(no subject)
Storm Preparation 101:
Shelter:
The best place to shelter from an impending dangerous weather situation is the basement - bar none. There is only one situation in which you should choose an upper level refuge over a basement and that is if you live very close to a river, lake or other flash flood prone water source and extremely heavy rain is predicted - you stand a better chance of weathering above ground wind and hail destruction in your home than you do of surviving being buried in a basement which is rapidly filling with water - especially dirty water.
The old 'stay away from windows' is true, but if you must be near a window, say a basement window, you should take a roll of duct tape and put an 'X' across the glass. This technique, developed during the second world war in London as a means to reduce fragmentation hazard caused by exploding bombs, will hold the glass pane together and allow it to break as one piece instead of into many tiny shards whilst at the same time ensuring that the bulk of the glass is retained as a single mass, weighing it down and making it less likely to fly as far or fast. In addition, cover the window with a wet towel, heavy blanket or other pliable but heavyweight material such as a leather jacket.
If you do not have a basement, you have to make do. Find the innermost space in the house with the smallest square footage you can - this is typically a closet or pantry. Learn and study the structure of your dwelling - you want to stay close to heavy support beams such as RSJs or Concrete Lintels but distal from hidden hazards such as gas lines.
On the subject of gas lines, locate and know how to turn off all of your major utility shutoffs, gas, water and electric. Should a tornado, even a small one, damage your home you do NOT want to have leaking gas or hot wires poking around complicating the disaster and/or rescue efforts. If the hit has already been taken and you are taking a damage report, exercise extreme caution on entering any areas which may have leaking gas - turn on flashlights BEFORE you enter and turn off all mobile devices as the ignition of the light sources in these can spark an explosion - better yet, use chemlights to navigate instead of electrical equipment.
Do NOT shelter in exterior buildings such as garages, tool sheds, barns etc unless you are stuck in the open and have absolutely no other choice. Never, ever shelter in a vehicle - even a tank. (Should you happen to have a tank laying around, you know...)
Understand the structure of your shelter - wood framing and aluminum siding will protect you like a wet paper bag from a tornado - on the other hand, triple wide concrete and re-rod filled cinder blocks on a concrete foundation will stop pretty much anything you are capable of surviving. Take this into consideration - if you live in a Suburban Sam house with no basement made of toothpicks and PVC but your friend lives in a bunker, call ahead and ask if you can weather the incoming storm with him/her for a beer tax.
Finally, be aware of your immediate surroundings and how they will potentially be effected by storms. This includes water lay, power lines, tree limbs - etc.
In Home Preparations:
This is not going to be a definitive list of bug in gear - I'm writing this specifically for Midwesterners who are getting hit hard this storm season, it's designed to allow you to survive for around 72 hours in the event of being hit by a twister, losing power, flooding etc.
The first thing you need is an organization system. This can be a set of shelves set up in your shelter area with your gear, or it can be a series of bags and packs (our setup, I feel more adaptable.) The main thing you want to achieve is ensure that at lest 90% of everything you need to grab when the storm hits is together, accessible and functional.
For an in home disaster you have four basic requirements, I will list them with a shortlist of applicable gear - this is bare necessities, it's not a rambo kit - so be sure to consider your personal needs such as medications or child specific gear...
Lighting:
Flashlights - great for the initial loss of power to find your way around and decent for signaling when in distress.
Chemlights - AKA glowsticks, use these for your main source of light - they are not battery dependent, not a piercing light, are not a source of ignition when gas leaks are suspected and have no mechanical malfunctions.
Lanterns - battery operated camping lanterns - some of these generate a comparitivley large amount of heat and can double as hand warmers.
Long burning, multi wick, unscented, colorless candles - and several means to light them.
Warmth:
Blankets - thick wool and thin 'fleece' - several for each family member of various thicknesses.
Mylar Survival Blankets - you'll find these in the camping aisle for a buck or so - reflective and insulated as fuck.
Hats - the vast majority of body heat is lost through the top of the head.
Food & Water:
Emergency food - MREs are good, failing that you want HIGH CALORIE power bars. No low fat/sugar free sissy food, you can diet later.
Emergency drinking water - Gallon jugs of bottled water work, as do coast guard approved emergency water rations which come in pouch or box form. Do NOT underestimate how much water you will need - never, ever drink flood water unless it has been filtered and purified (a Britta type countertop filter and purification tablets will work in this case). The water in the cistern of your toilet can work as last resort drinking water too, if you have nothing else.
SERE / Rescue Gear:
Hand Crank, auto on and/or battery operated emergency weather radio. Self explanatory.
Fire extinguisher. Seriously, every house needs one - or three.
Take your cellphone down to your shelter and always keep it fully charged when bad weather is being predicted. 2 way radios are great too for families.
Sports whistle and air horn - you can get both for under ten bucks for the pair in the camping aisle at Walmart, for signaling rescuers.
Blaze orange highway crew type vests - a buck in the hunting aisle.
Military approved ( that means either Gerber LMF II or Orlando Inc) ASEK (Aircrew Survival Egress Knife). These are not kitchen knives, they will either slice, smash or pry through just about anything. The LMF II, imo the better of the pair, took knifetests.com 1hr 14mins to destroy during which time they did everything with it from peel an apple to bust up concrete blocks and pound on the tang with a 3lb steel mallet.
Pocketknife, folding, locking blade - Gerber, Spyderco and Cold Steel make the best ones (imo) but you can get a clone for 5 bucks at Walmart.
Multitool - Gerber/Leatherman type - again, you can get a cheap clone for 5 bucks at wally world if you're low on cash.
Fire Axe and Crow Bar - can get both for 15 bucks in the tools section of Walmart.
Firearm - yes, a firearm. Why? Two reasons - firstly, look at Katrina for an idea of how quickly bad people turn openly bad in the face of even temporary societal chaos. Secondly, when used with blanks, shot-shell flares or tracer rounds is about the best rescuer signaling device you'll ever find). My advice to you is that the best all purpose gun to have around is a 12ga pump action shotgun such as a Remington 870, Winchester 1300 or Mossberg 500. If you don't own one and want to spend very small money, look at the New England Firearms/Harrington & Richardson line of budget shotguns - you'll get a break action 12ga for a hair over a hundred bucks, or a 12ga pump 870 clone for under 200. Mount a flashlight on your barrel but stay away from all the other 'TactiCool' shit. Side note: if you are, for some bizarre reason, anti-guns, at LEAST pick up a blank/starter pistol - they can be had for 20-50 bucks for a shitty one and they make a LOT of noise for people to find you. Invest also in ear protection, or you'll end up like me.
Well stocked, varied First Aid/Survival kit - include all your boo-boo and snivel gear as well as more serious stuff like a few spare pills of your prescriptions, a spare set of glasses, hearing aid batteries, quick-clot, trauma bandages, instant ice packs and heat packs etc.
Get Home Bag/Car Kit:
Allow for the possibility that you may be caught outside when the storm starts rolling in. You'll want to have a bag in your trunk containing such items as emergency automotive gear, ASEK/escape tool, pocket knife, rain poncho, spare clothes, walking boots/shoes, flashlight, local map, car charger for your cell, whistle, blaze orange vest, chemlights, power bars, water, weather radio etc. You don't have to be loaded for LRRP or anything but you want to have a few items handy to help you out of a bind and get to safety/attract rescuers. You should easily be able to fit all this into a small backpack - or if, like us, you're preparing for anything up to and including aliens invading, you can have a duffel bag full of shit, a backpack, a cased rifle, two gas cans, 100ft of tow rope and a squad level first aid kit as your 'go gear'... Heh. Seriously though, you probably don't want to go that far (yet lol) but have a small pack with the basics listed above.
Final Notes:
Remember the rule of threes:
You can survive;
Three minutes without air
Three hours in bad weather without shelter
Three days without water
Three weeks without food
-Plan accordingly.
This list might seem a little daunting to someone who has literally no preps - but it can easily be assembled for less than $300 with thrifty shopping. ($450 if you need/choose to buy a shotgun). In addition, if you go hunting around your home you'll find you might already have a lot of this stuff, it just needs to be dug out and put in a bag together - a lot of these items are household shit, flashlight in your nightstand, tools in your garage, candle in your kitchen, etc.
Finally - don't be afraid to settle. Something is better than nothing - if you can't afford a rain poncho, cut a hole in a trash bag - if you can't afford a blanket, dig out an old curtain or beach towel - etc.
Good luck to you.
Shelter:
The best place to shelter from an impending dangerous weather situation is the basement - bar none. There is only one situation in which you should choose an upper level refuge over a basement and that is if you live very close to a river, lake or other flash flood prone water source and extremely heavy rain is predicted - you stand a better chance of weathering above ground wind and hail destruction in your home than you do of surviving being buried in a basement which is rapidly filling with water - especially dirty water.
The old 'stay away from windows' is true, but if you must be near a window, say a basement window, you should take a roll of duct tape and put an 'X' across the glass. This technique, developed during the second world war in London as a means to reduce fragmentation hazard caused by exploding bombs, will hold the glass pane together and allow it to break as one piece instead of into many tiny shards whilst at the same time ensuring that the bulk of the glass is retained as a single mass, weighing it down and making it less likely to fly as far or fast. In addition, cover the window with a wet towel, heavy blanket or other pliable but heavyweight material such as a leather jacket.
If you do not have a basement, you have to make do. Find the innermost space in the house with the smallest square footage you can - this is typically a closet or pantry. Learn and study the structure of your dwelling - you want to stay close to heavy support beams such as RSJs or Concrete Lintels but distal from hidden hazards such as gas lines.
On the subject of gas lines, locate and know how to turn off all of your major utility shutoffs, gas, water and electric. Should a tornado, even a small one, damage your home you do NOT want to have leaking gas or hot wires poking around complicating the disaster and/or rescue efforts. If the hit has already been taken and you are taking a damage report, exercise extreme caution on entering any areas which may have leaking gas - turn on flashlights BEFORE you enter and turn off all mobile devices as the ignition of the light sources in these can spark an explosion - better yet, use chemlights to navigate instead of electrical equipment.
Do NOT shelter in exterior buildings such as garages, tool sheds, barns etc unless you are stuck in the open and have absolutely no other choice. Never, ever shelter in a vehicle - even a tank. (Should you happen to have a tank laying around, you know...)
Understand the structure of your shelter - wood framing and aluminum siding will protect you like a wet paper bag from a tornado - on the other hand, triple wide concrete and re-rod filled cinder blocks on a concrete foundation will stop pretty much anything you are capable of surviving. Take this into consideration - if you live in a Suburban Sam house with no basement made of toothpicks and PVC but your friend lives in a bunker, call ahead and ask if you can weather the incoming storm with him/her for a beer tax.
Finally, be aware of your immediate surroundings and how they will potentially be effected by storms. This includes water lay, power lines, tree limbs - etc.
In Home Preparations:
This is not going to be a definitive list of bug in gear - I'm writing this specifically for Midwesterners who are getting hit hard this storm season, it's designed to allow you to survive for around 72 hours in the event of being hit by a twister, losing power, flooding etc.
The first thing you need is an organization system. This can be a set of shelves set up in your shelter area with your gear, or it can be a series of bags and packs (our setup, I feel more adaptable.) The main thing you want to achieve is ensure that at lest 90% of everything you need to grab when the storm hits is together, accessible and functional.
For an in home disaster you have four basic requirements, I will list them with a shortlist of applicable gear - this is bare necessities, it's not a rambo kit - so be sure to consider your personal needs such as medications or child specific gear...
Lighting:
Flashlights - great for the initial loss of power to find your way around and decent for signaling when in distress.
Chemlights - AKA glowsticks, use these for your main source of light - they are not battery dependent, not a piercing light, are not a source of ignition when gas leaks are suspected and have no mechanical malfunctions.
Lanterns - battery operated camping lanterns - some of these generate a comparitivley large amount of heat and can double as hand warmers.
Long burning, multi wick, unscented, colorless candles - and several means to light them.
Warmth:
Blankets - thick wool and thin 'fleece' - several for each family member of various thicknesses.
Mylar Survival Blankets - you'll find these in the camping aisle for a buck or so - reflective and insulated as fuck.
Hats - the vast majority of body heat is lost through the top of the head.
Food & Water:
Emergency food - MREs are good, failing that you want HIGH CALORIE power bars. No low fat/sugar free sissy food, you can diet later.
Emergency drinking water - Gallon jugs of bottled water work, as do coast guard approved emergency water rations which come in pouch or box form. Do NOT underestimate how much water you will need - never, ever drink flood water unless it has been filtered and purified (a Britta type countertop filter and purification tablets will work in this case). The water in the cistern of your toilet can work as last resort drinking water too, if you have nothing else.
SERE / Rescue Gear:
Hand Crank, auto on and/or battery operated emergency weather radio. Self explanatory.
Fire extinguisher. Seriously, every house needs one - or three.
Take your cellphone down to your shelter and always keep it fully charged when bad weather is being predicted. 2 way radios are great too for families.
Sports whistle and air horn - you can get both for under ten bucks for the pair in the camping aisle at Walmart, for signaling rescuers.
Blaze orange highway crew type vests - a buck in the hunting aisle.
Military approved ( that means either Gerber LMF II or Orlando Inc) ASEK (Aircrew Survival Egress Knife). These are not kitchen knives, they will either slice, smash or pry through just about anything. The LMF II, imo the better of the pair, took knifetests.com 1hr 14mins to destroy during which time they did everything with it from peel an apple to bust up concrete blocks and pound on the tang with a 3lb steel mallet.
Pocketknife, folding, locking blade - Gerber, Spyderco and Cold Steel make the best ones (imo) but you can get a clone for 5 bucks at Walmart.
Multitool - Gerber/Leatherman type - again, you can get a cheap clone for 5 bucks at wally world if you're low on cash.
Fire Axe and Crow Bar - can get both for 15 bucks in the tools section of Walmart.
Firearm - yes, a firearm. Why? Two reasons - firstly, look at Katrina for an idea of how quickly bad people turn openly bad in the face of even temporary societal chaos. Secondly, when used with blanks, shot-shell flares or tracer rounds is about the best rescuer signaling device you'll ever find). My advice to you is that the best all purpose gun to have around is a 12ga pump action shotgun such as a Remington 870, Winchester 1300 or Mossberg 500. If you don't own one and want to spend very small money, look at the New England Firearms/Harrington & Richardson line of budget shotguns - you'll get a break action 12ga for a hair over a hundred bucks, or a 12ga pump 870 clone for under 200. Mount a flashlight on your barrel but stay away from all the other 'TactiCool' shit. Side note: if you are, for some bizarre reason, anti-guns, at LEAST pick up a blank/starter pistol - they can be had for 20-50 bucks for a shitty one and they make a LOT of noise for people to find you. Invest also in ear protection, or you'll end up like me.
Well stocked, varied First Aid/Survival kit - include all your boo-boo and snivel gear as well as more serious stuff like a few spare pills of your prescriptions, a spare set of glasses, hearing aid batteries, quick-clot, trauma bandages, instant ice packs and heat packs etc.
Get Home Bag/Car Kit:
Allow for the possibility that you may be caught outside when the storm starts rolling in. You'll want to have a bag in your trunk containing such items as emergency automotive gear, ASEK/escape tool, pocket knife, rain poncho, spare clothes, walking boots/shoes, flashlight, local map, car charger for your cell, whistle, blaze orange vest, chemlights, power bars, water, weather radio etc. You don't have to be loaded for LRRP or anything but you want to have a few items handy to help you out of a bind and get to safety/attract rescuers. You should easily be able to fit all this into a small backpack - or if, like us, you're preparing for anything up to and including aliens invading, you can have a duffel bag full of shit, a backpack, a cased rifle, two gas cans, 100ft of tow rope and a squad level first aid kit as your 'go gear'... Heh. Seriously though, you probably don't want to go that far (yet lol) but have a small pack with the basics listed above.
Final Notes:
Remember the rule of threes:
You can survive;
Three minutes without air
Three hours in bad weather without shelter
Three days without water
Three weeks without food
-Plan accordingly.
This list might seem a little daunting to someone who has literally no preps - but it can easily be assembled for less than $300 with thrifty shopping. ($450 if you need/choose to buy a shotgun). In addition, if you go hunting around your home you'll find you might already have a lot of this stuff, it just needs to be dug out and put in a bag together - a lot of these items are household shit, flashlight in your nightstand, tools in your garage, candle in your kitchen, etc.
Finally - don't be afraid to settle. Something is better than nothing - if you can't afford a rain poncho, cut a hole in a trash bag - if you can't afford a blanket, dig out an old curtain or beach towel - etc.
Good luck to you.