Well, we are still cleaning up from hurricane Isabel here in Richmond.
We had all week to prepare and I was even at work Thursday until noon. Tropical storm force winds arrived around 7 pm. Power was out by 7:30 and water was out by 10:00. 80% of all secondary roads were blocked by fallen trees after the storm.
Of course my "shelter in place" kit is extensive and consists of everything in the house and garage, including a 5kw portable generator and twenty gallons of fuel. We were not even very uncomfortable, the twin toddlers even had cartoons on the DVD.
The only articles that I retrieved from my cached emergency supplies was my sterno stove and my iodine water purification tablets. The stove because we wanted bacon with our grits one morning and the iodine because when the water came back Saturday, we were under a boil water warning. The iodine was put to use producing 5 gallons of dishwashing water without wasting a bunch of fuel. I also retrieved my candle lantern to use as a hanging nightlight in the twins' room.
My replica sugarcane knife (wide, thin machete with a small hook) served admirably "branching" fallen trees ahead of the chainsaw. It can take anything smaller than 2" with a single stroke and really speads up the clearing chores when the chainsaws don't have to fight the smaller stuff.
What I will buy; a night vision scope for security and general dark activities, an Aladdin mantled oil lamp for lots of light with little fuel, a larger stash of batteries for my Surefire flashlight, and I will rig a cord to be able to use the generator to operate the water heater.
There, real life urban survival. The credit card was of limited usefulness because the businesses that were open were not running the computers from the generator. Cash and patience were the way to trade.
We had all week to prepare and I was even at work Thursday until noon. Tropical storm force winds arrived around 7 pm. Power was out by 7:30 and water was out by 10:00. 80% of all secondary roads were blocked by fallen trees after the storm.
Of course my "shelter in place" kit is extensive and consists of everything in the house and garage, including a 5kw portable generator and twenty gallons of fuel. We were not even very uncomfortable, the twin toddlers even had cartoons on the DVD.
The only articles that I retrieved from my cached emergency supplies was my sterno stove and my iodine water purification tablets. The stove because we wanted bacon with our grits one morning and the iodine because when the water came back Saturday, we were under a boil water warning. The iodine was put to use producing 5 gallons of dishwashing water without wasting a bunch of fuel. I also retrieved my candle lantern to use as a hanging nightlight in the twins' room.
My replica sugarcane knife (wide, thin machete with a small hook) served admirably "branching" fallen trees ahead of the chainsaw. It can take anything smaller than 2" with a single stroke and really speads up the clearing chores when the chainsaws don't have to fight the smaller stuff.
What I will buy; a night vision scope for security and general dark activities, an Aladdin mantled oil lamp for lots of light with little fuel, a larger stash of batteries for my Surefire flashlight, and I will rig a cord to be able to use the generator to operate the water heater.
There, real life urban survival. The credit card was of limited usefulness because the businesses that were open were not running the computers from the generator. Cash and patience were the way to trade.
