Another post got me to thinking; After I'm sheltered and fed ( hunkered down) the next thing I'll want is information. This means three things -

1. Personal info. Calling/ contacting family, friends, work

2. Disaster info -- finding out what's going on in general. This might be from tv, radio, newspaper, etc

3. Information that I might need in the short term: medical, survival, etc. ( books)

So -- how do you get these three groups of info? Do you carry a book or two in your Bob? a list of phone numbers? A radio and charger?

T RO

1. I keep an up-to-date phone and address list in my paper dayplanner, as well as a prepaid phone card. Also there's a USB keychain flash drive with important info and computer files.

2. There's a handheld radio scanner in the house. Also a ham radio and a couple of FRS radios. All can run on AA batteries.

3. Books are pretty much left at home. I've got a couple of survival references ("98.6 Degrees" and "SAS Survival Handbook"), some basic medical references (CPR, First Responder, etc.), and enough back issues of "Backpacker" magazine to keep me occupied.

I keep most information on PDA & SD cards + USB thumb drive. Battery life is sufficient for short term problems w/o recharging. It will last up to a week used sparingly. Some information (important phone numbers, OTC medication realistic dosages, etc) is on laminated cards.

My experience is limited to hurricanes. I can tell you what won't work = cell phones. Most towers are not designed to deal with high winds. All of our towers failed before winds got to tropical storm strength. Satellite phone prices have come way down and given recent experience, I'm finally going to break down and get one.




The best info came from amature radio from local 2 meter repeaters. If you do not have an amateur radio licence, get one. If that's not possible, get a scanner and find out the frequencies for the local repeaters. We also relied on local TV brodcasts which were obtained using a small portable Sony color TV with an attached antenna. This was kept running after the power went out for 17 hours using a Radio Shack 12v adapter and a Vector Jump and Carry 12v battery. Seeing the radar made a big difference in our sanity.


I have a nice little cache of .pdfs from this forum on my laptop. Lots of very valuble information here.

Best wishes.

Craig.