You Can Only Tell People So Many Times!

Photo from Fox News showing people lined up to get gas in New Jersey.

We are just halfway through day 3 of the Sandy aftermath and people are getting stupid. There are actually state police posted at every functioning gas station along the NJ Turnpike because people are fighting over the gas lines – lines NO ONE should be in to begin with!

Here is what Fox News said today:

“Residents jockeyed for fuel at the few stations still pumping, searched store shelves in vain for batteries, struggled with sporadic cell phone service and found themselves unable to buy necessities at supermarkets.”

One last time: Always have enough food, water, fuel, batteries – everything you actually need to live! – to last at least 3 days. 5 to 10 days is much more appropriate. The idea of 3 days is that the Red Cross and government can usually get their shelters in place and operating in about 3 days. If your plan is not to go to a shelter, then your supply needs to be much larger.

I have heard often that real problems happen after the span of 3 to 6 meals. That is when people realize the problem has not gone away and their pantries are empty. They get desperate and stupid. OK, if you saw any of the thousands of images people posted Monday night of their pantries that consisted of a bottle of booze, a bag of chips and an old can of beans, you may understand that many of the people around you think a disaster will be a party. Yes, those people are whining that there is no food in the stores that don’t even have electricity to run a register if food was there.

Take another look at the photo above. Most of these fools are buying gas for their generators. Fools! I am calling them fools because they bought the generators thinking they were properly prepared for the emergency – then failed to properly store adequate fuel. All they bought was an expensive paperweight to hold down false hope. Some certainly had a couple gallons stashed but did not give proper thought to how much gas would be needed to keep running for 3 to 10 days. Planning to survive a disaster that lasts only a day or so is not planning for any real disaster.

Your family will pay the price for your failure to properly prepare.

Read that again and let it really sink in. Monday night you may have thought it was cute to post photos of an empty cupboard. Now you and your family are huddled together in the dark; scared, cold and hungry.

Let’s start over.

Water – buy several cases of drinking water and stash it in closets around your home. The minimum is always 1 gallon per person per day. If a family of 4 is planning for 2 weeks you need 56 gallons (1 gallon x 4 people x 14 days). Note, this does not allow for bathing!

Food – stock up with stuff you already eat. Get a 2 week supply in right away – then build from there (and do not let it dwindle). You can supplement with MREs or freeze dried food if you want.

Cooking – get some type of cooking device that can prepare your food. A grill or camp stove is great. Make sure you have lots of extra fuel for these devices.

Light – you really don’t need as much as you think. Get several good flashlights (I say a minimum of 1 in each room and 2 for each family member.) Try to make sure your entire collection uses only 1 type of battery and keep lots on hand. Solar rechargers are a good supplement but only if it is sunny! DO NOT let your kids raid your emergency battery supply to power their toys and games. Achieving the next level in their electronic game is not an emergency!

Hygiene –water pumps are not working because the electricity is out. You get one flush from each of your toilets and hope it does not back up because the sewers are already flooded. Human waste and personal hygiene are grossly neglected in emergency plans. Get a 5 gallon bucket (or several) with potty lids. I keep these emergency pots stashed with a supply of related bags, chemicals and toilet paper inside each. These inexpensive items will help protect your family from a host of bacteriological problems. Get some of those antiseptic hand cleansers too to keep with these supplies.

I did not address shelter because most of the people in the current disaster did not lose their homes and the supply of clothing and blankets that was inside.

No need to wait in gas lines because few of these people had any reason to go anywhere. Bet many with little in their tank wasted their fuel driving around gawking at the destruction.

Was this discussion a bit harsh? Perhaps. But you can only tell people so many times. Are you properly prepared for your family to weather a disaster like Sandy? If not, I will look for you in the photos of fools staring at empty grocery shelves and standing in a long line at the gas station.