Quite honestly I've been wanting to do a post on this subject...
1. On why we haven't heard anything from preppers that went through the Sandy.
2. Why I think most preppers are doing it wrong.
The first got answered. You can go here to read a list of one survivors experiences...a few tidbits though...
*You quickly become the guy in the neighborhood who knows how to wire a generator to the electrical panel, directly wire the furnace to a small generator, or get the well pump up and running on inverter power or you are the guy whose Master’s degree in Accounting suddenly means nothing. (Love you Steve!)*I was surprised how many things run on electricity!*. If you do not have water stored up you are in trouble.If you check out most prepping videos on YouTube they always focus on firearms/get home bags/bug out vehicles etc...That's just not how things normally work.
- a. A couple of cases of bottled water is “NOT” water storage
Bugging in will more than likely be the default position for most people. So making your home "fortified" as in livable in a power down situation makes sense. Additionally guns and bags are neat. They're fun. They're hobbies in most cases.
A gun for use by preppers is a self defense and harvesting tool. You can defend yourself from two legged vermin and you can use it to harvest food. To emphasize your hobby instead of actually preparing for bad times will cost alot of people. Most notably is water. That's one of my take aways from the Sandy Storm. When the grid goes down, water goes away. And unfortunately we use a helluva lot more than we realize. I'm personally going to try and determine how much I use a day and then plan accordingly. Something tells me that those 55 gallon water containers I've been looking at will get pushed up in priorities.
Food is another take away. I'll never forget the lady saying that she was gonna die unless she got help. That's another pressure on your water supply. Food prep and sanitation. Having enough food to last for at least a month should be the baseline from the experience with Sandy. Quite honestly, probably two months should be the base. USGOV website talking 72 hours is unmitigated bullshit. Even winter storms cause outages that last longer.
Last but not least the biggest takeaway was that during these type situations the last place I want to be is in a government shelter. I can't confirm the stories but if you search the internet you'll see stories that make prison look as welcoming as some of the places they were sheltering people. I also remember the issues with Katrina and personally vow that I will never let myself or loved ones become "wards" of the state or federal government.
Preppers. We're doing it wrong. Time to go back to the drawing board.
*Note* For those of you that don't prep, no problem. I'm sure you'll be fine.