Emergency Survival Guide

How ready are you for any emergency conditions brought on by severe weather?  Here is a list of survival preparedness suggestions for in the event your area might experience problems.

Electricity and communication:

  • Candles/try those that purify the air such as Pure Magic by Faroy

  • Supply of cheap (cigarette) lighters

  • Baygen radios (from South Africa) can be cranked or use solar power and have a powerful LED light attached (the can be purchased from C. Crane Co. 800-522-8863 but they are in short supply)

  • Unplug computer & major appliances for power surges

  • Citizen-bank (CB) radios (but you need batteries or generators) Two good products: Uniden PC-122xl and Cobra 2010GTLWX base CB transceiver) For 1 mile or less radius, try the Motorola Talkabout 2-way radios. (a battery-operated walkie-talkies)

Water:

1 gal. Water per day per person Store tap water in soda bottles (a 2-liter bottle should have 4-6 drop of unscented bleach added) Use paper places and disposable utensils Have unused garbage cans ready to collect rain water Katadyn water filters can be purchased for stream and lake water.


Food:

Low acid canned foods have a shelf life of 2-5 years Dried cereal Olive oil Rice and beans make inexpensive staples Purchase food from sporting goods companies Don’t forget your pet supplies Include supplements incase you can not obtain fresh fruits and vegetables Herbs for antibiotics and boost the immune system  (see our PowerMate and PowerVites because you may not be eating as well) and topical medicaments http://www.wellinhand.com
Extra “C” because you will probably be under stress


Sanitation:

Use garbage bags to line toilet (sprinkle borax or lime from a garden store over to keep smell down). Dispose of in a well-planned location. A new hand cleaner, Purell, works without water.
Have a supply of paper towels and toilet paper on hand Be up to date on your tetanus booster
Take a Red Cross first aid course

Transportation:

Carpool
Use bicycles
Your car may have computer chips
Always let people know when and where (via route) you are going. Travel in daylight.

Currency:

Have enough on hand for 2 – 8 weeks in denominations of $20 or less and have lots of rolls of quarters Bags of pre 1965 US coins have silver content

Barter:

Be safe. Don’t talk to strangers or give out your whereabouts

Good items for barter:

  • Alcohol –in small bottles
  • Aspirin/acetaminophen
  • Band-Aids
  • Candles
  • Cigarettes
  • Ammunitions (.22 shells and buckshot)
  • Chocolate
  • Chlorine Bleach in liquid form
  • Cocoa
  • Coffee
  • Canned foods
  • Kerosene
  • Lime (large sacks to deodorize)
  • Motor oil
  • Paper and pencils
  • Powdered drink mixes
  • Sanitary supplies (toilet paper, feminine products, garbage bags, and bars of soap)
  • Seeds – non-hybrid open pollinating
  • Shortening
  • Silver – pre 1965 US coins
  • Soda cans
  • Tea bags

Wine

Important Papers:

  • Obtain copies of important papers and store in your home in a fire proof safe:
  • Birth, naturalization, marriage certificates
  • Licenses and registrations
  • Incorporation papers
  • Mortgage and property tax records
  • Deeds and other proofs of ownership
  • Selective service information
  • Social security cards. To get personal earning and benefit information call 800-772-1213 or visit www.ssa.gov
  • Tax returns for the past 5 years
  • 3 months of bank and financial statements
  • Court papers, judgments, adoption papers, juvenile records, etc.
  • Records of your children’s immunizations

Your PC:

  • Macs do not have Y2K hardware problems, however software might

  • PC: get the manufacturer’s model and serial number off your PC and visit the company’s web site to see if Y2K status is posted. Even new computers may have problems. Test samples of PC manufactured before 1997 showed that up to 93% of them had BIOS and /or RTC problems. (Visit www.mitre.org/research/cots/compliant-BIOS.htm) Caution: You risk corrupting your system if you reset dates on a PC.

Timing:

Second millennium arrives first in New Zealand, then Australia, Asia, the Middle East, Europe, Africa, Latin America, North America and lastly Hawaii30-60 minutes before midnight protect major electrical appliances from possible power surges by unplugging them. If power is still out by 2:00 AM you are probably safe to put them back on.


Organization of supplies

  • Cash in coins
  • Food and water
  • Cooking equipment
  • Source of light
  • Battery-operated or solar charged radio
  • Clock, the wind up, alarm variety
  • Fire extinguisher
  • Whistles for communication (everyone should hang around the neck or in a pocket)
  • Solar or battery powered calculator
  • Paper pad
  • food
  • water
  • clothing
  • currency
  • barter
  • resources

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