I know this is "wilderness survival" but...

**ColterDurham** · 08-26-2013, 02:18 PM

I was thinking about the first 48 hours after a total loss of services and infrastructure following a major storm or earthquake. Personal safety and checking on loved ones is usually the first activity. Surveying damage and salvaging things seems to follow... along with collecting essentials like food/water/clothing/shelter. I would love to know what the first 48 was was like for others who've survived a natural disaster. Thanks

**Rick** · 08-26-2013, 02:39 PM

A lot of work and a lot of hot. We were fortunate that all of the family was safe and easily located. In fact, I was the last one home that day because the town had been closed. I'm sure the only reason I got in was because I knew the state trooper. In any case, we spent the next 10 days without power and temperatures that never dropped below 98F. Days were in the 105F range. That first 48 hours were spent clearing trees off the house and stripping the roof to replace it. That was done between 9:00 p.m. when I got home and 2:00 or 3:00 a.m. when I stopped and tried to catch some sleep before work. It was too hot through the day to walk on the roof anyway. Water was not a problem fortunately. To put it plainly, it sucked. I have never complained about a power bill since. Glad to pay it. That was in '78 I think. We had a blizzard either the winter before or the winter after. We took 34" of snow (I know. Some of you would love to just get 34" but it shut everything down including the interstates). It was 3-4 days before the roads were cleared and reopened.

We didn't have a food issue in either situation. Even though we had 3 small children and my dad got trapped at our house in the blizzard for the duration we had enough food on hand.

**hunter63** · 08-26-2013, 02:49 PM

Thankfully I/we haven't had to deal with too many disasters, other than power outages due to storms, be it blizzards, wind storms, roads flooded, trees down......so can't really speak to a "loose everything, no support, and left to our own devices....So that's where a heavy dose of being able to get by in the wilderness would come in....shelter, water, fire, food etc..

I think of it a just a multi-layer approach of the same thing....surviving.

Hopefully if you have survived the disaster, and you should have at least enough supplies to get thru the first 48, or 72 hours....and not have to worry about collecting them.

Tornadoes and floods (around here they may wipe out your supplies, so it's important to have some stashed in different location(s)....and a way to get there.

I too would like to hear from those that have actually been thru something that could seriously mess up your life, and the steps taken.

**crashdive123** · 08-26-2013, 07:28 PM

I've been through quite a few storms. While I've gone some long stretches without power, I've never personally suffered major damage. For me it was all about making sure things were secure and functional and then helping the immediate neighborhood. After that it was branching further and further out to lend assistance.

While in the military I worked the aftermath of some brutal typhoons and hurricanes. Hard work and as Rick said hot work.

**LowKey** · 08-26-2013, 10:01 PM

We had a major ice storm about 5 years ago. The whole electric infrastructure in 4 towns had to be cleared with backhoes and snow plows, with a lot of high-power lines down in the whole region. Then everything had to be re-poled, new transformers and restrung. It took 14 days for the unluckiest. We were out 12. It was December but for some bizarre reason it was still in the 60s the first week. I didn't have the gentrans wired and my small gennie couldn't run the fridge and the sump pumps at the same time. Lost all the food in the fridge the first week, what we didn't cook in a massive barbeque. The second week, I had managed to get a guy in to wire in the gentrans and I could run the furnace and the sumps. So luckily when the temp dived the second week down to 15° with some nights below 0, we had the furnace able to keep the house at 45 and we had hot water. We had blankets over all the doors and windows on the inside and plastic sheeting stapled over the windows and garage door on the outside. Didn't look pretty. Since it was cold we didn't have to worry about putting new food in the fridge. Just kept it in a cooler on the porch. A lot of people evacuated to the shelter at the school uptown but a lot of them didn't crack a faucet or drain their systems ended up coming home to a lot of cracked frozen pipes.

Gas after the fourth day was an issue. I was not prepared. Why is it that gas stations do not have power-out generators? You'd think that would be a law or something. Had to go 2 towns over to get gas but luckily the main roads were cleared by that time.

We lost a cell phone tower. While I could use the truck to charge the phone, I had to go to the top of the hill to get any reception.

The other thing is the power company kept saying "one more day." Don't ever believe them. I delayed getting an electrician in because "we will have power restored tomorrow or the next day." Finally on the radio the police said it was going to be much much longer and to go to a shelter. The radio was very helpful. My aunt had given me a cheap wind-up for christmas the year before as a joke.

For that emergency I was not prepared. I had the gennie but it wasn't ready to go. Sure I could have back-fed it if I'd had a male/male cable ready-made up. I only had gas for 4 days. I didn't have a plan for food spoilage nor a good means of cooking besides a gas barbeque (but I always have a spare tank of propane for that.) Water wasn't an issue, we had running water, but it was cold. There's lots of dry goods in the pantry so food wasn't really an issue after the Big Barbeque.

And I'll never again take a good hot shower for granted!

When we had a snowstorm in October 2011, I was very prepared. New propane gennie with more power, wired in properly. Only out 4 days. No food lost, good heat and hot water. Food stores and water backup. But I lost 5 really old oaks close to the house, as the leaves were still on and the snow brought them all down, some onto the roof with only minor shingle damage. Spent those 4 days out with a chainsaw (which I also didn't have in that ice storm) clearing a path across the yard so the power crews would be able to re-attach the wires to the house. We had reverse-911 in the town for this emergency and after the debacle of the last, they used it to keep those with phones informed. It's crazy though that in this emergency, the radio wasn't at all helpful. It was too local an emergency for the Boston radio stations to bother carrying.

Thought I had pics. If I find them I'll post em.

Funny thing after that snowstorm, a lot of women were suddenly interested in learning how to handle handguns. A local paper article (or maybe it was the GOAL paper) was saying women finding themselves without phone service and no power, were looking for a means to protect themselves. Smart.

**crashdive123** · 08-27-2013, 08:34 AM

Originally Posted by LowKey

Gas after the fourth day was an issue. I was not prepared. Why is it that gas stations do not have power-out generators? You'd think that would be a law or something. Had to go 2 towns over to get gas but luckily the main roads were cleared by that time.

They do in Florida (probably other states as well) for gas stations that are within a certain distance of designated hurricane evacuation routes. You are right - and if power outages are high on the probability list it seems like it would be smart business to install them.

**Batch** · 08-27-2013, 09:28 PM

Originally Posted by crashdive123

They do in Florida (probably other states as well) for gas stations that are within a certain distance of designated hurricane evacuation routes. You are right - and if power outages are high on the probability list it seems like it would be smart business to install them.

Didn't the mandate that after Wilma?

After Wilma the power went out in the am and if you went to a store like Publix they wouldn't sell you anything. They didn't know what to do without cash registered and by the time they figured it out they were told not to sell anything that could spoil. So everything spoiled with people needing.

Between the game/meat freezer and the coolers nothing spoiled after over a week without power and we ate like kings. They'll be plenty of drama to keep you entertained.

I guess the first 48 is an adjustment and after 72 hours it was really not that big of deal. Neighbors worked together and you could drive to a place that had power restored and shower or what ever if needed. We are campers and don't mind cool showers when the AC doesn't work. So, we actually had guests when we had no power. LOL We ate like kings! Oh, and not a single beer got warm!

**Rick** · 08-27-2013, 11:15 PM

Originally Posted by Batch

I guess the first 48 is an adjustment and after 72 hours it was really not that big of deal.

I have to echo that. Once you get your head around what's happened then it just becomes a part of life. As long as no one is seriously injured or killed the material stuff can be replaced. Everyone worked together to get through it. I had a couple of neighbors help me on my roof and I helped them on theirs.

**Highhawk1948** · 08-28-2013, 08:43 PM

Having lived in Florida for 40 years and worked for an emergency response agency I have had too much experience with Hurricanes, Tornados, Floods. I also had to respond outside the state to several floods and hurricanes including Katrina. My best advise would be to take the "Hurricane Lists" that you get from your local weather station, Lowes, and like stores and follow it. Make sure you have enough tarps to cover your house roof. And figure you need to be able to take care of yourself for at least 72 hours. Unless you are in a real rural area aid stations should be set up by then by the local emergency management people and or the State. I was always amazed that people would complain to us for not feeding/watering them within 24 hours when we preach that you need to take care of yourself for 72 hours.

The first 48 hours. Implement your emergency plan that you have rehearse and briefed with your family. Keep moral up. Protection? Hopefully you are a gun owner. Police are tied up and are short handed.

Since I am usually gone during or shortly after I checked with my wife to see what she does during the wait for restored services. Keeps the generator gassed up to run the refrigerator, cooks meals on the grill and camp stove, usually MREs. Naps, reads, visits with the neighbor on the farm to the south. Now that I have retired and upgraded our horse trailer to one with living quarters it will be much easier. We will now have a camper with generator/ electricity to live in until services are restored.

**loki** · 08-29-2013, 10:16 AM

I went through hurricane Hugo and remember we were shut off. No one was hurt and we were lucky because we were on a farm. It was a lot of manual work however what farm isn't. The biggest thing I think that really put a damper on things was that at the end of the day after being outside getting water, chopping wood removing debris and patching up the house was their was no air conditioning to cool off and rest at the end of the day. I know it might sound weak or whatever but you really don't understand how just being able to go into a climatized area boost moral. We had lots of canned and stored food, we had chickens, hogs and hunted squirrels and rabbits. We also had an open well so a five gallon bucket on a rope and lots of boiling of water. Communication services were provided by battery powered shortwave radio and my grandfather also had a CB radio.