There are so many things to be thought of during moments of disaster, and often times you don't have much time to think about what to do. In situations where you can look back and obviously see that seconds were a deciding factor in a time of crisis, it's helpful to put the effort in before something actually does happen. The world's militaries, schools, and business do it- and you should really conduct drills and practice runs before a disaster too. Here's a list of things commonly forgotten during disaster and times of crisis:
I'll keep this one short because you're probably tired of hearing it, but you really do need to stay calm. Someone panicking and screaming at the top of their lungs in an erratic manner while crying, flailing, and generally acting like a temper tantrum prone child never helped anyone, ever. You can practice this in your everyday life. While it seems minuscule learning to control your actions in mini 'disasters' whether it be someone getting injured unexpectedly or roadside flat in the middle of a thunderstorm it will begin to condition your brain into going into 'fight' mode rather than 'flight' mode. It will help you make better decisions, and think more clearly in situations it can difficult to think in.
This is useful in most disaster situations. A bathtub can hold a lot of water which can be used for various things in the event that the water does go off. You can flush a toilet with no power, as long as you have water. If the water goes out for a week a family of three will need around 65 gallons of water just for drinking. Fill everything you can fill, and use the water purification methods listed here for drinking water.
Sure, we'd all like to ride through a hurricane with the TV on, while making some food on the stove with plans of a hot shower in the mix. While doing all three may seem 'moronic' its fairly common for people to do at least one or two of these things during a disaster. In disaster situations that have slow escalations (I.E. hurricane with a week heads up, severe storms, blizzards) and even ones that happen abruptly (I.E. earthquakes, mudslides, etc) it is important to shut your water, electricity, and gas off- especially when evacuating. While these utilities are pretty safe on their own, mixed with a disaster they can cause more problems than the conveniences they offer.
If the power goes out, the credit card machines do too. And if the apocalypse ever does end up happening, having extras of things people may need will be quite handy. You need to have money (preferably in smaller bills & different forms- you don't want to end up paying fifty bucks or a whole gold coin for a loaf of bread), lots of change/coins, and stuff that you're able to barter with (several small bottles of high grade alcohol come to mind). Also, never keep everything together- if you get robbed or even lose something you don't want to lose it all at once.
Do I need to go into detail about why this may be useful? You answered 'No.' right?
But I'd be willing to wager that you didn't have any in your disaster kit.
Extended family members names, addresses, phone numbers- laminated on a card is incredibly useful. You should have your immediate family's birth certificates, social security cards, IDs, list of credit cards, the deed to the house, your will, any court agreements, all of your car information, and really anything of great importance in a waterproof envelop as well. Primary physicians info, lists of health problems and/or medications taken are also great adds.
For all the miles you may have to walk. If your car tire gets a flat. If you can't get to the highway because the traffic is at a standstill. For the moments all you can do is run, and just keep running. Oh dear, I sound like a Nike commercial. Those shoes may be the only ones you have for a while so choose wisely. I'm inclined to recommend a skating sneaker brand, as they are so heavily padded.
The power may go out and your phone battery may die, and in the aftermath of a disaster a digital camera may not be as handy as you would like it to be. You should always have at least one disposable waterproof camera in your disaster kit. You may need to take pictures of the damage afterwards of your house, car, street, etc for insurance and documentation purposes.
If you have internet access after a disaster you can report that you're safe to the American Red Cross Safe & Well List. Alternatively you should also have one extended family member who doesn't live in your geographical region act as a outlet for notifying the rest of the family of your well being. Always remember that during a disaster you will have better luck sending out a text message rather than making a phone call.
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I'm totally starting to get why so many 'Preppers' devote entire basements, and in some cases even separate houses to storing all this stuff. The list of what you may need is really never ending, with new tools being made or discovered daily. It's the 'hobby' that keeps on giving.
Somewhere between Breaking Bad & The Walking Dead it became apparent that perhaps the stealthiest weapons are the ones you wouldn't traditional carry. Let's face it, guns require quite a bit of maintenance compared to knives and they also make a lot of noise. Weapons that don't advertise your location will be the most useful to have in apocalyptic scenarios, and although I don't condone the use of them in disaster scenarios sometimes you just don't know what cards you will be dealt. As the movie Aftershock kindly (& graphically, might I add) pointed out- you never know what a natural disaster can cause. If there is a devastating natural disaster looters WILL be found, and prisons may experience breaches- so it never hurts to be prepared.
- Generally speaking clouds that are high and white colored mean good weather, whereas clouds that are dark and low indicate bad weather.
- Clouds that are visibly moving in different directions (I.E. Some moving West to East VS East to West) means bad weather is coming.
- High wispy like clouds (Cirrus) usually mean bad weather within the next thirty-six hours.
- If there is dew in the grass in the early morning it's not likely that it will rain that day, whereas if there isn't dewy it means it will likely be cloudy and may rain.
- A red sky in the morning usually means rain on the way, whereas a red tinged sky at night means the weather will be nice.
- If you see a rainbow in the western sky, rain is likely on the way, to the east- it has already passed you.
- If birds are flying high, good weather is present. If the birds start flying low, or perching it usually means low pressure system is on the way.
- Chances are if you smell and/or hear the outdoors more than you normally do, rain is on the way.
- If smoke moves straight up, good weather will stay. If the smoke moves up and then gets pushed down or sideways a storm is likely approaching.
- Any storm systems in the west have likely not made it to you yet and will. Whereas storms that lie to the east have likely already passed you by.
- If there's a ring around the moon, there's moisture in the air.
- Leaves that are facing upwards (with the darker side facing the sun) mean good weather, whereas if the lighter side was visible you should expect some rainy/windy weather.
- You can tell the temperature by counting a crickets chirps. Count the chirps for 14 seconds and then add 40 to the number, the temperature should be right within a couple of degrees.
- A late night temperature rise usually means a storms approaching.
- Wind blowing east to west mean an approaching front and winds blowing west to east mean good weather.
- Wood and natural materials tend to swell before a storm arrives.
- Cloud cover on a winter night means a milder morning, whereas clear nights often give way to cooler mornings.
- Cumulonimbus/Altonimbus/Nimbus/Mammatus/Nimbostratus clouds means bad weather.
- Cirrus/Altocumulus clouds mean bad weather in the next couple days.
- Cirrus/Altocumulus clouds in the same day means bad weather tomorrow.
- Cumulus clouds usually mean good weather.
- Stratus clouds usually mean a chance of rain/snow.
- Fixing tears/holes/breaks in just about anything. (Tents, boats, glasses, pools, clothing, roofs, house siding, garbage cans, screens, arrows, window cracks, minor car issues, poles, sleeping bags, water bottles, boxes, backpacks, etc.)
- Make a rope, clothesline,cords, ETC.
- Create butterfly bandages, and regular band-aids when in a bind. You can also use rolled up sections to pad/prevent a blister!
- Use duct tape to line the interior of clothes/boots/shelter when extra insulation is needed! Exterior when waterproofing is needed!
- Making/adding/attaching shelter elements to where you're staying. (I.E. stringing lights, attaching hidden weapons, etc)
- Make cups, plates, hats, clothing, handcuffs, shoes, sandals, CPR masks, paddles, reflective signaling, harnesses, sandbags, sunglasses, wallets, utility belts, first aid slings, containers, etc.. this list literally goes on and on.
- Resealing packages/containers- especially FOOD packages when camping outdoors!
- Use duct tape to reinforce knots when unsure of their durability.
- Use it to write with (by making the letters out of tape) or to write on!
- Hanging tape works great as a fly and mosquito catcher! You can attach small dots of sugar to attract them as well!
- Spear making! Use duct tape to attach your knife to a study stick and you now have a spear!
- Wrap a sprained ankle, broken wrist- use it to attach a stick to splint broken bones to keep them stabilized.
- Use duct tape to mark a trail when hiking and traveling (or a fake trail if you think you're being followed :)
- Wadded up duct tape can be used as a fire starter when you have no other options!
- Use it to seal off clothing cuffs to prevent nasty tick bites, and more.
Sun, Sun, and more sun! Did you know that if you store water in PET bottles (available here) and let it sit in direct sunlight for 6 hours, the sun will clean it for you?
The bleach method depends on what kind of bleach you are using. Normal household bleaches contain less than 6% chlorine per bottle, if you are using one within this range the measurements will be 8 drops per gallon. However if you are either unsure or have a lower percentage than 4-6% you are going to want to use between 30-40 drops per gallon. Double amount for cloudy water, repeat dosage if there isn't a faint odor of chlorine after a 30 minute treatment.
From Bottle: Each bottle includes 50 tablets; 2 iodine tablets treat 1 quart of water
Plain Iodine: 5 drops clear water / 10 drops cloudy / wait 30 minutes
