.com/cgi-bin/tame.exe/agcatalog/level4s.tam?xax=5803&M5COPY%2Ectx=20306&M5%2Ectx=3418&M2%5FDESC%2Ectx=Omniglow%20Chemlights%AE%2C%20Krill%AE%20Electronic%20Lights&level3%2Ectx=results%2Etam&query%2Ectx=krill%20lamps&backto=%2Fagcatalog%2Fresults%2Etam

Light only when YOU want it, bulb has a 3000 hour life, regular ones burn 120 hours(5 DAYS) on 2 AA batteries, extreme ones burn for 50 hours on the same.

If you do stay with the lightsticks, consider one of these beauties:

http://www.actiongear.com/cgi-bin/tame.exe/agcatalog/level4s.tam?xax=21532&M5COPY%2Ectx=7353&M5%2Ectx=7353&M2%5FDESC%2Ectx=Omniglow%20Chemlights%AE%2C%20Krill%AE%20Electronic%20Lights&level3%2Ectx=results%2Etam&query%2Ectx=lightstick&backto=%2Fagcatalog%2Fresults%2Etam

Shoe-string budget lower cost alternative that works with what you already have, so you can have your lightstick but only light when YOU need it so someone doesnt see it who might get jumpy and shoot you for being where you aren't supposed to be.

If night vision is a concern stick with red or blue hues and get those colors as lens filters on your lights if you can--green works as well, Unfiltered white light bleaches out a chemical in your eyes called rhodopsin which allows you to see in the dark( if you've ever closed your eyes for awhile and seen the purple waves/ripples behind your eyes that's the rhodopsin regenerating in the dark).

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