More Floods In Japan Show Us We Must Be Ready

Are You Ready For A Flood?

In yet the latest disaster to hit Japan rescue teams in Osaki City are struggling to help residents after a section of a levee on the Shibui River broke early Friday morning. Approximately 100 buildings in the city have been flooded, prompting calls from residents to the city government and emergency services for aid. This is just the the latest area to suffer from extreme flooding caused by a longer than usual rainy season and made worse by a tropical storm. 

Several experts and environmental groups have called this yet another example of the effects of Global Warming. Whatever the reason for this latest round of flooding its a reminder to all of us that we need to be ready for such disasters. If you live in an area that is near water (rivers, lakes, ocean) you must have a flood survival and evacuation plan. 

A Flood Survival Plan can be as simple or as complicated as you want to make it but at a minimum you must have at least two parts. A shelter in place plan and an evacuation plan. Floods can happen without warning so your shelter in place plan involves getting to the highest point in or on top of the building you live in. You may only have seconds to react so you must have every thing you need set aside and ready to go. 

Your evacuation plan involves getting yourself away from the flood waters and to high ground or a high structure. Again you may only have seconds to react so you must have your plan and everything you need ready to go before the flood hits. It will be too late if you wait until the water is at your door.

Stay tuned for more on how to prepare your flood plans in another post.

Image courtesy of khunaspix at Free Digital Photos.net 

Emergency Food Supplies for a Family of Four

We have a lot of food stored for an emergency. We watch the grocery store flyers carefully so that we can stock up on needed food items when they are on sale. Every family should have at least 3 months of food on hand in case of a disaster or emergency situation.

Sometimes families want to start stockpiling food but they are overwhelmed by the challenge and don't know what to get and how to store it. We aren't experts but we've done a lot of research and a lot of trial and error so we have a pretty good idea of what nutritional value is in certain foods, which foods have the longest shelf life and which are best value for the money (in terms of shelf life, ability to extend the ration, variety of meals possible, and cost)

I've already given you the list of 7 basic essential foods which will keep you alive. I explained how much of each you need for one adult for one week. I know you can do the math but let's look at how much of these basic essential foods an average family of 4 needs for 3 months.

It is going to shock you. But it's doable! An important fact to remember is that any child over the age of 7 is considered a adult in terms of food storage.

I am using mostly metric measurements but you can convert for a fairly accurate measurement by using the following:

1 liter = 0.26 US gallons

1 kg = 2.2 pounds

1 US cup = 236.6 ml but you can convert using 250ml=1cup and remember that 1,000 ml or 4 cups is pretty close to 1 L

ITEM	1 ADULT 1 WEEK	4 ADULTS 3 MOS	SHELF LIFE
Grains	3.5kg	168kg	20-30yrs
Legumes	1/2kg	24kg	20-30yrs
Oils	3/4 cup	36c (9L)	5 years if vegetable oil
Salt	2/3 c	32 c (8 L)	forever
Water	7-21L	336-1008L	forever
Sugar	1/2kg	24kg	forever
Milk	1c	48c	20yrs if powder

Prepping on a budget.

Over the years I have had many people say to me how much they would like to Prep but they just don't have the money, the space or the time. So here is the first of several Periscope videos on how to Prep without breaking the bank or having to fill your house with supplies.

So take a look at my video
Prepping on a budget

Answer to Zombie Apocalypse Survival Quiz No. 1

Answer to  Zombie Apocalypse Survival Quiz No. 1:

Reload and wait. Because ducks pair bond for life  duck # 2 will do a circle as he/she flies off and will immediately return to his/her mate. 

If you take the dead duck away, the second duck won't come back because she will see you. Yes there is a slight danger that someone or something else will grab the carcass before duck #2 gets back but it should only take him/her about 2 minutes to return.

Zombie Apocalypse Survival Quiz No. 1

It's the zombie apocalypse. We're low on food. I have a single shot shotgun with me. I see 2 ducks so I aim and shoot one. Duck #2 flies off. 

Question - do I reload then wait to see if duck #2 comes back? Or do I reload then walk over and get the duck I shot and then wait to see if # 2 comes back?

Stay tuned for the answer later today or early tomorrow morning

Live on Periscope. Found a giant puffball.

@IndianaMagnum: LIVE on #Periscope: Found a  Giant Puffball. Good eating.  Available for the next 24 hours then it's gone https://t.co/RGeVd0gKFj

Prepping: Heat Your House For Free

Free Heat. Tossing a hunk of pallet on the fire.

Ok so nothing in life is free. But some things are so low cost its almost like free. So how do I heat my house for free? Well I simply went back to the tech our ancestors used for thousands of years. Wood. Think wood is not free. Well it can be if you are willing to work for it. And if you live in the right area.

I burn shipping pallets or skids as we call them around here. Yep shipping pallets are free for the taking at most factories and stores. One skid will heat my house for 6hrs so that would be 4 a day. However I let the fire go out when I am sleeping ( That's what blankets are for ) so its only about 2 skids to keep me nice and toasty for the day.

Now to be honest I do burn a little bit of wood that is grown right here on my farm but not much. Skids are thin cut wood and that burns fast. So when a break is needed from filling the stove I will toss a log on. I don't like to get up from the table when eating just to keep the fire going.

Getting ready to cut up my skids for today.

Now I realize this only works for some people. You must have a wood stove or fire place. You must have a truck, van or trailer to haul the skids home. And you must live close to the factories or stores that have the skids. Now gas is expensive so you don't want to make special trips to get your skids. I know each place in my town that has them so on a trip to the coffee shop I can grab the skids from the places that are along the way. When I go to the bank I know the hardware store around the corner will have some. I burn almost no extra gas to get them. You get the idea.

This will not work for everyone but it works for me and it reminds us that to survive we need to use what we can find around us. WASTE NOTHING.