Hurricanes 2012

biffvernon · Post by **biffvernon** » 31 Oct 2012, 18:14

What baffles me, in the light of the constant and timely warning, is why so many people left so many cars in places where flooding was a dead cert.

emordnilap · Post by **emordnilap** » 31 Oct 2012, 18:30

Well, if they're insured...then it's good for the auto industry, ain't it?

Post by **kenneal - lagger** » 01 Nov 2012, 04:41

biffvernon wrote:What baffles me, in the light of the constant and timely warning, is why so many people left so many cars in places where flooding was a dead cert.

There probably wasn't anywhere else to put them!

PS_RalphW · Post by **PS_RalphW** » 01 Nov 2012, 09:41

One of my wife's friends has a house 3 blocks from the shore of Statne Island, New York. She stayed with a friend, but her house was almost certainly flooded to about 10 feet. Haven't heard from her yet.

jonny2mad · Post by **jonny2mad** » 02 Nov 2012, 18:31

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... -pump.html

guns pulled in gas lines

Remember this is just a blip not the sort of thing you will get with peak oil

jonny2mad · Post by **jonny2mad** » 02 Nov 2012, 19:06

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IkwBQRH42J0

WE'RE GONNA DIE !

unprepared person fretting

Post by **clv101** » 02 Nov 2012, 19:41

Nice.

Tarrel · Post by **Tarrel** » 03 Nov 2012, 23:26

jonny2mad wrote:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IkwBQRH42J0

WE'RE GONNA DIE !

unprepared person fretting

A lot of people are going to die when TSHTF.

It's easy for the media to pick on one unfortunate individual and have her squirming all over the internet. It's not necessarily representative of a typical reaction. Seriously though, I do wonder how many people would typically react like her, and how many would take the more stoical, "get on with it" approach?

Post by **adam2** » 06 Nov 2012, 14:09

A great many people seem to have been very ill prepared for an entirely forseeable event.

I would prefer not to live in a tower block, but if I had to for some reason then I would keep bottled water, food, candles, and batteries for a month. Remembering not only the likelyhood of shortages, but also the problems in carrying supplies up dozens of floors without a working lift.

I would prefer not to be reliant on a car, but if I had to, I would purchase an economical diesel model, keep it full, and keep a reserve of fuel (diesel is much safer than petrol to store)

I would prefer not to be reliant on mains services for heating, but if this was unavoidable, then I would attach special importance to stocks of blankets, sleeping bags and long underwear.
There is talk in New York of people dying of the cold in unheated homes, with forecast outside temperatures only slightly below freezing. Such temperatures are entirely survivable in an unheated home if equiped with warm bedding and clothes.

biffvernon · Post by **biffvernon** » 06 Nov 2012, 16:19

At least the people without electricity in Haiti are not worrying about when it will be restored. They never had it in the first place.

Post by **adam2** » 07 Nov 2012, 09:25

Reports suggest that in the worst affected areas, that very few standby generators functioned for than a few hours.
At least two hospitals had to be evacuated due to failure of standby generating plant.
In other cases generators did not even start or take load !
Many busineses with generators have either run out of fuel, or suffered generator failures.

Diesel engines, generators and related equipment are a mature and well understood technology, and so should work reliably IF correctly specified, installed, maintained and used. Most are not.

Tarrel · Post by **Tarrel** » 07 Nov 2012, 18:43

Watching the news, a lot of the people in line at the gas stations were on foot with jerry cans, trying to get fuel for generators.

A message there about keeping a rotated stock of fuel, within the realm of safety of course. No good having a generator without the means to run it.

I wouldn't want to pre-judge, but I wonder also what sort of usage patters people were expecting from their generators. Had they switched to a subsistence level emergency plan, or were they trying to carry on BAU with their gennys.

biffvernon · Post by **biffvernon** » 07 Nov 2012, 21:13

The same happened a few years ago in the great ice storm. Loads of people ran cheap gennys for hours till the died. Then they got cold.

Post by **adam2** » 10 Nov 2012, 10:32

Tarrel wrote:Watching the news, a lot of the people in line at the gas stations were on foot with jerry cans, trying to get fuel for generators.

A message there about keeping a rotated stock of fuel, within the realm of safety of course. No good having a generator without the means to run it.

I wouldn't want to pre-judge, but I wonder also what sort of usage patters people were expecting from their generators. Had they switched to a subsistence level emergency plan, or were they trying to carry on BAU with their gennys.

I suspect that many intended to run generators 24/7 which uses a frightening amount of fuel, from both the cost point of view and the logistics of obtaining it.
It would make more sense to run the generator for say an hour at a time in order operate freezers, heating systems and charge moblie electronics.
With a bit of common sense, one hour in three should be ample.
A more expensive but arguably worthwhile prep would be connect essiential loads to a UPS with extended run time battery. Run the generator only when heavy loading appliances are needed or when the UPS batteries become depleted.
A super high efficiency fridge and freezer would increase the battery run time, and save money under normal conditions.

Tarrel · Post by **Tarrel** » 10 Nov 2012, 22:36

I think this illustrates an important part of preparations;namely the importance of mental, as well as material, preparation. It's really about playing out scenarios in your mind, thinking through what is essential, possible and realistic, and being prepared to adapt to a new set of rules (even on a temporary basis).

By contrast, what seems to have happened here is a knee-jerk reaction to go get a generator, then an attempt to carry on with BAU without making that mental (and behavioural) adjustment.

This is why I believe downsizing is a good form of preparation. Learning to live comfortably with less, so it's less of a shock when TSHTF.