Lessons from Hurricane Sandy

(Survival Manual/ Prepper articles/ Lessons from Hurricane Sandy)

A.  26 Lessons from Hurricane Sandy
28 Nov 2012 , TheReadyStore.com,
Pasted from: <http://www.thereadystore.com/current-events/5561/26-lessons-from-hurricane-sandy?utm_source=rne_ep101_thu_20121129&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=thursday&utm_content=main_ep101&gt;

This week, we were forwarded an email from a family that lives in New Jersey that dealt with the power outages as the result of Hurricane Sandy.
This family made a list of lessons they learned during the storm. We wanted to pass along some of the points on their list so that you and your family could learn from their experiences and be better prepared for a power outage.
We’d love to know what you think about them. Comment below to add your opinion or add No. 27, 28 or 29 to the list.

1. The excitement of a power outage wears off around day three.
2. Just because your generator runs smooth, does not mean it’s producing electricity.
3. A couple of cases of bottled water is NOT water storage.
4. You should have as much fuel as water. That includes:
• Propane
• Gas
• Kerosene
• Firewood
• Fire starter (kindling, paper, etc.)
5. If you are not working, chances are nobody else is either. Don’t just sit around, go out and work.
6. You eat a lot more food when you are cold or bored.
7. You need more food than you think if your kids are out of school for 2 weeks.
8. Kids do not like washing their face in cold water.
9. Your 1972 Honda Civic gets to the grocery store as well as your 2012 Escalade, but the Honda allows money left over for heat, food, water, a generator, fire wood, a backup water pump … you get the idea.
10. The electrical grid is way more fragile than I thought.
11. Think of the foods that calm you down and help you think – a cup of hot chocolate, a glass of milk and a ding dong before bed, etc. You’ll need comfort food.
12. You quickly become the guy in the neighborhood who knows how to wire a generator to the electrical panel, directly wire the furnace to a small generator, or get the well pump running on inverter power.
13. A woman who can cook a fine meal by candle light over the BBQ or open fire is worth her weight in gold.
14. It takes a lot of firewood to keep a fire going all day and into the evening for heat.
15. In an emergency men stock up on food, women stock up on toilet paper.
16. I was surprised how many things run on electricity!
17. You can never have enough matches.
18. All of the expensive clothes in the closet mean nothing if they don’t keep you warm. The same goes for shoes.
19. You cannot believe the utility companies. They are run by politicians! Or so it seems.
20. “A man with a chainsaw that knows how to use it is a thing of beauty”.
21. Most things don’t take much power to operate. Things like:
• Computers
• Phones
• Radios
• TV
• Lights
22. Some things take a ton of power to operate:
• Fridge
• Toaster
• Freezer
• Hot plate
• Microwave
23. It gets darker a lot sooner than you think.
24. Getting out of the house is very important. Even if it is cold. Make your home the semi-warm place to come home to, not the cold prison that you are stuck in.
25. Someone in your family must play or learn to play guitar.
26. There were also many things that were not learned from Hurricane Sandy, but reinforced. Those things were the importance of my family and their love and support, especially my lovely spouse and that I am very thankful for the upbringing and experiences that have taught me and brought me to where I am

Responses:
dheard wrote:
27.  Its a sad fact but thieves do come out during tragedies like this.watch your neighbors house as well as yours. Help could be a long time coming.
28.  A small chemical Toilet is great to have.
29.  A good first aid kit not one that you get in a department store.They are basics. You must be prepared for anything.Help could be a long time coming. Speak with your Doctor for recommendations
30.  Think about getting into canning & involve the kids.

Andrea G wrote:
We were without power for a week with Sandy (same with Irene last year & the freak Oct snowstorm).I loved the list, I was nodding “yes” at many of them and laughed since my husband is working really hard on the guitar thing.
#6 struck me, with the bored comment. In this age we’re all ‘dying’ without tv &/or video games – at least my son is. It’s important to keep things on hand to combat this. We have bunches of board games, cards, Legos, Jenga, etc. even little kids can play with the cards by trying to make houses instead of playing actual games. Just make sure you pull them out every couple weeks, so the kids don’t associate them with power outages (we made that mistake & now no one will play Sorry Sliders!)
31. Only other thing I’d add, 10 gallon totes are a great way to catch rainwater if you don’t have a rain barrel.

Shawn M wrote:
32. Have a supply of hard candies, books, board games. Comfort items that will make everyone, especially children feel more “normal”.

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B.  Learning Lessons from Hurricane Sandy
14 Nov 2012, Yahoo Finance, by Grant Thornton LLP
Excerpt pasted from: <http://finance.yahoo.com/news/learning-lessons-hurricane-sandy-175100237.html&gt;

Ten Things Businesses Can Do Right Now To Improve Their Disaster Preparedness

1. First and foremost, have a plan for keeping your employees safe. Establish a central meeting point in the event of an evacuation of your premises. Do a dry run.
2. Keep the basics in good working order. Just as you change the batteries in your home smoke detector twice a year when you change your clocks, run through a checklist for the business. Make sure that the fire detectors work, check that the “uninterruptible power supply” (UPS) really does kick in, and try restoring the offsite data backups to ensure you have the data you need to run the business.
3. Plan for effective communications in a crisis. Make sure you have a clear employee communication plan, including a phone tree with everyone’s personal contact information. Have a plan for how you are going to deal with shareholders and media.
4. Protect hard copies of business critical documents in storage cabinets that can withstand physical damage to your premises.  Archive critical documents in a second, secure location.
5. If you have outsourced important business processes, ask your service provider about their disaster preparedness. Ask how you can ensure you are going to get the attention you need when you really need it.
6. Establish a plan for re-locating the business in the event that the premises are temporarily disabled. Develop a check-list of things you’ll need (desks, chairs, phones, printers and storage space for salvaged inventory) to get a skeleton staff up and running quickly.
7. Remind your staff to take their laptop home every day, particularly if there’s a chance that the office will be closed. Ensure that they all know how to log into the office LAN (or alternate system if your premises are hit) and that they have their passwords in a safe place.
8. Buy a backup generator for the office and ensure employees know how to use it safely.
9. Build a recovery plan on the assumption that a third of the staff won’t be available. If a serious disaster hits, like Hurricane Sandy, people are going to focus on the safety of their home and family—not your business. You would, too!
10. Once the crisis plan is developed, test it at least once or twice a year. Just like fire drills, the real value of the plan comes when employees have experience with a dry run before the real thing hits. Practice today so that employees aren’t doing it for the first time  under the stress of an emergency.