Disaster Preparedness: My Post-Sandy World - Poodle Forum - Standard Poodle, Toy Poodle, Miniature Poodle Forum ALL Poodle owners too!

lily cd re · 11-11-2012, 03:20 PM

Hello all, I am happy to be back to being able to use my computer at will. I hope that others who are in the area affected by the storm are faring well. Long Island was very hard hit on October 29th by hurricane Sandy. We only got our power back last night (12 days after it went out). We were very lucky in that nothing hit our house, cars or fence. We don't live in a flood-prone area and never had to think about evacuating. There are many people who still don't have their electricity back.

All that being said we have had much time to talk about how to be prepared for disasters like this. We were better off this time than for Irene. When Irene hit us and left us with no power for a week we were lucky that it was warm. We bought a generator. It isn't hooked to our electrical panel though, so we had no heat or hot water in addition to the absence of tv, phone, internet. As soon as we can get an electrician here we will be having a relay switch installed so the generator can power the heat. One of the problems while we were relying on the generator was the availability of gasoline. We will be buying additional gas cans and buying gas long before the nest storm hits.

I just ordered a number of survival items online: lanterns, a weather radio that can be charged solar or by hand crank, car boys for water and a portable solar shower to get us started on being better prepared.

I am not a person who freaks out over things like this, but this was very difficult to negotiate. I urge everyone to make sure they have a well thought out plan to get through natural disasters. For us this was the second one in 14 months. We will be ready to live more comfortably and safely the next time.

Stay safe.

Indiana · 11-11-2012, 03:36 PM

Thank you for that useful information; I live on the other side of the continent from you but my friends and I are thinking about emergency provisions too, after the news coverage on Sandy; even though nothing ever happens here, there's always the thing you don't see coming (around here it would most likely be forest fires). So glad you are fine!

lily cd re · 11-12-2012, 04:06 AM

Thanks for your good wishes Indiana. Mother nature doesn't seem to be in a good mood these days. I heard there was an earthquake in some unusual part of the US, Tennessee or Kentucky over the weekend, and wasn't there an earthquake that generated a tsunami warning for you west coasters recently?

sarahmurphy · 11-12-2012, 08:04 AM

I am so glad many are safe and back to something looking like normal life! (So many still are not...)

As far as preparedness goes, it's a good exercise to try shutting the main breaker on your house and checking it out for a weekend. Think about what camping gear you might need, get your paperwork in a central location, buy a portable hard drive to back up before the storm, etc, etc, etc... There are hundreds of lists online, and you can make as many lists as you want, but nothing replaces a practice run of camping out in your own house with no power, water, heat, whatever... (And it is so much more fun to "Camp at home" at a time you choose than the time Mother Nature chooses for you!)

sarah

Indiana · 11-12-2012, 08:14 AM

Yes, there was an earthquake off the shore of Haida Gwaii last week, and lots of aftershocks, but for some reason it didn't cause much damage, thankfully. There was a tsunami alert but no one I know even knew about it until after! I don't know what we were all doing, ha,ha. However, I do think it's important to have an emergency plan and I'm working on one now.

murphys · 11-12-2012, 08:18 AM

One thing to bear in mind when getting a generator is what do you want to hook up (for me freezer, fridge, home office and furnace). That will determine how big a generator you need.
We also looked at how loud it was, how long it ran on a full tank, and whether it was portable.

We also have a two burner hot plate and an electric kettle for cooking on the home office. There is also a tv and pc and internet connection in there.
You should also have one of those plastic containers where you can put copies of important docs or the real thing, food and water for you and pets, etc.
Thankfully we were only out for a day this time and then the generator took a road trip.
I like the idea of the thumb drive for pics.
Hopefully those without power will get it soon. There are many people here who have lost there homes or everything in their basements or first floors.
Glad you are ok.

AngelsMommy · 11-13-2012, 06:28 AM

I have always had a "Bugout bag" Named after the military "Bugout". I come from a military family.

I have all of the things that I think that I might need to know where they are at a moments notice. Insurance info, flash drives with important info, account numbers, photos etc. Birth records socials, cash, candles, waterproof matches, emergency blankets, water filter bottle, and things like that. Everyone has different needs, but warmth, food, water and light source are good places to start.

I added things after the wild fires in our area last year. Up until then I admit to not having things about like insurance info and the like. But now I realize after talking to folks that had lost everything that I needed to add things. Like account numbers and such. Things are replaceable photos and such went on a flash drive to take. But I love the idea of a portable hard drive, more room for what is needful.

We were without power except for a small generator for two weeks in 2000. There was a huge ice storm and we could not get out or anything during that time. Thankfully we had food on hand and were able to last on the water we had on hand or melted ice. We had a large storage tank of water and one for gasoline on hand, so we didn't need anything that we didn't have. But we got very tired of beans by the end of the two weeks.

I know that there are things about that time that I remember fondly, I was only 13. We sat and read together as a family and were very grateful for my moms passion for quilting, as it kept us warm without the heat. This was the year I had gotten my mpoo and she was 6 months old and my own portable heater. She loved going out in the snow and ice and playing. She thought is was great and loved snow and ice the rest of her life.

Hope all are holding strong and things will improve soon.

And that you will be able to see good things to hold on to once this time of trials have passed.

sarahmurphy · 11-13-2012, 10:05 AM

We have a file with my sister in law - it contains all bank account numbers, photocopies of all ID's and passports, photocopies of credit cards, copies of our wills and healthcare directives, etc. (I think she has the dog info, too, but this is a reminder to update with anything that's changed in the last few years - I know we've changed car insurance, and there's probably more stuff...) She lives 2 towns over and is our "In Case Of Emergency" person. There are also copies, and more, in the safe deposit at the bank, and she has the 2nd key for that... just in case.

When we did this, we figured the odds of us both losing life limb and home at the same time were pretty slim...

sarah