Good Morning,
I was reading the post regarding Baltimore evac signs which kicked off a thought. The author states that the signs end at the city limits and the goal is to just get people out of the city. It appears to me that there are all sorts or articles as of late regarding zombies, even television shows about viral masses of folks wandering around the country. Is the presence of these articles and shows part of a larger PSYOP program?

A television show recently aired showing the bombing of an American city,with the goal of kill off the infected. As the story line progressed there were occasions where one or two of these "zombies" were wandering the rural countryside and groups in neighbor hoods (sub-divisions). The future will not have zombies of course, but there will be people wandering the countryside looking for food, shelter. Their primal instincts will take over and what was once a college-educated banker will become a parasite. These people will not know how to take care of themselves and will take from those who have prepared. Worse yet is that it won't be just one or two people. It will be hundreds, even thousands.

The economy in such dire straights, jobs being moved off shore, corruption running rampant in D.C. The appearance is that those who are supposed to be in charge are losing control or even worse have already lost control. Only the appearance...What is happening behind the scenes is better orchestrated.

I have so many thoughts bouncing around that I need to take the time to process it all to be more coherent. I am in the middle of reading John Locke's Two Treatises on Government and that book sends me into some wild thought patterns. So much is happening, but what is interesting is that none of it is new. All of this has gone down before. Anyway, I have read both of your books. Very interesting and potentially useful knowledge hidden in plain site. Regards, - Ron in Vermont

Dear Jim:
I am writing in response to the recent posting entitled: Urban Evacuation--When The Plan is No Plan At All.

Several years ago when driving North out of Baltimore City, I noticed some blue and white signs which said:  "Emergency Evacuation Route"  They had a big blue arrow pointing North and nothing else.  The next time we were in the City I began looking for the signs.  I found them and began following them all the way.  They ran for miles out of the heart of the City and then just stopped ... somewhere near the City line.  But, the one thing I notice for sure is that they were pointing directly toward my area.

So, I've looked up Baltimore's Emergency Plan.

Here it is:  "Where do the evacuation signs posted in the City lead? The evacuation signs will lead you out of the city - They do not lead to bomb shelters."  The web site is now almost 10 years old.  The link to Maryland Office of Domestic Preparedness is not working.  As far as I am able to tell, the "plan" is to send Baltimore's residents out into the surrounding counties ... and nothing else.  Now, there were approximately 621,000 people in Baltimore City for the 2010 Census.  There are only two counties that surround Baltimore City - Baltimore County and Anne Arundel County.  The Chesapeake Bay is to the east.

So, Baltimore City is planning to send a large portion of those gentle, refined city folk to my quiet neighborhood.  The funny thing is that people from this area are for the most part unaware of the signs - after all, for the most part, we avoid going into the City.  Should a significant disaster occur that warranted City evacuation, we in the suburbs would definitely be in trouble.  I was worried about two extra places at the table for Thanksgiving dinner.  Just where am I going to put that approximate 150,000 uninvited guests? - Grace

Hi, Jim,
I had a very interesting conversation earlier this week in which I learned that Arizona emergency planners are no longer planning any type of evacuation for the city of Phoenix.  It is simply an impossible task.  Where on earth do you put some four million people (greater Phoenix area population) and how do you get them there?  I wonder what other cities/municipalities have officials who have made the same decision? 

It would behoove all survival minded people to take a very hard and honest look at their own cities and towns and put themselves in the place of emergency planners.  If your own logic and observations tell you that there's no way out, those planners have likely come to the same conclusion.

Kind Regards, - Lisa Bedford, Editor, TheSurvivalMom.com

Mr Rawles:
I had to send along the link to the news article about the failure of the nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System (EAS) with the observation that I would have bet this wasn't going to work.
 
I say that as a retired Air Force avionics technician whose job was maintaining and flying as a crew member on the EC-135A, C, G, H, and L model Airborne Command Post Aircraft.  As well as in an advisory capacity for five years when the job was passed over to the Navy E6B in 1998.  Even on our best days with everyone doing the absolute best they could we would have to work around something.  That was with multiple communication options.
 
I knew the odds of everything being interoperable were going to be slim to none, and I wasn't disappointed.
 
Keep up the great work your site has really been a "go to" for me and my friends. Respectfully, - Bill T.

Hi Jim,
Thank you for all you do and provide to us readers so selflessly.  May you always have dry powder, socks and a multitude of blessings.  I'm guessing you will probably get quite a few responses to M.K.'s article of State Defense Forces.  I had mixed reactions to it. 
 
First, let me state; I have always had the highest regard for the Military and the servicemen therein.  Our family has had someone in the Military in every generation going back before The Revolution and still do.  We even had a number that served in the early Militias.  So my argument is not with the Military, Militias, SDF, Reserves or any of the other various forms of Service.  It is with their bosses and our elected officials.  I couldn't help but feel that MK needed to do some more research.
 
Although there might be Federal laws now pertaining to what and where the SDF's serve and that they can resign easily....all that can go out the window fairly quickly if TSHTF.  All you have to do is go to the FEMA, Homeland Security and Government web sites and really read some of what is in there.  So may new laws, acts, executive orders, etc have been enacted recently that have loosely worded clauses in them that would do away with many of the previous laws in the case of an emergency.
 
Heck, even the definition of "emergency" has become so misconstrued that it makes it hard to know what constitutes an emergency anymore.  Or who the "enemy" is anymore.  Almost all of them have this fun little clause hidden in them to the effect of..."or deemed by officials...".  This leaves the gate wide open.  I think in the case of an "emergency" many in these services or medical fields or other "necessary fields" may find themselves co-opted in the name of "National Security".  I believe it is somewhere in the Patriot Act that lists all the professions and services that will come under the command of their new big dog in charge.  Read the official stuff they have on line about Continuity of Government, 10 FEMA regions, Patriot Act and Emergency Contingency plans.  All that we know and believe can go out the window in a heart beat.  I can't remember the Executive Order Obama signed in Aug/Sept but it gave him a tremendous amount of power and ability to suspend the known Government.  Don't assume what is law now will be the law when the TSHTF.
 
I also believe it is a little naive to think that there is an "ingrained unwillingness of most people to initiate hostilities with an apparently organized, uniformed, armed, military force moving through their environs".  While I do not believe many would "initiate hostilities"  I do believe there could be a big mistrust of the above mentioned.  Me personally, if I see those guys coming to town I'm going to be heading the other way fast.  Not because I have anything to hide or have ever been in trouble with the law but because I no longer trust those guys.  I don't care what your official badge or credentials are.  You can thank the TSA, rogue cops/swat teams and government fear mongering for that.  It seems that citizens are now guilty until proven innocent.  There are too many instances of innocent citizens loosing their rights and civil liberties in the name of "National Security" to ignore this threat.  No thanks!  I don't want to be corralled into one of their imagined "safe places".  Sorry, but I believe in the old adage of if someone shows up and says "We're from the Government and we're here to help", then run!
 
In the last couple of years I too had looked at the invaluable training that the various service organization provide and seriously considered it.  Bottom line was that I did not want to get "locked" into the organizations.  Even if you only have Advanced First Aid your services can be demanded in the case of an "emergency".  It's a registered certification and the government has the list. 
 
My nephew served in Iraq and is career Army.  He is now back in the states and I've quizzed him about some of all this.  Even he has an alternate BOB and contingency plan and has advised all in our family to do likewise.  I do believe their are a lot of honorable good guys in the various services and I want to trust them.  Unfortunately, they are obligated to follow orders.  I no longer have a lot of trust in the head honchos giving the orders.
 
Take care, do lots of research, use your own critical thinking and don't assume all is well in the World.  There are lots of little clauses out there that can make anything or anyone fair game ...."if deemed necessary" by the powers that be....or to be. - Skylar

I advocate that you seriously consider incorporating state organized militia service as a key element of a developing or ongoing personal preparedness strategy.  At this time, twenty-two states have some form of active state sanctioned/sponsored militia organization, all of which are incorporated into each of those states’ military organization.  Generally, these state organized militias are collectively referred to as State Defense Forces (SDFs), though the various states refer to their organizations within a narrow range of naming conventions.  Some examples include, the Texas State Guard, Virginia State Defense Force, Ohio Military Reserve, etc. Though state defense forces are official elements of state militaries, they cannot be called up for federal service, may not be deployed outside of their state (unless the members volunteer in some unique circumstances), and may not be deployed outside the United States under any circumstance.  The military formations are prohibited by law from serving under direct federal military command and cannot be activated into federal service.  Individual service members with potential federal service obligations may be called into federal service, though the issue is moot as they would already be called into service regardless of membership or not in state defense forces. 

Each of these state defense forces are legitimate military formations recognized under the United States Constitution, the State Constitutions of the various states, and relevant laws at both the state and federal levels.  Their missions generally focus on disaster response, emergency management, and/or homeland security.  I am a member of the Texas Maritime Regiment of the Texas State Guard.  The Texas Maritime Regiment trains and operates with the Texas Department of Parks and Wildlife (man-tracking and boat patrols on Texas rivers and lakes); the Texas Forestry Service (heavy equipment operations for wildfire containment and natural/man-made disaster support); the United States Coast Guard (homeland security waterborne patrolling and natural/manmade disaster waterborne response).  Each state defense force will have missions that lean heavily toward disaster response or emergency management, the nature of which will be dependent on the unique nature of the state’s environment and needs.  Regardless, in most cases, state defense force training, experiences, resources and associations can be advantageous to those preparing to thrive after a disastrous or catastrophic event.

Advantage - Training

Some SDF programs are more robust and developed than others, so, depending on the training standards and program quality of a particular state defense force, the value of service based training can vary broadly.  However, from a preparedness standpoint, service in your State Defense Force may offer multiple advantages for the individual seeking development of new skills or retention of known skills.  Since disaster preparedness on an individual basis shares a common theme with disaster preparedness on a community basis, there are skill-sets, knowledge bases, and resources that are equally valuable in both circumstances.  Some examples include emergency medical training and equipment access, communication training and equipment access, map-reading and land navigation, survival skills, tactical skills, weapons training, etc.  Based on discussions I’ve had with members of other SDFs and reviews of various sources, the quality and nature of training can be fairly divergent from unit to unit within a state defense force, and also from state to state.

As a rule, to become proficient, those who do not already have such skills from prior federal service or other experiences have to spend money on obtaining such training, as well as develop and dedicate resources on practical skill maintenance.  The quality of privately obtained training or individually developed experience may not always provide adequate value for the expense.  In general, relevant training in these and other skills are part and parcel of state defense force service at no, or minimal, out-of-pocket expense. 

Some, though not all, of otherwise expensive training presented throughout my ongoing service in the Texas Maritime Regiment at minimal cost, if any, to me include: land navigation, first aid, advanced first aid, CPR and AED, combat medic, ASP baton, scuba diving, Taser, active-shooter (ALERRT), emergency response base camp establishment and operation, human tracking, boat operation, tactical employment, personal security detachment operations, vehicle licensure for federal military vehicles (various), military emergency management specialist courses, Ham radio certification, rappelling and rope work, swift water rescue familiarization training, etc.  Much of this was complementary to my prior federal service in the USMC. In some cases, it simply allows me to keep relatively current on some skills, while some were completely new for me. 

Naturally, as in most things, you get out of it what you put in.  For those who hit the ground running with the expectation of taking advantage of every opportunity to develop themselves, the training should be available somewhere.  In some cases, there are expensive training options wholly paid by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).  An example is the instructor course for Incident Response to Terrorist Bombing, a four day course in New Mexico for which DHS pays for round-trip air fare, car rental, course tuition, lodging, and a meal stipend.  For this and other such courses, I know I like to feel like some of my tax dollars are directly benefiting me in a positive way.  There are other examples that are pretty much closed to those who are not part of law enforcement, emergency first responders, or part of the Homeland Security infrastructure.  For some examples of courses available to state defense force personnel, go to www.ruraltraining.org. My view on this is that I have already spent the money in the form of taxation, now its time to get back some of what I already paid out.

Advantage – Experiences

Due to the nature of the missions of SDFs as most significantly applicable to natural disasters or large scale emergencies, SDF activation is most likely under those or similar circumstances.  In the states along the Gulf of Mexico our most frequent full activations are associated with hurricanes.  Operating in areas devastated by hurricanes with no running water, no electricity, no retail fuel sources, no retail food stores, no restaurants, etc., gives one an increased appreciation for some of what may be faced in a full grid-down environment.  There is literally no amount of simulation that can compare to operating in such an environment for an extended period.  Rather than trying to strain your brain to guess what might be faced and what the best responses are, reality is all around you to absorb and store as personal experience.  Recent events with large scale wildfires that have destroyed thousands of homes and disrupted the lives of thousands of Texans also provide us with the opportunity to experience some of what might be faced at various times.  Additionally, we gain experience with oil and chemical spills on those unfortunate occasions when Man’s plans don’t mesh well with God’s reality. 

Since we are not simply spectators from afar in these disasters and emergencies, we gain critical experience in how to respond in these situations, what equipment, resources, training, and techniques are most useful.  Essentially, state defense force personnel operate in the realm of hard reality in disaster areas, the value of which cannot be realistically substituted.  Though I have no experience with other states’ forces, my best guess is that every state with an SDF has some sort of practical operational application that will provide real world added value experience, be it tornados, earthquakes, flooding, etc.

Advantage – Resources

In some cases the state provides access to resources that would otherwise be unavailable or prohibitively expensive.  The first thing that comes to mind is bottled water and MREs.  During activation for disaster response, we are provided practically unlimited access to MREs, both for our use and distribution to impacted civilians.  At the conclusion of the disaster or emergency response, state officials have always indicated a preference for total distribution of these meals, as the effort to return them to storage represents additional and needless expense, particularly as these are provided by the federal government as part of the emergency management process.  As a lifelong taxpayer whose experience has seen money flowing one way, away from my pocket, I consider this legal and authorized retention of provided resources a reasonable partial return on prior payments.

Another element that might be seen as valuable to some is the first line access to vaccinations for pandemics for state military forces personnel and our nuclear family members.  Because of reported issues of major side-effects from vaccinations, I recognize everyone may not want one, but for those who do, we are provided first access as emergency response personnel. 

Some of the other advantages are federal income tax deductions for service associated equipment purchases such as gear, ammunition, uniform clothing, etc.  This, in and of itself, has a direct value for those who are still developing or deepening their preparedness resources.  In Texas there are some providers, vendors, or retailers who offer military discounts on non-military items.  Though there are many others, one example is the McDonald’s restaurant chain.  While this might not seem immediately relevant to a prepper, my perspective is that every dollar I don’t spend elsewhere is one more dollar that can be focused on preparedness needs and saving where possible is another element to improving one’s overall position.  Along this vein, we have college tuition reimbursement programs, discounts for various state or other government services, free vehicle registration, etc.  All these can pile up and represent a fairly tidy sum to apply toward your own disaster preparedness program.

Another resource consideration not to be overlooked is early access to critical decision-making information.  I was at one time assigned to the intelligence section of our unit, during which time I joined the National Military Intelligence Association which provides a regular open source compilation of daily news that might be of interest in improving situational awareness.  Also, because the state defense forces are integrated at the top levels with the national military and emergency management structure, to be effective in responding to a developing situation the personnel must be “brought on line” before an event reaches a critical point.  In the event a grid down collapse develops as opposed to occurs suddenly (such as a CME or nuclear incident), military personnel will receive warning orders or pre-activation notification.  Such information may provide sufficient lead time to activate your personal program, getting you and/or your family away from the immediate threat area if possible.  What I’m picturing is getting your family, friends, constituents, or group members rolling to a bug-out location immediately on receipt of such a notice, beating mass evacuations and/or roadblocks not yet set up.

Advantage – Association

While this is a bit intangible with pretty wide opportunities for success or failure, in my case it is directly responsible for being invited into an existing retreat plan.  As one inevitably discusses issues and events with those closest to you, there is a very good chance of interacting with like minded people who may have an interest in developing a closer association.  In my case, gaining access to a working ranch with an ongoing and relatively well developed program represents an immediate savings of thousands of dollars, hundreds of hours, and may ultimately save the lives of me and my family.  While I don’t expect everyone to experience the same process exactly, I hope the value of interacting with military personnel with the same or similar understanding of threat probabilities is apparent to everyone.

Advantage – Legitimacy

Without getting into discussion of the Constitutional merits of independent non-aligned militias, my view is there are particular values relative to the legitimate exercise of authority in disaster environments through membership in a state sponsored militia.  The value of bearing a state issued and officially recognized military identification when moving in a developing threat environment can be extraordinarily high.  Military identification allows one to move legitimately in areas and along routes that are otherwise denied to the population at large.  This in and of itself has value in that during evacuation, if one were to be caught up in one, travel along otherwise restricted roadways greatly enhances the speed at which one can reach a particular location.  In my experience, approaching a roadblock in uniform with orders and ID in hand results in the removal of the roadblock before even coming to a full stop.  As a member of the state military forces, you are seen to be part of the legitimate response structure because you are a legitimate part of that structure.  All of the elements are designed to operate together to improve the overall response so, just as we might be manning a roadblock and move it aside for a law enforcement officer, a truck full of firemen, etc., the same benefit accrues to the SDF member.

An additional benefit to being a credentialed member of a state defense force in a post-collapse environment is there is naturally an ingrained unwillingness of most people to initiate hostilities with an apparently organized, uniformed, armed, military force moving through their environs.  While it is likely this would not always be the case, an increase in probability one can avoid conflict is an increase in the probability of eventual success in getting wherever it is you might be trying to go.  Secondly, in the likely event there are problematic persons or groups in an area you may be in, there is an increased probability legitimately credentialed military personnel could expect and receive greater assistance from an otherwise non-aligned populace.  In other words, people would be more prone to help out in forming a posse to crush some roaming gang if the request were to come from Gunnery Sergeant Smith and troops of the State Military Forces, than from Bob Smith, the guy who lives in the farm down the road with his friends and cousins.  Questions of authority and competence will likely be reduced in the first instance, whereas one can imagine folks wondering who in the heck this Bob guy thinks he is to come around trying to form a posse or whatever.

Furthermore, short-term post-collapse society may still include those do not grasp the extent of changes and whose prior positions and responsibilities in law-enforcement drive them to consider arresting openly armed persons.  In such a circumstance, were one to be traveling or operating with or without a group, being well-armed, uniformed, and credentialed should alleviate most concerns such a former law-enforcement individual might have.  My consideration is that SDF personnel are more likely to be welcomed as potential help, or even viewed as an opportunity to enlist into an apparently functional remnant of social stability, than be viewed as a potential threat justifying attempting an arrest.

Because most folks I speak to are more interested in thriving over the long-haul versus barely surviving, and recognize there are clear advantages to working as part of a community to achieve those aims, the likelihood of success is enhanced by an effective armed organization that can serve as the basis for community defense.  As in most things of a preparedness nature, early beats too late.  Joining your State Defense Force as soon as one reasonably can will provide the opportunities to gain from the advantages previously discussed.  Space limitations prevent me from expanding this discussion further, though in reality the advantages are extensive for preparedness minded folks.

Advantage – Oath Keeping and Honor Maintenance

One of my rules in life, but particularly regarding preparedness, is that most actions or decisions should have multiple justifications.  Service in state defense forces should not be simply to improve one’s preparedness posture, but also to serve our fellow citizens and work to improve society.  It is in our nature as decent people to help others in need and do our part in protecting what is great and positive in our nation and among our people.  We take oaths to do so, and desire to serve with honor and distinction.  The potential exists, however, that conflicts might arise regarding one’s duty to God, to self, to family, or to the state and fellow citizens.  One example that comes to mind is a need to focus on family in the event of a serious long-term illness.  Thankfully, most if not all state defense force services have an avenue should such an instance develop.

In general, the laws governing state defense forces provide personnel the option of resigning prior to completion of an enlistment period.  As a rule, enlistments are “open-ended” in that there is no cut-off date at which one must re-enlist to maintain active status, so when one is ready to discharge from a state defense force a resignation is performed – essentially a request for honorable discharge.  My research suggests past practice is, barring criminal activity or some heinous violation of the state code of military justice, honorable discharges are essentially immediately in effect upon resignation and officially granted as the paperwork gets processed.  By providing this option of resignation, a personal mechanism of control for the maintenance and assurance of personal honor and sense of duty exists that federal service members lack.  Federal forces do not have that luxury, but must generally fulfill their full terms of enlistment.

Disadvantages – Expense

State Defense Forces are usually not paid for training, and what they are paid for periods of activation are normally not much.  Because the budgets for state active service in militia units is fairly small, organizations that want to have an aggressive training program need to be inventive and willing to explore training opportunities both internally and from “non-traditional” training sources.  Fire departments may provide rappelling training, local police departments may offer training in SWAT tactics, Army National Guard units might help with land navigation, while an Air National Guard unit provides communication training.  The point is, unlike federally subsidized military forces with training bases, budgets, and large cadres of trainers and instructors, state forces frequently have to be more adaptive to practically non-existent training budgets to develop useful skill-sets and knowledge bases in their personnel.

Though there may be slots in the state budget for uniforms and gear, the reality is that most, if not all, of the necessary military uniforms and equipment must be privately purchased.  One of the mechanisms found to help mitigate the personal impact on this is creating a non-profit that accepts tax deductible donations from businesses to help defray large expenses.  This can be particularly helpful in areas that strongly support state defense forces.  Regardless, ideally everything purchased for service should be dual use as part of a personal disaster response plan, so the expenses are what one would already be spending anyway on preparedness supplies. 

Finally, many employers do not support their employees with paid time off for state military service, though my understanding is that in Texas there are laws that provides the same level of job protection as that afforded to personnel in federal or National Guard service.  On the other hand, some employers provide full pay and benefits while attending training or on active service deployments.  That would definitely be something to explore prior to joining a state defense force.

Conclusion

In my view based on my experience in the Texas Maritime Regiment of the Texas State Guard, from the standpoint of value in enhancing a personal preparedness strategy, the advantages of membership in a state defense force far outweigh the few disadvantages of cost.  I strongly encourage those who have state defense forces active in their states to seriously consider membership as a means of dramatically enhancing their preparedness posture.  For those in Texas who might wish to explore this further, please go to http://1bntmar.weebly.com/.  If you reside in a different state, Wikipedia has a complete list of states with active state defense forces, most with links to discover more from the official web sites.

 
Dear Mr. Rawles,
I too went and saw "Contagion" with my wife.  It has been interesting to read the various posts about this film, but again I have a different take.  The photography was good, the cast excellent, the script okay, the pro-government and big pharma propaganda was outstanding!  What we came away with was the understanding that the CDC can solve anything (except AIDS of course) and the big pharma can then come to rescue at any time.
Yes the movie did a good job portraying would probably happen during this type of event in terms of clearing out the stores, etc., and they did a good job of reinforcing the idea that perhaps going to the store to get supplies with all your friendly sick neighbors, was not the best idea.
I did hear a couple comment and say that they are just trying to scare us and that “they” (basically FEMA or some other government agency) would provide.  Personally, I thought they got a vaccine way too fast and the situation would actually be a lot worse than was portrayed. I give it 3 out of 5 stars.  - Energized

Greetings Mr. Rawles,
I am e-mailing you today because I disagree with the Tuesday (9/13) reviews of the movie "Contagion".  I saw the movie and felt that it was a utter disappointment to anyone who thought they could use this movie to ether glean inspiration from, Learn from, or be used as a tool to warn others to prepare.  This movie failed on all three counts.  Indeed after the surprisingly utility of the movie, "The Road" I was hopeful that Hollywood had started to cater to our ilk. 

To counter the points made by the letters that spurred me to action, I will address the mistakes made by those in favor of the movie.  The first is Bill L.'s points on the witnessed events by the first character pointed out.  At each of these events there are real life examples on you tube that are far more accurate, and far less child friendly as the movie portrayed.  Indeed the perception given from this movie is that while looting is going on, you can calmly  walk into a grocery store, take what ever you want, and leave.  After all a simple shout is good enough to scare away the looters trying to steal your SUV parked around back.  

Bill later pointed out about Operational Security and the ransacking of the head of the CDC's home.  Let me point out that in the movie these, "desperate people" did not hurt the wife, did not trash the place, and did nothing more than scare her while dirtying the place with scattered bits of paper and such.  Indeed this is another case of Hollywood trying to portray us as kooks by pointing out that should a pandemic happen, "Things won't be that bad"

While Mama J. May have enjoyed the loose plot, multitude of characters, the constant reminders to wash your hands both verbally and pictorially with the constant pauses on places where people touch, and through a female character nagging male characters to stop touching their face and wash their hands.

I am not trying to be rude to Bill & Mama J, but this movie does more harm with no good, and should be avoided at all costs.

Kindly, - Braden A.

So, you think you're prepared? So did I. Until Hurricane Irene destroyed the infrastructure around here. The roads were blocked to all the local towns, all three routes out of here. If it wasn't trees down, it was flooded, or power lines and poles leaned over the road in the 'maybe' zone (maybe you would hit them and maybe not, but why take a chance on thousands of volts? If not those, it was pieces of somebody's house across the road. And this was only a Cat 1 storm? Sigh.
 
Before she hit, I, being confident that we were 'prepped up', started rummaging around to get out the generator and put it in the 'ready' position in the carport. It had been started LAST YEAR, and had fuel stabilizer in the gas, with the gas valve cut off and I had ran it 'bowl dry', so it should be no problem eh? Yeah right. We had an extra 6 gallon can that we had filled up that morning, no problem, we can run the generator an hour or so every 4 hours, to keep the freezer and fridge 'charged up', or so I thought. We had lots of canned food on top of the long term stuff, hadn't paid it any mind for a year or more and had been using it here and there, but as the economy gets worse, and our money got tighter, rotating the stuff became a battle, so it just sat there on the shelf in the pantry...going bad in the heat over the last couple years, since, we quit running the central air to save money. No problem, we have a thousand dollars worth of food in the chest type deep freezer. Uh huh.
 
We had a camp stove, and lots of fuel, but it hadn't been used in years, no problem right? I mean, what could go wrong with a camp stove, right? Uh huh.
 
We had kerosene lamps and lots of lamp oil, no problemo, Kimosabe? Uh huh.
 
We had batteries, for flashlights, had just bought 'em, didn't really matter that much.

Now, the S[chumer] as they say, hit the fan, literally, and civilization all went poof about 6 a.m. on Saturday morning amidst all the snap crackle pop of trees and power lines coming down all around us. But never fear; Prep Man is here!  So I went out to crank up the genny in a driving hurricane. That's when the fun began.
 
The day before Irene hit, I asked did you remember to get some extra chicken food, and goat food? No? Oops, have to let the chickens out to forage on their own, the goats can eat grass. (Note; there are good reasons farm animals are kept in pens and behind electric fences.)
 
As well as the generator, we had a solar operated battery system with inverter; did you check the batteries lately? No? Good luck with that, especially if the batteries are a few years old. Did you happen to have any distilled water on hand? No? Uh huh. (Even though there was plenty of 'distilled' water pouring off the roof, there was no Sun, and it takes 8 hours at least to get it up to charge. In my opinion solar sucks, even before the hurricane. If you don't have lots of money for a full blown large scale system, with a wind generator for those sunless days, don't waste your money. Being an ex-engineer type, I think I have come up with a good solution, a system I call H.O.E.M. gas. We shall see. The point is, power available 24/7 or bust.
 
The first thing I noticed besides the sideways rain, was that the goats and chickens had taken up in the carport. Goats and chickens love to climb, and goats jump up and down on things. One of the things they decided was a fun toy was the generator sitting under the carport, ready to go. It was sitting next to the deep freezer, a tempting target for fun and games. It was also the only semi dry, out of the wind place around, also, the chickens thought it was a wonderful roost off the flooded ground...
 
As I chased the chickens off, the goats and chickens became a mini tornado of fur and feathers in a small space, that was fun all on its own, and I didn't notice the smell of gas in the air. So I dragged the generator out and started to plug it up to the various necessaries...and went to crank it...pull, no crank, pull, no crank. Switch on? Choke set?, fuel valve open? Yup, pull, no crank. Arrgh!, now what? This thing was always running by the second pull. (One pull; switch off to prime it, then switch on.) I had maintained it well I thought, changed the oil, cleaned the carb just the year before. I looked, no gas in the tank. Huh?  Ok, I poured the gas into it from the new can and as I reached down to pull, gas was pouring out the bottom of the tank soaking everything, including my already soaked shoe. Whaaaat? The plastic tank, had been cracked around the middle...goats playing...then I noticed, the carport was soaked in water and gas. You know, those little colored rainbows that you can see when oil products mix with water? This was not good, why is it always the little things?
 
Seeing no way to fix the tank with the immediate supplies at hand, I duct taped it and tried tipping the gen on an angle. This stopped the flow, and allowed it to retain what was left, less than half a tank, good for about 4 hours, maybe, if I prayed real hard. That wasn't going to work if the power stayed off for any length of time, especially since there was no gas to be had...(We found out, from texting sister in town, no power no gas. Texting was encouraged to save power.) The power company said they would try to have everything back on before 'the end of the week'. But by then, all the food in the deep freeze would be thawed out, and either grilled or thrown out. But the immediate problem was eating. The generator problem I had to get back to later. The smell hadn't sunk into my animal addled mind to start with, so it was a good thing that it didn't start, there are Angels, believe it. Still having water pressure, I added to the runoff by hosing it all down, didn't want that catching fire in the middle of a hurricane. Little things can add up to big things.
 
The kerosene lamps, had rusted, the little wheel that raises the wicks, broke off, didn't work anymore...made in china?, bust.
 
Time to eat, so I went to crank up the camp stove. But, wonder of wonders, the little pump on the white gas tank, wouldn't pump up anymore; it had sat out in the barn, and rusted and dried into an unusable state. Bust. Then I announced to anybody around... that the electric operated can opener wouldn't work without electricity, another of those 'compromises' with the lifestyle queen. Rummaging around for the old manual can opener, revealed a forgotten rusted piece of crap I wouldn't use. So another one of those 'little things' you tend to forget when you live under a 'Normalcy Bias'. I got out my trusty Swiss army knife, with can opener. No problemo...and grabbed a can of ravioli off the shelf. Hmm…Expiration date 2006? Wow, maybe it would be okay, I mean, those expiration dates are just to get you to buy constantly, right? I had thought canned food would last almost forever? Right? No. Not if kept in a house at room temperature, that is pretty high, because you're saving money on air conditioning, and the can's sit there in the heat and bake...the red ravioli looked brown, and smelled awful...but, what the heck, it didn't smell bad...so I tried some...eeeyech...I fed it to the dogs, they wouldn't even eat it all. So much for all that canned food.  
 
Getting dark, no electricity, no hot food, with flashlights and afraid to open the refrigerator or deep freeze, we were stuck because as long as they were shut, they would stay frozen longer. We were really starting to suffer the consequences of non preppers, and I was really beside myself, for being so lax, always too busy making money to pay bills. I mean the preps had been purchased in better times, so we would be okay? Right? Uh huh. It was a choice between breaking into the long-term storage, rice and beans or peanut butter sandwiches or get some power going so we could break into the freezers. I pulled out some jerky sticks, and that was supper. The wife was starting to get ... upset at me, and I blamed her. Round and round it goes, and with supper in hand...wind and rain dying out, I decided to go outside away from the heat inside.
 
So I went back to work on the generator. Three hours later, not being a pro mechanic type, I figured out we had gas to the carb, but no arky sparky...gas and spark, all you need to know about small engines. Since my problem before, when I bought the generator, was the carb, the previous owner had sold it to me cheap, saying it wouldn't run. I go to work thinking the same problem; something had gotten trash in the carb. Nope. Fuel filter wasn't plugged, plenty of gas in the bowl, no restrictions in the venturi tube.  So the air filter and carb went back together, with great distress that the magneto had failed. Wrong, its always the little things.

After tearing the pull cover off the old Briggs and Stratton, I got out my new checker kit. You know, the little screwdriver looking things that check continuity, low voltage and spark voltage, for a car? Just little light bulbs in a screwdriver really. So I go to hook it up to the spark cable, and sprong!, the whole thing flies apart, pieces everywhere. "CHEAP CHINESE C**P!", I yell. Wow, now what? So I get lucky, and a chicken feather fell out of the start switch. It’s always the little things; remember Occam’s razor, the simplest thing, is usually the cause of the problem. Thank you Lord. Note to self, no more tools; 'Made in China'.
 
So Plan A initially went down the toilet, but the generator finally started. "Yeah! We're back from the 18th century!" And the freezers and fridge and microwave works, and the TV, but we still can't get to town to replace the gas... So, during the reassembly process, which I was doing 'hot' because it was running....the exhaust pipe came into contact with my left arm, yup, a very bad burn, and, I snatched my arm back which contacted the one ragged edge of metal of the gen cover standing to the side. When was the last time I had a tetanus shot? 1999? The first aid kit was a shambles, but we still had water and some silver solution, so at least that hasn't gotten infected. Its always the little things. Murphy lives, thank God for the Angels. We just went to bed when it got dark, I was exhausted from stress and frustration.
 
The next morning, the generator wouldn't crank, had to drop it down off the angle, duh, and after all this blood sweat and tears, pain, anguish and strife, there goes the power company truck, and an hour later, the power came back on.... just wonderfully anticlimactic. But, you never know when the Big Things will come back to life, since you're so caught up with the Little Things. If I hadn't gotten the generator started, the power would still be off, I'm convinced the Universe just KNOWS.  Thank God and the utility company; we still have people who care about doing their jobs. But by this time, I was almost out of my mind with frustration, and I was screaming at the wife. I told her, she and her lifestyle could take a hike, I wasn't doing it anymore, and she was cowed into finally, listening instead of talking. Like I had told friends before, macro economics is composed of millions of micro economic stories, this is but one. I sympathize with those who just give up. What's the old saying? Life’s hard, then you die.
 
I now have to throw out a bunch of old food, not going to take the chance. If dogs won't eat it, it’s bad enough to throw away. The real positive outcome to all of this was the Conversion of the wife and attached family, to a real prepper/survivalist mindset and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs). Prior to this, my main problem was fighting the age-old battle between current lifestyle and future survival lifestyle. The wife is always the other half of the equation; those who are married know what I mean. When you have someone who thinks you are 'full of c**p', and fights you at every turn, for every extra dollar available, you are going to lose in the end. When I wanted to buy a package of JB-Weld epoxy to put in my tools, she objected, she wanted to go to the new Harry Potter movie that she just couldn't live without seeing. That would have fixed the gas tank, or at least better than duct tape. When I wanted to buy the nice new battery operated lamp and radio, she wanted to go out for a pizza. When I wanted, whatever, it was a current lifestyle vs. future survival decision, where the cycling of preps was a battle over a dollar for an extra can of soup. She wouldn't even buy the things she liked, because she disagreed with my whole 'survival nonsense'. She, and her whole family, was a classic case of DGI, Don't Get It. (Don't care, don't want to, don't talk about it 'cause "this is America, everything will be alright".)
 
Now, she understands, and asked just yesterday when she could finally get to town, "They have some left over battery lanterns and batteries on sale, do we need to stock up for the next hurricane?" "Yup" says I. Smile. Which brings me to the Plan, all the gold in the safe, did us no good. I couldn't eat a single coin. Trust me, even with hot sauce; it would still not do anything but cause pain at the other end of the digestion process. Buying it in the beginning of this journey in 2005, at a whopping $425/oz, was a battle royal. I was called every kind of idiot in the book, and even had the rest of her family beating up on me for being 'so dumb'. It didn't matter that is was the only retirement money I was likely to ever see since my old company was bought out and looted.  I was told, in no uncertain terms, that I needed to plop it down into some 'safe' mutual fund. My protests that a 'Financial Hurricane' was coming, was met with the classic sound of crickets...and then a changed subject. My admonitions that they needed to keep the pantry full, and get a gun, were met with laughter, and the classic sound of progressives who "didn't like guns in the house, that's why we pay police". They all, to a person, suffered the slings and arrows of Mother Nature this Hurricane, with the grocery store emptied out. Peanut butter became the meal du jour, as they all, all, had to throw out good food. (Being too stupid & selfish to just have a neighborhood barbeque, and eat it all.) One, tried to get to my house, knowing where 'the goods' were, but was turned back by the sheriff. (Flooded roads, laugh out loud funny. It would have been even funnier if they had gotten here...)

What we have, now and in the future, my wife assures me, will be kept a secret, like I tried to tell her all along. OPSEC is now a word that has meaning to her. Since even she, didn't want her whiny niece and her whiny kids here eating our food. I told her to tell them all, that we threw it all out because it had gone bad because of the generator. Almost true, forgive me Lord. Gone are the old days, I hope, of her telling them everything, and it being a family joke, now, I'm her hero again, and her family is suspect. Hard times bring out the worst in everybody, trust me. I told her, this is only a small sampling of what a true SHTF situation would be like, since she knows our primary option is to just hide in the woods out back and pretend to be an empty house (after getting everything worth anything out.) She had joked about it, now she asks if I still think that would be necessary. "I hope not, but that's why you plan for the worst, and hope for the best..." 

I quit talking to anybody about anything prepwise in 2008, one can only take so much abuse. At $1,000 gold, they were saying it was just a bubble, I just smiled and told them the dollar was being destroyed by the politicians. They would just laugh and say the dollar was "as good as gold". My only response to them was "that is illogical, since nothing else is gold."  Now, I'm told, some of them have cashed out their 'safe' investments, losing their collective tail ends, since they never learn, that when it comes to investing, you can't act on emotions because by then its usually too late, and they sold at the bottoms. Good move guys. Now they are seeing $1,800-1,900/oz gold and my greater than 300% gains, the news is now catching up to where I told them we would be, and they are now asking me where I bought my coins. I told them: "You might need to invest in food and a good gun first, and the waiting lists for coins are in months." Their eyebrows went up, but amazingly, they are now all listening, and they are all scared, I see it in their eyes. They have all lost faith in the Hope and Change mantra, and the S&P downgrade affected them badly. I told them, "Outside of investing, fear is a good thing, it is natures way of keeping you alive. Listen to your fear, but learn to shoot, before you need it, and get your food pantry first, then gold and silver, and then pay attention to the little things".  I still have my 'coin collection', and hope to keep it, but I might just sacrifice a little, to get a little bit better prepared. (Previously mentioned homemade hybrid gas I'm working on, requires money. Everything requires money.)

The primary purpose of this article, is to impress on your readers the necessity of families pulling together in common purpose and singular mindset, cooperation and harmony, the maintenance of preps, and lists. Do you have the little things to repair the big things? The little thing to open the big things you need to eat out of? Do you have the discipline to write down the little things you need, when you need them, or think about them? Do you have a list hanging somewhere handy, like on a refrigerator magnet? Do you have a hurricane check list? Do you have a standard prep list of 'top off's, when, if, you hear that dollar crashing sound because China and the rest of the world has decided, enough madness, and to dump us into the 18th Century? Do you eat your preps, as they come due or before, and replace at least one can at a time? Do you buy the things you like, so it will be easy? Sure, buying a lot of peanut butter, rice and beans will keep you alive, but you won't be living. You will survive bodily, but will your marriage survive? Will your relationships suffer if family members are pulling in different directions? Have you learned to shut up yet? Have you learned who to cut loose and who to bring in? Have you got your group together? Have you paid attention to the Little Things?

Which reminds me, note to fridge, toilet paper and vitamins, lots of toilet paper and vitamins, also check on the ammo in storage. What is that latest government threat? Oh yeah, Codex Alimentarious, that will make vitamins illegal or hard to get. Ever heard of Scurvy? Rice and beans don't have Vitamin C. Do I need a root cellar? Something to check on. Hurricane Katia? A Russian name? That sounds wonderful.  Here we go again, but this time, we'll be in a lot better shape, trust me.  Some of her family are coming out next week for shooting and zeroing lessons. "You mean you can't just pick up a gun and shoot it?" "Nope, without training you might shoot yourself or your daughter." "By the way, what happened to your arm?" says Sister in Law, "The little things, its always the little things that get you". - D.M.L. in the boonies of Eastern North Carolina

Jim,
I thought I'd share with you some thoughts and experience I've had with Hurricane [later Tropical Storm] Irene. I live in southwest Connecticut in a city slightly less than 100,000 population.  We are about 50-65 miles from New York City. As of this evening, I am still running my generator five days after being hit by Tropical Storm Irene on Saturday evening.  As of this evening, the power company said they will restore power "by middle of next week".  If that ends up happening, we will be without power for around 10 days.  We shall see. 

A few details about our setup.  I think it's pretty typical for around here.

• Well with 1/2 HP 220 VAC submersible pump.  The well is approximately 250 feet deep.
• Septic tank
• Oil heat boiler
• Oil hot water heater
• Generator - 6,500 Watt gasoline unit converted to propane many years ago. 

Overall the wind could have been much worse.  I've read some recent articles that said the hurricane was over-hyped by the media.   Although there is probably some truth to this, most of the articles don't mention how vast the power outages are in Connecticut.   Connecticut ended up having a record number of power outages from this storm (50-60% homes just  after the storm).    Parts of upstate Connecticut, New York and Vermont were hit with very heavy rain and flooding.  Some covered bridges which stood for over 130 years were washed away.  Sounds like it wasn't hyped too much to me!

I converted my generator to propane years ago for less than $200.  Its a rather simple setup which I can remove and run with gasoline without much work. I have 50 lbs tanks which hold holds 12gallons of propane.  I also have a few 20lbs grill tanks which hold 4.7 gallons each.  One thing you have to be careful with regarding small propane tanks is that they don't allow the propane to turn to gas quick enough to supply the generator with enough gas.This also depends on the size of the generator.  I find that the grill tanks never empty because about half way through, they start to frost on the outside.  Obviously, this is a bigger problem in the winter when it's cold outside.  This is why I use the bigger tanks because they have more surface area of liquid propane to convert to gas.  With the 50lb tanks, I can get them close to empty with my genny.  Also, a 50 lb tank is about 72 lbs full.   Anything larger than this for me is harder to move around and handle.   

I get about 12-to-24 hours off a 50 lb tank.  This depends on my electrical load and how often I turn it off to save fuel.   I have two tanks, so every morning I head down to the propane dealer to fill up the empty one.  The system isn't great but it works.   I asked the propane dealer and they said their filling station is run on a generator so it should be available.    A majority of people have gas generators so in theory I should have an easier time to get fuel. Another surprising observation is that the oil in the genny doesn't get dirty.   I have about 100 hrs on the oil and it still looks new.   Propane burns so clean that there is no carbon deposited in the oil   I'm not sure if the oil still breaks down and I should change the oil regardless of what color it is.  I plan to research this. 

Some of my friend who were also hit hard in Eastern Connecticut coast said that a few days after Irene hit, it was very difficult to find gas.   Long lines at stations and/or driving far away was required to get gas.   I didn't wait in any line.  Most of the time, I was the only person there filling my propane.

Generators were darn near impossible to get around here the day after Irene hit.  It was also very difficult to get extension cords and plastic gas cans.   Everyone was sold out.  Thankfully, I had everything I needed and got to listen to everyone complain.  It's nice knowing I had prepared my family long ago for days like this.  Sure does give me options.

My wife and I saw a lot of people jumping for bottled water at Wal-Mart as the worked rolled out bottled water on carts from the back.  The carts were emptied in minutes.    Grocery shelves were still empty in a Target store, four days after. I've read about these situations before, but it sure hits home to see it in person.  God forbid something big ever happens some day.   Grocery stores will be empty in no time.  After seeing this weekend, I really believe this now.  Scary stuff.

A 6,500 watt generator does everything you need to live comfortably.   I can't run my central AC but who cares.  I saved a window AC unit in the attic for days like this.  We can cool one room with window unit with no problem for the Genny.  I have no problem running my well, oil blower, hot water heater, refrigerator, lights, attic fan to keep attic cool.    In a similar situation in the winter, I can also run the blower on my oil boiler to heat the house.  One problem with my genny is that it runs pretty much full out all the time.  If you are only running a refrigerator at the time, it consumes a lot of fuel to keep it running.     I plan to look at the Honda Inverters to just run the refrigerator so that I can shut down the 6,500 watt unit for large portions of the day.  I could turn it on only at dinner time or bath time for the kids.  It doesn't take long before the drone the generator will drive you crazy.   I would shut the thing off once in a while just to relax.   The white noise really does wear on you.   Also, everyone on the street knows you have one because it is so loud.  

The biggest problem for me with power is the well.   You start to respect how much power they consume to when you have to "provide" it instead of the local power plant.   I'd love to find a way to consume less power to get water to flush toilets etc.   Still research to do here. 

The other thing you'll learn really fast is how inefficient generators are compared to buying electricity.   I figure my house typically cost $3 per day in electricity.   When I have to make my own power, it costs me $30-60 per day in propane!   Another reason to investigate the Honda Inverters because of their efficiency. 

People should plan on hosting friends and families with them.   Even in our case, we had friend living with us who were evacuated from a house on the river.   I am grateful we could help them but one should plan on extra supplies and time to have others join your safe haven.  It doesn't take long for the word to get out who has a generator, gas cans, power cords, chain saws etc. 

One more thing:  Cell phones have been terribly unreliable.   I guess some towers went down due to the outages or they are overloaded because no one has wired phones anymore at home.  When the power goes out, all their wireless phones don't work!    Text got through but regular phone calls were very hard to place for days.

Overall, it has  gone well because I read your site and was prepared.   My wife is very grateful that we and our friends have a safe comfortable place to stay.    She is now interested in getting a wood stove because if this had happened in the winter, we would burn even more fuel to keep the boiler running.   If I had a wood stove and stored wood, all I would need electricity for is the refrigerator and well.  This would make a big difference and make us even more independent.

Thanks for what you do. - Joe from Connecticut

Dear JWR:
I really enjoy your blog. I’m fairly new to the whole “survivalist” thing, I look at it as more of a “common sense” thing. I’m in central Massachusetts and we knew we were really in for it with Irene. I’m a weather nut and I know what to look for and what sources to follow. We are always fairly well prepared for anything and my wife is just as much a “be prepared” person as I am. We always have batteries and such on hand so that was not an issue. Battery powered radio? Check! Lots of bottles of water frozen in the freezer? All set thanks to my wife! I went the additional step of filling the bathtub full of water to flush toilets in case we lost power. Despite having no supply of MREs we had plenty of food ready to go. My biggest concern was my basement flooding and us losing power. My generator is only a 2,400 watt model but it’s enough to handle my sump pump. It was ready to go with a 220 capable extension cord running to the house right to where the cord for the pump plugs in. The generator is kept in my 20’x12’ shed 120 feet from the house. Later the afternoon before the storm the cashier at the general store up the road and I had a good laugh at all the people panicking buying milk, bread, batteries and anything else not clamped down. One guy bought seven huge bags of ice and we wondered aloud what he was going to do with all that ice.
 
That night I set my alarm for 6 a.m. and went to bed knowing I was ready. I woke up at 6am to it raining cats, dogs, and bears. My sump pump was already firing off every 25 seconds. As the storm got closer this increased to a maximum of every 15 seconds before it started going down as the morning progressed. The lights flickered 4 or 5 times but the power never went out. You see, there was a reason for that. We survived the ice storm of December 2008. With temps never above 20 degrees we roughed it out for seven long days without power. The night of the storm my generator died and my wife and I bailed that sump pump well for 8 hours straight before we finally gave up but we saved our furnace and hot water heater. I went through 2 face cords of wood that week but we stayed in the house and it never got below 54 degrees. The trees and branches that came down during that incredibly devastating storm saved us during Irene. Earlier this year National Grid came through and took out any of the dying or bad trees along the power lines. All of this saved us from losing power. Many other towns in Massachusetts were not as lucky, but as I remind them, at least it’s not December.
 
Next step is to stock up on MREs and more importantly get an auto-standby generator to replace my small one, which will run off my propane tanks that power my furnace and other things. Thanks for all the tips and looking forward to following your blog. - P.R.C. in Massachusetts

Mr. Rawles,
I am in northwest N.J. I wasn't affected as badly by the hurricane as others were, but I did learn a few lessons about my preparedness.

1. Inspect your gear on a regular basis. I live on a dead-end street, and the road goes over a country stream, which flows underneath through a 2-foot culvert with a paved berm built over the top of it. Yesterday, that country stream became a 40-foot wide river about 10 inches deep and flowing rapidly over the road surface. To get across that, I got out my waders -- and discovered that mice had chewed some holes in them. They were still usable for getting through that water, but I can never use them again to go fishing. P.S.: inspect one's bug-out bag regularly; also inspect food storage containers, including the back side and the bottom, to ensure they haven't been compromised. I plan on doing this once a month going forward.

2. Mindset change: don't skimp on temporary arrangements. I have lots of supplies for preparedness, but when the situation is going to be temporary -- for example, power will be out for 6 or 8 hours, instead of multiple days -- one thinks, "I don't really want to drag out (gear, supplies, etc.) to set up, only to have to clean and put away everything tomorrow." Wrong attitude. If you need light, set yourself up to have plenty of light. If you need an alternative cooking arrangement, set it up. Not only does it fix your mindset, but it gives you good opportunities to (a) train in "actual" survival, (b) test/inventory your stuff, and (c) train yourself in expedient setup/breakdown of your gear.

3. You never have enough light. Have a candle (safe to burn unattended) or other light in each room you'll be using, multiple lights in any room or space where you'll be spending most of your time or doing any kind of work, and always have a light source that you can carry with you at all times. For the last, I like a Petzl headband lamp. If it's too uncomfortable to wear continuously, it fits easily in your pocket.

4. A fully charged laptop is a great tool to recharge your cell phone or smart phone during power outages. More: I got (and was able to give) lots of information with a smart phone during an extended power outage.

5. Perform (or augment) your preps at least two seasons ahead of time. Start stocking up winter items during the summer and vice versa. Not only will you be more prepared, but you're likely to find better prices.

6. Change your fuel. I have a 2-gallon gas can that I use only for my chainsaw. When I was getting ready for the hurricane, I realized that the gas in the can had been in there for 2 or 3 years, so I had to get rid of it (my mechanic took it) and get some fresh gas. New rule I've implemented: first weekend of the month, I will empty the gas can into my car and refill it with fresh gas. Not only does it keep the gas fresh, but it ensures that I have 40-50 miles of emergency driving stored in a can in my garage.

7. Use your batteries. How many people stock up on batteries, rarely use them ... and then discover, when the batteries are needed, that the expiration date was 6 years ago? In my experience, such batteries still work but have a markedly decreased useful life.

8. Set up some supplies/gear explicitly for temporary, "expected" emergencies. For example, if you know from past experience that you will always see at least one summer power outage lasting for 3 days, set up a specific section of gear for that situation. That way, you don't have to go through everything -- in the dark, no less -- saying, "I need (this) from the pantry, and (this) from the downstairs gear locker, and (this) from my under bed storage." Have one shelf set aside for "summer power outage" in this example

9. Do training scenarios to review your preparedness. Say to yourself "There's a hurricane forecast for 4 days from now" or "Forecasters are seeing a blizzard occurring 3 days from now." Where am I deficient? What supplies do I need to restock? What outdoor preps (clean gutters, clear dead tree limbs, secure gear from wind, etc.) do I need to accomplish prior to that emergency? Not only is this good training -- but if you write it down, you author a prep manual to which you can refer and that you can use to instruct others.

10. Charge anything that can be charged the night before. Cell/smart phones are handy for emergency communication (presuming the comm networks aren't knocked out). Laptops enable you to do some work. A portable car starter battery can be used for its intended purpose or it can run an inverter. If everything's charged before the emergency hits, your peace of mind is a little better. I've made this a mandatory "day-before-the-emergency" prep.

11. Get more money. This one is presenting difficulty for me. Like many readers of your blog, I have been struggling financially for several years -- you probably remember that I've commented a couple of times on this topic. I've done, I think, a pretty good job of preparing on a very limited budget. But there are some things, pricier preps, on which you can't skimp: you either pony up or you do without. For example, I'm in a pretty good position on food and water but deficient on quality hand tools, fuels, and durable clothing (and I'd love to have one of those Berkey filters!). I can't magically make the prices go down, so my only option is to generate more cash and then purchase as wisely as my budget permits. Have to explore this further, as I'm already working two jobs, 7 days a week, just to survive.

One positive reflection: someone asked me a few days ago, "What are you doing to prepare for the hurricane?" Other than gassing up the car, cleaning the gutters, and filling the aforementioned gas can, I didn't need to do or purchase anything.

One other note for preppers: don't ever let anyone get away with calling you a "hoarder." There is an important distinction: Preppers stock up 12 weeks or 12 months before an emergency; but people who stock up just 12 hours before the situation are the hoarders.

Best, - J.C.

Jim,
Living on the east coast, Hurricane Irene was a concern. However, I wanted to share the wonderful sense of already being prepared (much thanks to your wonderful site). I called the wife and asked what I needed to pick up, she said: "nothing." It was truly heartening to be able to drive past the crowded parking lots as the hordes swamped the supermarkets as the week progressed. Naturally I filled the fuel tank and extra gasoline cans. We had
minimal damage, trees and limbs down, and the power stayed on. My thoughts and prayers go out to those who were not so fortunate. - Ken

Good Day JWR,
I live and work in the people’s socialist republic of Neu Jersey, in the Central Region less than five miles from the Atlantic Ocean (the way the crow flies).  Being a prepper and working in the law enforcement field at a major penitentiary, I was in tune to what was going on from the initial projections.  Thursday and Friday before Hurricane Irene hit we were in statewide video conference after video conference.  All the figure heads were running around like a chicken without a head.  Each time one of them would ask me a stupid question; I would smirk and say something smart like “had you been paying attention to me over the last four years, we wouldn’t be in this situation now”.  To make a long story short, a smaller correctional facility in the Southern Region had to evacuate all 1,500 inmates – because they were housed in trailers.  Obviously that wouldn’t stand up to well to the more than 75mph winds.  In the end, all were successfully transported out with much fanfare, then returned with no bells and whistles today.  But, all department resources were dedicated to that effort – meaning the other dozen or so institutions were on our own.
 
We moved over 100 minimum security inmates out of our outlying camp and into the main facility Visiting Hall because they were housed in trailers.  We moved two of our medium security housing unit dormitories (another 100 inmates) inside the main complex to the Gymnasium due to the flooding.  Thankfully our food service staff had stockpiled approximately half a week’s worth of food and water and our maintenance staff was on site fixing damages that could be repaired in the storm.  Uniformed custody staff were held over (most volunteering due to the shortage of overtime in the last two years under Governor Christie) and the institution was run on an abbreviated schedule with no mishaps or problems other than a temporary power loss from outside the facility; which was counter acted by our in house generators.
 
On the personal front, I was dismayed at the Governor declaring a state of emergency on Thursday at noon.  Friday the major highways were shut down and nobody allowed South bound of certain points.  This was not due to a reverse lanes evacuation strategy.  Christie was on television over and over telling everyone and anyone it was a “mandatory evacuation” and that they better leave now.  Local police and fire and emergency medical services all went on abbreviated response postures.  Most followed FEMA guidelines that more than a 40 mph sustained wind equaled no emergency response.  Some municipalities established curfews.  Some emergency services ignored the FEMA response guidelines and ‘eyeballed’ the current conditions before determining if they would respond immediately or wait for better weather.  Regardless, the call volume significantly curtailed once the real storm front came into play.
 
During the tropical storm, there were/are many areas without power.  The typical areas subject to regular flooding are of course flooded.  Other areas not usually flooded had also experienced flooding.  We lost our cable service, thus no television, telephone, or Internet/E-Mail was working for about 24 hours.  Supposedly our telephone had battery backup for just such an instance, but that obviously was not the case.  Security problems would not have been an issue for us, but an actual serious fire or medical emergency would have been a problem.  Our cellular telephones never lost service, but had it gone on for a few days we would have been up the creek without a paddle.  Note to self: maintain at least ‘old fashioned’ Plain Old Telephone Service (POTS) with at least one handset in the home for just such occasions.  If electrical power goes down, POTS still works.
 
My wife finally decided on Friday evening to go to the supermarket to pick up last minute things.  Surprise, surprise, the shelves were bare.  She works for a grocery store chain and came home Wednesday and Thursday and again on Friday stating this store and that store were closing and canceling deliveries.  Some are still closed as of this Monday evening due to no power.  While I have some food stores squirreled away and wasn’t really concerned, she most certainly was.  I used the moment as a teaching aid and informed her that this is the reason why I have been preaching regularly adding to the cupboards and pantry whenever non-perishable items are on sale.  Of course she never took me up on it, stating ‘yeah, right’ and the like.  So now I told her that she and the kids would not go hungry as I had plenty of MREs available and that now perhaps she would heed my suggestions.  She was praying this would get over quickly as MREs were not looking very appetizing to her.  Bottom line, store shelves were bare and were not getting restocked anytime soon.

Nursing Homes and group homes were evacuated in Southern New Jersey.  They sent them up to the Central and Northern Regions.  Rutgers University in New Brunswick put over 400 residents in two gymnasiums and the Mennen Arena in Morris County housed another 500 or so residents.  These were all moved by about 50 ambulances from Pennsylvania in on mutual aid compacts.  Likewise, the New Jersey Disaster Medical Assistance Teams was already deployed to North Carolina and the New Jersey EMS Task Force was deploying 100 ambulances to Virginia.  Apparently under FEMA edict, state resources cannot deploy to their own state in a disaster?  That sounded odd, but that's what I was told.  The problem was there was not enough medical staff to go around, and the few who traveled with the 'convoys' were "not allowed" to assist other homes' patients.  I am filing these little tidbits as well into my memory just in case I ever have to put a relative in a nursing or group home.  It was great that they were evacuated, but what was to be their fate upon reaching the evacuation center?
 
Locally, my town suffered numerous power outages killing street lights and snarling traffic after the storm.  Many homes were flooded and had to be evacuated.  Many stores and houses still do not have power, a friend only six blocks away was told they’ll be lucky to have power back by the next weekend.  The fire department is running around to numerous building foundation collapse calls.  Public Works is cutting down felled trees and big branches are being removed.  Sanitation is back on a normal schedule.  The police must be working beau coup overtime because most major intersections have officers directing traffic as the street lights were out.  We had battened down our hatches and secured all outside furniture and toys and the like on Friday so we had no major concerns other than perhaps some water leakage into the basement.  We didn’t even have that.  Other than our cable issue, we never lost power and had no other problems to speak of.  Being a prepper had us well ahead of the learning curve both at home and work.  While everyone was scrambling around like crazy, I was sitting back smoking a cigar and drinking a scotch.
 
Keep up the great work you do in keeping us informed and providing thought provoking topics to read and learn.
 
Sincerely, - The Last N.J. Conservative

Mr Rawles,
I'm not sure if you heard this news out of Pennsylvania but the Cabela's at Hamburg was discounting generators by $180 due to public need.  I could be sinister and think they made more off sales from survival supplies to make up the difference, but they did go ahead and ship all available generators from across the country to the east coast.  I think this is a stand up company and they will get more of my business.
 
Thank you for your time. - Bradley A.