Survival 101
April 2, 2011
With natural disasters in the news maybe it is time we all check our emergency supplies. Shoshone County faces several forms of potential disasters including our yearly harsh winters and flooding. Many experts feel our forests are ready for another 1910 scale fire. Even earthquakes can create serious problems for our residents and visitors.
With any of these potential disasters comes the unknown. Will a fire ravage the region? With modern fire fighting methods and good transportation we should have fewer deaths then we had in 1910. Most of the time we can drive away from the danger. Floods are pretty routine, most of us know that during the year we will see flooding. Fortunately, the floods are more of a nuisance and are a monetary disaster. We most likely will not become isolated for much time, and those that are should be small in number.
We certainly have had some terrific winter weather. Chances for a significant and region-wide snow emergency could isolate all of us. Highway passes to the east and west do get, well, impassable. Severe snow storms could keep us locked into our valley. We could easily see many days without traffic bringing food and fuel. Electricity, and therefor water and natural gas appliances, can be lost for many days or weeks. This last winter, parts of upstate New York and surrounds suffered outages of several days and weeks. This created very serious conditions for all the residents.
Earthquakes, although uncommon in area, carry a significant risk when we look at our existing buildings. Most commercial buildings in Shoshone county are older designs, not well suited to a large shaking. If we get a 7.0 or higher quake we can expect to loose power. With the loss of electric power, broken water lines, sewer lines, bridges, roads and gas lines our normal life will be anything but normal.
Our Shoshone County Emergency Management office has prepared an excellent disaster plan for our home turf. In reviewing the plan I noticed something very serious. There are no existing stores of emergency rations or water for distribution to our residents. Should a region-wide crisis hit, where our normal supplies can not reach us we need to prepare for our own survival.
Our county plan calls for citizens to prepare for at least 96 hours (4 days) without getting outside help. What should each of us and our families do to prepare for such a catastrophe? There are things we can do to weather the storm or disaster.
Each household needs to stockpile a minimum of 4 days worth of food and water. But just sticking a few cans of food and water aside isn't enough. There are good lists of recommended emergency kits published elsewhere. OK, I just can't go without giving you some ideas that I believe we should all have.
First, I think we do need a good supply of food and water for our families. But, I think it is a good thing to have extras for helping others in our immediate neighborhoods.
FOOD: Keep extra canned goods. If you don't have cooking fuel or water, most canned foods can be eaten cold. Also keep some staples like beans, rice, salt, sugar, spices, cooking oil and for a little variety. If you fill a 5 gallon bucket with dry foods, seal it well and stash it in the closet you can keep you and some neighbors going for some time. There are also well prepared emergency foods available in special long-term packaging (25 year shelf life). They are expensive but are so well prepared and sealed that the quality remains with them, unlike some foods just sitting on a shelf.
WATER: Water is truly the elixir of life. Without it we will not survive for more then a few days. Even in the dead of winter we are surrounded by water. It isn't always safe to drink it without some form of filtering before drinking or using it for cooking. In any disaster that cuts electricity, water, sewer and gas means we need to be able to collect and treat that precious water. Simple drip filter devices can produce enough clean water for a few people. High quality camping drip (gravity) and pump filters can keep a few people going quite easily. If you need to help several people a larger gravity filter can be purchased or fabricated from simple food-grade plastic buckets and commercial filters.
Boiling water can kill microbial dangers, but boiling doesn't remove heavy metals that naturally occur in our local streams. Boiling also uses up very valuable, and quickly depleted fuels. For a start each of our homes should have several cases of bottled water. It's a good start but long term needs can use up a few cases real fast.
FUEL: Most of us use natural gas or electricity for heating and cooking. In a major crisis, we may not have those luxuries. With good planning you may already have a wood stove for heating. Some stoves will allow for cooking or at least heating food items on the top surface. You still need fuel or your stove is just an ornament. Having a common Coleman camping stove with enough bottled propane fuel to last a few weeks can literally be a life saver. Motor vehicle fuels will become hard to get. No electricity, means no gas pumps at the local station. It can be very dangerous to store gasoline. Unfortunately gasoline and other conventional motor fuels do not store well. Generators use a tremendous amount of fuel. Gasoline generators will need a steady supply if you want to do more then charge a few batteries. Propane generators deliver less power and consume even more fuel. Storing propane for more then a few days for heating, cooking or electricity takes several canister (motor home size) or large commercial tanks creates an expense that may be more then many folks can handle. If you are an apartment dweller chances of having secure storage is often limited to non-existent.
ELECTRICITY: This can be an extreme challenge. If our valley is denied electrical power due to a major disaster we can be left behind and in the dark. What do we need to do? For a few days we can probably get by on batteries for flashlights, radios and limited communications. If you can afford it having a generator is fine. Having enough quality fuel available is an issue. Alternative power sources include wind and solar power. Adequate systems cost thousands of dollars. Wind and solar can be sometimes sources. Each system needs to have a large and expensive storage battery bank or there will not be electricity if there is no sun or wind. During winter months a solar generator will only provide direct power during the daytime. When do you need the lights on? Wind turbines need wind. That's obvious, but what happens when the blades of that fancy wind turbine gets coated in ice? A large battery bank with multiple charging sources do work. For many of us they are just an item on a wish list.
FIRST AID: Medical emergencies will happen. The EMTs, doctors and nurses might be unavailable. If your medical first aid kit is smaller then a medium sized tackle box, you need more supplies. Pre-plan by buying more tape, bandages (large and small), allergy medications, pain relievers (aspirin, Tylenol, etc.), cough medications, anti-bacterial ointments, anti-fungal meds, Chap stick, scissors, tweezers, hydro cortisone, sting kill and similar. If you think one or two packages of your normal OTC drugs is enough - it wont be. When you think you have enough gear, give deep thought to doubling the supplies.
PRESCRIPTION DRUGS: This can be a difficult problem to solve. Many of us use medicines that can only be purchased in one month quantities and/or cost BIG money. Common sense, is do your best to have medications on hand. No access to your usual drug store/pharmacy can create life threatening conditions that you may not be able to overcome. Our county EMO will try to get supplies into the county, including prescriptions.
STUFF: Keep lots of batteries. A couple (more then one) portable radios, flashlights (LED-types use less energy), lighters, compass, knives and your typical camping gear. Keep a wide range of clothing, sleeping bags (in case you need to abandon your home), simple plastic tarps, a tent, rope, hand tools like saws, axes, shovels, hammers etc. Think of it as a really long camping trip with more gear then you can carry.
HYGIENE: Disease is a constant threat. Without simple items like soap, hand cleaner, tooth paste or insect repellent can lead to illness or death. Often survivors will become sick within a few days simply because they could not or did not clean their hands or cooking implements. Toilet paper (the gold standard of modern life), baby wipes for all, and a safe latrine will help stop the spread of disease. Even a simple hole in the ground needs to be covered to prevent flies from spreading deadly illnesses. Remember, if you are driven from your home there may not be any flush toilets anywhere close at hand. A covered bucket toilet can eliminate this disease vector.
OK, I know there are other, more complete, lists elsewhere. What I want you to do is think about the issue and then go do some research to flesh out this introduction to surviving a disaster. We need you to be there to help us recover.
Don Dineen
Osburn