Preparedness for when

GreyQueen

Fuddle, I think a Bug Out Trolley is far from a stupid idea. It has much to commend it; a reasonable size, stands neatly in a cupboard and can be ready to roll in a second.

I'd be aware of what the manufacturer says about it's load bearing qualities (Jiffy being cleared for up to 18 kg). That sounds a lot and certainly would be an unwelcome burden on your back, but 1 litre of water = 1 kilo so it can all add up.

I notice when travelling that a lot of people own holdalls which are so bulky that they can only really be lifted in and out of cars/ buses and carried a few yards to a luggage trolley; you wouldn't be able to carry such an unbalanced load any distance.

My everyday workbag has a couple of additions to it; a very small plastic pouch containing travel toothbrush and paste, travel soap, wash cloth and I always have to carry the medication which I have to take several times a day and without which I would collapse, go into a coma and die. Consultant also said that it would be a good idea if I didn't leave home without food, as low blood sugar can be a problem.

I was once stuck on an airport bus for a journey home which should have taken 5 hours and took 10. No joke to be stuck on the M25 for long enough to knit a jumper. I was very glad of my 2 filled 1 litre Platypus water bottles and my cereal bars and book to amuse. The paracetamol for the headache was helpful, too.

Re prescriptions; when I travelled long distance for weeks at a time I always carried a spare pair of glasses and a photocopy of my current prescription. My Dad is a speccy too, and he always carries spares in his car. After all, as he points out, if yours break and you're away from home and can't get them fixed, you'd be stuffed. I could barely be trusted to walk around the pavements safely without my "windows" so definately couldn't drive without them.

My BOB contains the following; medication (critical), cash, ID, water bottle, some ceral bars, long underwear (a sleek black longsleeved and long john set which could double as outerwear in an emergency), waterproof jacket, fleece, thin pair of trousers, one top, personal items. Or it will when I get it all together.............:o I have a tiny LED torch on my keyring and also a GI can opener on each of my 2 keyrings. These are easy to use. The Maglite is in the bag.

There will be a secondary BOB of backpacking tent, sleeping bag, mat and outdoor requisites, if we're looking at SHTF rather than urban evac on a temporary basis should there be a re-run of the "fun" when the block suffered a gas explosion and subsequent fire.

ETA on the subject of personal fitness, being practised at walking would be a must, although there are some people whose infirmities will make that impossible. People contemplating backpacking holidays are recommended to practising walking with a pack and I often see Army types training my running up and down an incredibly steep hill nearby in the city with a kit bag on. And if we have to go back to nineteenth century levels of tech, there will be a lot of upper body strength required for lifting, carrying, sawing etc etc. My foremothers were wiry but tough old birds even into old age.

westcoastscot

People weren't thinking straight, lots of panicking about children being collected, ad people driving for work appointments - and then some weren't thinking and when the fire brigade arrived they spent another half an hour trying to get vehicles moved to get to the water - folks had driven down the other side of the road to see what what happening and got stuck (we have very narrow roads). It did make me wonder what may happen in a real/longer term emergency.

I think those with littlies do need a plan for if they cannot get to them - one lady was picking up her grandchildren in the next village and the mobile signal was intermittent - she couldnt get word through there. We had a think and she used my mobile to phone another friend in another village, who drove over to pass the message. Worth thinking about.

We don't live in a flood area - I live above the sea - but of course drive the coast roads regularly to and from work, and the shops are all down on the coast road. Between that and our arterial road in from the city (we only have one) regularly being closed to landslides preparedness is a bit of a way of life!

Plus if anything happens in said city they cut of our supplies to serve the urban population - as happened over the petrol business recently. We had plenty of petrol - we rationed ourselves as a small community - but our stores didn't get supplies for several days and soon ran out of most things - we only have small shops - no supermarket except a small co-op.

Hardup_Hester

I don't plan for an end of the world scenario, but I live in an area prone to flooding & the only way to get out of where I live is over a very steep single track bridge. If we get snow/ice here the buses won't attempt the bridge & neither will the gritters & some idiot always manages to abandon their car & block the road, often in such a way that even pedestrian can't get past.
The first year it happened hubby was all for getting his boots on and trying to get into town for suplies, until I explained that I had enough food for a month in the house.
Hester

GreyQueen

WCS, you're bang on the money about thinking about being cut off.

I was at my parents' place over the Bank Hol weekend. Opposite end of the country to you, very gentle softie southern English climate, not the stunning west coast.

But roads are still finite resouces. They live on a 1960s housing estate on the edge of a market town. Estate was built to be family-friendly and has no through roads. As the crow flies, half a mile from their home takes you to an A grade arterial road. However, said crow would be crossing houses, factories and trading estates and nothing bigger than a motorbike can get thru the pinch-points in the hurricane fences which divide the houses from the factories.

Any other vehicles have to go in and out of the estate on a single road, so 800 households, some carless but some with more than one car, are stuck if anything happens to that one road.

The road is partially closed at the mo and has been for a few weeks for repairs, and getting about the town is quite difficult. If people were frightened enough to try getting out at the same time, it would be a disaster, road works or not. There is also a separate issue about this estate which was uncovered a few years ago when a section of the road dropped down about 4 feet under a car. The repairs took many weeks.

It was a mine working from centuries ago. The builders were building on fields when they laid the estate out but there is obviously a history under there which they weren't aware of at the time. A nearby house had to be demolished as a result.

I think we all have to have a Plan B (and C, D and E) in mind for those times when the infrastructure can let us down. Even having mentally rehearsed some what-ifs? is helpful to avoid panic when confronted with something all of a sudden.

Butterfly_Brain

My DH looked at my stock cupboard yesterday and accused me of being paranoid :rotfl:But I only have 2 months supply of food in cans and packets, I have more in the freezers of course, but what would happen if we lost power for any length of time? Of course we would lose everything. So the last couple of months I have been getting a few bits here and there to bulk it out a bit. I don't get out much during the winter months because It is too dodgy underfoot when you have to use crutches, sticks or even mobility scooters, so I find that I am stuck at home and if I run out of anything I have to rely on someone else to get what I need, which I hate, I don't use supermarket shopping for that reason, there have been too many stories of short codes, things out of stock (Turkeys last year) and rotten fruit and veg being delivered at your cost usually £5 ..... I am too tight for that

GreyQueen

Hardup_Hester wrote: »

I don't plan for an end of the world scenario, but I live in an area prone to flooding & the only way to get out of where I live is over a very steep single track bridge. If we get snow/ice here the buses won't attempt the bridge & neither will the gritters & some idiot always manages to abandon their car & block the road, often in such a way that even pedestrian can't get past.
The first year it happened hubby was all for getting his boots on and trying to get into town for suplies, until I explained that I had enough foor for a month in the house.
Hester

Some pals of mine live in an area which was a low-lying "island" before marshes were drained into farmland many moons ago. When the waters rise, they briefly find their previous levels and their village becomes an island again and they're cut off.

The thing is, that if you don't know the history and topography of an area, there is nothing visible to indicate that this happens most years! Anyone shopping for a home anywhere that they're not familiar with needs to be very careful of any place with names like Water Lane................An Ordinance Survey contour map is helpful.

Helen2k8

Haha yes I love being nosey about street names, it's amazing what they can tell you. Apart from the modern twee ones ("Apple Blossom Lane" - erm no you cut down all the apple trees to build there).

Couple of thoughts on food stores - dried foods take up less space and don't rely on electricity. I've got buckets of dried leek and onion from online butchery suppliers (intended for putting in your sausages you see). http://www.scobiesdirect.com/HerbsSpicesChart.asp

I think my old backpack is a good candidate for a stash, good for carrying but I use a little suitcase for weekends away, so backpack can sit out of the way. Going to photocopy and laminate critical documents (but what is critical??).

I've been mulling over my escape plan... Of course I'd intend to stay put in something like snow/bad weather/general riots. But if it was a case of getting out, I'd have to decide whether to try and reach family (hours away on major roads) or not.

Sunshine4

Yesterday decided to get the OH to have a look in the loft as we have lots of camping stuff up there so wanted to see what we have.
We have Large two room tent, still in great condition, OH put it up outside for a while to check it. 2 sleeping bags and mats,double air mattress and pump, wind-up lantern, wind-up radio, coleman two burner stove, box with camping kettle, 3 pots, 1 pan.
Then the OH went to his cupboard where he keeps all his tools and brought out a box with 12cannisters of gas for the stove.

Have also started my storage food cupboard and I have now got quite a few things in there.

I have stored lots of water as two years ago when we had that bad winter and snow we had no water for 7 days as all the water pipes had froze.We had no warning just went to turn the taps on and nothing. By the time we went to get some most of the shops had sold out.Also I store lots of paper plates, bowls and plastic cutlery.

We dont have a Mr S near us we need two buses to get to it ,so on friday the OH is going to go with his backpack and get us some teabags and as he has a free bus pass.

Love this thread and all the information and ideas.

grandma247

I just thought I would post this before I catch up. I have tried it and it does work. I kept mine six months before trying it. It tasted ok but I ended up using it for baking because I had not shaken it enough so it did not quite look right (it was like melted butter) although it would have been fine on toast.

Dippypud

[QUOTE=Helen2k8;55483709
Going to photocopy and laminate critical documents (but what is critical??).
[/QUOTE]


I would say that birth certs and passports first...

then driving licenses and any work passes and other ID.