Surviving Disaster - Prepare Your Family For Disaster

Surviving Disaster – Why the need?

I found that I was woefully unprepared for surviving disaster and for the coming economic collapse after reading Crash Proof by Peter Schiff.  I knew that I was not ready to provide for my family despite having a job making good money and some savings in the bank.  I had always prided myself on being able to provide for my family but, suddenly, that took on a new meaning.  I felt that there were many parents like me out there and I thought I could help by documenting my journey to prepare for surviving disaster when the SHTF.

Our Story

It was July 2011 and Hurricane Irene was barreling up the east coast.  New Jersey (where we call home) was expecting heavy flooding and high winds.  Power outages from downed lines and flooding were expected across the state.

My first thought was of my mom as her home is in a fairly low lying part of New Jersey.  In fact, her sump pump runs like crazy just when it rains normally.  She’s had a few instances of flooding in the basement which is not ideal as the basement is finished.  While a different level of surviving disaster, I thought that a power outage combined with heavy rains would likely mean a flooded basement or worse, a flooded first floor.

My plan was to get a portable generator and bring it to her in the event of a power outage.  It was 4 days before the storm was expected to hit and I headed to Home Depot.  Much to my surprise, they were sold out of any kind of portable generators.  A lot of folks had the same idea as I for surviving disaster and had been there early in the morning to get theirs.  I felt a bit foolish – like I should have prepared sooner.  I wasn’t necessarily worried about my home as we had never had any water in our basement during previous storms.  However, with the run on generators, I began thinking having one might not be a bad idea.  I left Home Depot and headed to Lowes.  Same situation.  They were sold out early in the morning and it was unknown when they would have more coming.

I headed back home and decided to call around a bit to see if other stores in the area had generators.  My surprise and frustration grew with every phone call.  None in stock, not sure when they would get another shipment.  It got to the point where I went to stores and asked certain staff members if they had heard anything.  Finally, I got a tip that a truck was coming in 2 days from now and I should be there early.  So, along with 8 other stressed out individuals, I stood outside Home Depot at 5am waiting for the chance to buy a generator that  may or may not arrive.

Luckily, I was able to buy not one, but two generators for surviving disaster – one for my mom’s and one for my home.   Good thing too because, as it turned out, we lost power for 4 days but my mom never did.  We were able to keep the lights and refrigerator on at our home as well as our neighbors’ home.  Fortunate was the word that came to mind.

Sign Of Things To Come?

Was this a story of surviving disaster?  Not really.  This power outage was a minor inconvenience and the fact that it happened in the summer meant we didn’t have heat to worry about.  While it could have been a lot worse, it was an eye-opener for me.

What would have happened if it were winter?  What if it was a natural disaster and supply lines were impacted?  What if I wasn’t able to buy gas for my generator?  What if the entire state had lost power?

On the surface you read those “what ifs” and say, it wouldn’t be that bad.  However, let’s assume a natural disaster struck where roads and the power grid were so heavily damaged that banking, trucking and businesses were severely impacted.  Let’s take one at a time.

Food

• Most grocery stores have 2 days worth of food in them and rely on trucks to deliver after that.
• Losing refrigeration at grocery stores would cause food to spoil leaving only the non-refrigerated items.
• If gas and electric were impacted, how would you heat/cook your food if you did have it?

Gas

• If you were prepared enough to have a generator, you would need to get gas to keep it running.
• Even if stations managed to avoid damage, they also rely on trucks to refill every few days.
• How would you get to work each day with limits on gas?

Money

• Since we rely on credit/debit cards so much, lack of power would impact your ability to purchase needed items when surviving disaster.
• Stores (those open) would begin to accept cash only – many folks don’t keep too much cash in the house.
• Even if you were able to get to and from work, how would they pay you or how would you get it as cash?

As you can see, things could get a bit more than inconvenient fairly quickly.  In addition, repair times for the power grid, roads and gas lines would be quite lengthy.  Surviving disaster is not only prepping for catastrophic events, but you also will need to prepare for long term delays or inconveniences.

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