We all have heard or seen the damage done to Japan, It is horrible.

We all have thought about Bugging In VS. Bugging Out.
If something of the same SHTF hit you at your Home, would you be OK?
Many of us have BOL and thats fine, but if your put in a situation like Japan with multiple SHTF at once, how well have you preped for something like it?
Example, if you live in the midwest, you are working to save the farm or are at work in a town, and are having floods from the rivers, lakes and creeks...no biggy it happens every few years, but now you get a tornado on top of it...it takes away your preps, blows over your house...now what?

OR

You live on the coastal area and the same thing that hit Japan hits you.

Those of us that have other places to go, are you going to be able to get to it? Will you be able to drive there or will you be screwed by the roads and land being so wet and flooded that you cannot get out or your vehicle is washed away. Now all your supplies are washed away or destroyed that are at your house.

IMO...I would really take a serious look at what you have in your Bug Out Bag...or carry with you to and from work....Everyday Carry Items.
You might be left with only what you have on your person...or limited to what is in your Bag.

This is just something I have been thinking about for the last couple of days....Any thoughts?

yeah, i have a hot air ballon in my garage and it has thousands of pounds of lead in it so it wont blow away.

honestly, take a break and relax.  theres alot going on in the world right now, and its real easy to get caught up in all the what iffs.  you cant be ready for everything and if you are, then you are not living life to the fullest.  do the best you can and dont worry about it  or you are going to give yourself a stroke.

They seem to be in that worst of all situations, that is, that they have few or no choices open to them. Likely that many will be refugees and at the mercy of the situation. Many were killed outright.

I guess we ought to remember that despite all your efforts, you are often screwed.

The one thing I noticed with the people I saw after the event was shoes, I thought crap if shit went down hill, and I had to walk 10-15-20 miles I would want to make sure I had some good quality footwear. I know there are all kinds of other things to consider, but this is the one that I noticed with several of the people in suites walking home because there was no other transportation available to them.

I have often preached this to my family.

The Japan tsunami and nuclear reactor issues are indeed shocking and I'm in hopes that I hear from my friends in Tokyo sometime soon.  However, I still think that you have to plan for what is most likely to happen given your geography in your area, aside from any concerns over risks that are apparent beyond Mother Nature.  Certainly, if you live near the coast then you need to plan for hurricanes, tsunamis and tropical storms.  However, since I live in the Mid-West tornados, blizzards and thunderstorms are more likely so I plan accordingly.

I am good, Thanks for the advice, I live next to a river that crested last night and all is good here, but my thoughts were, most of us prep for this or that. and then we prep for other things in the order that you think they will or could happen...How many of us prep for several things to happen at once?...or within a very short time apart.

It did get me to think about re-organising my bags alittle, and maybe adding or taking out certain things.

I hear you, I am not as old as you, but... I know that there is only so much that you can do.

For the suit-and-tie folks..or anyone else, for that matter..., it wouldn't hurt to keep a decent pair of boots in their car with their BOB so they have something to change into if they are caught away from home.

The worst is that there are so many different ways to react. We are near the shore, we can flee inland over traffic congested roads. We can sit out the food and loss of welfare riots. As for food I was just at the supermarket and vegatable prices were up.  
It is what gets us first?  The tsunami? Radiation? Riots? Right now I am looking towards the economy going down. Our life getting harder, maybe time to take a step backward in time. Sort of liked the 50s and 60s.

I have a friend like that , when we get to talking about preps he always has to use an example that will force me out of the home . I tell him I prep in order of threats and most of the preps are the same for most of them anyway . Im not going to worry about a nuclear tornado doing a tsunami, if it happens Ill use what I got and deal with it as best as I can .

Floods from the rivers, lakes and creeks? Tornados? All your supplies are washed away or destroyed? And the same thing that hit Japan hits you? (Godzilla, Mothra and Rodan)

How about: What if Killer Bee Suicide Bombers with Smallpox spray out of your shower one morning?? And then somehow the Sun Explodes? Can you pack your space suit SHTF bag and get to warp speed before the shock wave annihilates earth???

Seriously, when you plan for something, KNOW WHERE YOU ARE OR ARE GOING. Japan knows they get earthquakes and tsunamis, that's why they didn't have tens of thousands of deaths, like say, Cleveland would if they had an 8.9 quake (as they are more prepared for rivers catching fire and transient homeless).

Indeed, piling a bunch of fancy crap into your house/car/pockets is all well and good, but it ends up being knowledge that matters. Knowing what you can do with whats on hand and whats around you will fair better than some geardo sitting on their computer making SHTF lists.

I heard that the wave hit Japan less than 15 minutes after the quake....not even enough time for most to even think about bugging out.  Just food for thought.

My opinion: I currently live in the midwest and have a home about 75 vertical feet above the flood stage of the Mississippi. We prepare the best we can for tornados and mostly prepare for economic undoings. As for the grazy things like radioactive tornados and huge Noah type floods. I believe that the best preperation my fiance and I can make is to prepare our souls for what comes after this life. Once you do that you are in my opinion prepared for anything.

My most important prep is between my ears.  I will improvise, adapt, and overcome.   I'll find what I need, or make use of what I find..

Ops

There is a reason I choose to live in a area that the worse natural hick up we have is ice and snow and occasionally a bad thunderstorm......

Not saying mother nature couldn't throw me a curve ball....she's good for that ......but we don't get much in the way of tornadoes, earth quakes, tidal waves, or brunt force hurricanes......but you can never predict everything....

like Ops said.....improvise....adapt.....overcome....it's a way of life.... and a frame of mind.

its called vertical evacuation. That is why many more thousands didn't die. They know about tsunamis and what to do when one might come.

I hear you, I am not saying that you can plan for everything, but they have found fault lines around the USA that they didn't know existed several years ago, and with  Japan getting almost a perfect storm, don't say it can't happen, I said in the post we prep for what is most likely first and go from there.
I know you could have several bad things happen in a short time frame, if anything, it should be a good reminder to prep for what we can and to enjoy each and every day for the day that it is, So when monkeys come out my butt...aka(butt monkey) and killer bees out of my shower head I guess I'll be in trouble, cuz I won't be planning for that.

Don't take this the wrong way, but when your time is up...it's up.  Same goes with prepping.  You can only do your best, but ultimately, you either adapt to the situation at hand or you don't.  Plan for the most likely or probable events, and then when you have those bases covered, work beyond that.  I got started a bit late when it comes to prepping, or rather, taking it a bit more serious than I have in the past.  That said, I think if I based my prepping plans on every conceivable option of calamity that could occur...especially those that had a very, very low probablility in my opinion...I'd give up as I'd not have the time, nor resources to complete said task.  That said, I'm following the lead of what others have basically said here before...that being adapt as necessary and forge ahead.

Yep. It's drilled into Japanese culture to the point where it's almost reflexive:

Big earthquake = Run for the hills (literally!).

Even though the final death toll for this incident will easily reach 5 figures, it would have been 6 or 7 figures in most other populated parts of the world. Preparation-wise, they done good.

Everyone has to take in to consideration where they live and the possible situations they might encounter.  Things like nuclear power plants, chemical facilities or other man made possible disaster sights should be considered when making plans for bugging out or bugging in.  Also taking in to consideration climate, topography and any other factors that could help or hinder during a disaster  is going to help the decision making process when stress levels are high and other outside information is sketchy.

Things that would have been useful for the first phase of this disaster would be
- Knowing where the ground is high enough to run from a tsunami
- Knowing where the nuclear power plants are and an evacuation route
- Radio to get information on disaster (wind direction, nuclear fallout evacuation zones/conditions, tsunami warnings, etc.)

After the first couple of hours it would be nice to have all the other stuff that people normally prepare for.
- Food
- Water
- Money to buy necessities
- longer term plans for evacuation (Places to meet/stay, access to bank accounts, Identification, etc.)
- Ham Radio
- BOB
- Guns/Security (Japanese don't seem to need this as far as I have seen on MSM)
- First Aid supplies and training

Point being, if you have a good handle on what kind of disasters that are in your area, you will have a better chance of making it through the first stage and if you are prepared the second phase will be allot easier to get through.  This will set you up for success in the future.

Lines of gear go by the thinking that some stuff you always have in your pockets, some stuff you usually have on your belt, and some stuff like a backpack is something you carry when you have to but it usually does not always go with you everywhere.



Everyone has to decide how they want to do things.  And a lot of folks might carry a lot of stuff for a few weeks but after a few months they go with what they actually use on a daily basis and the extra stuff might be left at home.



As far as being in town for a flood and having a tornado take my preps away, I have friends and neighbors and will get by.  This is a localized shtf thing and it did not hit the entire country or the entire world so rebuilding will happen.  My insurance will eventually help me to replace some of the stuff.  



For those talking about 15 minutes to get gone before the tsunami hit japan, theplacewithnoname.com has a section on having stuff ready and basically you leave with the clothes on your back, what is already in your vehicle, your own bag you keep ready by the door, and you and your loved ones of course.



No grabbing totes of food.  No grabbing the guns from the safe.



Something like a railroad wreck with certain chemicals involved or perhaps some tanker on the highway overturned with other nasty chemicals might be something that causes this evacuation.



To some extent the fires in cali that cause some folks to have to evacuate might catch some folks unaware and they won't have time to load up the vehicle.



Now some folks keep some totes in the garage right by the vehicle so tossing them in the vehicle takes a minute or two and that might work.



Anyway, I agree with all who said it is your knowledge and drive that will cause you to survive.



It is nice having all the cool tools as well, but knowledge will let me start over with nothing and survive.

What would you do?

Survive!

PITA45

Odd's of a flood/tornado/etc at the same time affecting both of my locations is slim.

Prepare for the most likely, not the least likely.

If the least likely should happen, like the guy above said.  You survive.  By whatever means possible.

ditto
shit happens,  improvise, adapt, and overcome.