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Do you have an emergency bag?

Luv2sparkle, I visited a little town on the border called Bisbee, it was an awesome town! Lots of character and some stunning landscapes. I also don’t eat much canned food (sometimes garbanzo and other beans but that’s about it) so I bought some canned chili after starting this thread that will be just for emergency. I might buy a little more canned food but probably not that much more, and will likely just aim for more reserves of the dry foods we will eat anyway.
 
I am torn about this. I feel I've got a reasonable amount of stuff already without entering into paranoid territory and hunkering down in a bunker with a crate of AK47s. We go camping so I have a top shelf First Aid Kit (one of our friends is very careless and lops off body parts with axes so I've made certain it covers everything from gun shots, or snake bites, to poison oak). And both lanterns and flashlights and a tent. Lots of bedding including sleeping bags. Several knives including a camping knife.

We have extra cat food.

We have some canned human food, but not a lot. Our freezer is full. But we live in CA and it's either wild-wires or earthquakes. I keep thinking I should have clean water saved up. But I have clean water tablets in the first aid kit. Maybe I'll get that filter. We run if it's a wild-fire. And if it's an earthquake...I'm not sure what we should reasonably have without being paranoid.

Hmm... writing this down helped. I think what I really need is organization. We have 9 cats right now (2 fosters), and it would be chaos in a natural disaster. The other thing we really need is a larger car, honestly. Even both of our cars, wouldn't hold the cats AND survival supplies.

And of course, what I need most is a forever home for the fosters. So we can be down to a more manageable number of cats.
 
bludiva said:
I have a friend who created emergency kits for everyone in her family. She's not a prepper but has volunteered at some disaster sites. Food, water, hand powered flashlight/radio, first aid supplies, those foil blankets, i can't remember what else. I think she changes the water bottles every few months too.
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This is a really nice idea.
 
Austina said:
No, nothing :shock:
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You are like me! I am not the surviving type and would be a terrible survivor so have nothing.

The 6yo kid on the other hand is very fond of surviving and keeps trying to get me to promise that I'll make an effort to live through the zombie apocalypse with him. :bigsmile:
 
I do have bags but haven’t updated them in at least 10 years. :-o
Batteries are probably long dead !!! Lol! Oops
 
Ummm I carry a silly amount of random sh*t in my handbag, does that count? :confused2:
Painkillers
Tampons
Bandaids
Comb
Lighter
Hand cream
Mini torch
Mini sunscreen
Wet wipes
Hair bands & pins
Etc etc etc....

Hubby always asks if I’ve got a brick in there as it’s so heavy! :lol:
 
Here's my emergency bag.

catsinbag.jpg

Meow.
 
We do have a list of things to grab in a fire. I have everything organized so I can grab stuff quickly. I have a large jewelry bag that I can pretty quickly empty my hanging jewelry box into. We also keep a notebook where we keep all our important papers that I can grab in one second. We have had to evacuate for major fires before. The last time, we knew it would happen because of a bark beetle infestation and I had already stored artwork and photos and valuables in a storage locker. The chance of fire was greater than the chance of burglary. Once the fire happened and we still had a home, we brought everything back. The fire came within a couple blocks of our house. If a wind driven fire happened where we live now, I would evacuate early. Now that my DH is almost retired it will be easier. All the other times we have been evacuated I had to do it on my own because he was at the fires. As I fire wife, I had to learn the signs of when to evacuate because I would be on my own with the kids. Preparation is a very good thing however you do it.
 
Yes. My husband put everything in place immediately after 9/11 and he changes everything out every 6 months. He has kept everything up to date since then. We have a bag if we need to leave immediately and also are prepared if we had to stay put for a quite a while. Once we got the furbaby we also put everything in place for what she will need.

My family had a big discussion about this at Christmas. I have no idea how this subject even came up. No one else in my family had ever given it any thought. It was pretty obvious after our discussion that in the event anything awful ever happened, I would have my entire family and their fur babies coming to our home. My brother looked at everyone and said just get to Callie’s. LOL.

After 9/11, the government issued a list of everything you should have in the event of an emergency. My husband used this as the guideline of what we needed.
 
I have a MOLLE. I think its pretty necessary because you never know when you must vacate your home for whatever reason. Just as I do prep for hurricane (and check the old supplies) I do the same for the bag. FWIW, I don't keep water in there, too cumbersome. I keep chlorine pills for the water, a fold up bag to gather water (if needed) and 2 life straws (they do work quite well!) I keep MRE's available for the bag only. Easy enough to do the same at the regular grocery store if you know what you're doing. When my dad was in the military, I remember the C and K Rations. C-s could be pretty funky sometimes.
 
Interesting reads. Thanks to @Arcadian I just bought 5life straws on Amazon.

I have nothing except the first aid kits in the cars and my home first aid kit, since we live in an urban area without any earthquakes/hurricanes/wildfires/floods since reported history. Documents are in the fire and waterproof safe. I'd grab our passports and get out. In the unlikely event of a major storm we have basement rooms that are completely safe (two sides in the ground, otherwise three foot stone walls) and independently heatable (wood - storage next room) . We have a well and chlorine pills. We have food for about a week. So I guess the main danger would be fellow humans in an apocalyptic scenario... I'd go to our best friends' place in the countryside in that event. They are self sufficient (greenhouse, orchard and farmland) and armed (avid hunters) and have a pack of dogs that I mistook for total sofa cuddles until someone tried to break into their property - the bad guys cried of relief when rescued by the police.

Also :they'd be able and happy to host us.

Other than a generator - what am I missing?
 
Indylady said:
Nice!! Sounds like you’ve got all the trappings; the plan should be fun to come up with! My SO is mildly interested and seems glad I have the drive to work on this stuff, but isn’t as motivated as I am. It is kind of fun, and reassuring to feel prepared. And it’s all kind of a small cost to pay/amount of effort in light of a real emergency situation. A generator is a great idea! I don’t know if they’re expensive but I’ll look into it—or maybe even just some solar powered lights to start. My friend had an awesome solar powered nightlight, I thought it was brilliant.
Click to expand...
There are loud generators for cheap.

There are pretty quiet generators at Harbor Freight that aren’t super expensive. They aren’t completely silent, but in the campgrounds where we use it, you can’t hear it one site over. They get excellent reviews.
 
House Cat said:
There are loud generators for cheap.

There are pretty quiet generators at Harbor Freight that aren’t super expensive. They aren’t completely silent, but in the campgrounds where we use it, you can’t hear it one site over. They get excellent reviews.
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Nothing against the ones at Harbor Freight but.... oooo they so not good for long term usage.
Best of the best for inverter generators are Honda. Very quiet, and those at least can be run in parallel. And they can fit in a small car. But they are for pretty small things. I have specifically as a grab and go jobby.


But it will not run my homestead. In my case, I needed a whole house one that because I don't have natural gas (and at the moment, no diesel or propane), I needed one that could be portable if I needed it to be BUT, because I'm in florida, and I'm able to stay in my home, run a 3.5 ton AC unit. (or at least most of the house)

The biggest for the job can be plenty expensive. WINCO makes a 15,000 watt which is trifuel. meaning you can do reg gas, natural gas, propane. Pricey option at over 4k and lots of wait time. Generac 17,500 watt which does have a kit to change to propane/natural gas (must know what you're doing) Only advocate the bigger generaracs the small ones...well.....they're super noisy.

Honda has a 10,000 watt which for my house is too small, but if you use window units less than 12000btu, will work fine.

All generators need to be serviced at some point, some can run pretty darn dirty but must be careful that they with the oil (none of them will run dry!) So being able to change the oil, even in the smalls ones, is necessary. Being able to service it yourself also a necessity. They are simple for the most part but still, you need to have a small maintenance kit, some oil (gas, of course) and a way to clean the line if you had to)

Also a good idea is to either build a baffle box/wall or to buy one because all generators are noisy. Baffling the sound, putting it above heads, and/or in the ground, and, make sure the sound does not go in a straight line helps. Inverter gens are the least noisy but even those can be annoying. So a baffle wall, or a box is ideal.

I wasn't making one for my monster, which is 17,500 Watts, so buy it is. And there's not too many companies out there that you can buy from (and they're not cheap)

Mine is a zombie box.

20181015_113302.jpg

A well built baffle box serves lots of purposes; secures the generator from theft by keeping the noise levels down, if secured to the ground, also means it won't just walk off. Mine is secured and locked. Also if your box is metal, you can leave it out for storage like I do, and it runs in the box. Yes, thats a big ol roof fan on top for cooling and at the back it has a muffler that I can run a line above the house with to get rid of exhaust and noise!).

The box under high load reads out at 120F. thats pretty good considering!

I do a dry run once every other month as I have a battery backup and this helps to also charge the battery too. But also, if I need to, I can just jump the battery too (a must for anyone!) Because I run my machine so often, the tank is not always empty but I also use ethanol-free gas, though you still should use an additive if its older than 6 months. then it can keep (at least in the climate down here) for 18 months. Usually though I start mixing it for use in my car so I never have old supply just sitting around.

Having a generator is great but you MUST know what to do with them if they break.
 
Indylady said:
Luv2sparkle, I visited a little town on the border called Bisbee, it was an awesome town! Lots of character and some stunning landscapes. I also don’t eat much canned food (sometimes garbanzo and other beans but that’s about it) so I bought some canned chili after starting this thread that will be just for emergency. I might buy a little more canned food but probably not that much more, and will likely just aim for more reserves of the dry foods we will eat anyway.
Click to expand...

Bisbee is totally cute. Our kids don’t live to far from there, in Rio Rico. SIL bought his white lab fro a guy in Bisbee so of course, that is the dog’s name. I love Patagonia lake too. One thing about AZ, the desert really messes with my allergies. I have to come home and head to the beach for a couple days to get back to normal. They did just get about 4 inches of snow the other day. My grandson was so happy!
 
Arcadian said:
Nothing against the ones at Harbor Freight but.... oooo they so not good for long term usage.
Best of the best for inverter generators are Honda. Very quiet, and those at least can be run in parallel. And they can fit in a small car. But they are for pretty small things. I have specifically as a grab and go jobby.


But it will not run my homestead. In my case, I needed a whole house one that because I don't have natural gas (and at the moment, no diesel or propane), I needed one that could be portable if I needed it to be BUT, because I'm in florida, and I'm able to stay in my home, run a 3.5 ton AC unit. (or at least most of the house)

The biggest for the job can be plenty expensive. WINCO makes a 15,000 watt which is trifuel. meaning you can do reg gas, natural gas, propane. Pricey option at over 4k and lots of wait time. Generac 17,500 watt which does have a kit to change to propane/natural gas (must know what you're doing) Only advocate the bigger generaracs the small ones...well.....they're super noisy.

Honda has a 10,000 watt which for my house is too small, but if you use window units less than 12000btu, will work fine.

All generators need to be serviced at some point, some can run pretty darn dirty but must be careful that they with the oil (none of them will run dry!) So being able to change the oil, even in the smalls ones, is necessary. Being able to service it yourself also a necessity. They are simple for the most part but still, you need to have a small maintenance kit, some oil (gas, of course) and a way to clean the line if you had to)

Also a good idea is to either build a baffle box/wall or to buy one because all generators are noisy. Baffling the sound, putting it above heads, and/or in the ground, and, make sure the sound does not go in a straight line helps. Inverter gens are the least noisy but even those can be annoying. So a baffle wall, or a box is ideal.

I wasn't making one for my monster, which is 17,500 Watts, so buy it is. And there's not too many companies out there that you can buy from (and they're not cheap)

Mine is a zombie box.

20181015_113302.jpg

A well built baffle box serves lots of purposes; secures the generator from theft by keeping the noise levels down, if secured to the ground, also means it won't just walk off. Mine is secured and locked. Also if your box is metal, you can leave it out for storage like I do, and it runs in the box. Yes, thats a big ol roof fan on top for cooling and at the back it has a muffler that I can run a line above the house with to get rid of exhaust and noise!).

The box under high load reads out at 120F. thats pretty good considering!

I do a dry run once every other month as I have a battery backup and this helps to also charge the battery too. But also, if I need to, I can just jump the battery too (a must for anyone!) Because I run my machine so often, the tank is not always empty but I also use ethanol-free gas, though you still should use an additive if its older than 6 months. then it can keep (at least in the climate down here) for 18 months. Usually though I start mixing it for use in my car so I never have old supply just sitting around.

Having a generator is great but you MUST know what to do with them if they break.
Click to expand...

Whoa, very very cool Arcadian!! You are blowing my mind! Just Googled MRE from your other post and need to do a lot more research to understand generators. I guess I was just scratching the tip of the iceberg.
 
Indylady said:
Whoa, very very cool Arcadian!! You are blowing my mind! Just Googled MRE from your other post and need to do a lot more research to understand generators. I guess I was just scratching the tip of the iceberg.
Click to expand...

FWIW I'm not a prepper...lol but I do use a lot of the methodology because for where I've lived, it just made sense. Def. do the research because what I may do, may not be best for you. If I had the option of natural gas one you best believe I would have done it!!!

But basically, if you go the generator route, its all about finding what is best for the job. I wanted to do solar with battery backup, but here its a very expensive endeavor because you can't use traditional panels here, and they have to be able to withstand hurricane force winds. I do have a fold-up solar panel that I would be able to use for small stuff like phones but thats about all it will do.

Oh and some MRE's are pretty tasty. (for those who might be wondering MRE = Meal Ready to Eat) Love that you don't need to have fire to heat the food up (can be essential in cold weather situations) For the most part, you can get those on Amazon (what CAN'T you get there right?) or can get them through Army/Navy supply stores.
 
One thing that comes to mind on food is that you need something to open the cans if that is what you have so keep a spare opener in your kit (don't want to be digging through rubble after earthquake or grabbing from different places if needing to evacuate). Also, think about what you can REALLY manage in a disaster. You would likely be stressed, exhausted, dealing with possible medical needs, not working with your usual routine, limited gas/propane probably, possibly no natural gas if they shut down for damage, likely no running water....

I am looking at how to address this after finding all of our non perishable stuff takes a lot of effort to prep. (Yay for the flu?)

I think my approach is going to be to have some amount of no prep needed things like MRE or similar. Enough to make it through the first bit of time after an earthquake. Then an additional amount of stuff that takes a bit of prep but not much. Plus the usual stuff that is "okay" but not our favorite that I keep stocked in the event of snow or whatever that takes some work but keeps well. (Not in glass as that would likely break in earthquake...)
 
LaylaR said:
I am torn about this. I feel I've got a reasonable amount of stuff already without entering into paranoid territory and hunkering down in a bunker with a crate of AK47s. We go camping so I have a top shelf First Aid Kit (one of our friends is very careless and lops off body parts with axes so I've made certain it covers everything from gun shots, or snake bites, to poison oak). And both lanterns and flashlights and a tent. Lots of bedding including sleeping bags. Several knives including a camping knife.

We have extra cat food.

We have some canned human food, but not a lot. Our freezer is full. But we live in CA and it's either wild-wires or earthquakes. I keep thinking I should have clean water saved up. But I have clean water tablets in the first aid kit. Maybe I'll get that filter. We run if it's a wild-fire. And if it's an earthquake...I'm not sure what we should reasonably have without being paranoid.

Hmm... writing this down helped. I think what I really need is organization. We have 9 cats right now (2 fosters), and it would be chaos in a natural disaster. The other thing we really need is a larger car, honestly. Even both of our cars, wouldn't hold the cats AND survival supplies.

And of course, what I need most is a forever home for the fosters. So we can be down to a more manageable number of cats.
Click to expand...

Right—I’m with you, of course one would evacuate in a wildfire. For earthquakes, I really don’t know if there’s a way to prep outside or just keeping some stored food and meds. Is there anything to do? My limited research on the topic seems to suggest not really. I’ve experienced a few earthquakes (none even close to catastrophic) and it’s so sudden!

LA has a new earthquake warning app: https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.th...ke-early-warning-app-los-angeles-shakealertla it only applies to LA county for now.
 
Indylady said:
Right—I’m with you, of course one would evacuate in a wildfire. For earthquakes, I really don’t know if there’s a way to prep outside or just keeping some stored food and meds. Is there anything to do? My limited research on the topic seems to suggest not really. I’ve experienced a few earthquakes (none even close to catastrophic) and it’s so sudden!

LA has a new earthquake warning app: https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.th...ke-early-warning-app-los-angeles-shakealertla it only applies to LA county for now.
Click to expand...

Locked storage shed or near the door of the garage or somewhere else likely to be accessible after an earthquake is what I have been told. I'm in the Seattle area and the keep warning about a 9.0 that is overdue. I'm trying to find a good balabba between prepared in case it happens and not being to focused on something that may never hit us.
 
Just got life straws, water tablets, advil, nyquil, and an emergency hand crank radio. Digesting all the info from this thread!
 
I have what is known as a 'jump bag' that a former US Navy Seal put together for myself and the other Land Surveyors and Soil Technicians at the company I work for during the day. Because we work out in rural areas with little or no phone service, all it takes is a bogged truck and we've gone from working a job to a potential survival situation. It happened to my Surveying mentor and they were lucky to recover their vehicle and self-rescue.

In my bag I have the following:
Gallon of water, small pot for boiling water, metal match, slow energy release protein bars, change of warm clothes, snake bite pack, first aid kit, EPIRB, toilet paper and a torch. I also carry tools and snatch straps in case I can recover myself from a bog or fix whatever may be broken on my truck, plus I have a wood saw for work so I can cut wood for a fire if needed. Because of the EPIRB I would only be facing a couple days until rescue (which is not any different to some bush hunting trips I've done), so I don't need to prepare for long term survival.

My truck is setup for land surveying but it's well kitted for a survival situation, I'm not a doomsdayer or a zombie apocalypse aficionado but I know that some blokes in Australia have died when working remotely by things not going right and their day of work turning into a nightmare. I know that I may potentially be in a similar position one day and I know that I'll be ready if it happens.
 
Indylady said:
Right—I’m with you, of course one would evacuate in a wildfire. For earthquakes, I really don’t know if there’s a way to prep outside or just keeping some stored food and meds. Is there anything to do? My limited research on the topic seems to suggest not really. I’ve experienced a few earthquakes (none even close to catastrophic) and it’s so sudden!

LA has a new earthquake warning app: https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.th...ke-early-warning-app-los-angeles-shakealertla it only applies to LA county for now.
Click to expand...

It is sudden thing you can't prepare for. I was 14 in the 1989 earthquake. I'm calm about earthquakes as long as I'm not on a bridge, in a tunnel, or on or under an overpass. The cats can usually tell too. I stood in a doorway in 1989 just like we practiced at school. My grandmother freaked out, ran out of the house, into the street, where the power lines had come down, passed out 2 feet from a live wire. Holding a hot firing pan full of oil. She had bad burns, but she could have been fried by the lines if she hadn't passed out where she did. When the shaking stopped and I went to look for her my heart stopped when I looked out the window.

I learned my lesson. The best thing to do in an emergency is be calm. I've been the passenger in a bad car accident before and after we stopped spinning and hitting the divider and other cars over and over again, first one way, then another, during a blizzard on a busy freeway the driver looked at me and asked "why didn't you scream?" I replied back, "would that have helped anything?"

With earthquakes it's kinda like this: either you/everything around you is destroyed or not. If you ducked under something strong or stood in a doorway and nothing collapsed under you you might have some property damage, maybe some injuries to tend to, but you should be okay if in the worst case the ambulances get to you in time. If the earth opens up under you though... not much you can do but close your eyes and pray. With our failing infrastructure in CA I am so happy I don't commute anymore. There are so many overpasses and whether you are over or under one and stuck in stand-still traffic here in the Bay Area... I remember watching the Bay Bridge collapse on TV. That's the only time I get nervous any more when the ground shakes.

Wildfires though? We've been within 15 miles of two bad ones in the last year. Last time I had a checklist, shelter ready on stand by and the car packed with cat supplies. We don't have large cars. So it's pretty much us and the cats running. Anything else can be replaced and I'm not one of those "let's wait and see until it hits" types. if we get a voluntary evacuation notice, I'm gone to my parents house, or my best friend's family's house if I have to go to the Valley instead of the Bay.

I have a Cal Fires App. And I have my notifications on priority for my area. The fires worries me a lot more than earthquakes. Maybe I've lived here too long.
 
LaylaR said:
It is sudden thing you can't prepare for. I was 14 in the 1989 earthquake. I'm calm about earthquakes as long as I'm not on a bridge, in a tunnel, or on or under an overpass. The cats can usually tell too. I stood in a doorway in 1989 just like we practiced at school. My grandmother freaked out, ran out of the house, into the street, where the power lines had come down, passed out 2 feet from a live wire. Holding a hot firing pan full of oil. She had bad burns, but she could have been fried by the lines if she hadn't passed out where she did. When the shaking stopped and I went to look for her my heart stopped when I looked out the window.

I learned my lesson. The best thing to do in an emergency is be calm. I've been the passenger in a bad car accident before and after we stopped spinning and hitting the divider and other cars over and over again, first one way, then another, during a blizzard on a busy freeway the driver looked at me and asked "why didn't you scream?" I replied back, "would that have helped anything?"

With earthquakes it's kinda like this: either you/everything around you is destroyed or not. If you ducked under something strong or stood in a doorway and nothing collapsed under you you might have some property damage, maybe some injuries to tend to, but you should be okay if in the worst case the ambulances get to you in time. If the earth opens up under you though... not much you can do but close your eyes and pray. With our failing infrastructure in CA I am so happy I don't commute anymore. There are so many overpasses and whether you are over or under one and stuck in stand-still traffic here in the Bay Area... I remember watching the Bay Bridge collapse on TV. That's the only time I get nervous any more when the ground shakes.

Wildfires though? We've been within 15 miles of two bad ones in the last year. Last time I had a checklist, shelter ready on stand by and the car packed with cat supplies. We don't have large cars. So it's pretty much us and the cats running. Anything else can be replaced and I'm not one of those "let's wait and see until it hits" types. if we get a voluntary evacuation notice, I'm gone to my parents house, or my best friend's family's house if I have to go to the Valley instead of the Bay.

I have a Cal Fires App. And I have my notifications on priority for my area. The fires worries me a lot more than earthquakes. Maybe I've lived here too long.
Click to expand...

I think it depends on your area and the size of earthquake. A hobby group I am in had a presentation by a guy who was in the team that analyzed the area to help officials prepare for earthquake response. It was eye opening. Based on the way the ground had moved historically and running scenarios from the likely faults, they put together what would likely happen in 9.0 earthquake. They don't say the place would be flattered (though some buildings and bridges would probably) but it would be badly torn up. A high probability that roads would be unpassable (due to buckled pavement and collapsed pieces) so being prepared to walk home or to a place you can stay for awhile is a must. The same movement would also likely damage many of the natural gas and water lines so water and gas would be shut off and likely to be out for some weeks.

He got into specifics based on our area, the soil, and historical data. It basically came down to most people would survive but would be on their own as the infrastructure was rebuilt. (Some aid from whatever national groups, of course.) No electricity, no clean water, no natural gas, no passable roads. Emergency services would be swamped. Houses likely not safe to go in so plan to stay outside until able to make it safe.
 
jordyonbass said:
I have what is known as a 'jump bag' that a former US Navy Seal put together for myself and the other Land Surveyors and Soil Technicians at the company I work for during the day. Because we work out in rural areas with little or no phone service, all it takes is a bogged truck and we've gone from working a job to a potential survival situation. It happened to my Surveying mentor and they were lucky to recover their vehicle and self-rescue.

In my bag I have the following:
Gallon of water, small pot for boiling water, metal match, slow energy release protein bars, change of warm clothes, snake bite pack, first aid kit, EPIRB, toilet paper and a torch. I also carry tools and snatch straps in case I can recover myself from a bog or fix whatever may be broken on my truck, plus I have a wood saw for work so I can cut wood for a fire if needed. Because of the EPIRB I would only be facing a couple days until rescue (which is not any different to some bush hunting trips I've done), so I don't need to prepare for long term survival.

My truck is setup for land surveying but it's well kitted for a survival situation, I'm not a doomsdayer or a zombie apocalypse aficionado but I know that some blokes in Australia have died when working remotely by things not going right and their day of work turning into a nightmare. I know that I may potentially be in a similar position one day and I know that I'll be ready if it happens.
Click to expand...

Wow, that is terrifying. I'm not an outdoorsy gal so emergency/survival kits are all pretty new to me. I mentioned this earlier--I don't even go camping and at best I take short day hikes and usually even ones with cell reception. I hadn't heard of an EPIRB and am now reading about those. Wow. The more I learn, the more I realize how little I know.
 
TooPatient said:
I think it depends on your area and the size of earthquake. A hobby group I am in had a presentation by a guy who was in the team that analyzed the area to help officials prepare for earthquake response. It was eye opening. Based on the way the ground had moved historically and running scenarios from the likely faults, they put together what would likely happen in 9.0 earthquake. They don't say the place would be flattered (though some buildings and bridges would probably) but it would be badly torn up. A high probability that roads would be unpassable (due to buckled pavement and collapsed pieces) so being prepared to walk home or to a place you can stay for awhile is a must. The same movement would also likely damage many of the natural gas and water lines so water and gas would be shut off and likely to be out for some weeks.

He got into specifics based on our area, the soil, and historical data. It basically came down to most people would survive but would be on their own as the infrastructure was rebuilt. (Some aid from whatever national groups, of course.) No electricity, no clean water, no natural gas, no passable roads. Emergency services would be swamped. Houses likely not safe to go in so plan to stay outside until able to make it safe.
Click to expand...

No water and no power is a little terrifying! My area is due for an earthquake...
 
LaylaR said:
It is sudden thing you can't prepare for. I was 14 in the 1989 earthquake. I'm calm about earthquakes as long as I'm not on a bridge, in a tunnel, or on or under an overpass. The cats can usually tell too. I stood in a doorway in 1989 just like we practiced at school. My grandmother freaked out, ran out of the house, into the street, where the power lines had come down, passed out 2 feet from a live wire. Holding a hot firing pan full of oil. She had bad burns, but she could have been fried by the lines if she hadn't passed out where she did. When the shaking stopped and I went to look for her my heart stopped when I looked out the window.

I learned my lesson. The best thing to do in an emergency is be calm. I've been the passenger in a bad car accident before and after we stopped spinning and hitting the divider and other cars over and over again, first one way, then another, during a blizzard on a busy freeway the driver looked at me and asked "why didn't you scream?" I replied back, "would that have helped anything?"

With earthquakes it's kinda like this: either you/everything around you is destroyed or not. If you ducked under something strong or stood in a doorway and nothing collapsed under you you might have some property damage, maybe some injuries to tend to, but you should be okay if in the worst case the ambulances get to you in time. If the earth opens up under you though... not much you can do but close your eyes and pray. With our failing infrastructure in CA I am so happy I don't commute anymore. There are so many overpasses and whether you are over or under one and stuck in stand-still traffic here in the Bay Area... I remember watching the Bay Bridge collapse on TV. That's the only time I get nervous any more when the ground shakes.

Wildfires though? We've been within 15 miles of two bad ones in the last year. Last time I had a checklist, shelter ready on stand by and the car packed with cat supplies. We don't have large cars. So it's pretty much us and the cats running. Anything else can be replaced and I'm not one of those "let's wait and see until it hits" types. if we get a voluntary evacuation notice, I'm gone to my parents house, or my best friend's family's house if I have to go to the Valley instead of the Bay.

I have a Cal Fires App. And I have my notifications on priority for my area. The fires worries me a lot more than earthquakes. Maybe I've lived here too long.
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Wow, Layla, that sounds terrifying!! Way to go for staying calm, and sorry to hear about grandma. I'm also in the Bay Area and have the same concerns (wildfire, earthquake). The last wildfire was horrible and is what prompted me to figure to work on an emergency bag. I'm also not one to wait and would like to evacuate before I am ever in a position to be rescued. I'm in an old building whose ground floor/garage has been retrofitted, but as I understand it, the rest of the building has not been updated. I believe the ground floor retrofit is used to make sure that the building is properly bolted into the foundation and can sway somewhat.
 
mellowyellowgirl said:
You are like me! I am not the surviving type and would be a terrible survivor so have nothing.
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I don’t live somewhere where we have earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, tornadoes or any other natural disasters.

However, in the event of a nuclear attack, I’d go outside and get vaporised, I don’t want to live in a post apocalyptic world.
 
Indylady said:
Wow, that is terrifying. I'm not an outdoorsy gal so emergency/survival kits are all pretty new to me. I mentioned this earlier--I don't even go camping and at best I take short day hikes and usually even ones with cell reception. I hadn't heard of an EPIRB and am now reading about those. Wow. The more I learn, the more I realize how little I know.
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The EPIRB was created for boats and ships IIRC, so crews of sunken vessels have a way to relay both a distress call and a location. It would do the same thing on land so it comes with me when I am very remote for work. If it takes a day for me to get somewhere then I account for double that to be rescued. It would be no different to staying in the outback for the weekend, something I have done a lot of so I probably wouldn't be too stressed out.

The only thing that has me worried is snake bites; while I have a pack to treat myself and identify the snake, the greater the distance I am from civilization the greater the risk from the bite itself.
 
Austina said:
I don’t live somewhere where we have earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, tornadoes or any other natural disasters.

However, in the event of a nuclear attack, I’d go outside and get vaporised, I don’t want to live in a post apocalyptic world.
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Lol, me too. Like I've mentioned on this thread, I'm not an outdoorsy gal (and not particularly fast, either) so I don't imagine I'll last long if all of society collapses.
 
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