We Are... Safe And Sound Emergency and Disaster Community

D.C. Quake, a lost opportunity

abrown — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 17:22:55 +0000

Anyone who has studied the history of disasters knows that the major leaps in the formation of policies that support enhanced disaster mitigation and response comes from experiencing disasters. It is unfortunate that we cannot have an emphasis on disaster readiness without having experienced a disaster–and a major one at that. See Disaster Timeline This is not the most current edition of the timeline, but the first one I could find. For more information see Disaster Timeline Series

With the above as context, the D.C. Quake was a missed opportunity. All the legislators who could have been “moved” to take action by the quake were not in town because of the the congressional recess. There is nothing like the ground shaking below your feet and a sense of “no control” to get you to revisit what your personal and professional priorities are. Even without major damages to buildings, deaths and injuries this quake has left a lasting impression on the people who were in the quake-zone. I’m sure there will be a couple of congressional hearings once congress returns to visit the topic of earthquakes, but it will not have the impetus behind it of being a “survivor” and having experienced the event yourself.

Why did people leave work to go home after the quake? Read More

Hurricane scenarios run from bad to worse

abrown — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 23:45:11 +0000

A healthy dose of level-headed sanity is always needed in turbulent times. Enter your friendly market-watching meteorologist. So let’s look at the facts:

Right now we have a rapidly strengthening, Category 3 hurricane heading for the eastern seaboard. We still don’t know exactly where or when it will strike land, but we do know that the potential impact could — emphasis on could — be catastrophic.

A major hurricane hitting the East Coast with sustained winds of 100 miles per hour and more has long been considered an economic worst-case scenario. The Weather Channel has anoverview of the meteorological impactswe can expect from Irene if current forecasts hold.

A five-year-old study by Munich Reestimated at least $100 billion in insured losses from an East Coast hurricane taking a ride up I-95. And that doesn’t begin to include follow-on effects from lost productivity, loss of life, or the nightmarish logistics of a partial evacuation of one of the most populated places on the planet.

View the latest computer forecast models for the three most likely outcomes.

Why quake rang like a bell

abrown — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 17:29:18 +0000

Earthquakes of the intensity felt Tuesday along a vast corridor of the East Coast don’t come along too often in this region, geophysicist Rowena Lohman says. They are so rare “that it is very difficult for earth scientists to identify specific faults (in the area) that are ‘active,’ ” she says, “where over time we would expect significant earthquakes to occur.”

That doesn’t mean quakes don’t happen pretty regularly, she says. Smaller ones do, we just mostly don’t feel them. But this time when the magnitude 5.8 earthquake hit Virginia, it resonated as far north as Toronto. That’s partly because… read more.

Hurricane Irene: 12 Ways to Track the Storm Online

abrown — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 20:57:30 +0000

There’s a lot of excitement on the East Coast this week. In addition to Tuesday’s earthquake, Hurricane Irene will likely make an appearance this weekend in the Carolinas and possibly elsewhere.

As I write this, Hurricane Irene is wreaking havoc on the north coast of the Dominican Republic, but who knows where it will go? Read more

Spiritual and Moral Preparedness, by A. Padre

Guest Blogger — Sun, 21 Aug 2011 04:34:39 +0000

I guess I am a prepper. When I started “prepping” 15 years ago they called it being a survivalist, but I think prepper is more apropos since the word survivalist suggests Rambo and anyone who knows me knows that’s not me. Over the past few months I became aware that prepping is gaining momentum again, like it did before Y2K when I first got involved. Some months back I stumbled on a YouTube channel and since then I have been making the rounds of the prepper sites. I have been really thankful to all of you preppers out there who have shared so many helpful tips about prepping, and for some time I’ve wanted to give back, but the question is what can I contribute—I have had a diverse past but my expertise is not in weapons or tactics or food storage, but in something that most people would not connect with the prepper movement, you see I am a member of the clergy with advance degrees in Sacred Theology. Honestly, as a Catholic priest, I have often asked myself if there is a contradiction between my faith and my long term hobby which I now call prepping. I mean “wasting” my small stipend on putting away food and supplies when I could be donating it to charity, is that really what Jesus would have me do. After all, didn’t the Lord warn us against being overly concerned about the things of this world in the parable of the grower who builds larger barns to hold his crops only to die on the night his preparations were complete? In this question, that I have often asked myself I realized what I might offer to the prepping community. So I offer this treatment of a few of the moral and spiritual dynamics of prepping and post disaster survival. As a Catholic priest my Faith teaches me to trust in the Lord for all my needs—and so at first glance prepping might seem an act of distrust. As I said, Jesus warns us about the man who hoards his wealth into ever bigger barns. However, while it is true that over and over again in sacred scriptures the Lord instructs us to trust in God and proves Himself trustworthy by repeatedly working so many mighty deeds despite our poverty and human weakness, one of the constant themes in the Bible is preparedness. I think is important to remember that the Lord always uses what supplies we bring to the table. Whether it’s the widow’s measure of grain and oil that feeds Elijah during the years of drought or the loaves and fish multiplied by Jesus or the one young man with a sling through which God routes the Philistines, as the Father’s of the Church were apt to note God will not save us without us. God wants us to cooperate with His Divine providence, and yes, while salvation is primarily about eternal life, physical life is also a gift, which helps us grow in holiness and love and which we should work with the help of God to protect and preserve. It’s also worth noting that preparing for disaster is fundamentally about a realization of human weakness and of the reality of sin that causes disorder in the world and society. Many of us in the prepper movement feel God’s voice in our heart telling us that human vanity is once again likely to cause societal collapse, as it did at Babel, Sodom, and elsewhere throughout human history. Like Joseph in Egypt, we are being given an opportunity to prophetically prepare for the future, to ensure the survival of the chosen people—and thus, far from being selfish or greedy like the man who hoards grain into ever larger barns, prepping is not about profit but can be a work of charity. We prep because we love life; our own life (not a bad thing) and the lives of others, most particularly our families and friends. We want to be able to preserve life, culture, and civilization as much as possible when the false idol of modern civilization comes tumbling down. But how do we reconcile this concern for life with so many articles that we read about weapons, tactics, the use of lethal force, OPSEC, and “foraging” (aka theft)? The circumstances of a "without rule of law" (WROL) situation vastly change the way we as Christians apply the absolute moral principles God teaches us. Here an adequate Christian understanding of morals is useful. Consider positive (man-made) laws for instance. In general, a Christian is required by God to obey all just laws—“render unto Caesar that which is Caesar’s.” However, when laws become unjust or the rule of law breaks down, our duty to obey the law lessens or even disappears—and in the case of unjust laws we may even have a duty to oppose them. Two of the characteristics of just laws are their enforceability and the legitimacy of the authority issuing them. In a WROL situation both of these may be compromised and “law” may become more of a weapon to be defended against than a moral obligation to be obeyed—think of the anti-Jewish laws in Nazi Germany or the Jim Crow Laws in the South. I think this is an essential moral principle for Christians to apply when approaching prepping and a WROL situation. Now just remember, a world without the rule of law doesn’t need to be lawless, if each of us keeps nature’s law in our heart. In the Christian ethical tradition beyond the positive laws that society creates Christian’s are also obliged to follow Divine laws, i.e. the Ten Commandments, which for the non-Christian correspond to self-evident natural laws. From my experience most preppers are decent God-fearing people who want to do what’s right, not just for their families but also unto others. Understanding the moral rationale of prepping and the ethics of a post-WROL reality is therefore essential for making the hard decisions that will be necessary for survival in a Stuff Hits the Fan situation. You see, much of morality is about habit; the problem is, in a WROL situation, the failure to make new habits that correspond to new situations will cause many to become paralyzed, unable to act when action is required. Worse, many others will simply cast aside morality accepting the utilitarian mantra: “the ends justify the means.” God’s moral law does not change and so the ends never justify unjust and immoral means, but what does change is the way we apply moral principles to a much different situation. This is what preppers must consider and prepare for. The fifth commandment, for instance, often translated: “thou shalt not kill” in fact should be translated: “thou shalt not murder.” Throughout the Jewish and Christian tradition taking human life, while always a grave matter was not always considered murder. Self-defense has always been considered morally justified and it strikes me as particularly useful for the prepper to really understand this, and be willing to use even lethal force to defend himself or his family. While our Lord does instruct us to “turn the other cheek” in the Gospels this is primarily about being willing to forgive those who transgress against us, being willing to risk our other cheek in order to forgive, not about allowing them to threaten our lives. Especially in a situation where the lives of others are in your care you may have a moral duty, not just a right, to defend the weak against unjust aggressors. This may even mean the use of deadly force against those (e.g. thieves) who today we may not use deadly force against. In a WROL situation protecting your food supply becomes a matter of life and death as thieves can become just as deadly as axe murders during famines. I think most of us notionally are ready to defend ourselves, but in a world WROL taking personal responsibility for our own life and those entrusted to our care and becoming comfortable with this reality is essential. Speaking of thieves, another frequent moral dilemma when speaking of a post-collapse or post disaster world is the commandment thou shalt not steal. Foraging or looting will most likely become a necessity in a WROL situation. What we need to remember about theft is that God created all things for the common good of humanity as a whole, and while he does allow us to “own” things privately, private property is still meant to be used for the common good. When we talk about stealing we are talking about taking unjustly things that rightfully belong to another. However, in a WROL situation theft must be understood with a certain nuance. The defense of life trumps the strictly legal claim of a person or corporation to foodstuffs and supplies which they are not using. Here I am not talking about robbing people of their supplies, but foraging (aka looting) stores and properties that have been abandoned by their owners. It truly is better and more just that people take supplies to preserve life rather than allowing them to spoil or be destroyed in the violence that will most likely follow a WROL situation. When the rule of law breaks down the legal claim absentee owners had to property vanishes and possession, as they say, becomes 9/10ths of the law, however if it makes you feel better an IOU or true intentions to repay the owner given the change would be in the best spirit of justice. [JWR Adds: I don't anticipate a situation where a lawful owner or heir cannot be found unless we have gone through a huge die-off (such as in a pandemic), where more than 90% of the current population dies. Only then could someone justify "foraging." Any property that has an owner or an heir cannot justifiably be taken.] Taking what others are not using to preserve life isn’t necessarily stealing in a WROL situation; this moral nuance is predicated on the idea that the owners who are unable to use this property themselves have a moral duty to let you use these items. It’s important to remember, however, that this moral principle cuts both ways, our duty to be charitable is not negated by catastrophe. While other people’s unattended warehouses might be fair game, when starving people show up on your doorstep and you have enough that you could share, you might be morally guilty of theft, or even murder, for not “giving till it hurts.” As someone who desires to follow natural law a delicate balance between your family/groups future needs and the duty for individuals, not governments, to be charitable and protect life must be found. The Bible might offer a minimal suggestion for charitable giving in the principle of a Tithe. In the Book of Genesis Abraham gives a tenth of all his holdings in thanksgiving to the Lord for His providence, many Christians practice this today, and this might be a good habit for us to get into now and plan on as rule of thumb should the collapse come. I know it is a scary prospect, giving away food, when you are not sure when you might reasonably hope to resupply, or if you will be able to grow enough food to be self-sufficient, but love, the duty of Charity, always involves a risk and it is better to take that risk and save your humanity (and soul) than to survive and live the rest of your days on earth ashamed of how you survived. As the Scriptures note: “what profit is it if a man gains the whole world and loses his soul?” In all things peace comes from knowing that you have done the best that you can, and then trusting in the God who has counted every hair on our head. As Job notes: “the Lord giveth, and the Lord taketh away, blessed be the name of the Lord.” Ultimately none of us can prep for everything, and even if we did, none of us can guarantee that natural disaster or human greed will not deprive us of our preparations in the hour of our need. Only God can keep us safe through all life’s difficulties and thus I believe that the most important preparation for TEOTWAWKI is spiritual preparation for the trials and tribulations that surely are ahead of us. As a priest I sit with many people who are going through traumatic situations: death and dying. Those with faith always fare better, that’s why I believe faith is as important a prep as water. It is necessary for the desperate situations that will follow a collapse. All of us must learn to trust in the reality that we are God’s children and our life is in His almighty hands. Do your part to prepare, realizing that in our weakness He is strong and then do your best to let go and let God. Let not your heart be troubled, because central to the Christian faith is the trust in the goodness of God expressed in Jesus’ prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane: "I pray that this cup might pass, but not my will but your will be done." "Ad Deum qui laetificat juventutem meam." ("I will go in to the altar of God; to God, the joy of my youth.")

Do-It-Yourself Water Filtration, by Robert B.

Guest Blogger — Sat, 20 Aug 2011 02:11:46 +0000

Introduction: I've maintained a salt water reef tank for more than 10 years. The following is a improvised method that I used to process water to the point where it was acceptable for use with coral and salt water fish [before it is salinated] . Coral and salt water fish are very sensitive to toxic chemicals, nitrates, nitrites, phosphates, and ammonia in some cases just .02-20 PPM would be deadly to salt water animals, so filtration quality was key. Improvised Water Filter Water Filtration and Storage On the run filtration Building a Water Filter Collection and Storage On the run filtration Collect water and run through several layers of cloth; then treat water with the following process: Add 8-9 drops of plain bleach per gallon. Shake up container, and let sit for 30 minutes Open container and smell for bleach. If the water does not have a light smell of bleach, then add another 8 drops, shake and wait another 30 minutes. If water does not have a light smell of bleach at that point, the water is probably too contaminated, and should not be consumed. I would not exceed 18 drops per gallon. Remember - use plain bleach, no additives at all. Building a Water Filter Water Preparation Notes: Start with chemical processing using the 'on the run filtration' method. This should kill most bacteria and parasites; if you have power, you can replace this step with a UV sterilizer, however I would wait a few days before processing due to the UV disruption the reproductive cycle through DNA corruption for many bacteria and other critters. Exposure [of very shallow water] for a day or two under direct sunlight ["the SODIS method"] could also be an alternative if someone is too sensitive to the bleach method, and you have no power. Chlorine/bleach evaporates - so after you have treated your water with bleach to kill micro-organisms (recommended), then let the water sit open for one to two days to clear out the chemicals. By doing so, less of the activated carbon is used up filtering out your introduced chemicals. While letting the chlorine/bleach evaporate keep in mind you are also letting particulates settle. When you are ready to move the water to the filter, try and use a secondary container for transport, and not mix up the water. The final 2-3" of water will be far more polluted than the top layers. On a side note, if you are testing your water with a kit, chlorine can show up as ammonia. Test for ammonia after chlorine has had a day or two to evaporate. Questionable Secondary Filter Medium There are specific filtration material available for nitrates, nitrites, phosphates and ammonia, however since I do not know if these are 'human' safe, I will let the reader research these for themselves - all of these media are searchable under "reef tank filter media." I will say that they are fish and coral safe (if purchased for fish tank filtering), and the coral and fish that I have kept for years are very sensitive to toxic material. If I were desperate, I would consider it; but it would have to be a life or death situation with children. Be careful here, it may be a last resort. Building the Filter Layers Layers from top to bottom, quantity will vary depending on the size of the filter, however depth it the critical factor. Each layer can be held in a 5 gallon food safe container with holes punched in the bottom, stacked one onto of the other. When designing the frame, make it so that each bucket can be removed for maintenance. Don't make the holes too large, you want the water to seep through the media. Starting with a few small holes is much easier to increate for flow, than plugging many large holes. This is especially true with the activated carbon. Clean buckets as though they will hold food, and use only food save material. In each layer, increasing the thickness of the media will improve the quality of the water. Layers 1-4 with 1 being the top layer. First three layers to have 5" gap between them if possible. If not possible, touching layers would be okay in a single bucket, but this is not ideal. The key with the gaps is to allow for water to pool above the medium and slowly sink through, it also helps to self compensate for the speed that water passes through the different media. 1. Linens/Bed Sheets, cloth material; two sheets thick minimal Details: the number of layers depend on thread count, water should seep through, not pour through. Allowing the material to sag in the center will result in more water being processed in a single pour. Function: Initial pre-filter, to keep out large debris Note: recommend 'natural/organic' cloth to help prevent the medium from introducing chemicals to the water. 2. Cotton Balls - 3" thick when compressed by water. Same function as #1, however since medium will have a different texture and thickness it will pre-filter out different material. In a SHTF situation, bed sheets and cloths may be at a premium, so if need be, #2 could be the only pre-filter, or visa versa. 3. Water Polishing Pads (Here is an example ) Function: These are micro-fine polyester filters designed to remove deters and microscopic material from water. Details: One media think layer is acceptable. 4. Activated Carbon - final layer Details: Layered 3" to 6" deep. (Here is an example) Function: This filtration material removes trace elements from water, along with many toxic compounds. Activated Carbon, along with the pre-filter (fabric and cotton) are the critical components. If you will be storing the water, you may want to add 2-3 drops of bleach prior to sealing the container. Collection and Storage It’s important to remember that each gallon is approximately 8.35 pounds. This adds up quick if storing or collecting for a permanent location. Average water consumption in the US is 4.49 Gallons per day (Here is some data.) This adds up to 37.49 lbs per person, per day. That’s 262 lbs per person per week. Yes, showers will be more limited, but with lots of dehydrated food to prepare, and reserves for gardening, the numbers would be ½ the current average at best and most likely close to the same. Since the amount of water per person needed will be highly personalized, it is best to plan for the maximum possible water storage. For those with a well or spring fed pond, storage is still a critical component. Droughts happen, wells run dry, pumps break. Besides, transporting water to a garden in 5 gallon containers is bound to get old soon. We should also keep in mind that you can smell water when thirsty. Just like cooking food caries smells for miles, water does too. This should not be overlooked. Ponds, lakes, rivers carry the smell of water far, but a dehydrated person will still be able to smell a exposed rainwater cistern much further than you like. Like any good defense there should be layers to water storage. Each layer kept in a different location. So, have a plan and cover story. In my area, we have a few community wells pumping to our subdivision. Since water can get interesting during the summer, when everyone is watering their lawns, it is easy to explain my 8 x 24 bottle cases of water per person. It’s not much, but will help during natural disasters where power, and water pressure is temporarily unavailable. Until I purchase a few cisterns my plan B is as follows: Leverage plastic garbage cans, using reef safe silicone to plug any holes at the time and to dry a thin layer around the lid to seal in water from evaporation. One good thing about this is that no one has ever asked my why I have two extra garbage cans. Of course this will need to be cleaned with bleach, and collected water will need to be filtered. Yes, human safe is a question here, but it’s a SHTF plan. Creating the seal. Apply silicone bead around the area of the plastic trashcan, where the lid comes in contact. Make sure the silicone bead is dry before closing. The intent is to create a barrier that will seal when the lid is shut, similar to the seal on an ammo can. Also use the silicone to plug any minor holes in the can, if you are forced to use a used trashcan. This is necessary for two main reasons: 1. It keeps bugs from crawling into the water, and 2. Keeps down evaporation. For a location, I have an area near my gutter down spouts that I’ve cleared of major rocks and can dig our and bury the trash can with out too much effort. This area has plants, so yard work is always a good cover story. In a SHTF situation, the plastic can will be buried at night, a wood cover placed over it to allow for camouflage placement, and the plastic water re-direction tube on my gutter down spouts can be kept pointing at my plants until rain comes. Keep the location within a reasonable distance to a door/window for quick in home transport, and away from high traffic areas. Just a few minutes saved in accessing your water source could be the difference between a secret and a major neighborhood conversation. If I had to dig a secondary location for water in a SHTF condition (which I most likely would), and someone saw the digging, I expect to use the ‘digging the next outhouse location’ as a good answer to keep away prying eyes. The best way is to purchase several cisterns approved for storing drinking water. Once I can purchase the cisterns, I plan on putting on in the same location described for the trashcan. I won’t be able to hide the install so, since I have a few ‘green happy’ neighbors, I’m going with that approach. Telling them that I am collecting rainwater for use with plants around the house, and a secondary location for the garden, is far more neighborhood acceptable than saying I’m preparing for TEOTWAWKI. Supplemental Tools: In addition to the storage, a hand pump is critical here. The pump must have a garden hose attachment. For my case, I have about 300 feet of garden hose, which just happens to be the depth of my neighbors well. (another item for my to-do list). I’ve been looking at a Dayton Brand Hand Pump, Rotary 15 GPM, but will need to do more research. (The Grainger web site also has less expensive pumps that I might get first as a backup before getting the $100-$200 pumps. Not the best way, but I have other priorities to purchase first, and this would get me something while I save up for the better quality one. In the end I’ll have two hand pumps. Note: even though the intent is to collect rainwater, do not be misled. This water still needs to be filtered. Roof top runoff water is exposed to your roofing material, let alone what the birds leave behind on the roof, and improvised storage medium may contain chemicals. Water filtration is critical, for health and safety. On a side note: The more I plan, the more I kick myself for moving to a populated area. It’s no city here, but if there were a major event something as simple as having water would put me in a no-win situation. JWR, feel free to insert an ‘I told you so’ comment. Testing the results I would recommend testing the water pre and post processing. You may need to tune the depth of the material, and the number of holes in the buckets. Places like Petco have many fresh water testing kits. Focus on the following kits: Nitrate, Nitrite, Phosphate, and Ammonia. If the water is in the same range or better than for freshwater fish (guidelines describing the range acceptable for fish are almost always included in the test kits) it should be well within human tolerances. Note, that when I was processing city tap water for my tank, I almost always had to pre-process the water before using it with fish, since they need a higher quality of water than we do.

Keeping Your Phone Charged in a Storm

Guest Blogger — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 22:40:46 +0000

You can expect the power to go out when a tropical system strikes our coast, but we’ve learned wireless networks can still help us stay connected to our loved ones. Keeping our smart phone batteries charged can be a challenge, but... read more

Building an Emergency Kit

Guest Blogger — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 23:30:13 +0000

One of the most important things you can do to prepare for hurricane season is to build an emergency kit. The Red Cross has several resources to guide you. They also have a local store and online store to purchase starter kits. Their website also has a great interactive guide to help customize a kit for your family: http://www.houstonredcross.org/

Building to Withstand Hurricanes

abrown — Sun, 13 Jun 2010 13:46:29 +0000

ScienceDaily (June 7, 2010) — Rima Taher, an expert in the design of low-rise buildings for extreme winds and hurricane, hopes her phone won’t ring much this hurricane season. It’s already been busy with requests for information about best building design and construction practices to reduce wind pressures on building surfaces. Read the remainder of Building to Withstand Hurricanes.

2010 Hurricane Season Summary

abrown — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 13:18:21 +0000

2010 Hurricane Season Summary

The Atlantic basin sits still and quiet for now, but come June 1st the warm waters will start to wake up and go into full cylcle.

The Storm Names for 2010 are as follows:

Alex, Bonnie, Colin, Danielle, Earl, Fiona, Gaston, Hermine, Igor, Julia, Karl, Lisa, Matthew, Nicole, Otto, Paula, Richard, Shary, Tomas, Virginie, Walter.

Prepare today and visit our WeAreSafeAndSound.com Facebook page, or get more information at 2010 Hurricane Season.