Disaster planning

[muddled]

Right, so I'm fairly sure I'm a bit weird with regards to this.

I obsessively plan for disasters (plausible or daft). For example - in my head I have detailed contingency plans for:
1. Pandemic Flu
2. The whole of England falling into the sea
3. Barbarians attacking my town (in England, 2014).
4. The internet breaking permanently
5. Electricity running out
6. A zombie outbreak
the list goes on (I also love making lists)

Plans include everything from what I would pack, who I would contact, where I would go, what shelter I would build, and even how I would transport my cat.

I also dream about them, then correct my plans

I find planning these things is fun and calming.

Basically, if any of the above happen, and you live in England - I'm probably worth contacting

Anyone else plan for something weird?

 

[Vanilla]

Wow, I can't say I ever have, but it does sound interesting. The child in me seems eager to explore this a bit.

Numbers 1, 4, 5, and 6 sound interesting. While I've never made plans for a disaster, I have pondered some scenarios, and the idea of being deprived of electricity seems like a rather interesting idea. How would you imagine such a scenario would play out?

Ps. I love lists too

 

[Judge]

I should do more than I have. Here we are always exposed to earthquakes and floods. However the most pressing hazard is always the most prevalent and potentially catastrophic. Desert wildfires.

 

[Judge]

I had some relatives that lived in Portales, NM. They told stories about the wildfires and how fast they'd move. I couldn't imagine standing there, seeing the approaching flames, and not being able to do anything about it. There's just so much a lawn sprinkler can do.

Yeah, this is my "back yard" in the summertime. A little wind and a lot of fire and in the dry season this goes up like an incendiary explosion.

 

[paloftoon]

Either we tend to phase everything out, sometimes too much, or we think about like every single detail in our own little worlds! As long as you can live your life and it doesn't affect anyone else negatively, then plan ahead, and try to enjoy what you do.

 

[muddled]

Well I live in a sleepy little country town in England, where there have been no natural disasters in living memory. It's a weird mixture of fantasy play, and a compulsion to prepare for every eventuality. E.g. the current new one is - if war breaks out between Russia and the EU, what would I do? I'm not going to answer that as discussing these things tends to make the obsession worse...!

I do a similar thing before any meetings at work - I carefully think about every possible thing that could come up, my response, their counter-response, etc etc. Only after I've done that do I feel relaxed.

 

[Ereth]

I probably need to think about these things more than I have. I'm not going to panic as if the world will end tomorrow, but I should probably talk to my family about getting more emergency supplies for weather and other emergencies. We have quite a lot of stuff (food, water, candles, blankets, etc.), but we should probably have some more first aid things handy.

The thought of a pandemic or a nuclear war has always terrified me. I'd be afraid of zombies if I believed they could actually exist, but . . . no. At least that's one thing that won't keep me up at night. (But I'll admit that The Walking Dead, in all its forms, has made me seriously consider what I would do if something like that ever happened. How could I defend myself? What if I can't run fast enough to get away?)

 

[muddled]

Wow, you guys have reason to plan! I think mine is part of an obsession about planning my response things that are out of my control.

 

[Loomis]

I make very few provisions for disaster. My cupboard never has more than a week's worth of groceries and no bottled water. I do not own a generator. But during winter there are always extra warm clothes in my vehicle; I live pretty far north and extended bitterly cold periods are common.

One precaution I do take, however, is to always have between $500 and $1000 in cash on me. It gives me comfort that if something unexpected happens I can buy whatever I might need.

 

[King_Oni]

I don't plan ahead nor do I care much for it. The entire "prepping" thing just seems like an impossible notion to me. I can't even make sure I have a stable income (and prepping for disasters tends to be a costly undertaking), let alone start stocking up food and other tools in case of an emergency. Not owning a car (nor being able to obtain a license for that matter) does limit escape routes as well I guess.

But in general I don't even worry about disasters, how likely or unlikely they might be. In my area there are no serious threats of disaster either... so I think if there's a legitimate disaster here, it's one man made and of ridiculous proportions. In my life I experienced 2 relatively mild earthquakes and that's about it. There's no serious threat of tornadoes or storms, I live too much land inward and in the highest elevated region of the country to expect floods (no rivers in the area and the small lake would probably rise another 100 foot before I should start looking at risks)... if something would happen it probably would be war, and I don't know if having some provisions will help if bombs will drop. Especially those more serious ones...

I'm perhaps too much of a fatalist and I'll just make the best of it.

Heck, in case of a zombie outbreak I'd most likely end up wielding an axe and a bottle of booze and just go out with a good ol adrenaline rush, lol.

 

[tlc]

My dream is to live away from people and off the grid. Grow my own food, cut my own wood for heat (already do that), generate some power with wind or solar or whatever, build a distillery for ethanol for the little fuel I'd need. If I stayed in Michigan, fresh water would not be a problem.

As of right now, I keep a cash reserve, and live very old tech anyway. I have a lot of canned and boxed food because I stock up when it is on sale. When the power goes out, it's just business as usual with the woodstove and I have heat and can cook on it if need be, and set out some candles for light. Not like it breaks my heart if I don't have internet or TV or phone for awhile. It's just an excuse to feel like I'm camping without having to go away to do it.

We really don't have much for natural disasters here. No earthquakes, volcanoes, tsunamis, hurricanes, nothing bigger than a very occassional and short lived F1 tornado. (But we do get straight line windstorms with 40 mph common, 70 mph rare, have seen up to 90 mph.) No severe droughts, no real flooding unless you live right on the inland lakes and rivers that swell every year. No mountains so no landslides. Almost never hot enough to really need AC. We do get some severe winter weather and up to 400 inches of snow in the northern parts, but we are prepared for that.

 

[Sev]

My dream is to live away from people and off the grid. Grow my own food, cut my own wood for heat (already do that), generate some power with wind or solar or whatever, build a distillery for ethanol for the little fuel I'd need. If I stayed in Michigan, fresh water would not be a problem.

An excellent dream, I have a very similar one.

 

[Grumpy Cat]

The possibility of "running out of electricity" is a very real probability. It would be done through an EMP (Electromagnetic Pulse). The US is not prepared for such an attack which the government is well aware of, but has not taken any steps to correct the situation and both China and Russia (along with the nut in North Korea) know this. An EMP would take down the grid leading to no electricity, running water, internet, etc. 90% of the US population would die within 1 year. The government is now saying it's not if an EMP will happen, but when. It would be a primo way to take down a country without an all out nuclear war.

The Threat of EMP | National Geographic Channel

 

[Judge]

I figure in the event of nukes we'd go up given my proximity to Top Gun (Fallon NAS) and the metropolitan Reno area. I'll stick to worrying about the economy and mother nature. That's plenty enough!

Of course anyone anywhere near key military installations...forget it. I don't think I ever lived anywhere where there wasn't one nearby. Surely some of you are perilously close to such targets and may not realize it.

 

[tlc]

In the movie "The Day After," the first thing the Soviets did was detonate an air burst nuclear device. All electronic devices failed; cars quit running, communications ceased, everything. I don't believe that many would die. This country was founded long before electricity. A lot would expire because they haven't a clue how to survive, but a lot will get by. I'm confident I have the skills to survive if such an event takes place. Also, real estate will be much cheaper after all is said and done.

One reason to have a diesel vehicle. It won't quit running. At least an older one anyway.

Yes even though I don't have much for facilities now, if something like that happened, hopefully I'd be able to work with others who want to make things happen. Of course being an Aspie would make it tough, but it may be mostly the Aspies anyway who would be cool in the crisis, have the ideas and skills, and concentrate more on creative solutions than panicking and whining.

 

[wyverary]

Goodness, if a disaster were to strike here, I'd be utterly unprepared! I remember the tornadoes in Tuscaloosa a couple years back, and being utterly horrified (I know some people who were personally and directly affected by them...best not go into it here). We get tornadoes here occasionally, but nothing where I felt my life was particularly in danger. I eat mostly fresh food, so were that to disappear, I'd be up the creek! I own no firearms, my residence is on a second floor...but here's the kicker: if my medication supply were to be suddenly cut off, I'd be dead in no time. So I guess, in my case, any preparation would be utterly impractical or impossible or pointless. I guess I'd rather perish than be forced to somehow survive.

 

[wyverary]

I guess I'm just imagining an absolute worst-case scenario, in which my medication supply would be utterly cut off. But if I could somehow still have access to my medications, I suppose it wouldn't hurt to have some supplies in stock.

 

[Brent]

Hope you are staying safe Sportster another rough end of April for many around us.

 

[Warwick C]

This thread is so apt at the moment those who have to take precautions, I hope you are doing so and will come out the other side of this. Extra matresses instead of hugs.

 

[Brent]

I have a buddy that lives off Hobbs Road so I've been over here.