Niece reports from Houston.

I'm glad to hear they're doing ok.
I find it strange how fast "civilization" disapears after a major event.When the power goes out people get crazy fast.It's only been 3 days and the scavangers are already nipping at peoples heels.
 
There's also an escalation to looting, especially when there are people in groups. It might start out with a bike or two, but then they go in the house.... then it's a bit of food and the beer fridge, and they are getting into it and suddenly they see your wife. Same way riots get started
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That's crossing the line :eek:

prednc8.gif
 
Glad to hear they are doing well and prepared accordingly. Some good friends of our are just outside Houston (Cypress) and he and his wife have a one-year old boy...he's was pretty prepared, but if power doesn't come back up in another week I expect him to drive up and stay with us for a while.

The canned soup is good planning, especially when short on water. Not knowing where Ike was headed, I had one of my 55 gallon drums and 6 x 5 gallon water cans full along with miscellaneous water bottles and a few cases of bottled water...you can never be too sure and the last thing I want during a such as situation is driving around or standing in line for water or other essentials. I too filled up several 5-gallon cans of gas...it'll hold me over until prices get back to normal, but it also reminded me to get my mountain bike put back together...that's good, inexpensive transportation.

Communication is critical and a co-worker who did emergency planning for several hurricanes said that mobile phones with the text option are the best way (outside of armature radio) to maintain communication. Cell towers are pretty robust and have back up generators and the half-duplex test is more reliable at getting messages through. Get a simple inverter to keep it charged for short term and maybe a solar panel for longer term.

My father-in-law keeps (Panama City, FL) keeps several sheets of plywood and plastic sheeting...those, some duct tape; staple gun, hammer and nails would go a long way to keeping your house protected from the elements.

A good dog and plenty of dog food is probably you best alarm / first line of defense system when ADT goes down.

As to protecting your property from looting during a crisis...well, your niece did the right thing and I would not hesitate to protect my family or property with lethal force; I have little tolerance for looters.

We didn't get anything but a little wind (no rain at all), but it was a good exercise in preparation. I truly hope all those that were hit hard make a quick recovery and I hope those sheeple that didn't prepare more than a cooler full of beer live to learn a valuable lesson about preparation.

ROCK6
 
kidwholaughs said:
That's pretty hardcore. Is there a proper thing to do when you are being looted at your own house. I mean the instinctive thing to do would be to grab a gun. But is there a better way ?
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Of course there's a better way. She could have shot them so they didn't go rip off someone else.
She did fine. Thank God there are still some people who do think it's "worth it" to step up.

People set the price on their own heads when they decide to take from someone else, not the other way around.
 
I was tired last night, and quite short in my post, so I will elaborate for the confused. If all was right in the world, infrastructure was operating normally, etc than a quick call to the local constabulary would have been all I would have done, given the circumstances. When you have no power, limited means of transportation, and you don't know when those things are going to be restored, it is a different ball game. A gallon of gas could save your life, or those of your family. And lord knows if someone finds what they want they may decide right quickly that it is worth taking a life over. Who knows, maybe they would have come into the house to get MORE stuff. Quite simply circumstances will always change the response. This woman did exactly the right thing. She did what ANYONE would be justified in doing. Now, does this mean that I advocate going mideval during times of civil unrest? No. Such times require us to be even more deliberate, to keep ourselves and our loved ones safe.
 
Smash05 said:
I was tired last night, and quite short in my post, so I will elaborate for the confused. If all was right in the world, infrastructure was operating normally, etc than a quick call to the local constabulary would have been all I would have done, given the circumstances. When you have no power, limited means of transportation, and you don't know when those things are going to be restored, it is a different ball game. A gallon of gas could save your life, or those of your family. And lord knows if someone finds what they want they may decide right quickly that it is worth taking a life over. Who knows, maybe they would have come into the house to get MORE stuff. Quite simply circumstances will always change the response. This woman did exactly the right thing. She did what ANYONE would be justified in doing. Now, does this mean that I advocate going mideval during times of civil unrest? No. Such times require us to be even more deliberate, to keep ourselves and our loved ones safe.
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If this were the case, the guys wouldn't have been trying to root around in the storage thinger anyway, so the argument is moot. In the given situation, shortly after a hurricane, there is no way to get the PD on site in a hurry so you are kind of on your own until further notice...
 
jackknife said:
Inside that shed were three gas cans that had been filled up prior to the storm. A 5 gallon, and two 3 gallons cans. those 11 gallons of gas would be almost a full tank of gas for thier Honda, if they had to get out of town. I don't think Bronwyn was going to let three low lifes get away with what could have been her familys ticket out of there, if need be. At that point they did not know how bad or lucky Houston had been.

In the aftermath of a large natural event like a hurricane, earthquake, tornado, you can't let passing scavengers go through your supplies.

You just can't.
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I've been through more than a few storms having lived in S.Fl for 58 yrs and until the roads are cleared and you can contact 911 it's like what the Preacher said in Blazing Saddles, "Son, you're on your own.".

You can arm yourself, or, hurl insults and foul language. Whatever works for you.:rolleyes::D:D

Rob
 
Ike didn't do much to us, but here in central Louisiana, Gustav tore us a new one. We were without power for over a week. My street doesn't get a lot of traffic and is really shady, so we opened the doors and settled in. A lot of my neighbors left. For a few days, I know we were the only family on the street. I was on the porch one afternoon after chopping up some tree limbs with my khuk when my 4 year old son pointed out three "gentlemen" walking down the street. They walked into the lady across the streets yard, so I yelled at them to ask what they were doing, since I know the people on and around my street and these three didn't belong. They started a bit and then spoke with each other, laughed, and started walking towards me and my son. Sank the tip of my 18 in HI into my railing and lifted my Remington 12 gauge up to rest over my shoulder. Never seen three people turn so white so quickly. They carefully lifted their hands and backed away. Called the police, but they didn't arrive until 3 hours later. I don't know if it was right or wrong, but I was concerned for the safety of my son and would have gone as far as need be.

Disasters seem to bring out the best and the worst of some people. My HI khuk has gotten a ton of use clearing limbs. The neighbors were quite surprised when I showed up to help them with it. As the only person who was prepared on our street, we quickly became popular with our gas stove and copious amounts of clean water.
 
ROCK6 said:
Communication is critical and a co-worker who did emergency planning for several hurricanes said that mobile phones with the text option are the best way (outside of armature radio) to maintain communication. Cell towers are pretty robust and have back up generators and the half-duplex test is more reliable at getting messages through. Get a simple inverter to keep it charged for short term and maybe a solar panel for longer term.

ROCK6
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I am glad that they made the cell towers sturdy. Communications is probabaly an under appreciated element of prepareness. Btw that's an inverter?

God Bless
 
The insults and foul language didn't cut it, huh?:D:D

12ga does seem to be a universal language.:thumbup:

Rob
 
kidwholaughs said:
Btw that's an inverter?
God Bless
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Hey kidwholaughs, an inverter is just a DC to AC converter...basically, you can use your car battery or even a system of rechargeable deep cycle cell batteries (most are built for 12VDC devices). Plug it into your car cigarette lighter or attach a larger battery and it has a regular plugs for cell phone chargers, TV's, Microwaves, etc. You just have to get the right size for you device...

Device Usage Chart

That's a good site BTW as a primer on inverters...

Oh, BTW, my wife read the thread and her response to your Nieces' actions were (and I quote)... "if that was me, I would have shot first and warned second...I would be assisting the gene pool by adding a little 'lead' chlorine". Gotta love my wife:D

ROCK6
 
Darteres said:
Ike didn't do much to us, but here in central Louisiana, Gustav tore us a new one. We were without power for over a week. My street doesn't get a lot of traffic and is really shady, so we opened the doors and settled in. A lot of my neighbors left. For a few days, I know we were the only family on the street. I was on the porch one afternoon after chopping up some tree limbs with my khuk when my 4 year old son pointed out three "gentlemen" walking down the street. They walked into the lady across the streets yard, so I yelled at them to ask what they were doing, since I know the people on and around my street and these three didn't belong. They started a bit and then spoke with each other, laughed, and started walking towards me and my son. Sank the tip of my 18 in HI into my railing and lifted my Remington 12 gauge up to rest over my shoulder. Never seen three people turn so white so quickly. They carefully lifted their hands and backed away. Called the police, but they didn't arrive until 3 hours later. I don't know if it was right or wrong, but I was concerned for the safety of my son and would have gone as far as need be.

Disasters seem to bring out the best and the worst of some people. My HI khuk has gotten a ton of use clearing limbs. The neighbors were quite surprised when I showed up to help them with it. As the only person who was prepared on our street, we quickly became popular with our gas stove and copious amounts of clean water.
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There's absolutely no question that you were right, and this is coming from a 'passive' Canadian!

Doc
 
ROCK6 said:
Oh, BTW, my wife read the thread and her response to your Nieces' actions were (and I quote)... "if that was me, I would have shot first and warned second...I would be assisting the gene pool by adding a little 'lead' chlorine". Gotta love my wife:D ROCK6
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Yes, you don't seem to have much choice!!!!!

Doc
 
DOC-CANADA said:
Yes, you don't seem to have much choice!!!!!

Doc
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:D I kid you not, even my Battalion Commander who started out as an Infantry Officer and is still as hard-core as you can imagine is scared of my wife:D It was our third Valentine's Day and I bought her first pistol for her (of course, flowers and all that other stuff had to follow);) I wouldn't even loot my own pantry even she warned me:D

ROCK6
 
Living in south Louisiana all my life i'll tell ya---it is amazing how fast the scum starts looting after a storm, they are waiting for something to happen so they can get theirs instead of working towards a better life.
 
Glad to hear your family members are o.k. I went through Hurricane Dolly a few months back and was out of light for a day or so. My 12 gauge was in a place easily accessible and I had 5 - 00 Buck shot in my shirt pockets. Did'nt need it though, but we were very fortunate. Just knowing that something worse could have happened to my family is frightning enough. I would want to take a chance on not being prepared for self defence or water and food necessities. Disasters seem to bring all the crazies out of hiding.
-frank
 
I know this is gonna insult someone. I don't understand the dolts who live in these areas and aren't prepared for 'canes. Especially during HURRICANE SEASON. To me, it doesn't get much clearer than that. I am glad the damage wasn't as bad as predicted and all, but people would be better off if they were a little smarter. Hell, my family is Houston and was very well-prepared. We all have that mindset I guess. I think you should be required to have some sort of disaster prep down there before you can get homeowner's insurance or take out a home loan.

Just my .02


PeACE
Dougo
 
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