Posts Tagged disaster preparedness
FEMA camp myths
It seems that ever since Hurricane Katrina there has been a of misinformation going around as to what FEMA really does.
Lets just set the record straight right now – FEMA is here to help people, not throw them in some type of FEMA prison camp.
The law makers in congress have setup a government agency that tries to help people in areas affected by a disaster. Most of the time, the relief efforts are composed of – food, water, and temporary shelter. After Hurricane Rita hit the Southeast Texas area I got to see “some” of what FEMA does. There was an immediate response of MRES, donated canned foods, ice and bottled water brought into the affected areas.
After Hurricane Ike, it became very clear as to what FEMA is designed to do. Bridge City Texas was flooded by the storm surge of Hurricane Ike.
The families there lucky (or blessed) – only got about 4, 5 or even 9 feed of saltwater, mixed with marsh mud in their houses.
The families that were not so lucky – their houses were destroyed by a combination of storm surge and wind damage.
Thousands of families in Bridge City had nowhere to go. People were living in tents, or in RVs and some families left Bridge City to go live with relatives. Out of several thousand homes, only about 12 had not been flooded. FEMA has been working for months to fix that problem.
Hurricane Ike destroyed home
After Hurricane Ike made landfall in September of 2008, FEMA has brought in hundreds of temporary homes. A lot of These mobile homes were setup in front of peoples houses. Open fields were turned into so called “FEMA camps”.
Here are some pictures of FEMA trailers in Bridge City, Texas.
FEMA trailer park in Bridge City, Texas
Hand crank flashlights
Three weeks after the power has gone out, and all of the batteries are dead, survivalist will be glad that they invested into some kind of hand crack flashlight – also called a dynamo powered flashlight. Whether its a type of lantern, or flashlight, it does not matter, these things are good to have around.
Hand crank lantern
The basic principle of a hand crank lantern is that it does not need batteries. Even though these devices say they do not “require batteries”, they have a couple of AA rechargeable batteries to store the charge. A few cranks of the handle is enough to charge the batteries for for several minutes of light.
Some of these flashlights / lanterns have a built in radio. However, with the radio on, the batteries can go dead rather quickly. Most of these types of combo units (lanterns with built in radios) have very limited range and may not be able to pick up even near by radio stations. So do not consider these as a primary radio.
Disaster preparedness plans
What are you and your family doing to prepare for a disaster? Plans should include, food, water, shelter, evacuation routes, and any special needs.
Plans for 2009
As I look back 0n 2008, I also look forward to 2009.
Over the past few months I have not been my usual self. Korey (my son) got a deer this hunting season, and so far that is all we have gotten is that one deer. Tomorrow is the last day of regular deer season, in 2 weeks there is a youth weekend. Hopefully between tomorrow and the youth weekend Korey or I will be able to get another deer. This will fill our freezer for the coming year.
January – my wife and I planted a bed of onions. I bought the onion sprouts 2 weeks ago but have not felt like planting them. The onions were a mix of 10-15Y and some smaller green onions for salads and baked potatoes.
10-15Y are a large onion developed by Texas A&M. When the bulb is ready to be harvested, it will be about the size of a baseball. These onions have a sweet taste and are good for putting on hamburgers.
February – Potatoes go in the ground around February 14th. My wife and I already have to seed potatoes in the shed.
This is also one of the months that I like to go camping.
Plant a couple of apple and peach trees.