Your "Earthquake Survival Kit"

[dcarch]

Not your usual survival items that you may have:

I have:

1. A three-ton small hydraulic jack for changing tires. May be useful to lift heavy wreckage to rescue a life.

2. A Four-ton car battery operated hoist that can be useful to pull away heavy objects.

3. Spent old car batteries may not have power to start your car, but if you keep them trickle charged, each can power up LED lights for many days.

dcarch

[vimaladevi]

This is not necessarily the part of the physical preparedness kit, but more of a lifestyle update I guess? Let me know what you all think of this.

Why not prepare ourselves from the inside out?

During a disaster/emergency situation the fright, scare or panic, (perhaps thoughts of impending doom etc...) can cause us to experience so much stress and fear it is as if we were already dying. The body and mind experience go through so much that it start a process of physical health deterioration. We already know our thoughts have a direct affect on our lives. It has been studied and shown that everything we believe, think, say and do is reflected directly, or manifested in our lives.

The thoughts "I don't have enough food," "I am starving," "I am cold, dying," etc. couple with the physical experience of being these kind of situations is enough to put us in the grave quickly. I'm suggesting we practice a few techniques that will directly prepare us for such an event:

1. Every so often FAST. There are are many benefits to fasting...

a. When you fast you gain the confidence and freedom of knowing that in any emergency or just by choice you can live easily for extended periods of time without food.

b. Even if you practice living on one meal a day for sometime, you will quickly see that you live on limited food/water FOREVER.

2. Practice some techniques that directly work on your thoughts. The quantity and quality.

- is one such powerful tool.

a. You can reduce the frequency of thoughts (in this case particularly negative thought patterns). Also watch and break the pattern of connecting thoughts. For example how we loose sleep by making mountains out of mole hills. The way one thought leads to the next next next...

b. You can also use this technique to disconnect yourself from reactions to the life situations.

from emotional & physical pain etc.

3. Live sustainably. If you have a sustainable lifestyle then you never have have to "prepare" for such an event.

a. Grow some food.

b. Compost your organic matter - at least start practicing with you kitchen scraps.

c. Practice living off the grid every so often. Again you will build you confidence in your abilities to sustain yourself and your family.

All this just for some inner peace

interesting article about unclutching

interesting page on unclutching

interesting page on

[Jaymes]

For the sake of your peace of mind, DON'T FORGET THE EXTRA GASOLINE! Most gas stations, virtually ALL of them now, depend on electricity to move the fuel thru the pumps, and no electricity = no fuel. No fuel = no generator or motor vehicle. After Wilma, here in Broward County, it took a good week, at least, for any of the stations to open.

Excellent point!

And, as I said in one of the other "survival prep" threads, it isn't just the electricity to run the pumps; it's also that when everyone fills up at the same time, the stations run low, and when the roads are blocked with fallen trees and other debris, those big tanker trucks often can't get through to replenish the supply.

Filling up your auto with gas is one of the standard and most-critical preparatory measures everyone that lives in hurricane country takes. Of course, earthquakes are a different matter in that you don't have any warning, as opposed to hurricanes, for which you typically receive several days' warning. It's hard to understand why anyone would be unprepared when a hurricane hits.

As far as gasoline in earthquake country goes, however, when I've lived in regions that receive regular earthquakes, I tried to never let my gas tank go below 50% before filling it back up.

[Panaderia Canadiense]

OK, how did I miss this thread the first time round? I'll weigh in from very earthquake-prone Ecuador (I was woken up the other day by a little one, just a 3.6, and I live in a city that has been absolutely leveled by earthquakes twice in its history. I'm less concerned when the volcano is active, but when it's quiet we get rumblers.)

I have an earthquake bag at the ready; it contains (for my family of 3):

• water in non-reactive Nalgene type bottles, 4L thereof, which I change weekly,
  
• a rainwater catchment system with purifying carbon-filters
  
• four large bags of peanuts,
  
• an assortment of chocolate,
  
• rolls of gauze bandages
  
• a bottle of overproof rum (this is a disinfectant as well as a good remedy for shock)
  
• four complete sets of warm clothing (jackets, socks, sweaters etc.),
  
• Alpaca wool blankets (4),
  
• a folding shovel,
  
• my folding machete,
  
• strike-anywhere wooden matches
  
• a roll of twine,
  
• large needles,
  
• and a 3x3 m piece of rainproofed canvas.
  

The whole schmoo weighs about 15 lbs and is close to the door for easy grabbing just in case. I am fortunate in that where I live, 4L of water will be sufficient until I can get to the spring, about 10 blocks from me, or the clean rivers, about 20 blocks. It also rains at least once a day during 90% of the year, which means that the catchment system can provide me with safe water for up to 3 months. I'm also a naturalist guide level III, which means I know exactly which of the boulevard plants in my area are edible or have edible parts (most of them - Ambato is big on edible greenscapes) and which ones have medicinal uses.

Earthquake response here is such that if I don't get flattened under my house when a big one hits (unlikely - I choose houses with an eye to their resistance to seismic events; the one I'm currently in has 8" thick walls and triple bamboo reinforcement in place of rebar for more flex in large lateral quakes), I'll be found before I run out of anything.

ETA: fuel is not on my list, because a) I have no car, b) I have no generator, and c) if the earthquake is bad enough that I need to use the kit, the roads are useless to anything but foot traffic, so it's illogical to store inflammibles with or near my food.

Edited November 7, 2012 by Panaderia Canadiense (log)

[dcarch]

In the unlikely event that you have electricity but no water:

An air conditioner can extract water from air effectively, so can a dehumidifier.

If the lack of water for an extended period of time is of major concern, look into how to make a simple solar distiller. It is not that complicated.

dcarch

[Darienne]

Thanks to all who have put up such good suggestions. All of you.

Thanks Beth for the idea of keeping certain things in a container/bag which is easily grabbed/found/etc. Our things are a bit too spread out for emergencies.

We have just finished adding a room to our cellar...long story...and we were thinking of storing food in there. On shelves so that it could easily be used correctly as to date, etc. But the new room is the furthest from easy egress...Have to rethink that one. Not that we get much in the way of earthquakes. Our main problem is no power in the dead of winter.

We don't have the oil/wood furnace anymore and I'm not too happy about that. (propane now) But we are surrounded by wood. I'm going to push for a wood stove in the new living room.

After Sandy, Ed is back planning our survival in earnest.

[awebb1]

Hi Jaymes,

Great topic. I am a transplanted New Yorker now living in LA and the question of how to endure an earthquake aftermath is never far from my mind.

My food reserves include protein bars and RTE "Kitchens of India" or "Tasty Bite" Indian and Middle Eastern food packs. I really love these and have a huge supply because they are preservative free, very well seasoned and really inexpensive; about $2-$3 per pack which will feed two (on an earthquake ration diet).

[GlorifiedRice]

Hey, if you have $2000 you can get a SOLAR generator that powers your fridge for 4 days

http://www.hammacher.com/Product/82949?source=cj&PID=2868751&cm_mmc=CJ-_-2296962-_-2868751-_-Hammacher+Product+Catalog

[dcarch]

Hey, if you have $2000 you can get a SOLAR generator that powers your fridge for 4 days

http://www.hammacher...Product Catalog

Or: eBay, all you need for better performance:

100 watt (v.s. 30 watts, more than 3 times the power) solar panel with charger: $250.00

1,500 watt power inverter: $60.00

12V car batteries say $500.00

dcarch