Beans, spinach, veg and rice

I’ll start this off by saying I am probably a lot more prepared for emergencies than most people I know, but I have such a long way to go, even to hit all the items on the list above.

Types of Emergencies

I think there are three emergencies I am trying to be prepared for: non-weather related utility outage, extreme weather (wind, rain, snow, ice), and fire. I have a lot of ground water, but I am not on a flood plain. Hurricanes don’t really make it this inland and north, but we have had extreme storms from previous hurricanes. I am near a fault, but earthquakes are not common. When I say fire, I mean like, a house fire. I’m farm rural not forest rural and while I know farms burn too, wildfires aren’t common here at this time.

Main impacts of these emergencies

If I don’t have power, I don’t have water, back up heat, light or a way to cook foods. I will not be able to operate my sump pumps so my basement may flood. I won’t have A/C, and the food in my fridge/freezer may spoil.
If I don’t have propane, I don’t have my main source of heat.
If weather or debris after weather makes it unsafe to drive, or if our car has been damaged, we may be stuck at home for a few days and be without utilities at the same time.
If there is a fire, we will have to leave quickly.
If I am at work when this happens, it may be hard for me to get home.
If I am helping with disaster response (it’s part of my job) it may be hard for my family to contact me.

News

We did get a wind up/battery radio last year after the tornados. There is a weather broadcast channel that is highlighted on the dial. It helped us know when the tornado warnings and watches were going on.

When we had major storms about 3 years ago I had a really hard time getting information. There didn’t seems to be too much on the radio. We had no power for 3 days and roads were impassible, but the outside world seemed to be going on just like normal! Cell phone and internet was disrupted for a long time too, so local groups or news sites were not accessible.

Stay or go

This is something I need to work on with my family. For most of the likely situations we are thinking of, being at home is the best option. Fire is not (lol) but there may be others. We will need to plan where we would meet up if going home was not an option or where we would head to if we had to GTFO.

Accessibility and medications

This is a weak spot for us too! Like Hamid said, it’s important to have whatever consumables you need and to understand what would happen if you stopped taking them (i.e. if you are running out, do you have to taper off? Are their certain foods or activities you need to avoid if you stop taking something?)

Utilities

I do know where my utilities shuts off are, yay! I have a general idea about my fuse box, know where my propane is, know how to isolate that from the furnace, know how to drain my water lines.

Documents and contacts

I also need to improve here. I am generally The Holder of Passports and Birth Certificates for the household, but I do not have a good idea of where my insurance policy is lol.

arcane potato (she/they)@vegantheoryclub.org · 8 days ago

Ditching consumerism really helped me, I think. I no longer feel like I am giving things up. Just because something is available to purchase and I can afford it doesn’t mean it is 1) good for me, 2) ethical ) harmless. This applies to food, goods, services.

I’d say that probably started with thinking about what it means to buy something and then being responsible for it. So the habit is thinking, “What am I going to do with this?” whenever I am considering buying something. Eventually the desire lessens and I no longer want things.