Nov 29 2007
Zombies and Disaster Preparedness
I’m a zombie movie fan, ok maybe fanatic is more accurate, and have always been interested in disaster readiness. Before the birth of my daughter I was regularly active over at the Zombie Squad Forums, this forum was founded by like minded people, people who are preparing for the undead to rise and hunt the living because (and stay with me on this) if you’re prepared for brain munching corpses, a power failure or flood isn’t going to throw you that much.
And that is the gist of that forum. Largely urban residents taking basic precautions to protect themselves in the event of a natural disaster, the fact that most of those that frequent the forum are fans of zombie movies isn’t too shocking, as anyone who has given some thought to their needs in the event of a natural disaster is likely to enjoy an “end of the world” scenario as one they can compare their own preparations to.
Now, I hesitate to use the word “survivalist” here as it has come to evoke images of wilderness bunkers filled with MREs and ammunition, but the truth is that most of us can (and should) take some sensible precautions against a day when the services and supplies we take for granted may be interupted.
I’m not talking about zombies here, for once, I’m talking about that winter storm that knocks the power out (and with it your heat), I’m talking about the big blackout that leaves entire cities in the dark, I’m talking about a hurricane or tornado and all their attendant logistical and infrastructure issues.
Now, it’s easy to say “We’ll get by”, but the day my daughter was born I knew I couldn’t take her well being lightly, and that I’d be negligent (yes, NEGLIGENT) if I failed to take some basic precautions. What are those precautions you ask? Let me tell you.
We have a fair supply of canned and dry foods in our house, not enough to survive the undead rising, but enough for several days if needed. We have some cash on hand (in a blackout those credit and debit cards are not going to work so well), we have fresh water (admittedly not enough, but some is still better than none). We’ve first aid supplies and we’ve flashlights and chemical brake lights, a hand crank radio to tune into the news, and a fairly large supply of batteries to power it all.
In my house we are certainly not ready for the undead to rise (as much as it pains me to admit it), but we’re reasonably ready for the most probable disruptions of service.
How’r you fixed for the end of the world?
[Just a general rant brought about by this post I came across. He gets it, why don’t more people?]
If I could ever get all my gear at the same piece of land, I’d be set.
I have everything from ammo to food, a generator, stored gas, batteries.
Pretty sure we’ll be fine, but when the SHTF the neighbor across the street (Who keeps pissing me off) is the first one up against the wall.
I’ve got a bit of this and that, since the electricity has gone out during ice storms three times in three years ( though not at my place thankfully) I bought a portable gas stove at the Chinatown market for a whopping $20. gas cans the size of a paint can come for a couple of bucks each. good for emergency heat or cooking. also a wonderful gadget to have is a glorified car battery. you probably know what I mean, it’s encased in a plastic housing and has jumper cables, air compressor, flashlight, and a cigarette lighter style power output all built in. This thing has bailed my bacon at least three times and I’ve helped a couple of others out too. well worth the $60-$70.
Dried goods/ canned goods of course. and food in the freezer for weeks, though it’d have to be used quick if the power went out in summer.
We talked to KD’s brother the other night. He just had a 14Kw generator installed … that’s major! But, then, he’s out in the boonies, lives in a swamp, and gets into trouble whenever the power goes and creek starts to rise
I got 4-5 weeks canned food, 4-5 weeks dry food, 4-5 weeks worth of water (about 100 gallons purified for the wife, all five cats, and me).What is food with a way to cook it, so I got coleman multi-fuel camp cookers. There are dyno lights and AM/FM/SW band radio I got scanner, weather radio, to GMRS radios. Batteries, more batteries, and yet even more batteries of all kinds and sorts. First aid kits that can do everything, short of surgery of course. Hygiene out the waazo(no pun intended), from the mundane toothbrush to chemical toilets. I have fire extishers, fireproof box with every document I could think would be important and some cash inside. I got back packs with cloths me and the wife don’t wear that much in back packs. I even took care of the cats, with food,litter,litter box, large(for a dog) carry cages. I have more SHTF crap, but this is the bulk of it.
This is for anything from the annoying power outage to the rare, but possible tornado to yes, even zombie attacks.
One of us……….
One of us……….
One of us……….
One of us……….
One of us……….
One of us……….
One of us……….
One of us……….
Here’s my all purpose survival plan which works in all contingencies:
Live in Victoria.
Doesn’t get too cold and senior citizens are easy prey if it comes to that.
Robin
I have a gun and a sack. All I need, really.
Probably more lethal with the sack, I’ve seen you shoot.