[Hoot Gibson]

Are you a dedicated prepper? Are you minimally prepared for a one to two week emergency situation, during which electrical power, water, and/or food supplies may be interrupted? If not, maybe now would be the time to start filling jugs with water and stocking up on non-perishable food. I am not a prepper but I am minimally prepared for a disaster. Nobody who lives near a large city should consider themselves to be a real prepper and that is my situation.

I posted this in the General Discussion forum and not the Politics forum because basic emergency preparedness can and should be a non-political, non-controversial topic. There is an awful lot of chatter right now in our nation's capital and some of it is coming from people who have been reliable sources of information in the past. Some serious people in the federal government are urging Americans to have a 12 day supply of food and water on hand just in case of a SHTF event. 

It does not really matter where you fall on the political spectrum, there is an increased probability of a national emergency occurring over the next few days. Whether that increased probability is 5 percent or 50 percent, I have no idea, but there is a lot of unusual activity going on in our nation's capital. It just seems like a good time to assess how prepared we are for a natural or man made disaster.

Please do not try to turn this into a political debate. If events transpire that cause us to draw on emergency food and water stores, then we can debate the cause of the problem in the Politics forum.

My family and I probably have enough food to withstand a few weeks without going hungry. We will be filling up jugs of water today, just in case. We will also be stocking up on batteries of all sizes and charging devices that use rechargeable batteries.

After food and water, emergency communications is probably our next priority and we are in good shape there. I am a licensed amateur radio operator (a/k/a "ham") and I have a multitude of battery operated radios. We also have a Sangean emergency AM/FM radio that works with a small solar panel, batteries, or a crank. (Most emergency radios are poorly built and include a plastic crank that breaks easily.)

Are you prepared to shelter in place for a couple of weeks or more? 

[Van Hagar]

If you don’t want this to be political, please delete your Biden photo.

[Hoot Gibson]

If you don’t want this to be political, please delete your Biden photo.

The Biden photo is my current signature photo and if you cannot ignore it, then please ignore the thread.

[Van Hagar]

Well ok since this isn’t political, I could be fine for a few weeks, not for several months. I surely hope the Trump insurrectionists don’t attempt something else, but no one will be surprised if they do.

[Spud6]

My family owns a grocery store. So we’d be pretty well off for about 3-6 months I’d say

[Hoot Gibson]

My family owns a grocery store. So we’d be pretty well off for about 3-6 months I’d say

My daughter works for a large east coast grocery chain. The have generators that run for 12 to 18 hours on a tank of fuel. She says that fuel would be trucked in during a power outage to avoid shutting down. So, we will probably be fine if disaster strikes, as long as the trucks are still rolling.

[vector#1]

What disaster do you think is coming ?

[Hoot Gibson]

What disaster do you think is coming ?

The thread is about emergency preparedness. I do not necessarily believe that a disaster is imminent but the current political environment in Washington, DC, has elevated the chances that some essential services could be disrupted in some areas in the next few days. I live along the Capital Beltway, which encircles Washington, DC, and on Wednesday, a curfew was declared for Arlington and Alexandria, Virginia. Effectively, people were confined to their homes and hotel rooms after 6 PM.

[Westside]

Well ok since this isn’t political, I could be fine for a few weeks, not for several months. I surely hope the Trump insurrectionists don’t attempt something else, but no one will be surprised if they do.

You tell Hoot to remove his sig pic because it is political and this thread isn't a political thread, and then you bring Trump into it.  Leave politics out of this thread.

[Westside]

It is amazing how little food is required to function when you are somewhat healthy and don't have to exert yourself to a great extent. I have gone 21 consecutive days without eating anything. On the 22nd day I ate half a block of crackers. I then went another 7 days without eating. I did drink 32 oz of Gatorade or Powerade a day and did drink at least 16 oz of water each day. I understand that having health issues, physical demands or even a family to worry about does change things.

[Hoot Gibson]

Well ok since this isn’t political, I could be fine for a few weeks, not for several months. I surely hope the Trump insurrectionists don’t attempt something else, but no one will be surprised if they do.

You tell Hoot to remove his sig pic because it is political and this thread isn't a political thread, and then you bring Trump into it.  Leave politics out of this thread.

I am removing my sig pic, not because of Van Hagar's request, but because it is too big and I had not intended to use it for long anyway. I need to create a logo and a sig that is less offensive to non-political members who just happen to be Democrats - something with some humor.

[Van Hagar]

Well ok since this isn’t political, I could be fine for a few weeks, not for several months. I surely hope the Trump insurrectionists don’t attempt something else, but no one will be surprised if they do.

You tell Hoot to remove his sig pic because it is political and this thread isn't a political thread, and then you bring Trump into it.  Leave politics out of this thread.

That’s called sarcasm, Westy, Mr. Gibson would politicize a kindergarten play, as he did by posting the photo. But I respect you, I won’t stray from the stated intentions of this thread going forward.

[Old School Hound]

Honestly, it's not something I've ever worried a whole about. Hell, if I hadn't gone to Kroger today I wouldn't have had anything for supper tonight. If a catastrophe occurs , maybe Hoot will allow me entrance to his survival shelter. (Remember the Twilight Zone episode?)

Does anyone know what nearly happened on July 23, 2012 that almost sent us back the Stone Age? We may have been without power for months, or even years.

[Hoot Gibson]

Honestly, it's not something I've ever worried a whole about. Hell, if I hadn't gone to Kroger today I wouldn't have had anything for supper tonight. If a catastrophe occurs , maybe Hoot will allow me entrance to his survival shelter. (Remember the Twilight Zone episode?)

Does anyone know what nearly happened on July 23, 2012 that almost sent us back the Stone Age? We may have been without power for months, or even years.

If disaster strikes, my food, water, and shelter will be for family only. I forgot to mention guns and ammo, which are necessary to ensure that one's food, water, and home remain in the family.