Snowulf - DisasterPrep

Disaster Prep: Shelter

nospam@example.com (Jon) — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 10:00:00 -0800

This post is part of a series on disaster preparedness. Each entry will cover one part of the preparations I'm making for a "disaster kit", along with why I'm including the items, how important they are, and how much it cost. See the initial posting for more details.

Directly after there is a disaster that has destroyed your home, having decent shelter may seem like a fairly unimportant detail, but it isn't. Think about when you go camping, what is one the first things you pack? A tent and a sleeping bag, which translates to... yup, "shelter". If you live anywhere there is a chance of precipitation, you are going to want someway to stay reasonably dry. If you are going to be on your own for longer than 72 hours, having decent shelter is that much more critical.
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Disaster Prep: First Aid

nospam@example.com (Jon) — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 10:00:00 -0800

This post is part of a series on disaster preparedness. Each entry will cover one part of the preparations I'm making for a "disaster kit", along with why I'm including the items, how important they are, and how much it cost. See the initial posting for more details.

First Aid supplies are another item from the "Duh" school of logic, at least when it comes to being prepared for a disaster. Though it was a "Duh", I had to debate with myself if it was more more important than Tools or not. In the end I decided that they were of equal importance. Obviously, if you are reasonably injured in the initial disaster you should take care of yourself before you go looking for others; following the same logic behind putting on your own oxygen mask before that of a child's, when on a plane. That being said, if you aren't seriously injured, clearing some rubble a few minutes sooner can be the difference between life and death for someone else. Then again, sometimes you've got a little leeway.

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Disaster Prep: Tools

nospam@example.com (Jon) — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 10:00:00 -0800

This post is part of a series on disaster preparedness. Each entry will cover one part of the preparations I'm making for a "disaster kit", along with why I'm including the items, how important they are, and how much it cost. See the initial posting for more details.

In the case of a natural disaster, probably the most important thing to have directly after the disaster strikes is some tools. In the cases of earthquakes, you may find doors will not open because of shifting foundations causing damage to doorjambs. In any case, if things are really bad you will be digging through rubble, be it for loved ones, friends, pets, random survivors or even down the line, personal possessions.

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Disaster Prep: Food & Water

nospam@example.com (Jon) — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 10:00:00 -0800

This post is part of a series on disaster preparedness. Each entry will cover one part of the preparations I'm making for a "disaster kit", along with why I'm including the items, how important they are, and how much it cost. See the initial posting for more details.

This is one of those posts that falls under the "duh" category, but it is by far the most critical and inversely the easiest preparation to make. In the event of a disaster, be it natural or man made, you will still need to eat and drink. You can go without food, but you certainly can't go without water. If you're like me and live in earthquake country, you cannot drink the water after a moderately strong quake. Pipes can break cutting you off all together or worse, sewage can leak in contaminating what seems to be "good" water. Lets look at each category separately.

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Disaster Prep: The End Of The World Bag

nospam@example.com (Jon) — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 10:00:00 -0800

A few days ago I was doing the Wikipedia surfing thing and one of the articles I was reading was about Bug-out bags. This is something I've been (weakly) wanting to do for a while, and reading about it made me want to do so more. Plus the entire destruction of Haiti thing helped to reinforce the notion of this being a good idea. So this past weekend I ended up at a military surplus store which carried a variety of large military style Seabags (or duffel bag) and I decided that I should buy it and start building my "G.O.O.D bag" (Get Out Of Dodge). I also managed to convince my mother that she should let me upgrade/replace her aging emergency supplies. So the fun begins.

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The Ultimate "End of the World" Vehicle

nospam@example.com (Jon) — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 10:00:00 -0700

Recently John and I got onto the topic of "End of the World" vehicles (Editor's note: For certain values of "recently"). Would a big RV work? It has lots of space, though it has poor gas mileage and isn't very maneuverable. What about a big pickup truck? Lots of cargo space, better gas millage, can store more fuel, but still not very maneuverable. Motorcycle? Ultra good gas millage, but very limited on the cargo space and the extra fuel you can take along (this is what Milla Jovovich used in Resident Evil: Apocalypse). Really this is a philosophical question, not one that can be answered right or wrong. For me, as much as I'd love to have a motorcycle for the end of the world, the fuel & storage space of a pickup far outweigh the maneuverability & fuel mileage concerns.

The EarthRoamer XV-LT

It is all moot in the end though, because I've found the ultimate in "End of the World" Vehicles. Allow me to introduce the EarthRoamer XV-LT. It is a "compact, energy efficient, solar powered home, built on a Ford F-550 truck chassis". It runs on diesel, so you can burn a number of different things it its engine and get away with it. It has solar panels on the roof and plenty of space for you, a few friends, and your survival gear. Most importantly it has an option for a "Rainbow 36A Air Filtration System Provides ISO 9001 compliant protection against chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) contamination for up to six people." Yea, it is essentially a portable HAZMAT shelter.

They've also got bunches of fun "End of the World" friendly options, like increasing the fuel tank to 90 gallons, stainless steel coffeemaker (wouldn't want to leave civilization behind when it is destroyed), Air ride suspension, military internal beadlock aluminum wheels, 8.5kw mobile power generator, satellite internet (because the internet might survive the end of the world), and a iPod ready entertainment system w/ Garmin GPS. Of course it will cost you a pretty penny, and don't even think about trying to finance this and stiff the guys when the world ends, I'm sure they'll have an entire fleet of these to come after you with. If you must know, the cost for just the basics (Truck, Camper & Air filter) starts at around $220,000 USD.

The real question: Will it withstand Zombies?