As I am sitting here watching the coverage of the NOLA disaster I have been rethinking everything. I live in an ignorant neighborhood in which the residents feel that the government would be there to care for everyone in the event something like this were to happen here. Out of 100 persons living here 98 of them are going to look to the authorities for assistance during a disaster of any kind. I need to get to work right now on putting together a better food bank for my family and keep it very quiet. The people that I associate with around here all know that I am a preparedness kind of guy and wonder how I would do in a situation like that in NO. I always thought that I would be fine but seeing the aftermath of what happened I am sadly mistaken. I am going to ask for advice from everyone here on what they feel would be needed for a similar situation as NOLA. I think this would actually be a post for the LTS section when it opens up but more importantly it is about being equipped to survive in an emergency situation. I saw a report on FOX news channel about the mental devastation this is causing to the children in NOLA. That is my biggest priority in any situation. I have an 8 year old son and a 6 year old daughter that I would want to get through any situation with as little trauma as possible. I do not want to shelter them from life but I do want to keep them protected. Candy and I are ramping up our efforts to make a new, improved food pantry equipped to feed the four of us and possibly one more person if they happen to come along (such as my father or my childrens mother if they are in town). I am trying to decide if I want to make boxes with specific meals inside and label them as so, seal them and store them so that I can easily rotate them and also to make it easier to access during a disaster. I know it will take up more room but I feel that this way will be better for us to prevent being lazy and "just using something and put it back later". I am wondering about water as of right now. I want to get some cases of individual water bottles for drinking and I also thought about putting some of them in boxes with foods that would require them for cooking such as spaghetti or tuna casserole. My thinking for this is as follows: If the water is as bad as in NOLA we still need to eat. We need water to cook food in and I want to eat as much normal food as possible. I was thinking about putting the following in a box; package of spaghetti noodles, two cans of sauce, two small bottles of water to boil and a can of sterno with matches. I was possibly going to throw in a couple of packages of placticware from Dennys as I can get them for free from there. What it would end up being is a gourmet style meal for four people prepacked and ready for cooking. Does this sound okay? I am watching FOX and Sheperd Smith. He made a comment that has irked me so badly that I need to go email him. FYI, I support him fully, but I think he is so caught up in the moment he is not thinking.

Two quick observations:

1. This situation underlines the fact that evacuation is REALLY important in the face of major hurricanes. What struck me about the evacuation footage I saw was how many partially empty vehicles were on the road and how I saw no trucks with people hanging all over them. Contrast that with evacuation footage from other parts of the world. The time for agressive measures (beg borrow, plead, commandeer) is when you are trying to leave, not after the strike.

2. Having adequate supplies is meaningless if your security is compromised. If predators can discover you and you have no means to defend your life or your provisions (which will become your life in approx 72 hrs.) your other preparations are for nought. We will see more lessons on this element of planning today and tonight as even the good people become more desperate.

Hi Recon,
If this situation does not make ALL of us rethink some things, not just BOB, I dont know what to say. My wife and I have been glued to the TV and CNN. I am so encouraged by the sacrifices of so many--the Coast Guard, SAR, firefighters, nurses, etc. And then, I get so angry at the looters (not for food & water) who are stealing clothes, shoes, guns, jewelry, etc. and then are doing their best to hurt and shoot at people!!!
Yesterday, my wife and I got a call to go help feed the rescue workers, Guard, SAR folks in Mississippi. We will be leaving in 10 days to Hattisburg and a center there to help for two weeks. I urge all ETS folks to help SOMEHOW. Don't assume everyone else will do it!

I would sit down with your son and daughter now and talk about what is happening. You don't need to force feed adulthood on them, but children need answers to questions we adults ignore or fail to see. Involve them in your planning. A power out drill and a test meal from your supplies( and forget the sterno, get some manner of small stove) will make the unfamiliar, the irregular a little more familiar, more regular in their impressionable minds.

As another reply said already your biggest worry will be confiscation of your supplies by others who think they deserve them more than you. I move bugging out a notch higher on the priority list. Are your children old enough to get into camping and boy/girl scouts? I would get them their own camping gear and make a place to store it all and start taking them out for a weekend of camping every so often. Make a couple surprise camping trips where everyone gets home from work/school and you grab your backpacks and gear and go. Then if something happens you grab your camping geat and bug out. I'm not saying hide whatever is happening or try to lie about it or anything like that but when something does happen and you say wife/kids we need to leave grab your camping gear they will have something familiar to them which will help calm the situation.
I have a small propane grill that we take to family reunions and such that everyone calls a camp grill because it is similar to the old coleman camp stoves. it was a replacement for our old big grill which took up too much garage space. So I pull out my normal grill and cook out through the summer and now have a means of cooking if we have no power and is portable if we have to bug out somewhere. Items like this are useful without being too "survivalist".

Sounds good to me, cowboy. Prepacked modules are something I swear by, be it EP or IT. I put all the cables needed, a mouse and a keyboard in a big plastic bag at work, and call it a set. At home, I do exactly what you are except for the water, and that's just becuase I have a couple of decent sources, even if they need boiling.

And that is for the normal groceries, btw. Nothing like getting set to make your really spiffy casserole, only to find out someone snagged your topping for a snack, becuase the components weren't labeled at a package.

I have been through a few periods of 3-4 days without power following storms, but have probably learned more from backpacking and camping.

First, spagethetti is a bad idea because it takes lots of water to cook and lots of heat to boil the water. For hot food the better bet is to look for Instant foods with instructions that say "add boiling water and stir"or "heat and serve". My kids like instant mashed potatoes better than real ones. (Children have weird taste buds.) Go with what your family will eat, but instant oatmeal, hot cocco mix, ramen noodles, instant soup mix are old backpacking standbys that are easy ways to get a little hot food. The coffee bags that look like tea bags work very well and are much better than instant coffee. (I do not know about you, but a hot cup of coffee can sure make the world look better to me.)

Sterno is OK to WARM up water and would work for instant foods. I have never tried it, but would hate to try to cook spaghetti with it. As Chris indicated, a single burner camping stove will work much better.

Make sure you have some food that can be eaten as is without cooking. Again, go with what the kids like. Some thoughts are canned fruit, apple sauce, pork and beans, and the old standby - peanut butter and jelly.

The packs of plastic forks, napkins, etc are a good idea.

Hey, I like instant potatos too, mix in some cheese and butter <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Pork-n-beans are a good survival food, they can be eaten without cooking (hasn't harmed me yet anyway) as well as a lot of the cans or ham or chicken or tuna since they are precooked when they are canned.
I survived college on pop tarts and kids like those too

I'm looking into a way of storing food : 5 gallon buckets with tight lids (with rubber gaskets) to prevent moisture and microscopic organisms from having access to the content combined with an inner liner made of metallized foil (Mylar bags) to block out light. You have to seal the Mylar bag with a hot iron. You also could vacuum pack it. I found this method in the book Emergency food storage & survival handbook by Peggy Layton. It should be similar to this:

http://home.att.net/~ofuzzy1/mylar.htm

I have yet to find Mylar bags and empty 5 gallon pails with tight lids in the local stores... I'm just considering it and apparently it's a very good method of storing food but it's probably especially meant for storing grains though.

OK, my re-thinking happened a few months ago when I pared down by BOB a LOT to make room for more water. I realized that food is not nearly as important as water, and while it's no fun to be hungry, it won't kill you the way a lack of water will.

My view on the NOLA disaster is complex and some of my views would get me kicked off this forum, so I won't share them, other than to say much of my scenario planning presumes a mostly cooperative and helpful populace working together to some extent to help alleviate a bad situation.

I submit that this is still my view for my immediate area, however, I am forced to admit that the idea of going to a shelter has now been forever equated with the nightmare of the superdome.

I'd have to say that the GO in the GO bag the most important part. Getting out of the area, if you can, by any means possible. I don't really have more to add than that at this time.