There seems to be more than enough interest in preparedness to merit a stand-alone thread. While gear-wise there is some overlap with camping, there are preparedness-specific items worth discussing. As well as strategies, information resources and the wide range of situations worth preparing for.
The first instance I recall of being conscious of preparedness centered on a series of ice storms coupled with temps in the teens in 1994 that strained the northeast power grid to the extent that rolling blackouts were instituted in Washington. For a few days. At a time when my place was all-electric and I had company (who brought the flu with them, which I soon caught).
I was fortunate insofar as I had stocked up on food for my guest and the previous year I had started acquiring camping gear because I was just starting to seek out dog-friendly vacations.
I had a couple sleeping bags, candle lanterns, a campstove (which we didn't use), a battery-powered radio. That experience caused me to crank up the gear acquisition with an eye toward preparedness and not just camping. At the time, my focus was primarily on power outages. We didn't have another one of any significant duration, in my zip code, until 2008.
But I have taken comfort in being prepared. And have become more prepared.
So who else here has been mindful of preparedness? And what steps have you taken to be prepared for the situations that are most likely to occur in your area?
Or the catastrophes of nightmares.
The first instance I recall of being conscious of preparedness centered on a series of ice storms coupled with temps in the teens in 1994 that strained the northeast power grid to the extent that rolling blackouts were instituted in Washington. For a few days. At a time when my place was all-electric and I had company (who brought the flu with them, which I soon caught).
I was fortunate insofar as I had stocked up on food for my guest and the previous year I had started acquiring camping gear because I was just starting to seek out dog-friendly vacations.
I had a couple sleeping bags, candle lanterns, a campstove (which we didn't use), a battery-powered radio. That experience caused me to crank up the gear acquisition with an eye toward preparedness and not just camping. At the time, my focus was primarily on power outages. We didn't have another one of any significant duration, in my zip code, until 2008.
But I have taken comfort in being prepared. And have become more prepared.
So who else here has been mindful of preparedness? And what steps have you taken to be prepared for the situations that are most likely to occur in your area?
Or the catastrophes of nightmares.