An Unexpected Real Life Disaster Drill

I have a few blog posts about being prepared and having your family ready for a disaster or other hardship.  In truth, I had thought my family was pretty darn prepared for just about anything that would come our way.

And then we got a lot of wind and our power went out for almost 10 hours.

Seems like nothing right?  Eh- 10 hours without power?  You'll live.  It's certainly not anything devastating.  No, no it's not.  But you guys- it was a much needed lesson for the entire family.  A really great disaster drill if you will.

A little background-

Earlier in the week we had lost power for the day.  Seriously, I have NO idea why and it appeared to be just my little neighborhood.  Since they were doing construction at the main intersection, I simply figured it was attributed to this.  No biggie.  The kiddo was at camp all morning so he didn't get to experience being without power for long.  Later, we went to the library so I could charge my phone and out to lunch and when we returned, the power came back shortly after.

But then over the weekend it was for casted to expect 60+ mile per hour winds, heavy rain and thunder and lightening storms.  Now- usually I just ignore these warnings.  I know....I know...but in my defense, we live in the Pacific Northwest.  These warnings occur almost weekly in the Fall and Winter and well....the news crews are a bit of hypochondriacs.

We've weathered storms much worse than this one and had no problems.  Since we have underground power lines, we almost never (see twice in almost 5 years) lose power so I figured we would be just fine.

What happened next had all the ingredients for an epic disaster.

The storm blew in hard and fast.  I had left work at noon to go pick up the kiddo from church with his Auntie and by the time we got home at 12:30 there were trees down everywhere.  Now, anyone knows that the first big storm of the season will blow all those loose leaves and limbs clean off- so it might look worse than it actually is.  Not the case here.  It was bad.  The kiddo was getting worried that it felt like the car was being pushed off the road and I wanted to get us home ASAP.

Literally two minutes after walking in the front door, the power went off.  Thank Goodness I had bought some tacos on the way home!

Now- here's the bad part.  If you've glossed over the story above, pay attention to this part.  This is where we learned all the lessons.

I had not gone to the grocery store in well over a week.  I should have gone on Friday but was simply too tired to deal with it.  Working non-stop will do that a Mama!  In addition to having a very bare looking fridge, we had also been eating out of our freezer/pantry as a part of our No Grocery Store Shopping Challenge.  So this meant that all those things like hot dogs, burgers, frozen lasagnas- yeah, we had eaten all of that good stuff.

I had nothing that I could BBQ (pretty much the only way to cook when you don't have power) and I didn't even have the makings for a sandwich.  Although we rarely have sandwich fixings because we just don't eat them often but you get the idea here.  No food.  No bueno.

Moving on, I had NOT charged a single thing and I didn't have ANY backups.  I had been using my cell phone while at work all day and by 2pm it was pretty much dead.  Since the husband was out working in this awful weather, I wanted to save whatever battery I had left so we could reach each other if necessary.  We don't have a house phone.  While I was prepared enough to have a portable power bank, you need to charge those.  Apparently mine was dead.  Get the idea here?  Everything was dead.  Great.

We have BOBS but I can't reach them.  Oh.  My.  Word.  You guys, I'm an IDIOT.  These emergency bags are a bit on the heavy side and the husband put them way up high in the garage.  There's simply no way that I can easily access them.  Our hand crank radio, that can also charge things like your CELL PHONE, was out of my reach.  Gah.  The other items in there weren't really needed in the here and now but that hand crank radio- yeah, that would have been nice to have.

And finally, I had no idea where the husband had put all of our lanterns and super powerful flashlights.  While we do have a few of those teeny little cheap flashlights dispersed throughout the house, the really good ones- yeah, the husband holds on to those.  We also have several free standing lanterns and I could only find one.  Thankfully it wasn't dark yet but I was trying to get us set up for a long, dark night and all I had were the cheap flashlights (that aren't very bright) and a butt ton of candles.  While candles are great, with an active 10 year old boy and a hyper Rat Terrier running around, they are not ideal.

We have a generator but the husband had long ago rotated the gas.  While we do make sure to start it up and check it yearly, we hadn't refilled the gas in the gas cans yet.  We typically don't do this until the Fall begins in late September.  This meant that we while we had the equipment needed (ie. the generator) we lacked the fuel to actually use it.

Let's Recap:

• No food that could easily been prepared.  No cold options and nothing to BBQ.
• Almost no way to communicate.
• Completely dead electronics.
• Emergency supplies out of reach.
• Less than ideal lighting options.
• No fuel.

Thankfully the husband got home around 5pm.  He dug out the lanterns and good flashlights and the hand crank radio and then we decided to venture out in search of food, fuel and a few provisions.  Umm....yeah.  With over 500,000 people without power- we clearly weren't the only ones in the same situation.

First we tried our local grocery store.  They were open but with only limited emergency power.  The kiddo had great fun using his flashlight in the store and thought it was a great adventure!  The employees were covering all the perishables with plastic wrap and had completely sealed off anything in a freezer or refrigerator case.  A surreal sight for sure!  The deli was also closed.  So I was unable to buy any cold cuts for lunches and couldn't buy a single thing to BBQ.

I bought bread (we could at least make some PB & J's), apples, cereal and alcohol.  Hmph.  But the husband was less than thrilled at the idea of PB & J for dinner.  The grocery store also had a gas station attached.  But since they didn't have power either, this meant no gas.

We decided to venture a little further down the street to see if we could find a store and gas station with power.  Thankfully we came across one and only about 10 minutes out.  Sweet!  I bought some hot dogs to BBQ, stuff to make sandwiches for lunch the following day and pre-popped popcorn for a snack.  Ick.  Healthy right?  The husband was able to fill up at the adjoining gas station while we were inside shopping.  On our way out, we noticed that one of our most favorite restaurants was open so we decided to place a take out order and save the hot dogs for the following day.  I was sure that with this many people without power, it would be awhile before it was restored.  This way, we had food for the next day and could get a hot meal for tonight.

Gah.  Worst decision ever.

We waited well over an hour (even though they only told us 20 minutes) and I'm sure this was actually much faster than others in similar situations.  I heard that many of the restaurants open had a wait time of 2 or more hours.  Holy Buckets.

Tired.  Hungry.  Bored.  I'm over it.

The kiddo enjoyed eating by candlelight and he even took a shower by lantern light.  Thankfully by the time he was out of the shower, the power had been restored.  Praise Jesus!

Let's highlight the good:

• We had plenty of flashlights, extra batteries, candles, lighters and matches.  Proper lighting was never an issue.  We just needed to find them all!
• We did have a hand crank radio that runs on solar as well and can charge your electronics.
• I had purchased a back up power bank prior.  Next time I just need to make sure it's fully charged.
• We had plenty to keep us occupied.  Books, games, portable DVD player etc.
• We had alternate means of cooking via the BBQ and had plenty of lighter fluid and charcoal on hand.  Sadly, just nothing to throw on the grill.
• We have plenty of emergency supplies and fully stocked BOBS.
• If the credit/debit machines were down, we had enough cash on hand to buy a few necessities.

This entire 10 hours proved to be a great learning experience!  Seriously, think about it.  If you were to loose power right this very second, would you be prepared?  The answer for our house is that in general we are very prepared.  However, since we typically don't worry about wind storms we were simply not as ready as we usually are.

If I could say anything to you, it would be to simply encourage you to think NOW about becoming prepared for LATER.  Because I can promise you that one day, later will happen and you'll need to be ready.

Want to read more?  Check out my previous posts about Emergency Preparedness.

• Do You Have a Car BOB?
• The First 72 Are On You.
• It's An Emergency!

It's an Emergency!

The last couple of weeks have seen a HUGE number of visitors to one specific blog post.  Seriously- no one used to view this particular post and now, you guys are all over it!  Love that!  So are you curious which one it is?  I have to admit that even this has surprised me.  It's not any of my popular posts on being a Traditional Wife or anything to do with homeschooling or Motherhood.

It's about safety and emergencies.

Say what?!?  Ha!  Bet you didn't even know I wrote a few posts on this!  But here it is, the MOST viewed blog post last month.  The First 72 Are On You.  Alright, so now that you're over your shock and have read through this blog post- you might be wondering what the heck?  Why are so many people suddenly flooding this post?  I think the answer to that is simple- People are waking up.  They are realizing that in order to ensure their family's safety- they must prepare now.  They are figuring out that they can only truely rely on themselves when it comes to the safety and well being of their loved ones.  And of course, we are approaching hurricane season so I'm sure that has something to do with it.

All this is telling me that you want more.  You want to know how a typical Mom prepares her family for emergencies and you know what?  I'm gonna give it to you.

So, I've talked about the 72 Hour Kit and the importance of having some food and water.  I've also covered the importance of having a Car BOB or emergency gear for your vehicle and of course some basic information on Home Safety.  So what else is there?  Oh....I'm SO glad you asked.

Today I want to expand on the concept of the 72 hour kit.  That's 3 days folks.  And as I previously discussed, my family was once up shit creek for almost 2 weeks.  We were without power, heat and food in the middle of winter.  The kiddo was just 18 months old at the time and let me tell you- that sucked.  Balls.

Yes, having enough emergency supplies on had to get you and your family through the first 3 days should be your first goal.  But as anyone who has ever been in a "state of emergency" knows, three days will simply not be enough.

Here's what you need to prepare for those next two weeks:

7 gallons & BPA free!

Water:  Alright, so I have already covered some easy water storage containters.  My family personally has these 7 gallon BPA free ones by Reliance found at Walmart.  They are currently $12.99. The general rule of thumb is one gallon per person per day, pets included!  So for my family, I need 6 gallons daily.  I currently have only 3 of these containers so yes- that will get me through the first 72 hours.  We also have some water bottles from the grocery store, but these are NOT recommended for long term storage.

55 gallon barrels

Buy yourself some of these 55 gallon food grade barrels.  Costco and Walmart are great sources and I love that they come with a pump.  What good is all that water if you can't get to it?  And while you're at it, let's talk sanitation.  You should always have lots of bleach on hand to sanitize your water and other necessary items.  You can also buy some special drops but that can become costly.  My suggestion is to have 3 different methods to purify your water so that it's safe for drinking.  Bleach, boil and drops.  This way you've covered all your bases and since we know that water is THE most important item necessary for living, your water preparations should be the top priority!

Food:  You need enough for 3 meals per day per person and don't forget about your pets.  Seriously!  I will never forgive you if you prep for all the people but forget about your furry babies.

Since this will be LONG TERM food storage, you need to be thinking of food items that will last years.  Years folks!  Now, don't let that term "long term food storage" scare you.  This is really a no brainer.  Buy yourself some big buckets of dehydrated food from any of those long term food storage companies.  My family personally prefers Wise Foods Company, tastes pretty good, it's cheaper then other brands and has a shelf life of 25 years.  Can't beat that!  Buy from Amazon- because it's SO much cheaper and just buy one bucket per person in your family to get yourself started.  This will be enough for two meals for one month for one person.  Then buy a shit ton of oatmeal for breakfasts and your good to go!

60 serving bucket will feed one person for one month

 Personal Safety:  You might be wondering why I'm covering this here.  And the reality is sad but true.  In an extreme state of emergency, the shit will literally hit the fan.  Those who didn't prepare will become desperate and looting and riots will occur.  People turn into animals when they are hungry- seriously, I live with one.  So as someone who has taken the time to prepare for an emergency, you should also take the time to make sure you stay safe and can keep your preparations safe.

I have to admit that this area is not my thing.  I let my husband handle all of this because he knows what he's doing.  And this is simply my advice to you.  If there's someone in your family who knows about this stuff- seek their help and expertise.  Then learn all you can from them.

My personal means of self defense-
highly recommend for ALL the ladies in your family!

To be clear- I am NOT advocating that you run out a buy a buttload of guns.  Geez people....what I'm simply saying here and I've said it before, is to find a means of protecting yourself and your family that you are comfortable with.  Then master it.  So if you feel confident with guns, fine.  But make sure you practice and learn all the necessary safety rules and for goodness sakes- GET A SAFE.  However, if you're like me and mace is more your speed, then use that.  Perhaps your a hunter and a bow and arrow is your tool or maybe you are more into knives....seriously, just figure out a way to protect yourself if needed because you simply never know what chaos will ensue.

So now I've covered the 3 most important areas that you should focus on in an emergency.  But there's also a few items that I suggest you buy simply for piece of mind.

The first item you should have on hand is a radio.  I have to admit, I think this one is pretty awesome.  It's hand crank, has a flashlight and other cool stuff and can charge your cell phone.  Does it get any better then that?

Only $40 at Amazon!

You should also think about buying a generator.  Folks, this isn't a necessity but it is really nice to have on hand.  As anyone who's been without power can tell you- by about the 3rd day in, that shit gets old.  Fast.  If you have kids or even a cranky husband, the ability to watch a movie or heat up some hot chocolate in the microwave will work wonders for moral.  Trust me.

Finally- I have a homework assignment for you all.  I want you to walk around your house with a note pad and pen and write down all the items or tasks you need to complete in order to fortify your home.  What exactly do I mean by this?  It's simple- to fortify your home this just means that you make your home as strong as you possibly can.  Both inside and outside.

If you live in an area that sees lots of hurricanes, you'll probably want to buy some plywood to board up your windows.  If you haven't already done so that is....What if you live where there are lots of earthquakes?  Do you have large items that could fall and injure you or your children?  And let's not forget the importance of having a fully stocked first aid kit or plenty of blankets.  One important thing that I also encourage you to do as well is to simply put a working flashlight in every room of the house.  Then let everyone know where it is- this way, in an emergency, you will always have one nearby.

It's simple steps like this that will safely see your family through an emergency.  And now is the time to prepare for this- NOW.  So seriously, get up off your butt and go.  Your family is depending on it.