Learned nothing.  

Literally.


I grew up in Galveston, Texas.  For those of you who don't know anything about the place; its a barrier reef island on the Texas Gulf Coast.  Its also home of our nations WORST natural disaster. The 1900 Storm.  More than 6,000 people were killed on a single day with that Hurricane.  Until N.O. exceeds that number, I'll still maintain my almost care less attitude about alot of the people in N.O.  Granted the folks still around in the early 1900's were likely more quality people.  
While growing up in a city with this kinda history, we always maintained a regular supply of disaster goods for as long as I can remember  (see one of the disaster pamphlets at your nearest Post Office for a similar list).  You can almost say we were raised like this.  The island, till this day is still vulnerable to Hurricanes in the Gulf.  And folks still conduct themselves with some sense of responsibility.  Most folks have pre-existing arrangements to "get out" prior to any 'voluntary' or 'mandatory' evacuations.  Its basically common sense (read:  Hurricane/Gale Force Winds/Tornado's/Tidal Surge/High Water equal death in a very unpleasant way).  While I sympathize with some of the ones unable to prepare or act responsibly themselves (elderly/children/sick, etc)....its hard to give a shit about the majority of adults in N.O.  

Quoted: Just think, a week ago, the Survival Forum was being made fun of in the Bear Pit.

why??

Never trust whitey

It just confirmed my suspicions...

Quoted: Quoted: I'm preparing to prepare. The folks in the Survival Forum were very helpful. Just think, a week ago, the Survival Forum was being made fun of in the Bear Pit. Nitwits.

Yeah and these same nitwits were either N.O. residents, born there or should've been there

If you belong to this site and haven't frequented the SF then not only are you missing out on invaluable information, it makes you borderline ghey.

That the libs have destroyed more of this country than I thought. That the mayor of New Orleans is an asshat and deserves what is coming to him ( he shouldn't have been smokin crack).

when you see sh*t heading your way, duck or haul a**

need more food and H20

Never live by a levee.

Quoted: It hasn't taught me anything.  It's confirmed what I already knew about urban politics and the welfare underclass.

+1

New Orleans left their citizens to die in a hurricane.  They died while the people who could have saved them were looting the city. Even though NOLA had the means to save them, they resisted Bush's efforts to do so before the hurricane hit. Jesse Jackson blamed it on Bush. Fuck 'em all.

Here's a link to a pamphlet from the Alaska Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management on building a seven day home survival kit over 24 weeks.  I would add 1000 + rounds of ammo for your favorite instruments of self protection and a amatuer radio to the list .www.ak-prepared.com/homelandsecurity/pdf/7_Day_Supply_Calendar.pdf

Quoted: don't live below sea level near a body of water who's surface elevation is above sea level

and never live in a city where ur outnumbered by welfare recipients 70/30

In the past various SHTF scenarios have been discussed here on ARFCOM ad nauseum.  

Having been through several SHTF's (not of this magnitude, but bad) myself, I had put in my 2 cents worth and was not highly thought of.  This has shown what I said then was on the money.

Buy an old dial type phone if you can find one.  These require no batteries and no power other than what comes through the phone line.  Western Electric, Stromberg-Carlsen, etc.  These will probably not have a modern modular plug, wire one in yourself, or take it to someone who can.  If you bug out, take it with you.

Have maps, detailed maps.  Look for alternate routes.  The Interstate may be clogged bumper to bumper, but there may be an old, seldom traveled road that runs parallel.  Scout out these routes before an emergency.

Avoid the "authorities" if at all possible.

Do not be herded into places they want you to go.

Do not allow yourself to be searched and disarmed.  Avoid the situations that will put you in that position.

Carrying an AR-15 and some tactical gear may camo you, make you appear to be LEO or FED.  Do NOT pretend to be, do not say you are, but it may make them hesitate or ignore you.  Black, blue, or gray BDU pants and shirt, carrying an AR that does not look civilian (that is, "post ban" config, thumbhole stocks, lack of muzzle devices scream "I am a civilian") will at least make them hesitate.  Again, do not claim to be a LEO.  

Or look completely unobtrusive, don't draw attention.  Keep your firearms out of sight, but nearby and ready.  If in your car, cover weapons, but have them close.  They should not be seen by anyone looking in.  Avoid checkpoints.

Keep binocs handy, and in your car, too.  Look ahead.  Don't wait to pull up to a checkpoint or choke point before scoping it out.  Pull over to the side, turn on a side road, and look at the situation from a distance.  

With any contact with NG, LEO, FED's, if necessary, ONE person will make the contact, the others will avoid being seen, but move to positions to rectify any problems the contact man may encounter, or escape if necessary.

Canned goods, MRE's good.  Frozen foods, bad.   Have a manually operated can opener.  Not a cheap one, a good quality one.  This cannot be stressed enough.

There are a lot of foods, canned, that you can eat cold, no preparation, that you will also eat on a more normal basis.  Keep a lot of these foods in stock, and rotate the stock.  Consume the oldest, buy more.  Mark dates purchased on the lid with a Sharpie.  If not canned, make sure the container is durable, and resistant to rodents, crushing, etc.

Lots of bottled water.  No, much more than that.  Buy some more.  

Also, did you know you can make water safe to drink with the addition of a few drops of laundry bleach?  Purex or Clorox (5% solution), add 8 to 16 drops of water per gallon, stir, let sit 1/2 hour before drinking.  Will smell like pool water, but won't kill you.

Sterno, or those little cooking tablets (what are they called?).  You can use this in places you can't fire up a hibachi or bbq pit.  Also, you can make a cooking fire source with a small can (tuna can, etc) coiling corrugated cardboard in it, then placing a wick and pouring in wax.  This is a Boy Scout or Girl Scout thing, don't remember which.   Cheap and easy.  

But you can eat food cold.  You may want to save your fire for boiling water.

Bic lighters.  Also, you can start a fire with a 9v battery and a pc of 0000 steel wool.  Dryer lint, saved up in a ziplock bag is great tender for starting fires.  The little magnesium fire starters work well, too.  Hell, I have used flint and steel.

Some cyalume sticks.

And for Heaven's sake, don't pass out candles at night.  Especially around kids, dogs.  A great way to burn your house down.  

Again, avoid contact with "the authorities" if at all possible, they are the problem, not the solution.  (Sorry, you LEO types, but that has been my experience.)

(ed to correct spelling- I am my own worst spelling Nazi)

"Survivalists" are all crazy and fun to ridicule......until SHTF.

Granted, not everyone will be readied to wait out a nuclear winter, but there's really no excuse for not being prepared enough to hold out three or four weeks.

Our "instant pudding/200 channel/microwave" society have produced whole generations of folks who have absolutely no idea how to take care of themselves or their families if the power goes out.

These are the same folks who scoff and say "..what a waste of time and money..", but go into the fetal position, pissin' their pants cause the power outage affected TacoBell & McDonald's too.

And yet, not too long ago, "being prepared" was the norm.....hell, your grandparents and great-grandparents used to stock up for 3 months of hard winter every year.  But now, those are just quaint stories of looong ago....until it comes back to bite you square on the ass.

Everybody laughed at those who prepared for Y2K. It came and went and nothing happened...
Big Damn Deal...so what if you had a garage full of supplies. It ain't like it went bad. At the very least, you didn't have to buy groceries for a couple of months.

"Oh, but I'm prepared....I've got a full tank of gas and a cellphone".  Well, honey...your car's now underwater and the celltower is a modern art display.

What was that Boy Scouts motto again???...um...jeez, what was it, its on the tip of my tongue....

Live on high ground
Don't live right next to the Ocean
Don't depend on the Local, State, and Fed Govt's to save my ass.
I need to stock up on more water, MRE's, MORE AMMO & GUNS.

So what has this disaster taught you?

Nothing will unify this country. NOTHING.

Within a day of the hurricane, politicians were blaming GWBush for both not responding fast enough (even though he was the FIRST to respond to it the Friday before it struck) AND they blamed him for actually even CREATING the hurricane in the first place (that was done by RFK jr the day after the hurricane struck). The usual pack of race-hustlers then quickly arrived in the public eye to stir the shit even more (as if it needed any more stirring after a hurricane). Now the reeeeeal slick ones are gliding into postion to set up the conditions for them to gain politically and blame/hurt Republicans who had nothing to do with it in the first place.

No, I'm afraid this nation is FOREVER split and that a very large, loud and powerful contingent of vultures and parasites would do anything to gain politically from ANY disaster to hit America - they are "political looters" swooping into any and all disaster areas to try to steal any political advantage or cripple their political opponents at any cost, by any means necessary.

America will never be united in any cause ever again. There are just too many self-serving traitors with too many useful idiots in too many positions of authority to ever allow America to be unified behind any struggle or cause ever again.

America - divided we will fall and fall HARD.

Quoted: Beside the need for guns and ammo? It's reminded me to NEVER rely on the government for a plan of action or for my own/families personal safety.

+1, it's reinforced what i already knew about the importance of being prepared to survive when the SHTF and reminded me that planning for/thinking about SHTF actually isn't a paranoid thing to do at all.  You prepare, you practice, then you don't worry about it anymore.  When it happens, you implement what you're practiced and you survive.  

Quoted: Quoted: I'm preparing to prepare. The folks in the Survival Forum were very helpful. Just think, a week ago, the Survival Forum was being made fun of in the Bear Pit. Nitwits.

Quoted: Quoted: I'm preparing to prepare. The folks in the Survival Forum were very helpful. Just think, a week ago, the Survival Forum was being made fun of in the Bear Pit. Nitwits.

Yep.

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: I'm preparing to prepare. The folks in the Survival Forum were very helpful. Just think, a week ago, the Survival Forum was being made fun of in the Bear Pit. Nitwits. I think its funny how everyone who used to poke fun at the survival forum ( which I have visited and posted to several times ) is now thinking a little different.  Equally as funny is how my gun hating wife and in-laws (who are now living with us since they had to evacuate) are now referring to MY guns as OUR guns and THE guns.  I guess it takes a cat 5 hurricane wiping out 3 states of coastline to get some people's attention.  Better late than never. I never saw anyone poking fun at the survival forum.  Maybe a few who didn't take them seriously, but never any poking fun.

"I guess this means that I can't make fun of his lifestyle anymore then."  Indeed.

[LedZeppelin] If it keep on raining, the levee gonna break. [/LedZeppelin]

Any cheap phone will work IF  the phone system is up. The POTS (plain old telephone system) supplies it's own power.  So voice will be there, caller ID maybe not, redial, recording, answering, etc.  Anything that runs off of batteries might work, but if it needs a wall wart it might not work.  Any fancy stuff might not work.

Reaction time for the .gov starts immediately, getting things to the scene will likely take at least 2 days if not more.

The media says things are "starting" when the first shipments arrive, not when they leave their point of origin.

The media and the libs have no interest in knowing or letting people know that the Mercy and the Comfort are on ROS5 status.   Which means that the company with the maintenance and probably operational crewing contract  with either MARAD or MSC (Maritime Administration, Military Sealift Command) to have the ship ready to steam and get underway with 5 days notice.  These are big ships, they don't just sit there with steam up.

I'm still wondering why they haven't opened all the concentration camps.

Quoted: No, I'm afraid this nation is FOREVER split and that a very large, loud and powerful contingent of vultures and parasites would do anything to gain politically from ANY disaster to hit America - they are "political looters" swooping into any and all disaster areas to try to steal any political advantage or cripple their political opponents at any cost, by any means necessary.

You just hit it out of the park.

I learned that I should probably have:

More long-term storage food

Water purifier

Boat of sort.  In case the dam breaks or something.

http://captainkanyewest.ytmnd.com/

Bottled water and MRE's for minimum of seven days.
Complete First Aid Kit with painkillers and antibiotics.
Cash (several hundred $) and Booze and Cigarettes ( even if you don't use these they become very valuable )
Battery operated radio & police scanner.
Good quality Walkie Talkie & plenty of batteries.
Several Flashlights, extra batteries, matches or lighters.
At least two 5 gallon containers of extra fuel and siphon hose.
Bullet Proof Vest , Black windbreaker with "Police" or "Agent"in big white letters and a gasmask.
Last but most importantly weapons and plenty of ammo!

-Smiley

I learned not to live in the midst of angry, poor, violent minorities. And, if I see any during times of crises, shoot them before they take my stuff.

That the people of new orleans are not very well prepared.

That Soledad on CNN is a babe and a half..

Don't forget one of the most important supplies besides food, shelter and defense...TP and either a good solid shovel and or lots of trash bags. Some kind of disinfectant chemical to kill the odor would be prudent also. One of the worst apsects of the squaller inside the Superdome besides the dead bodies was 100,000+ of fresh turds and urine puddles all over the place next to your sleeping area.

I learned that I wasted a lot of time trying to convince people that you never know what is
going to happen at any time, that it CAN happen here.  and that it is a GOOD idea to have
extra food\water and a gun and to be able to shoot it to save your life and protect your family

There were many people that thought I was being paranoid with that SMALL list, oh well

gas up before the hurricane hits land, even if it's 1/2 a country away

Aside from having a lot more water and gasoline, this just reinforced what I already knew: If the govt. tells everyone to evacuate to a stadium or similar place, ignore the order and make your own way out. This is not the first time things like this have happened. The first thing they do is disarm you and at that point, you're at the mercy of marauding punks.

Quoted: That Soledad on CNN is a babe and a half..

DHH, for sure.

'Don't build a city 10' below sea level so close to... the sea.

taggy

Quoted: I added another 6 cases of water, 48 rolls of toilet paper, another 55 gallon barrel for water storage, #10 cans of mushrooms, onions, and two of diced potatoes. Pretty balanced plan I think.

Did you buy anything for all the gas those onions are gonna give ya, like some lysol?  

I think a lesson that all of the quasi sheeple (the semi-prepared and responsible) should learn is that being prepared for 72 hours OYO is not enough.  

Disaster preparedness should be for 1 week minimum for every man, woman, and child.  Food, water, improvised shelter, medicine, pet care, personal protection, bug out plan, place to go, etc...

Of course, ARFCOMMERS will well exceed this, but if everyone had this preparedness, this disaster would not be an issue in terms of human lives.

Quoted: Beside the need for guns and ammo? It's reminded me to NEVER rely on the government for a plan of action or for my own/families personal safety.

Keep some MRE's handy. Keep some water handy. Have a plan to take care of you and yours because nobody else is going to do it for you.

Also, if a cat 5 hurricane is coming directly for you and you live in an area that is a flood waiting to happen, don't wait for the government to tell you to leave. Pack your family and all the valuables you can carry, and get the heck out of dodge.

No matter what the situation, this will rule the day...

Wow, you gotta love that picture!

Quoted: So what has this disaster taught you?   Nothing will unify this country. NOTHING. Within a day of the hurricane, politicians were blaming GWBush for both not responding fast enough (even though he was the FIRST to respond to it the Friday before it struck) AND they blamed him for actually even CREATING the hurricane in the first place (that was done by RFK jr the day after the hurricane struck). The usual pack of race-hustlers then quickly arrived in the public eye to stir the shit even more (as if it needed any more stirring after a hurricane). Now the reeeeeal slick ones are gliding into postion to set up the conditions for them to gain politically and blame/hurt Republicans who had nothing to do with it in the first place. No, I'm afraid this nation is FOREVER split and that a very large, loud and powerful contingent of vultures and parasites would do anything to gain politically from ANY disaster to hit America - they are "political looters" swooping into any and all disaster areas to try to steal any political advantage or cripple their political opponents at any cost, by any means necessary. America will never be united in any cause ever again. There are just too many self-serving traitors with too many useful idiots in too many positions of authority to ever allow America to be unified behind any struggle or cause ever again. America - divided we will fall and fall HARD.

Good post, big plus 1

No matter how much supplies you store up. If you're in NO it's gonna end up under water.

What has it taught me?    Not much.  Maybe stock up on a little more water and gas.   Everything that happened in N/O is pretty much what I expected. Nothing surprising whatsoever.  

Disaster strikes,  They aren't prepared, everything - facilities, planning, people, goes to hell in a handbasket.  Corruption will be exposed at the local and State levels.  Some of the Federal Money for maintaining the levies diverted to developing casino's, incompentence reigns King.

The fed comes in, stabilizes the situation and Federal Tax dollars from Utah to Wisconsin will rebuild the city.   Then City back to the usual - full of unemployed, uneducated,  predators on tourists, political corruption etc.

Nothing new learned, just reinforced what I already know about N/O.  

1. Need more mags & ammo
2. Need a bayonet for every rifle or shotgun that can take one.
3. Need 3-4 cases of MREs and cases of water.

Kharn

another big tip, don't count on celfones!!! they are the first things to crap out in a storm. if you're going to convoy out, use those frs/gmrs radios. you get 5-10 miles of range and some of them have channel security codes.

wish there was a good thread on capabilities and brand tests...not a damn thing worthwhile in the survival forum...and don't tell me about fucking mars or shortwave radio shit...

For me, it has reinforced something that I already knew; that in time of disaster the single most important thing to have is a plan.  Every single person who died in the flood either a) did not execute their plan, b) had a poor plan, or c) had no plan.

I have not really learned anything other than I need some additional gasoline storage.

I learned that:

Civilisation is only about 3 meals deep.
Welfare Rats will always be what they are; look at what they did in Texas after being bussed out..
You can only rely on yourself and immediate family.
The Cops will have better things to do than help you specifically-it's a disaster after all, and there's worse shit happening elsewhere.
As ever, you need to be active in putting QUALIFIED people in office to handle situations like this.


And it reinforced my opinion that the left will walk on the bodies of the dead to push their agenda.

Dave

That I am a slave to gas prices.  I really need to do something about that.