Lessons learned from recent NO bug-outs

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Fortress CAnnoneer sounds good and all that, but be careful with the generator; there's already several reports of deaths from folks using generators in their homes without the proper ventilation, and since you're making this place watertight and all.....
 
13. Don't rely on government-run shelters if at all possible. Your weapons WILL be confiscated
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Not only your weapons - but pets as well.

And in a disaster of such scale don't expect to ever see Fluffy again if "confiscated" at a gov shelter; Uncle is not going to spend the time or money on them, other than for their "humane" destruction and safe disposal.

Yes, have a plan and a place - avoid gov shelters at all costs.
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Mongo the Mutterer
Deadeye Deb (my fiancee) and I were discussing a SHTF kit last night. The first thing she said was COFFEE, and a coffee pot to put on a grill or fire.
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Coffee and cigarettes; highly desireable barter too. How ever many extra Folgers plastic cans and cartons of cigarettes you can afford to keep on hand in rotating stock - in addition to your own needs and backup - might be worth their weight in gold in exchange for other goods and services.

I like good cigars too :D
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boats, awesome suggestion. iodine tablets also.

that's one thing i really should have on hand in case of earthquake though, the filter/pump.

i really like living right at the bottom of the hill though, no worries of sliding down it/ or it sliding on to me, 2 supermarkets and a produce market, all the supplies within a 2 block area. no drive to stock up, not much time needed, and absolute SHTF i can pack it to the hills on foot.

my worst problem would be how far from home am i if it was during work.

thats the screwy part, you dont have ANY time to prepare for a quake.
i really do need that filter. food, with all these markets, ill get. water could become a problem, but the filter would do it, there are enough sources of water within walking distance

I have hinted about caches in other threads
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i was gonna mention this as well, lots of people already have them. homeless use them all he time, buckets buried. i hate to mention it here, cause i dont know how much good it does people with no high gound. of course, a farther away cache cant hurt, but if you have to drive to it, semi defeats the purpose. i five gallon bucket buried can contain all kinds of things.
 
6. (Planning) .... The idea of a "team" of friends with (or to) whom to bug out, survive, etc. is looking better and better. Some of the team could take on the task of keeping a home maintained (even a camp-type facility), looking after kids, providing base security, etc ... [etc]
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This is a very sound concept if you can get the cooperation of a group of trusted friends.

Perhaps a remote vacation retreat for camping trips and hunting. The only major hiccup might be if the disaster was much wider in scope than anticipated and covered the retreat area as well.

But there is a measure of safety in numbers, and individual families with young children, sick or elderly are potentially very vulnerable on their own.

Boats,

A useful and perhaps essential companion to the Pocket filter is the Micro with spare charcoal elements. The Pocket model will not remove chemicals. I was very fortunate to get my Pocket model for $69.00 on an REI closeout a few years back.
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this thread is invaluable.. I went into General discussion to make a thread about bug-out bags, and see that the ball has already gotten rolling.

Great suggestions so far, especially the water filter

can we sticky this?
 
Dave,
If you have your Yeasu, it has general weather radio built in. One thing I'd suggest is to get a AA battery pack for it.
I actually have enough battery power in my shack to keep my HF running for a few days without power.
73s
 
LAK, about the animals sad but true. That's why I plan on taking them with me. When my area was hit with a major snow and ice storm, I was one of the few people who could get around, why I had a Jeep. Will I ever give up my 4X4, nope.

I have,I hope anyway, friends in Gulfport and they chose to "ride out" the strom because of their dogs and parrot. :(
 
I had all that, but there are no jobs in Cleveland and I ended up in Florida, hey, at least I live on a hill! 60 feet above sea level.
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You need to have a way to get from your island to the mainland when a major hurricane hits. A thirty foot storm surge would turn Florida into an archipelago.
 
Wonderful Thread -- Preacherman Thanks again. but one thing you said we should ALL think about (and tattoo on our arms so we never forget)
Moral of the story: if you want to survive, don't rely on the government or any government agency (or private relief organization, for that matter) to save you. Your ass is in your own hands - don't drop it!
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Scanned Documents

We spoke about scanning in important documents and backing up to a secure, portable media like CD/DVD/external drive. What documents would you consider crucial? Would you include a credit card statement and utilities statements as well?

-Birth certificate
-Naturalization docs
-Driver's license
-Passport
-Insurance policy declaration pages
-???

Greg
 
The MSR Mini-Works
miniworks_ex.jpg
is a great way to go. I like it because it screws directly onto a standard Nalgene bottle for storage and drinking.

The MSR WaterWorks is its big brother and it also screws directly to a Nalgene bottle. More pricey, but it has an additional filtering element.

In NOLA or Biloxi, MS, I'd be using a Brita as a first stage filter to remove the heavy stuff in the water, then add chlorine and then filter that with my MSR miniworks. Brita filter are cheap compared to the MSR's, but they don't take out the small stuff. That's just a plan -- comments would be appreciated.
 
What about petroleum and chemicals in the water?

The problem I see is that water in NOLA contains petroleum, and possibly chemicals from nearby plants.

Is there a treatment method that addresses these problems?

Thanks for a great thread,
Dirty Bob
 
When I was thinking about the pocket filter I posted about, I was really more in the mode of assuming that I wouldn't want to drink filtered floodwater in NO, but rather, what I could already do in a place like Mississippi, where fresh water would be more readily available and only somewhat suspect.

To drink NO's flood water, I'd want a four pronged approach to the problem and at least a couple of people to do the work.

First layer would be the pocket filter I posted about earlier, for its high filter endurance, ability to take out microscopic crawlies and bacteria, with good out put. As noted, it won't do anything for petroleum distillates.

Looks like I need to buy an AC capable filter now as well. The water derived from my Katadyn would then be put through this hand-pumped filtration system. Activated charcoal removes many volatile organic compounds from the water. The problem with most AC systems is that while they remove a lot of foul tasting stuff, they usually do a crummy job of removing microscopic biological contaminants, pesticides, and do nothing for any heavy metals. The reason I do not own an AC filter now is that freshwater is abundant in Oregon and usually doesn't have cars, refineries, or oil storage tanks sitting in it.

So the third step is something I need to get a second example of. The Katadyn Survivor 35 is something I have on a boat I have an ownership interest in. It is a hand operated reverse osmosis desalinator. It can take on seawater straight up. Even on freshwater, it would remove heavy metal contaminants and pesticides from the water. I gotta get another one of these as I am 55 miles from the one I already own. I could probably get by just using a Survivor 35 against all contaminants, but RO systems clog too easily for general use where silt or other semi-solid contaminants are going to fill pores. So using other products as pre-filters would take the pressure off of this system and keep it useable longer. Another point: This filter is horrifically expensive, but what's your life worth?

Last step would be water treatment tablets to throw into the finished product just to take the belt and suspenders approach.

I do think I could make sweet water out of the NO flood waters with all of the above equipment, and combined the three filters and some tablets would weigh less than one or so gallons of water carried around.
 
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The problem I see is that water in NOLA contains petroleum, and possibly chemicals from nearby plants.

Is there a treatment method that addresses these problems?

Thanks for a great thread,
Dirty Bob
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You can always distill it--you're situation would be pretty poor indeed if you couldn't scrounge enough materials and set up something in an hour that will condense steam and collect the drippings. It's just a lot more time-intensive to make good water. Fuel (wood, gas or watever) is obviously desirable.

If you had an abundance of stove fuel (or a house that's been reduced to splinters), you could make adequate drinking water for a couple of days. A solar still is going to take a lot more material and time to set-up.
 
Something else that most THR denizens probably don't have to consider, but I know some of us DO:

I've never killed anything.

I don't have the first idea of how to stalk, hunt, kill, clean, or skin an animal.

I'm sure I could kill something, and hack off enough meat to burn over a fire (and, yes, I CAN make fire). But what an inefficient way to go about trying to survive. And what a waste of usable goods--hide, etc.

I think getting some one to take me hunting and teaching me the ropes has just become a much higher priority.
 
Snake Eyes,

Good point.

Perhaps even more important than figuring out how to catch/kill something to eat is how to clean and cook it. Almost anything that moves is edible if cooked.

There are a lot of survival manuals on how to make snares and such (though you're better off taking pre-mades with you), what you need is a book (and instruction if available) on how to skin out and clean small and large game.

Also, a book for your region on local plant life can be a life saver. The woods and parks (and lawns and gardens) are full of goodies. People die (usually not of hunger but uncomfortably hungry anyway) while walking through nature's produce section.

Up here anyway most small game can be taken year round. Go camping but on this trip, plan on killing and eating something.
 
great great post....

I've realized after living and tampa and having 4 feet of water in the house....that a Bug out bag is vital...however i wouldnt have been prepared for something like this...for sure.

i had some most of the stuff in rubbermaid contrainer...not good if i had to carry it on foot.

what the heck do you put all your gear in fellas?

some stuff i didnt think bout was a hand pump filter such as the katadyn...

only had iodine tablets.

also didnt think about a "surivial book"...seems good to.

• 7 days worth of MRE’s (Meals Ready to Eat)
• 3 gallons of water.
• Katadyn Water Filter
• Prescription Medicine
• Important documents
• Batteries AA, AAA, C’s D’s
• Cash money for 2 weeks…$1,000 cash (small bills) this should be ENOUGH....i'd hope.
• Phone Numbers of family/friends, hospitals, etc.
• Extra gas for car.
• 2 fixed blade knives anyone got some brand recommendations? keep it under $150 for both?
• Female toiletries
• Baby wipes
• Basic good first aid kit (the TAD gear one is nice)
• Tool kit (basic screwdrivers, wrenches, sockets)
• Fix-A-Flat
• Trail mix (pleasure food)
• Local topographical maps
• Magnesium Fire starter
• Water proof matches
• Collapsible dog water bowl
• 2 flashlights
• Duct Tape
• Para cord how much
• Army Survival book
• Toothpaste
• Shampoo
• Hand sanitizer
• Toilet paper
• Dog food
• Signal mirror
• Emergency space blanket
• Cotton bandana
• Whistle
• SMALL mess kit
• Rain jackets (2)
• Flare gun

ok that seems like ALOT...what do you guys think?

this is for 2 adults, my mother and myself and our one dog.

please feel free to critque it (please be nice?)...anything i need to get rid of or add?

Chad
 
"2 fixed blade knives anyone got some brand recommendations? keep it under $150 for both?" Kabar $39 sticker, but isn't innocuous. (Looks mean)

From Midway.com KA-BAR Short Black Fighting/Utility Knife 5-1/4" Partially Serrated Carbon Steel Blade Black Kraton Handle Black with Leather Sheath
Product #: 885944 Status: Available Our Price: $36.99

A smaller knife and a light hand Axe, might be better.

Geoff
Who has a beatup old Finn and a Swiss Army knife. :)
 
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