The one thing I know about preparedness, from having gone through a week without power after an ice storm in southwest Louisiana, and another week without power after a tornado in Kentucky and almost a week of not being able to leave our house after a 20+ inch snow storm in Kentucky is this: I will never be 100% prepared for every possible scenario. I’ve learned to do the best I can and make do with what I have.
If you’ve seen any of the news on TV or in print media, you’ve seen the lines for folks waiting to buy gasoline. Having generators is not a guarantee that “life as we know it” goes on. I’ve always thought that having a generator gives most a sense of false security. If your power is out for a few hours or even a day or two, a generator is fantastic but if power is off for days and days, a generator is almost worthless.
Whole house generators require mega amounts of fuel. Most are hooked up to natural gas lines. If you notice in New Jersey, gas meters have been taken out and there’s gas spewing into the water/air. I doubt there are many in the hardest hit areas who have an uninterrupted supply of natural gas. Portable generators take a good bit of fuel if you’re running them a lot.
We have diesel and gasoline generators and have considered getting a propane generator because we have more propane fuel here than we ever have diesel or gasoline.
The only thing I would ever plan to run with a generator is the well, which we can run for not very long and fill the tank and that will give us enough water for showers and washing dishes. We would also run the generator for 4 – 6 hours a day to keep the food in the freezers frozen. I still can all my vegetables and about half the beef, pork and venison that we get and my freezers contain the remaining half of the meat, as well as a lot of fruits that I buy on sale (strawberries, blueberries, raspberries), as well as some prepared meals that I cook ahead. Anything in jars is safe — power on, power off, moves across several states.
Generators can be great but please don’t put all your eggs in one basket . . don’t think because you have one, life will go on without missing a beat.
The news out of New York and New Jersey is so very sad but we can all learn a little from the experiences of those folks. I’m thanking my lucky stars that in the event of a major disaster in my area, we live in a rural area and not in a major city. I’m thankful that we have our well and as long as it has water, we control our supply and I’m thankful that we have a septic tank and it will not back up into our house because of a power failure. know there are folks who would be thanking their lucky stars to be in a city and not in a rural area. Look at what’s going on there and think about how a disaster on that scale — whether it be a hurricane, a flood, an earthquake, even a collapse of our economy . . how are your preparations going to hold up?
I doubt many of those folks in the area affected by Hurricane Sandy ever thought this could or would happen to them . . mass transit out for days, no gasoline, no power for as long as it’s going to be out. Don’t bury your head in the sand . . unexpected things can and do happen.
If you lose your home and everything you own, obviously the preparations you’ve done are gone too. We cannot plan for everything. Short of losing everything, most any prepping you do is better than nothing.
So true, I keep thinking about all those people living in hi-rise apts and no electricity means no elevators!
Amen to that, Judy! We were quite fortunate (and amazed) that we did not lose power here at my house in NH. Others around were not so fortunate and some still have no power but holding up well. Nothing in our neck of the woods compares to NJ or NY.
Amen! We are making our winter storm prep over the next couple of weeks since we always lose power for at least 5 days at least once every winter. In October we always prep for a 10 day stretch with no power and no running water
( though this year I think we might have a plan to put a small generator on the community well that gets run 3 or 4 times a day for an hour).
Agree…..and I sure am glad I don’t live in a city where so many people will soon be desperate when the unexpected, the unthinkable, happens. Here in my small town people are likely to help each other, not trample their neighbors to get to the relief supplies first. Ideally, everyone should prepare as best they can, even if it isn’t 100%.
When the tornadoes swept through North Alabama in 2011, it took out the entire utility grid for most of the northern half of the state, we were without power for nine days. Luckily for us, Todd had purchased a small generator just weeks prior. Our reserve water tanks in the RV were full and we always keep reserve gas. Todd and I and my son, his wife, and their son, were able to manage just fine. But living on that small generator was enough to let us know we needed a larger one. This year when tornadoes again hit our area in April and we were again without power for several days, we lived quite comfortably. I’m a BIG fan of being prepared!!
We have lived off the grid for 15 years now. We are all solar and have a well with a 3000 gal. holding tank for our water. We also have a back up generator which is propane, but still you never know what could happen. Our closest neighbor is 2 miles from us and its our son and grandson. I still worry about what could happen so I like to be prepare .
Judy last year we lost power for five days during a storm here in NH, this year in Sandy we lost it for 29 hrs…being prepared is really a necessity for us..I know what you are saying!!! My heart goes out to New York and New Jersey and others still without and all who lost their homes and lives…and more..prayers to all…
Our well won’t work if we loose power so out here in the country we would be without water. When I lived in FL and lost power due to hurricanes I had city water and it kept going, which was a blessing.
Amen. Whatever our circumstances, it’s good to have food you can eat without power, and heat such as a small propane heater, and propane lanterns, etc. And then the propane to power them for a couple of weeks would be helpful, too! In Disaster preparedness class, we were told there is the possibility that rescue can’t reach you for at least two weeks, so don’t count on being rescued in a few days!
Considering the temperatures in Texas, you might think about buying a small window AC unit that you can run off a generator. It’s not a matter of comfort, but your health when the temperatures soar. Unfortunately, when the temperature soars, there are people (mostly the elderly) who die every year in Texas without AC. If you can run a unit even just a few hours a day, you can keep the temperature cool enough that you can survive. It may sound silly to people in cooler climates, but the heat in Texas can be deadly.
Judy,
I’m not sure what type of house generator you are talking about. We have run ours for days at a time only turned the thing off at night while we slept and it uses very little diesel . We go though much less fuel with the whole house generator then the little 5,000 watt one we had before. Being that Vince has the tractor you could get :farm grade fuel delivered to your house and have it on hand when needed it. Just an idea for ya,
Kim
Judy, you cannot begin to imagine the destruction in NJ, NY, and CT. I live in northern NJ, nowhere near any river, lake or ocean. The winds that blew through Monday night caused a large pine tree (that was in fine shape) to crash onto our roof and against the side of our house. It’s hanging over the entire roof, blocking the garage. Luckily for us, we are not hurt. Had this thing angled a bit differently, we both would have been seriously injured or dead. There was no way that we could have prepared for this.
The power went out for 2 days. We were very lucky, again. Plenty of food, lots of flashlights, and a gas stove. You can light a gas stove with a match, but not an electric one. We had an old transistor radio (remember those?), and it was so helpful. At least I knew what was happening in the world.
Yes, it helps to be prepared, but I can tell you that no way could the folks along the Hackensack River have known the destruction that that river caused. Folks down the shore are well acquainted with the power of mother nature, but this storm was unprecedented.
Do you know that we cannot get gasoline in our area without a 3 hour wait? Gas stations either have no power, or are running out of fuel. People are lined up with gast cans for their generators. We don’t own one, nor will we buy one, but we’ll make sure to buy firewood for the fireplace.
In response to those who think that living in the country as opposed to the city is the solution, I can tell you that New Yorkers have been wonderful to each other. Everyone is in this mess and people pull together. New Jersey is very congested, and I can tell you how many folks have come over to ask if we are OK with our mess of a tree. We call folks up to invite them to sleep over if they have no heat. We do our best to make sure that the elderly are OK. There is an enormous sense of camaraderie here
Thousands of folks are suffering here, and they should not be made to feel as if this is all their fault.
Sorry if I sound angry, but I live in NJ, have family here and in NY city and Long Island, and in coastal Ct, and people here need encouragement and compassion, not blame.
Yes, it’s a terrible disaster but it isn’t the first terrible disaster and it will not be the last. All I’m saying is that people not suffering in the current storm need to learn from what’s happening there and be prepared when something happens in their area. Plain and simply, people who are still in their homes, power or no power, and are out of food and water on Day 4 were not prepared. I’m not blaming, not belittling . . I’m stating a fact. The whole lesson of preparedness is to be prepared!
Ruth,
I don’t feel that Judy was ‘blaming’ anyone just giving suggestions on how to survive an unexpected disaster. We here in Texas have learned a lot over the years on preparation when a hurricane is on it’s way, or a thunderstorm with spin-off tornadoes.. and they usually come thru at night so you cannot see them, you just have to listen and pray.
I feel that everyone has compassion for anyone that is involved in a disaster, no matter whom, what or where it may happen. We always help others in anyway that we can and we do not expect anything from anyone as God gave us a mind to think with and a sense of survival .
Helen
I’m not blaming Judy at all. She’s lived through a few major disasters herself I just wanted to point out that you can be totally prepared for these storms, but when your house is destroyed, your car washed away, and all you have are the clothes on your back, all your preparedness goes down the tubes. We were very very lucky. The fallen tree is a mess but we literally survived it coming down right by our heads, and we got power back after a couple of days, so no suffering here. We were also very prepared, and Judy is so correct that we should always be prepared for the unexpected, but I think about the people I’ve seen, the people who have lost everything, and it’s not just a couple of them. It’s all very sad.
Obama came to the shore and met with Gov. Christie, and that was so appreciated. Plus, he expedited help from FEMA to come through as quickly as possible. The Red Cross has been wonderful. They don’t want food, clothing, blanket kinds of contributions; what they need is money. It’s much easier to deal with crises this way. In gratitude, we plan on making a good contribution to the Red Cross.
Ruth,
I have had damage to my home from a hurricane, and as to FEMA, they never helped us at all ,, because we had insurance. It didn’t matter that we had a large deductible, it didn’t matter that I needed help to buy gas for the generator etc. and I am a Senior Citizen, So ,, just because the President made a speech that he wanted everything expedited,, I sure would not hold my breath .. Red Cross never takes donations except money. However, Salvation Army, Purple Heart, Godtel are a few that will take food, clothing, household goods etc. and a lot of people will get those items a lot quicker than money from Red Cross.. sorry Judy,, this is your blog,, I should not express my feelings here..
Wait! Stop! I’m not criticizing Judy at all!!!!! Comments I made on my blog were not referring to Judy. I know the work Judy has done in helping after the Joplin tornado; I think she’s a marvelous woman.
I read on a couple of other blogs about people blaming the victims of Sandy, and it upset me very much. I know that you are all concerned people, so I wrote about what’s happening here.
Of course we should be as prepared as possible; that goes without saying. Lots of folks don’t feel that way, but I’m a great believer in preparedness. I just wanted to tell you all about the magnitude of the tri-state area’s disasters. I’ve live in this area ll my live, and have lived through many hurricanes, major winter storms, etc. But I never have seen one like this.
Please don’t think that I’m criticizing Judy; I”M NOT!!! I’m a faithful reader of this blog. I love Judy’s stories about the chickens and grasshoppers (we don’t have those, and I’m quite happy about that), and Vince, and granddaughters, and quilts, and knitting, and food, etc, etc.
I’f I’ve offended, please forgive; it certainly was unintended.
Ruth, not a problem, have a blessed day
Helen
OK. You’re not criticizing me!
It’s ok . . we’re all happy, happy, happy!
I”m terrified of tornadoes and earthquakes. Never experienced a tornado, and never want to. Last fall, we felt the earthquake that took place in Virginia. Now that was scary.
Good night, all. Stay safe and warm.
I live near the Jersey shore, and we own rental properties in Atlantic City – that’s what we do for a living. My tenants – those that chose to stay – have really been amazing. Tenants that always argued and complained, have invited each other into their homes on higher levels, so that those who had been flooded out at least had a place to sleep. Those without electricity understand that the city is in lock down and there is no way I can get in to assist them. Those with electricity have asked a neighbor to help figure out their panels so that they only turn the power on to to higher floors and not cause fires by turning the power on to damp wiring. Previously we had very little turnover – my husband is a great landlord. But he’s been out of the country for the last 7 weeks, with still another 10 days to go before he returns. I’ve been so grateful that our tenants as well as the greater part of Atlantic City, are being decent to each other, lending a hand where possible, and full of benevolence. Not all of course, there is plenty of looting going on that the news isn’t reporting, but the greater majority is banding together in the wake of this storm, and it is a wonderful thing to experience – even with the devastation that they face. Personally – we lost power for about 4 days – but it was nothing as harsh as it was last July in 90*+ weather without power for a week. Selfishly I enjoyed this time with my 4 kids. Because there was no power, all 4 kids slept in my bed at night (King size, but my kids range from 5’10″ down to the 9yo who is already about 5′ tall) – we were nearly on top of each other but what better way to play shadow hand charades via flashlight. During the day we had a non-stop game of Monopoly going. We ate crackers and cheese from a can (I normally would have NEVER bought cheese in a can!) Without all the electronics – it was actually fun. Being without a generator, unlike my neighbors, allowed me to spend some real quality time with my family.
Oh, and I forgot to say about being prepared – make sure to have cash on hand – plenty of cash – because in the wake of a storm like this, most stores that do open only are accepting cash because they either have no power to run a register/credit card machine, or else the phone lines are down so credit cards can’t be run, and remember that without power, the ATM”s will also be closed – so always keep enough cash on hand to buy what you might need and to get you and your family out of town if required.
I remember many winders as a kid in Indiana where we lost power. Back in those days we had no telephone, or when we did, it frequently went out. We all slept in the living room with a propane heater that my dad vented through a small window. My mom hung blankets over every window to keep more warmth in that one room.. We kids slept together on the floor with every blanket and sheet we could find in the house.
Judy,
You said you canned chicken. Does it alter the flavor at all? I’ve been tempted to do that but didn’t know how it would taste. I’ve canned homemade bacon bits and they a great!
Here in Ohio we had bad winds along the Erie Coastline.
We were prepared…gas cooktop and a cozy fireplace to keep
warm. We piled on the blankets at night. We, too, lost
pine trees and power for a couple of days. Parts of our nieghborhood are still out and will be out until Monday.
We have a great neighborhood – we all pulled together and
helped one another…except for the grouch next door. She
called to b—– about our pine tree in 3 feet of her lawn
and wanted it OUT in a timely manner. I politely told her
my personal arborist was cutting it right now (my husband).
The woman needs to get a life!
Anyone collecting quilts for the people who need them??
judy, thanks for this post. i know one cannot be prepared for everything. but we had a lot of peace of mind going into this event. i think that is most important and helps when things do happen that you just could not prepare for. If are already worried you cannot think clearly when things that you just didn’t think about begin to happen. Thankfully we were unscathed through this event, but next time we might not be so lucky. I think it is important to learn from all horrible things we are seeing in NY and NJ.
central new jersey here. we’re seniors without power since monday evening and we just got it back about an hour ago. i’m checking email right now. our wonderful neighbor has been kind enough to share his generator with us and we’ve been doing the gasoline runs. every time we leave home we carry cans just in case we pass a station that still has gas. when we do see one the line is hours long. the last line we waited on was 2 hours and 15 minutes. we filled the van and the cans for the generator. we have both only been using the generator enough to keep the fridge and the freezer going. nothing else. we’re freezing. we can’t wash our clothes or take warm showers. i’m heating water on the gas stovetop for spongebaths and we’re only using candles. we’re getting lots of sleep. the frustrating thing is that there is gas,but the stations don’t have the power to pump it. tomorrow we’ll be visiting our son and bringing gas to him in new york. he’s totally out of gas. he’s also affected by the lack of public transportation. it’s been taking him 3 hours and 20 minutes to get to work. this is not a happy time for any of us.
fortunately neither our son, daughter or we live close enough to the shore to have our homes affected by the storm in other ways but falling trees and power outages. bushes have been torn out of the ground and hurled through windows, and one very tall tree in our side yard fell onto a side neighbor’s truck damaging the cab and also hit his porch roof. our entire neighborhood has uprooted trees and heaved sidewalks. power lines are down everywhere and it will be weeks before streets are passable. none of the traffic lights are working and half the shops in town have no power yet. but no rain damage or flooding like they had close to the shore, thank god.
I can chicken and love it! For dinner tonight I opened a bottle of my canned chicken, added some Alfredo sauce, cooked some fettuccine and we were eating in 15 minutes. I always use pint bottles because most recipes call for a pound of chicken and “a pint is a pound, the world around”…. Think about any canned meat you can purchase and then realize you can do the same thing. Of course you must use a pressure canner. Check out Wendy DeWitt’s blog,http://everythingunderthesunblog.blogspot.com/search?q=canned+chicken I attended one of her classes and have so appreciated her wise insight. I have canned hamburger, and beef chunks and we use them constantly. I don’t love the taste of the hamburger plain but I season it with taco, chili, sloppy joe or pizza seasoning so it works out great! My heart goes out to those of you suffering on the east coast. You are our fellow countrymen and we are praying for you as we know you pray for us when we face adversity.