I know many here dare not enter the treacherous ‘OT’ section; so I wanted to post this on the main forum, Mods feel free to move this later. As most know the Southern California area has seen many earthquakes since 7/4/2019; and we have long since been warned that “The Big One” will hit during our life time. This is not meant to be fear mongering, nor is it a claim that “The Big One” is right around the corner. I intend for this to be a reminder that we do live in an area prone to seismic activity with the cascadia subduction zone/Juan de fuca fault line around us. Now is not a time to panic, but it is a great time to double check and make sure that you are prepared for such an event; so that you don’t have to panic should one occur. There are some things that are essential in any survival situation; In this I’ll cover things to have in your supply kit. Most of these items can be purchased at many locations; I will be quoting prices, primarily from Fred Meyers as most of if not all of these items can be bought there. It is recommended to have enough supplies to survive without assistance for at least 3 days, however I would advise stocking up for 1-Week. 1. Most important, you may already know that this most important item is Water. 1 gallon, per person, per day. Kroger drinking water can be purchased for $0.99 per gallon; $7 per person, per week. 2. Second is food; non perishable food to be precise. Canned goods (beans, vegetables, chili, etc...), and freeze dried (such as Mountain House, Backpackers Pantry). One bag of freeze dried food per person, per day. Check the expiration, but most of these are good for a very long time, some 5-10 years. Freeze dried pouches range anywhere from $5.99-$9.99 depending on the meal. Some examples include: Spaghetti with meat sauce, Macaroni and Cheese, Teriyaki Chicken, Chili MAC with beef, Louisiana beans and rice, breakfast with biscuits and gravy, Italian pepper steak, Apple Crisp dessert, Chicken Noodle Casserole, Jamaican jerk chicken & rice, etc... ~$58 per person, per week for freeze dried food pouches. I’m not sure how many of you have eaten these before, but I always joke around with people “If you are in a survival situation and meet someone who has stocked up on water and freeze dried food you know they are well prepared; but if you meet someone with those two things AND a bottle of hot sauce, you know they are extremely well prepared”. Hot sauce ~$5 3. Flashlight & Batteries There are two ways you can go about this - Cheap flashlight, off brand batteries; or a more expensive higher quality flashlight (IE: Maglite; Duracell batteries) Flashlight ~$29.99-$49.99 Batteries -$14 for an 8 pack 4. Pet supplies I do not have a pet so I don’t include this in my own preparation, but for the many who do - include extra food/water for your pets! 5. Fire starting device Waterproof matches or magnesium striker. I keep a magnesium striker rather than waterproof matches. ~$3.95 6. Fire Extinguisher Should a disaster cause a fire in your house it may be too large to fight, forcing you to evacuate - however being able to stop a small fire from becoming a large one could be the difference between having a roof over your head, or not. This is also something that you should have in your house/apartment regardless of if you are trying to prepare for a natural disaster. ~$30 7. Medication Prescription and non-prescription. Tylenol/Advil, Antacids, Anti-Diarrhea medication, etc... ~$15-25 + extra for prescriptions. 8. First aid kit Bandaids, antiseptic, gauze, etc... ~$20-$40 9. Power Bank for charging electronics These range in price depending on brand and charge capacity. I bought one that can charge a phone 5x for ~$40 10. Formula, Diapers, Baby wipes and any other infant supplies for those with babies. 11. AM/FM radio In the event that cell service is lost, this could be a good way to get information pertaining to disaster relief efforts in your area. ~$10 12. A spare change of clothes/shoes for each individual. Pick something from your wardrobe that you might not wear often and throw it in there as well. 13. Other items I’ve included - Emergency blankets, hand/feet warmers, poncho, water filtration straw (Sawyer makes one, and there is also one branded “life straw”) which could come into use should there be an issue where you either deplete your water supply or there is a problem with it. 14. Lastly, but not insignificant is gasoline. If you are like me you might wait until you are close to E to fill your tank. Now I’ll need to ‘practice what I preach’ here, but keeping at least a half tank of gas in your car at all times could be very important! All in all this will cost you anywhere from ~$200-$275+ For a 1 week supply depending on what you put in your kit, or only $65-$85 per person, per week if you opt to go with just the essentials of food/water. I promise you that this is a worth while investment as ultimately the food and water are things you need to survive no matter the situation. Drink through your water and replace with newer water over time to keep your stash maintained, same with the food - eat and replace. A comprehensive list of items to include in an emergency kit can be found here: https://www.ready.gov/build-a-kit Again I hope we never find ourselves in a position where we need these kits; but should that day come those who are prepared stand a significantly better chance of surviving a natural disaster. Stay smart, and stay safe
I’ve seen what can happen to a grocery store in the event of a minor snow storm; and I can promise you that you could not rely on getting supplies after something has occurred. Unfortunately there are a lot of people who are not even close to prepared for surviving a natural disaster. Don’t be one of the people panicking about making it to the grocery store in the event of a natural disaster. Take that out of the equation and all you will need to worry about is being somewhere that is safe!
You'll also need weapons. Its kill or be killed. I have a go bag with: Change of clothes. Very washable materials for resue First aid kit (I believe there are limited rations) Lifestraw Tactical Knife Solar Power Phone charger Basic toiletries. Bronner's liquid soap can be used for almost anything hygiene reliated.
Do any if you currently have Earthquake insurance? I've heard some recommend it, but that it is expensive and hard to get for us west coasters. Also, i have heard that even if you have it, a company like that will just declare bankruptcy in the event an earthquake actually occurs.
I have earthquake insurance with State Farm, its low $400 with a 10% value of House and Property value deductible.
I'd say that the Cascadia subduction zone "big one" is the most likely major catastrophe likely to hit the NW in the next fifty years (short of an unknown asteroid obliterating us). That said, what do you think generally precedes a volcanic eruption?
Obviously seismic activity triggers volcanoes. What I’m saying is a volcanic eruption is what I fear. A major volcanic eruption will happen in this region eventually. Hopefully not in my lifetime but it will happen. Ring of Fire and all that.
No doubt. Wouldn’t want to be living in one of the towns immediately downhill when it happens. I saw a recent article that said skeletal remains from Pompei show that skulls exploded from pressure created by boiling brains. Pleasant thought.
I am carrying a somewhat substantial amount of body fat. I could (read "should") go a month without eating. We have some extra water and supplies, including firewood.
Yeah, no thanks. That sounds like a horrible way to die. I wonder at what point you flatline - probably long before the “brains boil”...right? Also what kills you? I presume it’s not “boiling brain”...right!?!! Still that is fascinating, I just don’t want to be part of that statistic!
To go a long with this... Pick a location for your family and friends to meet up at. If the 9.0 hits Portland, there will be no cell service for days if not weeks. Pick a place that most everyone can reach in a day's walk. The parking lot of a local hospital is a good place. The National Guard and the Red Cross will set up in the parking lots of the hospitals. The main roads to the hospitals will be unblocked first. You will be able to check in with the Red Cross and then either go on to help other family and friends, or wait there until they show up. You'll also be able to get meals there in a few days. But having a meeting place is important. From there you can decide who's home is best to gather at and defend. In Portland, there are only two bridges that stand a chance of surviving a 8.0 and above earthquake, those are the new Sellwood and Tillicum bridges. The rest will not be structurally sound and most likely not standing. More than likely the access to the Sellwood bridge will not be open to cars. You will have rock slides on the west side and trees and power lines down on the east side. Plan for that.
I keep a shoebox with zombie apocalypse supplies. 2 candles, a container of strike anywhere matches dipped in wax, a bic lighter, 2 large hefty trash bags, a bag of Jolly Ranchers, compass, Piano wire, Survival knife, small hatchet, 15 feet of parachute chord, foldable camp stove with solid fuel pellets, Lots of Bdub wipes, and a .380 w/ extra clips . Remember your toilet tank holds a lot of clean water