I have a motor home fueled and stocked,boat,canoe,3 hunting dogs, pleanty of ammo and arrows. Might run out of beer. - make note to self. Scotty.

 

No, but I can grab the camping gear, fishing poles, wife and kids and be out of town in 30 min. Mom's got a few acres w/ a couple ponds on it.

 

I think we've got everything we need to go camping. Sleeping bags, tent, propane and cook top, plates, forks and knives. If the roads are okay, I can get our tent trailer and load that up. All our stuff is in the basement. Not the best place for it in an emergency, but the only place we have for it so it won't look like an eyesore.

The stuff we don't have is "enough" water. Or food. Or fishing equipment. Or guns.

You might be find me looting for essentials though... food and beer. Maybe diapers if we have a kid.

Something we should all keep in our trucks though, is a 12 pack of water no matter what. Thirsty? Buy a bottle. But come emergency time, you still got your 12 pack. And a blanket. If you got a cell phone, make dang sure you got a car charger in there too. If the roads are impassable, you can still idle your truck to charge the phone. I also keep a roll of TP in my truck, just in case. I also got a neoprene beer holder in there. Jumper cables, oil, tie down straps...

I should probably throw a case of granola bars in there too.

My mom's probably set up the best of anyone in my (or my wife's) family. She's got a deep freezer FULL of meat, and a grill to cook it on. We'll be getting one too, as soon as we get into a bigger house.

 

I could live pretty good for about three months. Food, generator, gas to run it, voltage inverter, firewood come winter, guns to protect things, two hot water heaters that could provide drinking water for quite awhile, river 1 1/2 miles from my place......sometimes I wished something would happen just so I could use the stuff. For those that are unprepared remember, nobody, and I do mean NOBODY cares more about your well being than yourself. NEVER, EVER trust the government or private companies (like the power company) to provide for your needs 100% of the time.

 

Bottom line; try to be self-sufficient.

Not too many can or will help you.

 

You have to remember that the vast majority of the people left behind, were the very poor. They live from check to check, no car, no insurance, no resources. How and where were they to evacuate to? I always try to walk a mile in someones shoes, before i judge them (mostly).
Certainly, these poor people were not caught off guard any more than the various governmental agencys, whose preparedness has been shown to be overwhelmingly lacking.

 

Worst comes to worst, I have a small stream here that was dammed in the 30's, and I have the parts and knowledge to make a hydro power system in case of a major collapse or something. I have an 80 gallon heater, so there's my water, earplugs so I don't have to listen to the whining about power and showers being off, a rifle for getting food (tons of squirells here, I want to shoot them anyways, plus deer frequent my yard). One thing that's a nice to have, but needed if you are out of town a little bit, is several cans of gas. Shortly, I will have four jerrycans, with sta-bil, in a rack behind the cab of my truck, hidden in a box. Nobody sees them, out of sight = out of mind, so they stay mine.

 

They still had warning and at least they could have put water in bottles. When Isabel came thru we had everything that could hold water filled. Also at the Convention Center in N.O. did you notice all the liquor and beer bottles in the fore ground? There were even unopened Champagne bottles. Also they stopped people on the street to talk to them, and unless they've started put water in square bottles, they had their liquor bottles. Also if you are starving and dying of thirst you don't go around raping people.

 

Living on the gulf coast of FL, after last year's nightmares, we're quite prepared now.

 

What if they did put water in bottles and other containers. Hard to carry them when your house is underwater.

They did have warning, but some of them just didn't have the ways or means of evacuating.

As for the raping, it's a band of gang members.

They should be shot on site.

Shoot first, no questions need be asked.

 

As far as having a camper or motor home ready to go, the idea sounds good but what if it washes away, or gets blown away. It's a great idea if you have notice tho. Me...well my trucks allways almost full of fuel, camping gear is close, and I usually have at least 2-3,5 gal water bottles for the cooler on standby. I also allways have at least 1 of my 2 big propane tanks totally full for the BBQ. I also have at least 2-3 cords of wood for my wood stove ready to go. Although I don't live where hurricane's, tornado's, and being very high on some large hills..floods occur. The winters up here can be harsh and close things down for short periods of time.

 

DITTO! To everything you just said and more of what you ddin't say but are thinking!

First thing I did Tuesday was bought a box of Federal hydra shock and a box of 9mm 115 grain Cor-Bon personal defense loads for my 9mm, and a box of 225 grain Cor-Bon personal defense loads for my .45 Colt, and gathered up all of my #4 and #00 buckshot for my 870 12 Gauge and of course I almost always have but made sure it was in my truck 300 rounds for my .30-.30.

Yeah if I was pulled over I'd be aweful dern close to that 500 lbs. limit of small arms ammunition to where I wodul need a plaquard on the outside of the truck, literally I could supply an army.

Also the Ruger 10/22 is ready to rock, and all ten of it's magazine's.

Altogether 300 .30-.30 rounds
More 12 gauge and .22 shells than I can count.
2-10 round mags and 3-15 round mags loaded up for my Springfiled XD-9 (9mm) and about 250 spare FMJ ammo
Lots of .45 Colt shells, 6 in the gun.
In the safe, an entire new amount of things that go boom and things that make them go boom!

Yeah firearms are the first survival tool in my disaster plan bag!

 

got milk?

Sound's like your' ready for anything. Pity the poor fool who tries to **** with you, eh!? Don't forget a good hunting knife, or several. I like the Bowie style myself.

-1bigsteve (o:

 

Sad to admit -I am not prepared at all. I have 4 battery backups around the house so I am good for about 4-6 hours of surfing FTE, then I'm toast.. Ice storms or blizzard is my biggest worry.. I live in tornado alley, but unless it is an F4 or F5 we go out and video tape it (not real bright but it happens)... and a tornado chews up a small swath - so we can go a few miles down the road and get what we need. But in a large blizzard - no power, and no heat, that worrys me a little. I have a good BBQ grill, but it is propane. The most useful thing I can think of to have is Parachute cord and a knife.. it can be used for anything, and everything. We have a well stocked, spring fed, bass pond, out in the rabbit/deer/squirrel infested woods-and I live in quail and ringneck country-- so food isn't a big concern... heat and shelter would worry me if I had to leave the house though. OH I do have my boy scout handbook from the early 80's, and a crank flashlight/radio in each vehicle.

This will sound gross at first, but your toilet tank has a couple of gallons of water in it too.

 

Regular liquid household bleach can be used for water purification - references are available for how much bleach to add to how much water. (stronger concentrations are useful for washing the outside of fruits and veggies). Might be handy to keep around the house.

Would not have considered it until this past week, but a TV must be a good source of nutrients - must be a Cajun thing (TV gumbo, or TV and rice, maybe?)