Emergency Preparedess Tips

 A Learning Lesson

The power outage we experienced last September due to a grid problem in Southern California should have been a dress rehersal for a true disaster. It was the perfect time to find out exactly what we might need for that long term disaster. Most people had not prepared and just thought they could run to the store to get what they needed. Surprise. Most stores had no generators and couldn't stay open. Those that were able to stay open, ran out of the essentials very fast. Good thing the outage was only about 13 hours because most people would have been out of luck.

If you are a camper, you were ahead of the game and had some of the needed supplies. I had oil lamps and plenty of oil to light the needed rooms in the house. A small generator to keep the refrigerator running and a butane camp stove to heat up my dinner. I also have military MRE's if needed.

Internet connection wasn't working but my "droid" phone was connected to the Verizon system (which was still working) and I used it for communication and emailing.

Now for my surprises. We live in an area of San Diego County where the potable water needs to be pumped up 1400 ft to our community. I had no stored water. I filled up 3/5 gallon bottles right away. I now keep a supply at the ready. We had a battery radio to get local updates but couldn't find it. I sat in the car for a few minutes each hour to get the info. I have since found the radio and have fresh batteries ready for use in the next disaster.

I'll be adding some additional information on the diffferent disasters we could experiece from time to time. So keep checking back.