With all the natural disasters happening locally (I'm in East Tennessee about an hour west of all the craziness) as well as those which have happened - (i.e. freeze in Texas a couple years back), as well as current state of world politics, it's got me thinking about emergency preparedness - like a list of items you'd need as well as procedures to use in a a variety of situations.

Does anyone know of a resource which would be all-encompassing that you could use (or, we're the OB, we can make our own!)?

I've got books on these type of things (gardening, hunting, survival, medicinal plants, etc), as our electronics would probably be the first thing to go in a natural disaster/civil unrest. I also have a big garden that needs to be weeded; also have a ton of fruit-bearing bushes and trees.

Thoughts?

There's 2 points of logic here.

Normal disaster / emergency planning for things that are likely to happen every couple of years (or more depending on location)like hurricanes, freezes, mud slides, tornadoes, etc.These are things that can cut of power / communication for 1-3 weeks, but it's not doomsday.

or

Doomsday / US government full breakdown

I'm not going to speak to Doomsday because well, it's doomsday and to me extreme prepping for it is a lot like religion.

For a normal disruption like being seen this week from the hurricane (both on the coast and inland) I tend to find as much equipment as I can afford that performs double duty (hunting / camping as well as emergency prep).

To me that looks like this.

Must haves:

• lightweight tent and collapsible lightweight stove
• sleeping bags that range from 0deg to 50deg
• multiple forms of water purifications (filter, tabs / drops, life straws) and collapsible water bladders
• all weather fire starting
• heating source (camping stove, sleeping bags, portable heaters if backup power
• basic to slightly advance first aid kits in vehicles and house
• Small foldable solar panels that power small electronic battery banks for phones / laptops
• Each vehicle / house has a bag with basic tools, food, water purification / 1gal jug, med kit.
• food for a month (usually combination of leftover mountain houses, spagheti, rice, beans, ramin, canned goods, etc.) once we no longer eat from the fridge / freezer.

Nice to haves

• large tri-fuel portable generator tied into house, but can be loaded up and moved
• 3 forms of fuel (NG line to generator, 3-4 20# propane tanks, 4-5 5g gas tanks (I usually have a couple anyway for grills, heaters, pizza oven, etc.
• portable ac or window unit and a handful of fans
• an extra month all prescriptions
• global transponder or satellite phone
• $5k-$10k in cash on site that can be grabbed.

Personal preference I'm not getting into - home / personal defense plan and weapons / ammo.

I'm always tinkering with the list based on new inventions and technology and things I see.

Absolutely nothing matters until you figure out a safe and consistent drinking water situation. Whether it be stockpiling or filtering and storing. That is number one.

Past that, I think the big question is what type of disaster/event are ya looking at? I.e. how long? Couple of days, weeks, months, doomsday? Each one will dictate how you go about thinking any kind of actual feasible and sane strategy.

It's a huge topic and there are soooo many different viewpoints and opinions out there and much of it is pretty meh IMO so again, I would figure out your use case and then your actual needs and geological location and start your real questioning after you dial that in.

Hey AgLA06,

Regarding this:

• Small foldable solar panels that power small electronic battery banks for phones / laptops

I was looking into something like this after Beryl, both for myself and my dad.

Do you have any recommendations as far as size, capacity, and brand names? Ideally, it would need to be very easy to use and light weight to move.

Thanks!

For a natural disaster, you need enough resources to be able to get the heck out of dodge if necessary. For many of these people, wandering Appalachia with a destroyed house isn't feasible long term. You need cash, you need gas, you need reliable transportation.

For something where you are out of power long-term, you need a way to sleep at night in both cold and heat, food and a way to cook it, and water.

https://integratedskillsgroup.com/2021/06/understanding-emergencies/

ME92 said:

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Hey AgLA06,

Regarding this:

• Small foldable solar panels that power small electronic battery banks for phones / laptops

I was looking into something like this after Beryl, both for myself and my dad.

Do you have any recommendations as far as size, capacity, and brand names? Ideally, it would need to be very easy to use and light weight to move.

Thanks!


Big Blue SolarPowa 36W & Flex Solar 40W are couple good ones to have around.

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https://bigblue-tech.com/products/solarpowa-36-portable-solar-panel?srsltid=AfmBOooxN8Ij-X4pVRuTu945x-7olF9ois4UMFAumjI7TA4nhqW5chH_

https://flexsolarenergy.com/products/40w-type-c-solar-charger?srsltid=AfmBOorUvtuBvfsOzJJNfRTZdSapqw3TSKG-bLan9gfxH8UfyyhqcH0B

To be honest, not specifically.

I kinda came to the opinion they're all made in China. I'd suggest buying 1 or 2 off Amazon with lots of reviews that are highly rated.

Don't forget toilet paper

jopatura said:

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For a natural disaster, you need enough resources to be able to get the heck out of dodge if necessary. For many of these people, wandering Appalachia with a destroyed house isn't feasible long term. You need cash, you need gas, you need reliable transportation.

For something where you are out of power long-term, you need a way to sleep at night in both cold and heat, food and a way to cook it, and water.

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The reality most don't understand until it happens is "bugging out" often isn't an option with flooded roads or trees down or bridges and roads washed out. If you don't decide to bug out before, you better be prepared for a week after.

Others have already covered a lot of this (like water), so I'll just throw in this. It's not that expensive to purchase a solar array with a small lithium iron phosphate battery bank and inverter / charge controller that will keep a deep freeze and fans / lights going. I want to be able to stay in place for roughly 30 days, so the ability to keep food frozen, and fresh in coolers, goes a long way towards that. If nat gas grid fails, and you need to be able to hunker down, that can make it a lot easier to have a redundant power source.

Eliminatus said:

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Absolutely nothing matters until you figure out a safe and consistent drinking water situation. Whether it be stockpiling or filtering and storing. That is number one.

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Agreed. That's why I have multiple options.

In addition to collapsible containers and store bought water jugs and bottle, I also freeze a lot of our plastic 1 gallon containers for 2 reasons.

1) it's drinking water when defrosted
2) it helps keep a fridge and freezer cool in power outages. Especially if I have to stretch generator fuel or load coolers to leave.

AgLA06 said:

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Eliminatus said:

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Absolutely nothing matters until you figure out a safe and consistent drinking water situation. Whether it be stockpiling or filtering and storing. That is number one.

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Agreed. That's why I have multiple options.

In addition to collapsible containers and store bought water jugs and bottle, I also freeze a lot of our plastic 1 gallon containers for 2 reasons.

1) it's drinking water when defrosted
2) it helps keep a fridge and freezer cool in power outages. Especially if I have to stretch generator fuel or load coolers to leave.

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Man, that's a great idea. Now I want to get a couple more freezers (already have one upright and one chest freezer).

So twice in the last three years something kind of like this has happened to me that has me pretty well prepared now. I live rural on a lake in a .25/2 acre lot neighborhood. One way in one way out with a pretty good hill that was completely blocked during the big ice storm a few years ago and by downed power lines this year from a tornado. Both times we lost power for 7-10 days with intermittent power after that for about a week. I got through both very comfortably with a fireplace, plenty of firewood, a propane cooker and plenty of propane, a good generator for the AC in my travel trailer and my freezers, plenty of gas to run it, and dried foods. We cooked pounds of rice and noodles and ground beef and just mixed it together. And I have a 4 wheel drive Pathfinder and F150.

Its not that hard to be relatively ready. The lake is a 100 yard walk so water is never an issue.

Now if the house is destroyed that's a different ballgame.

50 pound bags of rice are good too.

Be in shape. If you looked like chewed bubble gum, nothing you have really matters at that point. Can you hike over a matter of miles in hilly terrain with what you need on your back? Can your family?

BlueSmoke said:

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Be in shape. If you looked like chewed bubble gum, nothing you have really matters at that point. Can you hike over a matter of miles in hilly terrain with what you need on your back? Can your family?

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Chewed bubble gum is a new one. My previous favorite from a meathead I knew is "trash bag full of milk jugs"

BlueSmoke said:

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Be in shape. If you looked like chewed bubble gum, nothing you have really matters at that point. Can you hike over a matter of miles in hilly terrain with what you need on your back? Can your family?

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This is the most controllable aspect of not just prepping, but LIFE that requires zero dollars that most people completely whiff on.

If you cant walk 20 miles on flat ground you wont be much good to anyone if **** really hits the fan.

MrWonderful said:

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BlueSmoke said:

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Be in shape. If you looked like chewed bubble gum, nothing you have really matters at that point. Can you hike over a matter of miles in hilly terrain with what you need on your back? Can your family?

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Chewed bubble gum is a new one. My previous favorite from a meathead I knew is "trash bag full of milk jugs"

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One I picked up from "Eastbound and Down" that I will never let go of is, "look like a bag of mashed up asshoe".

It's so good! With several different applications!

Eliminatus said:

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MrWonderful said:

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BlueSmoke said:

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Be in shape. If you looked like chewed bubble gum, nothing you have really matters at that point. Can you hike over a matter of miles in hilly terrain with what you need on your back? Can your family?

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Chewed bubble gum is a new one. My previous favorite from a meathead I knew is "trash bag full of milk jugs"

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One I picked up from "Eastbound and Down" that I will never let go of is, "look like a bag of mashed up asshoe".

It's so good! With several different applications!

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Full Metal Jacket Gunny Hartman explains the chewed bubble gum when Pyle trying to get through the obstacle course.

NSFW - Language

Ecoflow make some really good LiFePO4 solar battery generators. They range from small ones that can charge up your cell phones to all the way to powering your whole house. We just have a couple that we can use around our house to keep fridge & freezers cold.

Maximus Johnson said:

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This is the most controllable aspect of not just prepping, but LIFE that requires zero dollars that most people completely whiff on.

If you cant walk 20 miles on flat ground you wont be much good to anyone if **** really hits the fan.

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Yup.

Ill add mental fortitude to this. If you shut down/panic when things are going wrong…well, good luck. When we lost power during the ice storm for almost 60 hours with a 3 month old and a toddler at home, keeping the family happy and calm was an important task.

Working out, fasting, getting comfortable being uncomfortable, and just making sure your mental health is squared away is all good for both physical and mental preparedness. Part of why I push competition (especially stuff like run and gun) here is it really helps build physical and mental strength….and meet others near you into the same things.

Also….know your neighbors. Not just to wave, but actually get to know them. If things get squirrelly a strong local community can do a lot to help each other out that a bunch of strangers living next to each other will struggle with. Build yourself a high trust community.

The water, food, bandaids, bullets stuff is easy. Being a strong capable human networked with a bunch of other strong capable humans living close by is the important hard part.

To that point my neighborhood during the ice storm could have easily lost people to freezing if not for a coordinated effort by all of us. The front of our neighborhood is older and most homes were built in the 1970s. A lot of them are the original owners and are in their 80s-90s. I found a man sitting in his old Honda trying to stay warm when it was about 9 degrees outside. He hadn't had anything to eat in at least a day. There were several like that who were really in dire straights. We chopped up trees, cooked pots and pots of stew and other hot foods, set up propane heaters, etc. Probably supported at least 30-40 people. Some of the harder work I have done in years considering the cold and especially the ice.

If not for our Facebook community page and a bunch of very hard caring work we would have lost people for sure. I am a VERY private neighbor, but I know my neighbors.

If you're staying put and want a battery bank, there is no cheaper way to get a ton of storage than golf cart batteries. LifePo is good if you want mobile and weight is a concern.

Also concerning panels, it's hard to find one's that aren't made in China. They are/were so subsidized, it was hard for anyone to compete.

During the recent panhandle wildfires an elderly woman was rescued by the fire department. All her neighbors had evacuated and didnt know she was left behind.

I know a solid chunk of the people in my neighborhood but I make sure to have next door neighbors numbers and a rough idea of who might need help in a bad situation. I would feel like a total ass if that old lady had lived next to me and I peaced out and left her stranded.

Some things that I haven't seen listed for a natural disaster type situation:
A hand crank radio
Prescription Meds - make sure you have a good supply on hand
Feminine Products for the ladies
Some extra food for the dog
I also think in the very near future one of the new Starlink Minis will be invaluable. Under 1K and you have service virtually anywhere.

Also, the next house I move into I'm going to make one closet into a tornado shelter. Dowel rebar into the floor, do some CMU walls filled with reinforced concrete. Keep it as a gun/storage room 99.999% of the time.

I purchased the Ecoflow Delta Pro 3 and 2 solar panels this summer. I'm confident (as long as the sun shines) I can keep a refrigerator and freezer going almost indefinitely. Especially with occasionally running a generator to top of the battery if there's a long stretch of cloudy weather.

ME92 said:

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Hey AgLA06,

Regarding this:

• Small foldable solar panels that power small electronic battery banks for phones / laptops

I was looking into something like this after Beryl, both for myself and my dad.

Do you have any recommendations as far as size, capacity, and brand names? Ideally, it would need to be very easy to use and light weight to move.

Thanks!

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I'm not AgLA06, but hopefully you won't mind my reply anyway. For your purposes, a 256wh to 512wh would work, plus they are quite easy to use and are light enough in weight that a child could move one around. Add a 100w solar panel from Shadestopper and you will be able to power your small battery-powered devices almost indefinitely.

That being said, I would recommend going to a 1000wh unit, which would allow you to power things like fans, lamps, small refrigerators, etc.. If you go this route, you would want a larger solar panel such as the bi-facial 220w Ecoflow, among others. A 1kwh unit won't be light enough for a small child to easily move around, but they are still small enough to use/move/store by any older child and above.

As for brands, there are a huge number, but start your search with Ecoflow, Pecron, Bluetti, Goal Zero, Jackery, and Anker. I would also recommend that you stick with units that use LiFePo batteries because of their stability and large number of charge cycles. BTW - you can now buy units that use solid-state batteries, but they are extremely expensive.

The best prices for these types of products was when almost all of these companies had huge sales that coincided with Amazon's Prime Day. I believe that some have recently started these sales again since a Prime Day is coming up, but I can't tell you if today's prices are as good as they were over the summer. As for specific units: if you want something small, consider the 288wh Pecron E300 LFP. currently on sale for $159. For more of a "mid-sized" unit, consider the 512wh Ecoflow River 2 Max or the Pecron E500LFP that is also on sale at a great price (might the best buy in this size category at the moment). There are also a large number of other brands in this size category too, so definitely shop around for the best sales. For ~1kwh units, I like the Ecoflow Delta 2, but again there are a huge number of other brands to choose from.

Lastly, the reason why I mentioned the Shadestopper solar panel above is because their panels don't have a dramatic drop-off in power when covered by a little shade. I don't know how large they go however, so you will have to research how large a unit they can charge. Also know that different manufacturers use different connector types between panel and generator, but usually this can be overcome by merely buying the correct adapter plugs.

hth,
C

Addendum to my first post:

I just visited the Ecoflow site, and they have a pretty decent sale going on right now. One unit I wanted to point out is their new 245wh River 3, now on sale for $159 shipped. If you decide that you want a small unit suitable for Ipads/phones/flashlights and the like, I would highly recommend you consider this unit. It is smaller and lighter than the Pecron E300LFP I mentioned above. You can also pay a bit more and get it combined with a 45w solar panel, but I would recommend spending a bit more and going up to 100w panel if at all possible.

The $159 sale price is about $8 more than the Pecron (sale price minus new customer discount), but as it is a new model, I think I would prefer it over the Pecron. But the Pecron is no slouch though. I have one that we use to power a portable fridge when we are on a road trip, and it seems to work just fine. But if the River 3 had been available when I purchased the E300LFP, I would have gone with it instead of the Pecron.

C

Walton Feeds is now Rainydayfoods.com. I got several one year supply for one stashed at home, ranch, and at a friends along route from kids homes to ranch.

Maybe overkill, maybe not, but if I'm wrong I got lots of food. If I'm right there will be lots hungry folks once the Mutant Ninja Zombie Biker apocalypse starts.

I have been prepping for about 15 years now. You cannot get everything at once - so don't even try.

Think of prepping like your auto or home or medical insurance. Set aside a fixed dollar amount each month and build your supplies.

Focus on the "4 Bs"
- Beans (food and water)
- Bullets (guns and ammo)
- Band aids (medical and Rx)
- Bullion (gold and silver)

Google Chris Weathermen or Angry American (his writing pen name). He talks a lot about doomsday and what you need to survive.

One off the wall think I got is a pallet of salt from feed store. I salt everything so should be fine now.

Don't forget to have really good knives, hatchets, and axes, and the means to keep them sharp!

Drundel said:

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Google Chris Weathermen or Angry American (his writing pen name). He talks a lot about doomsday and what you need to survive.

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His books are great

Is that the same guy that went on Alone and tapped out after a day or two?