During a Disaster Event Should You Stay at Home or Leave? | |
Anonymous Coward (OP) User ID: 681051 United States 02/04/2010 01:09 AM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | Preplanned Destination Options Let's examine several different destination options. In each of the following situations you should attempt to pay your expenses using whatever credit cards you have available and save whatever cash you might have for a future emergency. If your family has more than one car then you should quickly load all of your vehicles to the maximum, without overloading them, and then your family should drive out of the disaster area. Before you start you should have consulted a map and selected a minimum of two alternate routes that lead to your final destination. Then listen to your car radio as you are driving to see if there are traffic or other problems along any of your planned departure routes. The quicker you can be underway the better your chances will be that you can get your family to safety. Your safe destination could be any one of the following: Family: If you have family members who live outside the impacted disaster area then they may be willing to provide you with shelter for a short period of time until the disaster has passed and you can return to your home. However most families live on a very tight budget and they will not be able to feed and clothe you for an extended period of time. It would be nice if you paid for some of the groceries while you are there, and also made a contribution to their utility bills. If it later becomes impossible for you to return to your original home then you will need to find new employment and a place to live as quickly as you can to relieve the pressure on family relationships. If your new job does not pay enough so you afford to rent a place of your own, then you should give at least half of each of your paychecks to the family you are staying with to help pay their bills. You should also remember that you are still a guest in their house, and that every member of your family needs to abide by their rules. Friends: The above comments about family also apply to very close friends. However the relationship is much weaker and friends should only be imposed upon for the absolute minimum amount of time. Even if you have discussed this situation with your friends in advance, it would still be a good idea to minimize the amount of time you stay with them. Motel: A motel located outside the disaster area is a good option if you can afford it, and if the disaster is forecasted to be relatively short in duration. Once the disaster passes you may be able to return to your normal way of life. An Extended Stay Motel might be a better option because you can pay by the week or month and each room also has a few kitchen appliances, such as a refrigerator and a microwave. Before paying the rent always politely ask if you can see the actual room you will be renting. Boarding House: Depending on the size of your family you may be able to rent a simple room in a boarding house on a weekly or monthly basis. You can read the "For Rent" section of the local newspaper to locate one these places and then you can call to see what their rules are. You should phone several places to find the best deal based on what your family requires. Forest Campground or RV (Recreational Vehicle) Park: If the weather permits, then a campground or RV Park may be an option if you have an RV, or a camper, or if you have a good tent and some camping gear. Many RV Parks have a separate campground area for tents. They also have a community shower area, one for men and one for women, and they have drinking water available near the campsite. A good tent is not an expensive investment and every family should have a tent to avoid being forced into a Government Shelter for survival. Even if you have no money you can still camp for free in most National Forests as long as you don't stay at one of the official forest campgrounds. However, you will need to move your campsite at least once per week to a different area to comply with forest regulations. (Note: If you own an RV or camper then it might be wise to find an RV storage site close to your planned evacuation destination. The monthly rental to store and park an RV is about the same everywhere but the advantage of parking it near your planned destination is that your RV would already there. If you have family members who live on acreage way out in the country then they may be willing to let you park your RV at their place for free.) Government or Community Shelter: As a last resort, you could temporarily reside in a shelter. There are usually three different types of shelters: (1) a state or federal shelter, (2) a local community shelter, and (3) a church or school temporary shelter. A church operated temporary disaster shelter is usually less restrictive than the other types of shelters. However, before you go to any type of shelter it might be a good idea to rent a temporary storage facility and store all your equipment, supplies, and personal belongings in the storage unit. The primary reason for storing your possessions in a rental unit is because many of the cars parked near a shelter location will be vandalized by thieves if they see anything worth stealing through the windows of the vehicle. Many of the monthly storage rental units are large enough to drive a car into so you could park your extra car inside and still have room to store all your equipment and supplies. You are also allowed to put your own personal padlock on the door to your rental unit. (Note: Some storage units will not allow you to park a car inside the actual rental unit but they will rent you space inside the fenced area to park your car on a monthly basis. In this situation completely empty your car into the rental until before you park it.) If you have cash, or if you can get cash from an ATM, then you should pay the rent in cash to avoid leaving an electronic trail to the location where you are storing your remaining possessions. Depending on the circumstances it might be wise to pay the rent for a minimum of three months in advance and get a receipt. Your entire family could then get into the remaining vehicle and drive to the shelter location. Just remember that some government shelters are easy to get into but almost impossible to get out of until the authorities are ready to release you. If you become a voluntary prisoner at one of these shelters you may discover that life in the shelter is unbearable and that you are not allowed to leave simply because you now realize you should have never entered the shelter. When you first enter the shelter, government shelter personnel will carefully search you and confiscate any weapons, knives, drugs including prescription medicines, tools, children toys, money, makeup, wallets, purses, keys, and any extra food you may be carrying with you. It is unlikely you will get all of these items back when it is time for you to leave. In some cases you will only be allowed to enter the shelter with the clothes you are wearing and a new identification card, or wrist band, issued to you at the shelter. This makes escape from the shelter less feasible because you will have surrendered all your possessions including your driver's license, credit cards, money, and keys. This forces you to follow any rules the shelter may impose because you are now defenseless and you know you now have no other choice in the matter. In a worst case scenario, savage brute force will dominate inside these shelters and your family members will be subject to beatings, rape, and having their daily food rations forcibly confiscated by the strongest residents in the shelter. These evil individuals will continue to grow stronger as your family members continue to grow weaker and eventually die of disease or starvation. These are some of the reasons why a church shelter or a local community volunteer shelter would be preferred to a federal or state government shelter. It is also important to mention that not all government shelters are run the same way and therefore you should determine what the rules and regulations are in any shelter before you agree to enter it. You should also be aware of the fact that the shelter rules can be changed at any time without notifying you or consulting you prior to the change. The above discussion has focused on: (1) the need to evacuate, and (2) several different possible destinations. It has not reviewed the most important items to take with you when you evacuate your home. If you would like some ideas on which items might be both practical and useful then please click on the following link: An Emergency Evacuation List. [link to www.grandpappy.info] If you would like to read James Wesley Rawles observations about the feasibility of attempting to survive in a big city during a disaster then please click on the following link: Hunkering Down in an Urban Apartment in a Worst Case Societal Collapse [link to www.survivalblog.com] |
Anonymous Coward User ID: 872753 United States 02/04/2010 01:11 AM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | |
_SATAN_ User ID: 874021 United States 02/04/2010 01:13 AM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | Chaos, it's just the beginning Every promise I made I'm rescinding Center mass in the middle of the monster I'm getting tired of drowning the constant Cry for help, it's debatable The only reason that you love me is I'm hated by all Come on, come see dysfunction I guess we're gonna leave it open for discussion Who am I? Where am I going? Maybe I'm looking in the wrong direction Maybe I'm looking for any direction This is not my war, this is not my fight This is something more, this is not my life (This is not my) Revolution (This is not my) Convolution (This is not my) Expectation (This is not my) Desperation Holed up, scarred and tamed for the hell of it Look at me, I am the glorified malcontent Save me? Save this! All I gotta do is give up and all is forgiven I'm sick of being the butt of a cosmic joke And I don't get the punch line A million people lined up for miles To see the great big mouth shut up and apologize This is not my war, this is not my fight This is something more,this is not my life (This is not my) Revolution (This is not my) Convolution (This is not my) Only reason to question why Today, I said goodbye! Goodbye! Oh I didn't need to leave to stay right here Today, I said goodbye! Goodbye! Oh I didn't need to leave to stay right here Today, I said goodbye! Goodbye! Oh I didn't need to leave to stay right here Today, I said goodbye! Goodbye! Oh I didn't need to leave to stay right here Today, I said goodbye I'm the pariah (Break me) I am the liar (Save me) I can take anything (Make me) Accuse me of everything (Take me) Cut off the system (Shape me) Deny my existence (Waste me) I won't be afraid (Try me) I won't be unmade (Deny me) So come on, break it off Come on, buy the lie Come on, say it, say it Come on Say goodbye! Goodbye! Oh I didn't need to leave to stay right here Today, I said goodbye! Goodbye! Oh I didn't need to leave to stay right here Today, I said goodbye! Goodbye! Oh I didn't need to leave to stay right here Today, I said goodbye! Goodbye! Oh I didn't need to leave to stay right here Today, I said goodbye! One (One) Two (Two) Three (Three) Nil |
Anonymous Coward (OP) User ID: 681051 United States 02/04/2010 01:15 AM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | It depends on the Disaster Quoting: Anonymous Coward 872753no kidding dick tracy? that was what the post is about, helpful tips for people that may not know... from [link to grandpappy.info] |
Anonymous Coward (OP) User ID: 681051 United States 02/04/2010 01:16 AM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | |