Are you Ready?

G

geothorn

Banned
Joined
Sep 21, 2004
Messages
2,016
The U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (F.E.M.A.) and the Department of Homeland Security (D.H.C.) recommend that each American have "at least three days" worth of of food and water, on hand, in case of emergency.

Basically, it boils down to a gallon of water per person, per day, and three cans or packages of non-perishable food, per person, per day. I haven't totally counted all of my non-perishable food, to see if I have ninety items, but, if I count my stored gallons of water, I have enough for about thirty days.

How ready are you?

(The U.S. government doesn't, however, make mention that one should have a knife included as a part of an average American citizen's emergency preparedness kit :eek: ...I have no fear that BladeForums members will make up for that with their own ingenuity. ;))

GeoThorn
----------

"First they came for the Communists, but I was not a Communist so I did not speak out. Then they came for the Socialists and the Trade Unionists, but I was neither, so I did not speak out. Then they came for the Jews, but I was not a Jew so I did not speak out. And when they came for me, there was no one left to speak out for me."

Reverend Martin Niemoeller, 1892-1984
 
geothorn, you might want to check out the Equipped To Survive website for their evaluation of the preparedness kit that's been recommended by the government.

If you want top notch advice on how to survive, Doug Ritter is a guy that I'd listen to. ;)
 
I suspect that the government is assuming that people will be sheltering at home and so certain common household tools and so forth can be assumed.

I had a bit of a trial run when I moved into this house. The next day, we had a freak snow storm (freak for the Portland, Oregon area anyway) which pretty much shut the place down. I drive a little Mercedes sports car with performance tires that's just not suitable for snow. To make matters worse, I live near the top of a hill with about a 45-degree incline and my driveway makes about a 30-degree incline down to that street. Getting that little car out would have been an adventure to say the least and possibly quite expensive. Getting it back would have been impossible. Since I had just moved in the day before, there was no fresh food in the house at all. I was fortunate that the utilities all stayed on. But I did end up living three days without leaving the house. So, I resolved to do two things: first, unpack. And second, consider it a survival test of sorts. I used tap water only for house-hold cleaning which could have been neglected during an actual emergency. And I didn't use the stove or any electric kitchen appliances. It's an exercise that anyone can replicate over a three-day weekend.

The important thing is to actually have three days worth of food that you can eat without preparations and three days of water on hand.
 
I've never been too big on stocking up on useless stuff.

I work at a grocery store and when we have big packages of bottled water on sale I get a few just to have around, because I don't drink much other than water. I've also got several cases on MREs in my closet to take camping and such (and honestly, I kinda like MREs, so I just eat one occasionally :D).

So I guess, I'm pretty well prepared in the event that I lose power or whatever without even trying. Yay for camping supplies!!!
 
geothorn said:
The U.S. government doesn't, however, make mention that one should have a knife included as a part of an average American citizen's emergency preparedness kit
Click to expand...

They don't want to be accused of promoting violence or be used as a reason why a knife was used to commit an act violence. That's my take.
 
Shadow213 said:
geothorn, you might want to check out the Equipped To Survive website for their evaluation of the preparedness kit that's been recommended by the government.

If you want top notch advice on how to survive, Doug Ritter is a guy that I'd listen to. ;)
Click to expand...

Agreed.

Equipped to Survive is THE place to go. Doug Ritter is THE guy to listen to.
 
geothorn said:
Basically, it boils down to a gallon of water per person, per day, and three cans or packages of non-perishable food, per person, per day. I haven't totally counted all of my non-perishable food, to see if I have ninety items, but, if I count my stored gallons of water, I have enough for about thirty days.
Click to expand...

Speaking of storing water, what's the best kind of container for storing water and the least expensive place online from which to order them? I'd like to buy several five-gallon jugs.
 
The body can survive for months without food. What's the point of stocking a few cans?

Water i understand but do you really need to stock food? It's a good 3 days of diet for fatties to lose weight.

Anyway, i always have corned beef and canned fruits and soups in the store so i'm never worried. I also always buy packs of bottled water and keep it in the room.
 
Point44 said:
The body can survive for months without food. What's the point of stocking a few cans?

Water i understand but do you really need to stock food? It's a good 3 days of diet for fatties to lose weight.

Anyway, i always have corned beef and canned fruits and soups in the store so i'm never worried. I also always buy packs of bottled water and keep it in the room.
Click to expand...
If you own or work at a store, I think that's great. If you hear something on the news that gets you a twinge worried, you can simply bring home extra food when you leave your shift, if you feel the need to, that is.

If you want to try going without food for three days, have at it. Have you ever fasted for three days before? I somehow doubt it, or you wouldn't be talking as you are. Terri Schiavo, the brain-damaged woman who had her feeding tube removed, lasted ten days, without either food or water, before she died.

If an emergency occurs, I don't want to be missing the energy necessary for whatever that unknown situation might require of me. If I haven't eaten for three days, I'm not sure that I'd even want to get out of bed, let alone be able to make a thirty mile hike.

If something bad happens, and that can be *anything,* I don't want to need/have to go shopping, at that point in time. If the U.S. government declares a "shelter in place" emergency, we're supposed to stay where we are, without traveling anyplace. If Martial Law is declared, you are similarly unable to travel.

If you have three days' supply, of food and water for an emergency, a "typical emergency" *should* be over in that three days. But, I remember last year's hurricaines, in Florida, and some citizens weren't even contacted until weeks afterwards. I don't want to have to stand for hours in a line, where the Red Cross is handing-out supplies, so I'm being prepared against that possibility.

GeoThorn
 
geothorn said:
The U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (F.E.M.A.) and the Department of Homeland Security (D.H.C.) recommend that each American have "at least three days" worth of of food and water, on hand, in case of emergency.

Basically, it boils down to a gallon of water per person, per day, and three cans or packages of non-perishable food, per person, per day. I haven't totally counted all of my non-perishable food, to see if I have ninety items, but, if I count my stored gallons of water, I have enough for about thirty days.

How ready are you?
Click to expand...

I have a gun so I'll just take whatever I need from somebody who is unarmed - ONLY KIDDING, ONLY KIDDING!

Seriously, though, everything in our house is electric, including the well, and the electricity has gone out a number of times (4 or 5 days for Hurricane Isabel). So we just about always have several days worth of water on hand. Food is no problem - the larder is seldom bare.
 
geothorn said:
If you own or work at a store, I think that's great. If you hear something on the news that gets you a twinge worried, you can simply bring home extra food when you leave your shift, if you feel the need to, that is.

If you want to try going without food for three days, have at it. Have you ever fasted for three days before? I somehow doubt it, or you wouldn't be talking as you are. Terri Schiavo, the brain-damaged woman who had her feeding tube removed, lasted ten days, without either food or water, before she died.

If an emergency occurs, I don't want to be missing the energy necessary for whatever that unknown situation might require of me. If I haven't eaten for three days, I'm not sure that I'd even want to get out of bed, let alone be able to make a thirty mile hike.

If something bad happens, and that can be *anything,* I don't want to need/have to go shopping, at that point in time. If the U.S. government declares a "shelter in place" emergency, we're supposed to stay where we are, without traveling anyplace. If Martial Law is declared, you are similarly unable to travel.

If you have three days' supply, of food and water for an emergency, a "typical emergency" *should* be over in that three days. But, I remember last year's hurricaines, in Florida, and some citizens weren't even contacted until weeks afterwards. I don't want to have to stand for hours in a line, where the Red Cross is handing-out supplies, so I'm being prepared against that possibility.

GeoThorn
Click to expand...

You can't compare a normal person to Terri Schiavo. She's bedridden and was without WATER and food. Without water a normal human being can barely last 3 days. Without food the body can last for months. So as long as you've got some water that should be alright in an emergency. You really underestimate the capability of the human body. We've got lots of reserve energy in our body that kicks in when we're in a survival situation.

What i'm trying to say is having food for 3 days of emergency isn't good enough. A normal person can EASILY fast for 3 days without food in a survival situation (but has to take water). Of course then comes the question of how much food you need to stock up? 3 days? 2 weeks? So where do you stop? What are you going to do when your food runs out? Stand in line like the others? You're only delaying the inevitable.

The situation of having to take a 30 mile hike is just absurd. Where are you going? When are you planning to take the hike? After 3 days after all your food is gone? Since you said you can't travel then what are you doing hiking for 30 miles? Who's going to carry the gallons of water? Will your children be hiking with you for 30 miles?

Of course having food around will make you comfortable. I'm just saying that in a real emergency you can go without food easily for 3 days. So having 3 days worth of food won't really bring your survival chances up that much.

The best solution of all is to grow your own food in your house. Have chickens outside and grow vegetables. That way you'll be self sufficient for an indefinite period of time.
 
Point44 said:
You can't compare a normal person to Terri Schiavo. She's bedridden and was without WATER and food. Without water a normal human being can barely last 3 days. Without food the body can last for months. So as long as you've got some water that should be alright in an emergency. You really underestimate the capability of the human body. We've got lots of reserve energy in our body that kicks in when we're in a survival situation.
Click to expand...
Thank for reiterating what I'd said. She died after almost two weeks (a fortnight for those who speak older English...) after her feeding tube was removed and hydration was taken away. So, she lived longer than she should have, without water, but, she died sooner than if mere starvation had taken her.

Point44 said:
What i'm trying to say is having food for 3 days of emergency isn't good enough. A normal person can EASILY fast for 3 days without food in a survival situation (but has to take water). Of course then comes the question of how much food you need to stock up? 3 days? 2 weeks?
Click to expand...
I agree that three days isn't enough, and that's why I think that I have a thirty day supply, just counting my water. I believe that I also have a commensurate amount of food in my pantry.

Point44 said:
So where do you stop? What are you going to do when your food runs out? Stand in line like the others? You're only delaying the inevitable.
Click to expand...
Just as eating also delays the inevitability of death through starvation? ;) I don't have a "lifetime" supply of food and water, but I'm hoping that whatever 'emergency' might occur doesn't last longer than the supplies I have.

Point44 said:
The situation of having to take a 30 mile hike is just absurd. Where are you going? When are you planning to take the hike? After 3 days after all your food is gone? Since you said you can't travel then what are you doing hiking for 30 miles? Who's going to carry the gallons of water? Will your children be hiking with you for 30 miles?
Click to expand...
You think that a 30-mile hike is absurd? Really? Well, if I need to walk to where my parents live, that would actually require a forty mile hike, but I don't see it as being "absurd," in whichever viewpoint I want to take. What if my car doesn't have the gasoline for the drive? That would necessitate making a hike. What if the roads travelling to my destination are blocked? That means leaving the car behind and hiking.

Of course, if I *had* to make the hike, I'd choose to do it while I was fully fed and hydrated. If I had the choice of when to make the hike, I'd start hiking when I had three days of food and water remaining. If I had to hike thirty miles after running out of food and water, then I don't know if I could do it. . o O (Pictures of the Bataan Death March floating through my head...)

If I'm staying here, where I live, then hiking shouldn't be necessary, anytime. But, if the hordes of thugs are leaving downtown, like rats leaving a sinking ship, should I stay here, awaiting them? At some point during an emergency, if it's severe enough, there will be a breakdown in Law & Order, or there will be a lack of people enforcing the law, so leaving wouldn't be that much of a difficulty.

Thankfully, I don't yet have any children that would have to go through an emergency.

If an emergency comes, I can load up all of my food and water and take it with me, in that time period when travelling isn't prohibited with a "shoot to kill" order. If I have to hike out, no, I couldn't carry everything with me.

Point44 said:
Of course having food around will make you comfortable. I'm just saying that in a real emergency you can go without food easily for 3 days. So having 3 days worth of food won't really bring your survival chances up that much.
Click to expand...
Starvation, or the starting on that path, isn't in my plans. I guess that some people can think that they'll be fine without food and water for three days, until they can find another source for food and water, but I'm not that kind of a gambler. I think that I have a thirty-day supply of each, and maybe more, with judicious rationing.

Point44 said:
The best solution of all is to grow your own food in your house. Have chickens outside and grow vegetables. That way you'll be self sufficient for an indefinite period of time.
Click to expand...
Then, the best solution would be to have farming as one's profession.

GeoThorn
 
mycroftt said:
I have a gun so I'll just take whatever I need from somebody who is unarmed - ONLY KIDDING, ONLY KIDDING!
Click to expand...
I have guns too, and I'm NOT kidding.:D.:D.
 
I think the goal is to not just survive for 3 days, but to live without a shower, well fed and sleep through it.

More than that... stock piles of everything are a good idea! :)
 
FEMA says everybody should have three days supplies because they figure it'll take them three days to get organized and start trucking in food and distributing it. Even when they do get organized (and it could take more than three days) I don't want to be dependant on whatever the gummint gives me -- and there's no reason to be. I always have a lot more than three days food in the cupboards, and I have camp stoves and fuel for them, water filters, flashlights, a battery charger I can plug into the truck's cigar lighter socket ... one or two knives on hand ... :cool:

You might want to have a look at the Wilderness & Survival forum at this website. There's a lot of info on urban survival there too.
 
Thanks for everyone's suggestions for further reading! Equipped to Survive is awesome, and the Wilderness & Survival forum sounds great! My most recently read book was the first of the Foxfire series.

GeoThorn
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top