Often, when people talk about preparedness and home storage, they often also talk about catastrophic events. But preparedness is just as much about giving us security in every day situations such as job loss, loss of electricity, or winter storms. Sometimes these events are unexpected, but often they are not.Grocery stores don't generally keep much merchandise in stock. Often before a predicted storm, an upcoming holiday, or just on a Saturday evening, I've seen the shelves at our local stores become severely depleted. In extreme situations, such as a predicted hurricane, those supplies completely vanish.
This extreme weather bulletin was posted this weekend for the Seattle area:
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN SEATTLE HAS ISSUED A HIGH WIND WATCH...WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM SATURDAY MORNING THROUGH SUNDAY AFTERNOON.
A MAJOR AND POTENTIALLY DESTRUCTIVE EAST WIND EVENT SHOULD DEVELOP FROM THE CASCADES INTO THE FOOTHILLS AND THE EAST PUGET SOUND LOWLANDS ON SATURDAY AFTERNOON. THIS EVENT SHOULD THEN CONTINUE THROUGH THE DAY ON SUNDAY.
DURING THIS EVENT...SUSTAINED WINDS COULD REACH 50 TO 70 MPH WITH PEAK GUSTS OF 70 TO 90 MPH. IN THE LOWLANDS...THE STRONGEST WINDS ARE EXPECTED TO IMPACT COMMUNITIES IN EASTERN KING COUNTY SUCH HAS NORTH BEND...MAPLE VALLEY AND ENUMCLAW. HOWEVER...STRONG WINDS WILL EXTEND ALL THE WAY WEST TO NEAR LAKE WASHINGTON AND THE HIGHWAY 167 CORRIDOR.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
NOW IS THE TIME TO PREPARE FOR THIS POTENTIALLY DESTRUCTIVE WIND EVENT. TAKE THE TIME ON FRIDAY TO PREPARE FOR THE EVENTUALITY OF FALLING TREES...WHICH COULD BLOCK HIGHWAYS...AND PROLONGED POWER OUTAGES. BE SURE TO HAVE A FULL TANK OF GAS IN YOUR CAR AND ENOUGH FOOD ON HAND TO FEED YOUR HOUSEHOLD FOR SEVERAL DAYS. CONSIDER SAFE WAYS TO KEEP YOUR FAMILY WARM IF THE POWER GOES OUT WHILE OUTDOOR TEMPERATURES REMAIN BELOW FREEZING. WIND CHILL VALUES DURING THIS EVENT WILL BE NEAR ZERO IN THE LOWLANDS AND ABOUT 25 BELOW ZERO NEAR THE MAJOR MOUNTAIN PASSES.
I love the precautionary/preparedness suggestions that are part of this warning. However, if everyone were to respond to the suggested actions, would there be enough food for everyone to weather the storm? Maybe not. It's a good idea to have a three-month supply on hand for everyday - even expected - situations and circumstances .
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7 comments:
So that's totally my storm. I have tried to be prepared, but there are certain things I wasn't ready for - we don't have chains for either car, a snow shovel to dig us out, and I still haven't figured out how to substitute cheese (we like cheese and it's part of almost every dinner in one form or another). I also realized that I didn't have blankets in each car in case we got stranded. We've done all right but it reminded me that I still have a lot more to do.
Vickie -
Have you tried freezing your cheese? I buy preshredded cheese at Costco and just transfer it into small portion freezer bags. It doesn't freeze very well in brick form. Of course, there is always powdered cheese, which is great if you're having macaroni and cheese. And I recently purchased some canned cheese, but haven't tried any yet. Good recommendations about having shovels and blankets. Glad you're okay.
You can buy canned cheese from this seller http://www.mredepot.com/servlet/the-Canned-Meats,-Cheese-%26-Butter/Categories he usually has cheese in stock however, he is out at the moment. Im pretty sure he is getting a container in soon.
That MREDepot cheese is great stuff, I have a bit in store. MREDepot is great to work with. Also if you are in UT as well, I just found alpinefoodstorage.com who had some in stock as well.
I feel the same as Vickie about using cheese though, so despite putting several varieties in different types of storage, I'm trying to learn how to make some, which led to my recent post on Utah Preppers about making cheese.
Hi. Just found your blog, and enjoy reading the postings! Here in the Denver, Colorado area we're under a high wind warning for the next 24 hours or so - last week's wind gusts of 90+ mph took out part of our fence. Still needs repairs. Hope the rest stays up through this next batch. Thanks again. Vikki www.survival-cooking.blogspot.com
In Europe, where I lived for years, buying even a weeks supply of most foods is rare with the possible exception of wine and beer. They generally buy the meat and vegetables for dinner on the way home from work. Europeans I knew would often laugh because I would buy a week or two worth of food on one shopping trip and then only shop for small items once a week or so. I assume the people living in the countryside have larger supplies of food then city dwellers though.
Great comments! Thanks everyone.
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