F.E.M.A. says you should....

[Codger_64]

This is what I show family and friends who think I am nuts for putting back extra food, camping supplies and such. Sometimes it gets their attention. After all, the government is here to help you. Or in this case, suggest what you should do for yourself because they can't help you.

http://www.fema.gov/plan/prepare/supplykit.shtm

Assemble a Disaster Supplies Kit
You may need to survive on your own after a disaster. This means having your own food, water, and other supplies in sufficient quantity to last for at least three days. Local officials and relief workers will be on the scene after a disaster, but they cannot reach everyone immediately. You could get help in hours, or it might take days.

Basic services such as electricity, gas, water, sewage treatment, and telephones may be cut off for days, or even a week or longer. Or, you may have to evacuate at a moment’s notice and take essentials with you. You probably will not have the opportunity to shop or search for the supplies you need.

A disaster supplies kit is a collection of basic items that members of a household may need in the event of a disaster.

•Basic Disaster Supplies
•Kit locations
•Maintenance

Well, if the government says it is so, then it must be true!

Basic Disaster Supplies
There are six basics you should stock in your home:

•Water
•Food
•First aid supplies
•Clothing, bedding and sanitation supplies
•Tools
•Special items

That sounds reasonable.

How Much Water do I Need?
You should have at least a three-day supply of water and you should store at least one gallon of water per person per day. A normally active person needs at least one-half gallon of water daily just for drinking.

Additionally, in determining adequate quantities, take the following into account:

•Individual needs vary, depending on age, physical condition, activity, diet, and climate.
•Children, nursing mothers, and ill people need more water.
•Very hot temperatures can double the amount of water needed.
•A medical emergency might require additional water.

How Should I Store Water?
To prepare safest and most reliable emergency supply of water, it is recommended you purchase commercially bottled water. Keep bottled water in its original container and do not open it until you need to use it.

Observe the expiration or “use by” date.


If You are Preparing Your Own Containers of Water
It is recommended you purchase food-grade water storage containers from surplus or camping supplies stores to use for water storage. Before filling with water, thoroughly clean the containers with dishwashing soap and water, and rinse completely so there is no residual soap. Follow directions below on filling the container with water.

If you choose to use your own storage containers, choose two-liter plastic soft drink bottles – not plastic jugs or cardboard containers that have had milk or fruit juice in them. Milk protein and fruit sugars cannot be adequately removed from these containers and provide an environment for bacterial growth when water is stored in them. Cardboard containers also leak easily and are not designed for long-term storage of liquids. Also, do not use glass containers, because they can break and are heavy.

If storing water in plastic soda bottles, follow these steps
Thoroughly clean the bottles with dishwashing soap and water, and rinse completely so there is no residual soap.Sanitize the bottles by adding a solution of 1 teaspoon of non-scented liquid household chlorine bleach to a quart of water. Swish the sanitizing solution in the bottle so that it touches all surfaces. After sanitizing the bottle, thoroughly rinse out the sanitizing solution with clean water.


Filling Water Containers
Fill the bottle to the top with regular tap water. If the tap water has been commercially treated from a water utility with chlorine, you do not need to add anything else to the water to keep it clean. If the water you are using comes from a well or water source that is not treated with chlorine, add two drops of non-scented liquid household chlorine bleach to the water.Tightly close the container using the original cap. Be careful not to contaminate the cap by touching the inside of it with your finger. Place a date on the outside of the container so that you know when you filled it. Store in a cool, dark place.Replace the water every six months if not using commercially bottled water.

But man does not live by water alone!

Food
Store at least a three-day supply of non-perishable food. Select foods that require no refrigeration, preparation or cooking and little or no water. If you must heat food, pack a can of sterno. Select food items that are compact and lightweight. Avoid foods that will make you thirsty. Choose salt-free crackers, whole grain cereals, and canned foods with high liquid content.

*Include a selection of the following foods in your Disaster Supplies Kit:

Note: Be sure to include a manual can opener.

•Ready-to-eat canned meats, fruits and vegetables
•Canned juices, milk, soup (if powdered, store extra water)
•Staples--sugar, salt, pepper

•High energy foods--peanut butter, jelly, crackers, granola bars, trail mix
•Vitamins
•Foods for infants, elderly persons or persons with special dietary needs
•Comfort/stress foods--cookies, hard candy, sweetened cereals, lollipops, instant coffee, tea bags

Three days? Well, as for myself, I think of other disasters and plan accordingly. Katrina,

Andrew

In August 1992, Hurricane Andrew struck the Florida and Louisiana coasts with 165 mph (265 km/h) sustained winds. FEMA was widely criticized for the agency’s response to Andrew, summed up by the famous exclamation, "Where in the hell is the cavalry on this one?" by Kate Hale, emergency management director for Dade County, Florida. FEMA and the federal government at large were accused of not responding fast enough to house, feed and sustain the approximately 250,000 people left homeless in the affected areas. Within five days the federal government and neighboring states had dispatched 20,000 National Guard and active duty troops to South Dade County to set up temporary housing.

So the Dept. Of C.O.D.G.E.R. recommends 30 days of food.

First Aid Kit
Assemble a first aid kit for your home and one for each car. A first aid kit* should include:

•Sterile adhesive bandages in assorted sizes
•2-inch sterile gauze pads (4-6)
•4-inch sterile gauze pads (4-6)
•Hypoallergenic adhesive tape
•Triangular bandages (3)
•2-inch sterile roller bandages (3 rolls)
•3-inch sterile roller bandages (3 rolls)
•Scissors
•Tweezers
•Needle
•Moistened towelettes
•Antiseptic
•Thermometer
•Tongue blades (2)
•Tube of petroleum jelly or other lubricant
•Assorted sizes of safety pins
•Cleansing agent/soap
•Latex gloves (2 pair) Sunscreen

Non-prescription drugs

•Aspirin or nonaspirin pain reliever
•Anti-diarrhea medication
•Antacid (for stomach upset)
•Syrup of Ipecac (use to induce vomiting if advised by the Poison Control Center)
•Laxative
•Activated charcoal (use if advised by the Poison Control Center)

Awful lot of FAK goodies for three days, eh?

Clothing, Bedding and Sanitation Supplies

Clothing and Bedding

If you live in a cold climate, you must think about warmth. It is possible that you will not have heat.

*Include at least one complete change of clothing and footwear per person.

•Jacket or coat
•Long pants
•Long sleeve shirt
•Sturdy shoes or work boots
•Hat, gloves and scarf
•Rain gear
•Thermal underwear
•Blankets or sleeping bags
•Sunglasses

Sanitation

•Toilet paper
•Soap, liquid detergent
•Feminine supplies
•Personal hygiene items
•Plastic garbage bags, ties (for personal sanitation uses)
•Plastic bucket with tight lid
•Disinfectant
•Household chlorine bleach

Tools

•Mess kits, or paper cups, plates and plastic utensils
•Emergency preparedness manual
•Portable, battery-operated radio or television and extra batteries
•Flashlight and extra batteries
•Cash or traveler's checks, change
•Nonelectric can opener, utility knife
•Fire extinguisher: small canister, ABC type
•Tube tent
•Pliers
•Tape
•Compass
•Matches in a waterproof container
•Aluminum foil
•Plastic storage containers
•Signal flare
•Paper, pencil
•Needles, thread
•Medicine dropper
•Shut-off wrench, to turn off household gas and water
•Whistle
•Plastic sheeting
•Map of the area (for locating shelters)

Special Items

Remember family members with special needs, such as infants and elderly or disabled persons.

•For Baby
◦Formula
◦Diapers
◦Bottles
◦Pacifiers
◦Powdered milk
◦Medications


•For Adults
◦Heart and high blood pressure medication
◦Insulin
◦Prescription drugs
◦Denture needs
◦Contact lenses and supplies
◦Extra eye glasses
◦Hearing aid batteries


•Important Family Documents
◦Keep these records in a waterproof, portable container.
◦Will, insurance policies, contracts, deeds, stocks and bonds
◦Photo IDs, passports, social security cards, immunization records
◦Bank account numbers
◦Credit card account numbers and companies
◦Inventory of valuable household goods, important telephone numbers
◦Family records (birth, marriage, death certificates)
◦Photocopies of credit and identification cards


•Cash and coins.


•Entertainment--games and books.

Well, this is what the government FEMA dept of Homeland Security is recommending that all citizens acquire and keep on hand. It seems like an awful lot for three days. It might fit in a BOB...truck!

 

[moonwilson]

For the sake of this forum, I'd like to add that something a little more substantial than a "utility knife" ought to make the list, as long as we're bringing along the medicine dropper and Ipecac. Though to be fair, the term "utility knife" is a bit vague. I would imagine that the need for a firearm must go unspoken on this sort of government list. In a Katrina-type situation, a good handgun (at least!) would be near the top of my list.

 

[Rupestris]

c'mon moon. You know firearms and knives are weapons and the government would be irresponsible if it told you that you should have one. You might hurt yourself or others.

Off the record, I'm with you. A firearm and ammo at the top of the list :thumbup:

 

[Bushman5]

sorry am I reading this right? FEMA actually wants US citizens to be self sufficient? I thought fema was against anyone being prepared????

 

[Codger_64]

This is their "We told you so" list. I didn't get one in the mail. I doubt anyone else did.

A decent knife, a self defense firearm... there are a lot of things not mentioned.

When my neighborhood was a war zone with power lines and utility poles, giant live oak and pine trees draped over streets and houses, yachts up in the neighbor's back yard and a whole house floating in the bay, there were no looters on my street. And my neighbors seemed somewhat reassured when they saw me make my rounds up and down the street with a shotgun over my shoulder. No looters, but no police, no National Guard and no FEMA. In fact the first outsiders to come around were the migrant handymen scheming to relieve residents of their money for shoddy or uncompleted roof repairs. Sorry, no local permit, no work.

 

[6shooter]

Nice post, thanks. Solid list to show someone what they should have together:thumbup:

 

[Codger_64]

On water storage, here is what I did and it worked just fine. Cases of six one-gallon bottles each of spring water fit under my bed two across and five down. That was 60 gallons of water. There was another 30 gallons in the hot water tank (pop the breaker so it doesn't come back on empty if power is restored before the water service) and fifteen in the household plumbing. I shut off our water at the meter to keep it from syphoning back into the city system. I drained the plumbing and used it to flush the toilet (after adding three bricks to the tank to reduce flush volume). I didn't have to get more water, but if I had, two of my neighbors evac'd before the hurricane hit. I would have drained their plumbing from an outside faucet just like I did mine.

 

[Katdaddy]

I find that interesting about the milk jugs. I have been reusing gallon milk jugs for the last 30 years without incident. I guess now that I know better I'll get some form of poisoning!!!
Thanks a lot Codger!!!

 

[jw2n]

The problem with milk jugs is that they have a large amount of cornmeal incorporated in the plastic. This is so they break down quicker in landfills. This is if you are talking about plastic as opposed to glass. I'm old enough to remember glass.

 

[SIXFOOTER]

Hmm, interesting concept...self sufficiency encouraged by a government agency, cool.
I never needed a list in the mail, was a boy scout once apon a time, was something in there about being prepared and all that.

 

[Marion David Poff]

Y'all are hoarders, ya hear?

And when the fit hits the shan, y'all better hope nobody knows about your little stashes of evil. Or them peasants will come with pitchforks and tire irons and burn you out, just for a morsel of meat.

Marion

 

[koyote]

A lot of this is a direct result of General Honore's influence, and it's entirely possible that if he hadn't come down with his basic response of

"WTF? you don't have a freaking gallon water container or a flashlight? in hurricane country? what are you, dumb?"

we'd be getting ZERO message on preparedness from the government.

or, honestly, it could be a sea change in the way the powers-that-be-for-four-years are looking at using fear to keep people docile.

"you are your own first responder"

 

[sodak]

On water storage, here is what I did and it worked just fine. Cases of six one-gallon bottles each of spring water fit under my bed two across and five down. That was 60 gallons of water. There was another 30 gallons in the hot water tank (pop the breaker so it doesn't come back on empty if power is restored before the water service) and fifteen in the household plumbing. I shut off our water at the meter to keep it from syphoning back into the city system. I drained the plumbing and used it to flush the toilet (after adding three bricks to the tank to reduce flush volume). I didn't have to get more water, but if I had, two of my neighbors evac'd before the hurricane hit. I would have drained their plumbing from an outside faucet just like I did mine.

You must have a big house! I get about 5 gallons when I drain mine, but it's still a good idea.

I live close to several golf course lakes, I figure that's my toilet flushing water. Geese pretty much live in them year round, so between the poop and the chemicals from the golf course, I wouldn't dare drink it, but I can fill up my buckets and head on home for sanitation purposes.

I've got to get a couple more 7 gallon jugs from Wally World. I'm trying to store 2 weeks worth of water at a gallon a day for everyone in my family. That, plus whatever's in the water heater will do for the short term. If it's a long term event, I'll probably have to distill lake water. And for food, I know where the geese live....

 

[Codger_64]

...And for food, I know where the geese live....

There are certain plants which can be mashed up and added to the water to "make fish lighter" so they float, so that would be another food source. I could tell you which plants but then.....

 

[Bushman5]

^ you can pour a bottle of bleach into a pond and it kills all the fish. instant food supply, make sure to wash fish and expose to sunlight

 

[Zip7]

The first sentence

You may need to survive on your own after a disaster...

says it all. I got hit pretty hard by Katrina - I left and stayed at my mother's house the night before it came in, but came home the day after the storm. I knew what all I would need, and had it on hand - right down to a round file to sharpen the chainsaw chain with.

However, I was kind of shocked at the number of people who really didn't know that what to do, or were helpless and hoping for someone to come to the rescue because the electricity was out. I grew up in an era when it was not uncommon to lose power for a week, so I knew what we were in for, but a lot of folks did not. And I live in a far flung suburb/bedroom community - not a big city.

That said, as it turned out, water was the least of my worries. I live down the street from a church and the day after the storm all sorts of saintly people from faraway churches started showing up at this church unannounced with just ridiculous amounts of bottled water, food and all kinds of stuff. My son and I helped them unload trailerload after trailerload of stuff. I loaned them all my ice chests, and all the clothes we could part with because there were some folks staying there who had lost everything. I never saw a person from Fema near my place - they may have helped a bunch of people, but they would have been pressed to help more people than that one church in my little town.

 

[MM]

That said, as it turned out, water was the least of my worries. I live down the street from a church and the day after the storm all sorts of saintly people from faraway churches started showing up at this church unannounced with just ridiculous amounts of bottled water, food and all kinds of stuff. My son and I helped them unload trailerload after trailerload of stuff. I loaned them all my ice chests, and all the clothes we could part with because there were some folks staying there who had lost everything. I never saw a person from Fema near my place - they may have helped a bunch of people, but they would have been pressed to help more people than that one church in my little town.

That's awesome and the way it should be. My plan is to not rely on FEMA and to be self sufficient for 30 days. I'd much rather rely on my neighbors than the government for help after a disaster.

For those with dogs, how are you preparing for their needs?

 

[dougo83]

I wish I had somewhere to keep that much crap. I have started building a 3-day kit to keep in the truck. I figure that would be enough that I could get to the farm and hunker down. I had friends from the Gulf Coast who evac'd to my farm during Katrina. They left a few days prior and stayed there until it was good and clear to go back home. Some of their more able (former military) neighbors agreed to stay in the neighborhood and keep watch.

sorry am I reading this right? FEMA actually wants US citizens to be self sufficient? I thought fema was against anyone being prepared????

Awesome...more political insight...how refreshing

 

[gadgetgeek]

I'm remembering the last knock'em down drag'em out natural disasters we had in canada, and I can think of three, The Winnipeg flood (also took out a big chunk of north dakota iirc) the Quebec flood, and the Ontario Ice Storm. All of those lasted far more than 48h before the danger even went away, granted, during the floods there was warning to an extent, but still people were in survival mode for weeks, or fully evac'd.
I'm thinking that if Calgary got hit we'd be up a creek for a long time. there are few good roads to leave on, not enough services to begin with... and I can't see too many people being all that prepared. on the upside there is a ready supply of lifted 4x4s all over the place.