Okay, if you are just starting to think about disaster preparedness preparations, it is a bit late but perhaps not too late depending on where you are. Here, things are not too bad (yet) and since the lair is on the line between the blizzard warning and the winter storm warning (and a huge difference in the total amount of ice and snow to come), we are as prepared as we can be for now. In fact, I'm sorta enjoying watching the different channels and the excitement -- one would think that Homeland Insecurity has moved this area to Dennis Quaid/Day-After-Tomorrow Bright Fuschia and contemplating raising the weatherthreatcon to Kurt Russell/The-Thing Armageddon Crimson... The thing is, preparedness planning shouldn't be a special thing, it works best when it is a part of your daily routine. That keeps the costs down, and makes it a habit rather than something you need to think about. For those interested in the philosphy and the practicality, here's some links to past posts that can help: Rational Preparedness, Part One Rational Preapredness, Part Two Preparedness Week, Room Kits Preparedness Week, Car & Power Preparedness Week, Bugging Out, Snivel Gear, & More Preparedness Week, Packs, Cans, & Protection Preparedness Week, Paperwork Here at the lair, Jenny and I are in pretty good shape I think. We have food, a good supply of potable water, a good supply of non-potable water, emergency heat, and an emergency generator should the power go out. We also have about 20 gallons of fuel on hand for the generator, and the ability to get more if needed. Even better, I found about five bottles of homemade glogg left over from last year to go with the rest of the human antifreeze on hand. *G* Below the line, we will be updating and sharing a bit on the preparations and how things go here for those interested. Will bump this periodically, and will be glad to answer preparedness questions if and as I can. Okay, first thought: be careful and do NOT overdo it. It is easy to overdo in the cold, so take it easy, work slower and steady. Getting too hot and sweaty is bad if you are going to be out for any time, so slow down and pace. Before moving north, I had no idea that one could need more than one type of snow removal device. Since living up here, I've found three basic types are needed. The broom works for most powder/dry snow, and works well. The plow shovel is good for wet snow, and some ice (like today). The scoop shovel works for large amounts of wet snow and some ice. The plow shovel has cleared paths on the deck, the walkway, the parking area, the generator area, and the path to the storage shed. Oh, and Jenny's walk around the house. It was a pain as we had a fair bit of ice, which meant that I was having to break up sheet ice and toss it. The walkways and such are cleared for two people/stretcher width, and I cleared a space beside my car where a person can park a vehicle up to the size of an ambulance. Yes, I prepare for that eventuality because it is prudent and whatever you plan for doesn't happen. Jenny's walk is just about the width of the plow shovel and not much more. If she wants it wider she can plow it herself. We only had an 2-3 inches of stuff from the tap, but breaking it up and clearing it was a good workout. Yes, there is a generator area about 10x20. This gives me clearance from lair and deck, plus a refueling area for the kerosene heaters if necessary. I have three kerosene heaters, and wish I had six given that the lair is getting towards 100 years old, and more than a touch drafty. They must ALWAYS be filled and refueled outside, never ever try to do that inside or on a wooden deck or such. The drafts are why I'm not too worried about carbon monoxide, plus I have detectors for that just in case. If you have a generator, please promise me now that you will ensure your main circuit breaker is OFF if you have to use it. If you leave the main on, you are not just putting power to your house, but are energizing the system out from your house. This not only takes power away from you, it can and will hurt or kill the nice lineman out trying to fix the lines to your house. Since I have friends and relatives in that line of work, and I like them, please do not try to kill them. There are good automatic systems on the market that can do that automatically, but I also tend towards belt and suspenders in this case and prefer to manually flip too.
Read the complete post at http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Blackfive/~3/7CqIbQyAl7U/snowpocalypse-and-preparedness.html
Posted
Jan 31 2011, 11:03 PM
by
BLACKFIVE