The most important thing to learn from the Japan disaster

[Glenn]

In the terrible news from Japan there is one thing we all should notice.

"millions without food or water". We should be determined to not have this said about us no matter what happens.

Glenn

[analog_kidd]

You know, I've been trying to ask myself "What would I do if I was over there" ever since this thing hit them. I've started storing some food, and I've got about three ways to purify water, not including boiling. But what keeps nagging me about this situation is that all of their stuff is gone! Everything. Their house, possessions, the saved food, supplies, etc.

Guess about the only thing to do would be to make sure you have a good bug out bag, and grab it on the way out. Having said that, the BOB would not be first on my mind. Getting my family to safety would be. So who knows if I'd even think to grab it.

[Guest friesepferd]

Yep, thats the problem. Even if they did have some food and water storage, it got washed away for most people.

[BrasilNuts]

But what keeps nagging me about this situation is that all of their stuff is gone! Everything. Their house, possessions, the saved food, supplies, etc.

It's true that many people lost everything, but I did see one reporter who looked like he was holed in his apartment reporting via Skype commenting that all he had to eat in the last 12 hours was a 12 oz. carton of OJ. I haven't watched much about this event, but it seems like I recall seeing several people in a similar situation.

[Guest simboden]

I was watching the news last night, one of the reporters who was doing a story on something else got good footage of the initial quake while doing an interview. The interviewee said to them, we have to leave to higher ground now. Then the voice-over said that 30min later the wall of water hit them. All the homes were gone. Maybe in addition to storing the food, have it stored in a way that it could reasonably survive if found in rubble.

[DRM]

I wouldn't live in/on a densely populated island nation where everything I owned could be stored in a 600 sq/ft apartment... That's a good starting point.

How do you store food or other supplies when you have nowhere to PUT IT?

[Guest KimberChick]

It's true that many people lost everything, but I did see one reporter who looked like he was holed in his apartment reporting via Skype commenting that all he had to eat in the last 12 hours was a 12 oz. carton of OJ. I haven't watched much about this event, but it seems like I recall seeing several people in a similar situation.

In many countries, not just Japan, it's customary to only shop for a day or two's worth of food at a time. They don't favor processed, preservative-laden foods like we do. Many don't even cook according to folks I know who've lived over there. I'd bet the oldtimers have pantry staples like rice, noodles, bottled drinks and dried meat/vegetable products but many of the younger folks likely don't keep those things.

Scary when you think about how many people didn't have anything beyond their white hardhat and flashlight for disaster prep, in a country that is no stranger to catastrophic earthquakes.

[mikegideon]

Japan is so different from the US, it's hard to compare. A lot of the food supplies have to be shipped into Japan when things are normal. Short of an asteroid hit, there's no natural event that would wipe out the US food and water supply.

I have been in a few hurricane zones where there were serious food and water shortages, but it was easy and quick enough to carry it in. Those areas were pretty much "blasted back to the stone age", but you could drive out of them, just like I drove in..

[Jonnin]

its not hard to filter sea water, and if you *must* you can treat it for safety (they probably should), I think you can put a small drop of bleach in if nothing else but iodine is what I remember being the correct way to kill off any nasties.

Food is a problem, if they didnt have some stored up. That should not kill anyone: aid is on the way and it should take a few days to starve to death.

Hopefully they can hang on until the red cross and such arrive. Its a very horrible situation, and I remember now why I don't want to live on a beach.

[mikegideon]

It's not the nasties, it's the high salt content. It will kill you dead. You can distill it, but that takes energy.

[Oh Shoot]

its not hard to filter sea water,....

??

You can't filter sea water to make it potable.

- OS

[mikegideon]

That a bad joke, or what?

- OS

What

[Oh Shoot]

What

That's funny, I had already edited to not seem mean, you were too quick for me.

- OS

[mikegideon]

That's funny, I had already edited to not seem mean, you were too quick for me.

- OS

If you show your pecker on the Internet, it's there forever

[Oh Shoot]

If you show your pecker on the Internet, it's there forever

So true. :D

- OS

[DRM]

Disaster survival, internet porn... it's all relative I guess...

[Guest BungieCord]

I've got auto insurance, home owner's insurance, life insurance and a pre-paid funeral but the insurance that gives me the most peace of mind is the month's supply of food and water in the storage room. Sixty MREs, thirty gallons of tap water and fifteen rolls of TP for each member of my household sure makes it easier to sleep nights.

Not to mention the 5000 rounds of 5.56 and 7.62 sitting stacked the the corner.

??

You can't filter sea water to make it potable.

- OS

Yes, you can. Reverse osmosis is a method of filtration, and a major method for desalinating seawater.

[creeky]

What has gotten me thinking is the need for a good Plan "B".

Seems everyone plans on "Bugging in" for the most part. Which is perfectly reasonable if the situation calls for it. But what happens if say Oak ridge goes into meltdown, or a train with highly toxic chemicals derails close to your home and they call for evacuations.

What else besides a BOB would you be grabbing? Especially if you only had about 30 minutes to do it. (Every minute longer... the traffic with everyone else trying to get out of Dodge will be getting longer.) You can't take it all.

Where are you going to go? You may have family that lives south... but what if the "accident" happens between you and them... do you have another place to head to?

Since I am playing the "What If" game... what if you are at work, wife and kids at home? Would they know what to start grabbing while you try and get home? (Medicines, important papers, etc.) Or better yet will you and your family meet up somewhere?

Stuff to think about I guess.

[Oh Shoot]

....Yes, you can. Reverse osmosis is a method of filtration, and a major method for desalinating seawater.

Well, I guess you're right, though this is beyond what we generally think of as filtration in a survival sense and stretches definition of the word, methinks.

Katadyne does indeed make a portable one that doesn't require power, though, so on the coast it would be a pretty good addition to the SHTF kit.

- OS

[mikegideon]

Well, I guess you're right, though this is beyond what we generally think of as filtration in a survival sense and stretches definition of the word, methinks.

Katadyne does indeed make a portable one that doesn't require power, though, so on the coast it would be a pretty good addition to the SHTF kit.

- OS

I like distilling better, for a number of reasons.

[RobertNashville]

I've been thinking about these issues since F-5 Good Friday tornado here in Murfreesboro of 2009 that passed so close to my house I could literally see it from my back porch...then the MAJOR flooding in Nashville and the surrounding area of just ten months ago. Food, water, weapons to defend ourselves are just the beginning of what we should be thinking about.

For many of us, our whole "lives" consists of electronic files - do we have those backed-up off sight? If not, you can likely kiss them good buy in a major, local disaster.

Do you have a vehicle capable of handling off-road/rough terrain in case you need to leave the area and can't depend on intact roads?

Do you have multiple copies of you major/most important papers (ID, passport, DL, etc) in waterproof storage containers in various places (most especially any bug-out-bags)?

I've been thinking about all the above and more and I'm sure I haven't begun to think of many I need to think about!

[Guest KimberChick]

Katadyne does indeed make a portable one that doesn't require power, though, so on the coast it would be a pretty good addition to the SHTF kit.

- OS

They are $1,900.00 for teh Survivor 35 model and about $250 for the "extended cruise" replacement filter pack. More than two people and you'd need this one.

The survivor 06 makes one ounce of potable water every two minutes and is about $900. This serves one or two people. I didn't see what the filter/acid/biocide replacement kits cost.

i guess it's a good thing i don't live on the coast.

[DRM]

Do you have multiple copies of you major/most important papers (ID, passport, DL, etc) in waterproof storage containers in various places (most especially any bug-out-bags)?

I remember seeing a survival guy on YouTube some time back where a guy recommended keeping a small "urban survival" pack. One of the items in that pack was a flash drive or some kind - SD card or small USB drive - with image copies of potentially useful "travelling documents"... birth certificate, drivers license, SSI card, maybe a copy of your home deed, etc.

Basically enough stuff to prove who you are and where you belong.

[RobertNashville]

I remember seeing a survival guy on YouTube some time back where a guy recommended keeping a small "urban survival" pack. One of the items in that pack was a flash drive or some kind - SD card or small USB drive - with image copies of potentially useful "travelling documents"... birth certificate, drivers license, SSI card, maybe a copy of your home deed, etc.

Basically enough stuff to prove who you are and where you belong.

Sounds like very good advice - having that sort of stuff on a flash drive would be good.

I would also not discount the benefits of having paper copies would as well - in an emergency, you may not always have time or even electrical power needed to see the contents of a flash drive.

[DRM]

Sounds like very good advice - having that sort of stuff on a flash drive would be good.

I would also not discount the benefits of having paper copies would as well - in an emergency, you may not always have time or even electrical power needed to see the contents of a flash drive.

My view?

Smart phones and computers are EVERYWHERE. A microSD card with the SD adpater takes up VERY little space and can be read in almost any current computer, laptop, or cell phone.

If you are to the point where there is NOTHING electronic working - IMHO you're well past the point of a situation where a copy of your birth certificate is going to do you much good.. paper or electronic.