This is a real email from a hurricane "Ike" survivor...

[opsec]

Read the below.  Then read it again.  This is a real life story.  The rest is up to you.  Kt/LOCMIA

P.S. Pay close attention to what he listed first and second.  Then read the last four lines again.  Then again.

    This current advice, from a friend in  Houston, TX who sat out Hurricane "Ike":

     I'm finally back on line!  Our part of Houston was hard hit by strong winds and heavy rain.  Lots of damage to buildings and infrastructure, including my house. We had no public services for nearly a week.   Roads were blocked, and we had no access to food nor fuel, not to mention a thousand other items we daily take for granted.  Our power has just been restored today! I'm now the 'expert' I never wanted to be! Here is what I learned about widespread disaster, mostly the hard way:

    Weapons.  Stick with weapons that are simple, hardy, and run under all conditions.  You'll need more than just one.  When they break, you won't be able to get them fixed any time soon.  You'll need high-capacity, military rifles, not just pistols!  Remember,  any position can be taken, providing the attacker is willing to pay the price.  We have many street gangs here, and they were out, roaming.  In an armed confrontation ,  you may die anyway, but make them work for it!  Heavily armed, we confronted several groups of looters, at gunpoint, and quickly ran them off.  They weren't particularly heroic!

    Ammunition. Starting hoarding it now!  Have an adequate supply on hand.  More than one neighbor frantically came to me and asked if I had any of this caliber or that!

    Battery-Operated Radios: The only contact we had with the outside world was via radio.  We were isolated, but at least we had access to news and weather reports.  Portable generators are wonderful, but they require lots of fuel, and power output is minimal.

    Trauma Kits: Learn how to treat traumatic injuries and have the appropriate equipment on hand.  I had to suture my wife's foot with four stitches.  I had no pain killer, but I still had to do it.  We had no access to hospitals, nor ambulances, nor medical care of any kind.  We had to treat our own injuries.  Have plenty of IBDs, alcohol, medical scissors,  wide-spectrum, oral antibiotics, decongestants, and bandaids.  You're going to need it all!

     Food: Have a good supply of water, MREs, as well as canned goods, like corn, beans, rice.  You'll need non-perishables aplenty.  You're going to have to feed yourself and perhaps others.  Who don't eat regularly, quickly become run down and despondent.

     Fuel and warm clothing: Though is was not an issue for us (this time), you need a way to keep warm.  Hypothermia is extremely dangerous and insidious.

     Finally, and most  important: Don't wait to be rescued, and don't expect help any time soon.  Make appropriate preparations now, and, when disaster strikes, act immediately!  Don't sit around expecting someone else to feed you, get you to a safe place, keep you warm, treat your injuries, nor protect you from evil-doers.  Who do are naive and self-deceptive, and typically don't live through it! There is no "Book of Rules" that applies to situations like this.  My neighbors and I are good and decent people, and we know right from wrong.  We were not afraid to do what needed to be done to get us all through this. We are now in the middle of putting our lives and possessions back in order, as best we can.  We're toughing it out, separating wants from needs, and going forward!" Comment: None of us can know what fate has in store for us. To be willfully unprepared and naive is the ultimate personal irresponsibility! Pandering politicians love to assure us, particularly in election years, that they plan on legislating all the uncertainties out of life.  Never believe it. You're on your own!

[Atash Hagmahani]

Interesting.

I'll need to re-read a few times. I was already suspicious that the media was underplaying what happened.

More than one neighbor frantically came to me and asked if I had any of this caliber or that!

That's actually a good sign. Here, no one would defend his property. We have all been indoctrinated not to. During the riots, nobody fought back, and one guy who tried to defend someone else was bludgeoned to death (had his head smashed against the concrete over and over again). Nobody helped him until it was too late, and both the media and the courts downplayed the attack.

We have many street gangs here

I tend to discount the word "gang" because it implies organization, and my own experience has been that most criminals are not organized. The real gangs were the ones protecting drug distribution channels during the crack boom of the 1980s, when our government was funding it while Nancy Reagan postured about "just say 'no'". They would not be likely to bother with looting, which is a much different type of activity than what they are used to.

I think what is going on instead is that unlike us, the looters have never been indoctrinated NOT to cooperate and work with their friends and relatives. So, they take the path of least resistance: there is safety AND SYNERGY in numbers! They work together.

(you know, we could both make a point about this, AND do so with some humor, by making posters about "cooperation" and "let's all work together", by putting up posters promoting criminal cooperation)

The "gang" idea is promoted by the police. I am on a police officer's email distribution list, because the leader of my block watch referred my email to him. ALL OF HIS EMAILS ARE ABOUT "GANG" ACTIVITY! Two guys who are half-brothers steal cars, and it's a "car-theft GANG".

The proposed solution is always "anti-gang programs at public schools and community centers"--in other words, it's my responsibility to provide more welfare.

The "gang" thing just seems to be a cover story, to divert attention away from ARRESTS and CONVICTIONS, and towards social welfare programs.

[Lady Lilya]

I tend to discount the word "gang" because it implies organization, and my own experience has been that most criminals are not organized.

How about "pack"?

[Chem Guy]

There was discussion in 2005 on 'The High Road' forum about the aftermath of Katrina from a fellow who had several people show up needing a place to stay.  A summary can be found here of 'Lessons Learned From Katrina':

http://www.frfrogspad.com/disastr.htm

[opsec]

http://www.frfrogspad.com/disastr.htm

I've read the above article and I have come to the conclusion that being an anti-social asshole is in fact, a survival skill.

[Dr Chef Scott]

Hello All....

 Thanks for allowing me to join your group. I have already learned a lot today. I agree 100% with you about self preservation. I am currently in the Blue Ridge mountains of Va but am relocating to Central Florida  in the spring. I lived in Florida for 12 years. I spent the 2004 hurricane season in a 1972 doublewide. I spent 1 scarey night up listening to the wind, rain and a down spout hitting the side of the house. The rest of this park evacuated except the neighbor behind me. They were all over 50. The 3 of us (Me, my wife & neighbor) all depended on each other for that time bu none of us were prepared with the proper supplies we needed. We were in a decent area so we didn't have any legal issues but I had my gun on hand until the power was restored.
  My concealed weapons license is from Florida and have told the wife that once we return, I am not only acquiring 2 more pistols, but several rifles and enough ammo for each to hold my own just in case. I have recently been given a 1970 travel trailer that I am remodeling. In my plans, I already have a few "access places" to store weapons if I ever have to when we have to move due to situation.
  I have already started to stock pile some of the neccessities of food so we will be set for up to 1 year. Here is a healpfu; hint: if you purchase drinking water, DO NOT TOSS THE JUG!! I take those 1 gallon jugs, wash and let them air dry. They make great storage units for rice, white sugar, flour, small pasta (shells,etc). I take the plastic prego spaghetti sauce jars from the neighbor, wash & air dry them and use them for dried beans. You would be surprised how much you can fit into one of these jugs.
  So far today reading many of your posts, I have already learned so much. Let me explain my user name. I am a Le Cordon Bleu trained chef even though I am currently not in the field. I am studying for my BS in psychology and plan on continuing onto my MS & PhD.

Again... Thanks for letting me join your group.

Dr. Chef Scott

[mantis308]

This is a great post. Thanks for the information. Some of this scares the heck outta me.

However, their neighbors who had not prepared all came running after the disaster, wanting food, water and shelter from them. When the prepared families refused, on the grounds that they had very little, and that only enough for themselves, there were many incidents of aggression, attempted assault, and theft of their supplies. Some had to use weapons to deter attack, and in some cases, shots were fired. I understand that in two incidents, attackers/would-be thieves were shot. It's also reported that in all of these cases, the prepared families now face threats of retribution from their neighbors, who regarded their refusal to share as an act of selfishness and/or aggression, and are now threatening retaliation.

I always wondered how to handle this situation until I learned from first hand experience. Last year we had an ice storm, and our house was one of 4 on the entire street and about 20 in the neighborhood that didn't lose power (a total of 35 homes on my street, about 160 in the neighborhood). I didn't realize at first the extent of the outages occurring until someone knocked on my door at 11 pm the first night. My next door neighbor asked if I would allow him to plug in an extension cord.. I allowed it. Then another neighbor and another and another, all within 3 or 4 hours. 3 days later my power did go off (only for a few hours) when the neighbors all showed up angry with me, shouting and accusing me of unplugging their cords (scaring the hell out of my 3 year old son). It took each one of them about 20 or 30 minutes of messing with my circuit breakers before they finally acknowledged that I lost power.

I went ahead and shut off all the breakers except the kitchen stove and water heater, and let them believe my power was permanently out, because I felt that they would terrorize my family some more. When the power came back on, they all apologized but I felt that the people I'd known for the past 3 years or so were not friendly, they could be aggressive if their perceived need was greater than their perception of my need.

I've felt bad about that since that time, but now having read this article I think maybe I did the right thing.

Have portable weapons and ammo ready to hand. Only two of my friends were armed, and one of them had only a handgun. The other had a handgun for himself, another for his wife, a shotgun, and an evil black rifle - MUCH better!

I sold my evil black rifle when I deployed overseas.. a move I now regret. I guess I can always replace it.

I've read the above article and I have come to the conclusion that being an anti-social asshole is in fact, a survival skill.

I'm with you Opsec... keeping my head down probably saved me from a lot more trauma than having the power actually go out.

[opsec]

I went ahead and shut off all the breakers except the kitchen stove and water heater, and let them believe my power was permanently out, because I felt that they would terrorize my family some more. When the power came back on, they all apologized but I felt that the people I'd known for the past 3 years or so were not friendly, they could be aggressive if their perceived need was greater than their perception of my need.

People are only friendly as long as they are getting what they want from you. You may not realize it, but you basically got mugged by your neighbors. The only reason they didn't hurt you was because you caved in to their demands (and they were demands even if they were phrased as questions) before they had to expend the energy on making you "give it up" for them.

Something I've decided is to ID everybody that comes to me for anything. I copy the information from their drivers license before they get anything (if I give them anything at all). That way they know that if they do something to me, I can find them and take ownership of their ass later. If they know you can do that, they will think twice about doing anything to you. I might even go so far as to demand a check from them (unsigned, but with the account numbers and routing numbers on it).

Have portable weapons and ammo ready to hand. Only two of my friends were armed, and one of them had only a handgun. The other had a handgun for himself, another for his wife, a shotgun, and an evil black rifle - MUCH better!

I sold my evil black rifle when I deployed overseas.. a move I now regret. I guess I can always replace it.

I wouldn't bet the farm on that if I were you (see below).

Chef,
     Better get those guns now: http://mutuallyassuredsurvival.com/smforums/index.php?topic=12.0

     Note concerning the jugs: They are made of plastic that is biodegradable, that is to say, they are designed to breakdown over the course of time. I'm sure they will last longer since they are being used to store dry goods and they are not being exposed to UV light, just don't use them for water storage. Be real careful re-using milk jugs as it is hard to get those clean enough to store water in. I wouldn't trust them to store food either.

[Atash Hagmahani]

They make great storage units for rice, white sugar, flour, small pasta (shells,etc).

I like to hear ideas about re-using things. I am not particularly clever that way but I am at least thinking about it more.

I am a Le Cordon Bleu trained chef even though I am currently not in the field.

Hey, maybe you can help with one of my projects! My wiki has a section on meal-planning. My idea is to "anchor" meals around easily storable staples such as flour and rice, with complementary proteins (beans + rice, say) built into the menus, complemented with home-grown produce. The idea is that people could save a lot of money, and actually eat better and be healthier, if they had some basic cooking skills. Most people really can't--they are dependent on largely ready-made foods or a chunk of (relatively expensive) meat or something like that.

I thought of noodles (and dumplings), bread, and rice mixtures ("pilafs" for lack of a better word). Bread is easy; I know how to make lots of different kinds. I can make lots of rice dishes, though I think I should think of some more. Noodles are a problem, as they are tedious to make and require a bit of muscle (I am assuming no imported Italian pasta machine, which costs $bucks, will be prone to breaking down, etc).

3 days later my power did go off (only for a few hours) when the neighbors all showed up angry with me, shouting and accusing me of unplugging their cords (scaring the hell out of my 3 year old son). It took each one of them about 20 or 30 minutes of messing with my circuit breakers before they finally acknowledged that I lost power.

YIKES!!  What a bunch of thugs. That would really bother me, knowing my neighbors were that unfriendly. That's the problem with modern societies...no cohesion...everyone for himself.

[opsec]

YIKES!!   What a bunch of thugs. That would really bother me, knowing my neighbors were that unfriendly.

I suspect that they are. They just haven't had a reason to reveal that about themselves...yet. BTW, I'd bet that a lot of your neighbors saw you on TV and now knows where to go first when a crisis occurs.

That's the problem with modern societies...no cohesion...everyone for himself

That's a fact that we had all better plan around.

[Dr Chef Scott]

What about corn meal storage? Is it a staple that could be stored safely? If yes, what would be the best way? I already store ground corn flour. I have the bag vaccuum sealed from my food saver. Think I could store the corn flour in a plastic jug in a cool dry closet?

[Atash Hagmahani]

I think it should be vacuum-sealed too--otherwise it will go rancid (I am assuming it is whole-meal and not defatted--defatted won't go rancid) and/or get attacked by meal moths or weevils (they can get into packages that are not tightly sealed, or they have already laid eggs, but heavy plastic and a vacuum seal stops them). When you get back to Florida humidity might be a problem too, as it might cake.

Another solution, if you happen to have a grain mill, is to store whole corn (CO2 pack the containers to keep out vermin) and grind small amounts as needed. That's kinda nice, because you can just store the whole corn, and grind it to the fine-ness you want for different purposes.

Small amounts that you are currently using up could be stored in airtight containers. That's what I do to stock my kitchen.

[opsec]

Dr. Chef Scott,
     This link will take you to some youtube videos on food storage and info on where to get the materials: http://mutuallyassuredsurvival.com/smforums/index.php?topic=11.0

[radioastro]

Another solution, if you happen to have a grain mill, is to store whole corn (CO2 pack the containers to keep out vermin) and grind small amounts as needed. That's kinda nice, because you can just store the whole corn, and grind it to the fine-ness you want for different purposes.

This for sure, with extremely cheap O2 absorbers from various sources, rather than the CO2 packaging, and preferably stored in mylar bags.

Grain mills of the hand cranked variety are available for around 30 bucks on ebay, and they will crack the corn for you. It's quite an experience, try it first. You may find yourself very quickly buying a more expensive mill, just to reduce the amount of work. Or you might discover that you have teenagers that are willing to do the work for you, thus saving you the expense, at least for now. 

[opsec]

I have the Country living grain mill. I'm contemplating buying one of those 45 lb weights like you see in gyms and either bolt or weld it onto the wheel of the grinder. Then attach the handle to the outer perimeter of the weight. Once that gets moving it would be easy to keep up speed and unstoppable too, kind of like overdrive when you are on the highway.