Intersting article in Reuters, where many foreign counties get their views on USA:
http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenew...&rpc=23

A couple of interesting comments on how American business is (not) preparing.
I would like to get some feedback on specific thoughts as to what others think would be the most important preparation steps to being ready if cable news started reporting influenza outbreaks in the US.
I can make a couple of assumptions that this emergency would have different issues than many other situations.
Lets assume a "YOYO" (your on your own) situation, where regionally the SHTF, but it is not quite TEOTWAWKI. The outbreak story moves from cable news to your local stations.
The tipping point becomes when school district closings are announced, forcing working parents to have at least one parent home during the day. What are the priority preparedness items you would most want on hand figuring it might be 3 weeks of staying put?
Lets assume a more likely case is not complete society breakdown, but rather food availability disruptions, and only sporatic localized loss of essential services.
What easily obtainable items that you could purchase today would you be willing to stand in line for, exposing yourself to crowds, that would be first to go in the stores?

I think the most important thing is don't wait until it hits CNN to prepare. By that point, it's probably too late. If there are reports of a pandemic flu strain in the U.S., half the country is going to be scrambling to grab any supplies they can get their hands on. It's far better to be prepared in advance.

In this sort of situations, my first priority would be not to get the flu. There are lots of places selling 'Bird Flu Kits' with masks, gloves, etc., but I'm skeptical of their usefulness. The flu spreads through interpersonal contact, so the best solution is probably to lock the door and call your boss and tell him you won't be in for a few weeks. Of course the danger is that if too many people take this course, particularly those that work in public safety or basic infrastructure, we could end up with a real societal breakdown. If you have to have contact with other people, masks and gloves may be useful, but it's probably just as important to take your vitamins, drink plenty of fluids, and wash your hands regularly.

Beyond not getting the flu, the basic concerns are the same as they've been since time immemorial: shelter, food, shelter, water, and personal protection. The catch is you're going to want to be able to meet these needs without leaving the house, and in the face of disruptions to basic services.

Shelter: In a pandemic situation, I'd probably go with sheltering in place, so I'll already have a roof over my head. However, the electricity and natural gas may not stay on, so plan to deal with a lack of AC or heat. In a cold climate a wood stove would be great, but since I live in an apartment it's not really an option. I'd probably just have to go with sleeping bags and warm clothing inside and out.

Food: I've been trying to build up a supply of canned food sufficient for a couple of weeks. This mostly involves buying a bit more of the sort of stuff I eat anyway and just maintaining a bigger supply. In the event of a pandemic, I'll be eating a lot of canned soup and ramen, but I can probably go for at least two weeks at this point.

Water: This is the one I'm most worried about. I'm entirely reliant on the municipal water supply, so if it goes out, I'm in trouble. I've bought some 2.5 gallon containers of bottled water, with the goal of building up about a 30 gallon supply.

Personal Defense: Any sort of large scale disaster has the potential for civil disorder. A pandemic may deter some of this, since even criminals would be worried about catching the flu, but there are some people stupid or desperate enough to want to take advantage of the situation. How far you want to go with defensive preparations is really a personal choice.

I think that these four really cover what you need to stay alive during a pandemic flu situation, but there are a lot of other possible preparations that could make you more comfortable. For instance, lately I've been thinking about 'waste management' in the event the municipal sewer system goes out.

Capsu78, could you go back and use the URL feature on that weblink? It's so long that it makes this thread hard to read without scrolling left and right for every line.

I think others will cover the usual preps, like food, water, shelter, masks, etc. Just another angle. Do you have health insurance? Do you have disability insurance, both short and long term? Do you have enough cash reserves for at least a few months of mortgage payments, bills, and other living expenses? Do you have a will and other arrangements in case the unthinkable happens? Who will take the kids? If your kids' usual caretakers (like you and your spouse) become too sick to take care of them, do you have people you can count on to take them? Do you need life insurance?

Just some big-picture issues that are often overlooked when thinking about preps, but with similarly harsh consequences. E.g. if you lose your job (you refuse to go in, the company goes under, etc.) then you have no income and then what about your house/apartment? Or you get sick and you don't have health insurance to pay for the ICU and such? Again, maybe lose the house. Or you have a job but get deathly ill and even if you survive, it takes weeks or even months to get back to 100% No work usually means no pay, unless you have disability insurance.

I agree sanitation options could be a real critical concern, which supports having lots of cleaning products, garbage bags, inordinate amount of toilet paper etc.
Reading about 1917-1918, many many people were also very sick but still survived... however, it would appear you may need to have the ability to create a sick room in your house to seperate the "not feeling well sick" from the "hoping they aren't sick.". Different bathrooms to use.etc.
I think another component would be 24 hour "Influenza Strikes" coverage, which would run the gamut from usefull generic advice to monday morning QB advice about what families should have been done, and ultimately political blame .
This would get fatiguing real quick. Also, public safety and "Don't worsen the situation" warnings might mean the standard "score keeping" -IE graphics for the odemeter of death, might force the MSM to skew the actual severity and impact peoples response to the situation.

Sorry, I can't figure out how to use the feature. A problem exists between my keyboard and my computer skills!
FWIW, I linked it through todays Drudge Report.

Where does not going into a total panic fit in? Seriously. Social breakdown? Sounds like Y2K all over again.

Panic won't be a viable option in an influenza outbreak. It won't improve your situation, unlike other emergencies where "fight or flee" response can maybe get a singularly selfish individual an improved position, even if it is at the expense of "women and children first".
In fact, one of the dynamics in play will be the truly affected (Dead, dead loved ones etc) will cut across all socio economic strata- Just as likely Bill Gates as Joe Sixpack will be impacted. Look at the plagues where the grim reaper took its toll across the board- kings and paupers alike.
Even the goblins and preditors in society will be nervous about "jacking me" for fear I may sneeze in their general direction.
This is not to say there won't be panic, it just won't obviously get one ahead as it might in other emergencies.
As far as comparing it to Y2K, well, influenza preparedness doen't have the same momentum behind it precisely because many of the "worst case scenario" doomsayers in the run up to Y2K were enterprise software providers who knew that preparing was synonimus with creating a big budget pie to split up, IMHO.

One of the things you can't control in a flu environment is what other people do. When I cough or sneeze, I try to do it into my elbow. But I work with so many people that either cough right into the air, or cover their mouth with their hand, then use that hand to give something to you.

Using the 'public' restroom at work, it amazes me how many people leave the stalls and don't bother to wash their hands. After you wash your hands, hold on to that paper towel and use it to open the door, then toss it as you leave.

Try to get out of the habit of touching your eyes or nose with your fingers. If you have to rub, use your knuckle or the back of your hand, which is less likely to be contaminated when you pick up something that could have last been handled by an infected person.

I work for a Native American casino. I will bet a paycheck that as long as there are at least 3 customers coming in per day, they will stay open, and lean heavily on anyone who wants to stay home. I have no doubt whatsoever that they don't give a rat's patootie that they could be fostering the spread of a major disease.

Another thought: the 'normal flu season' usually tends to run from November to March, when people are mostly confined with other people, rather than sometimes being in the fresh air. If you're going to prepare, I would prepare with winter in mind.

I wonder if there is a particularly nasty outbreak in certain areas, if truckers would refuse to enter that area to deliver goods?

I am cynically imagining how the news media would welcome something like this. Can you imagine the hyteria they would be trying to foster, all in the name of diseminating valuable information? <img src="/images/graemlins/smirk.gif" alt="" />

Sue

Assuming that you have followed the sage advice of this site and are adequately provisioned, this would be my biggest concern. In the event of even limited social breakdown, "good" people can do awful things if driven by fear and desperation. You may want to consider ways of utilizing your resources that draw the least amount of attention to the fact that you have what so many others need to save themselves and their loved ones.

The smell of cooking food will advertise your prepardness as will waste water poured into the street in front of your home. If you use a generator, it better be very well insulated for sound. Something as simple as the beam from a flashlight can act as a beacon to those who would forcibly relieve you of your essentials if the store shelves have been empty for weeks and precious resources have long ago been used up.

I hate to have to consider the scenario, but in the case of any large scale disaster, the wise ETS member will have added home and provision security to their plans and equipment.

I'm certain there are other (and better), ways to camouflage our resources. I'd love to hear what others have come up with along these lines.

I work for a Trucking company that is truckload (versus LTL) and 99% of our drivers are Leasors who have the option to refuse any load they don't want. I can guarantee you heavily affected areas will be black balled by delivery type industries in a hurry.

When I am on the road I am always on my own. At some point in this scenerio (scince you said regionally) people are gonna want to start leaving the area. you have to wonder if any measures will be enacted to prevent the spread to unaffected areas, then common sense says if they don't let people out then no travel (including truck drivers) will be let into the area. Everything will come down to what plans individuals, towns, counties, states and the U.S. goverment have in place prior to the beginning. Basically without PPP (Prior Proper Planning) this scenario has no good out come, and I have never seen evidence of PPP on any large scale it's gonna be bad.

I also use a paper towel to shut off the hot water faucet, considering that's the first thing people who actually do wash up touch after doing their business.

After spending 10 days with out power last month during our ice storm I can give you my opinion. (It's a weird deal driving around a city of over 100,000 where almost everything was without power)

#1 is water. Both for drinking & flushing toilets.

#2 try to find a way to get a month ahead or more on any life threating medications that you have to take. The one I take is not that serious so not a big deal for me.

#3 lots of canned & dehydrated foods. I've been storing food longterm on & off for 5 years now and I've learned to not go overboard on stuff like liquid oils, nuts, sunflower seeds, etc. as they just go bad way to fast. The fat oxidizes fairly quickly & stuff goes rancid on you & it's a waste of money. Stuff like White Flour, White Sugar, Pasta and canned goods last for a long time. We are still using up spaghetti that I put in a 5 gallon bucket 5 years ago & it tastes like it's new.

#4 Woodstove. It will definitely be possible to survive longterm eating cold food while sleeping in your Overalls inside a sleeping bag. However, it is going to get old really, really fast. <img src="/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" /> I now have a woodstove that will provide heat & a cooking surface for us if we have to go longterm during the winter.

Variety is going to be nice if you can't run to the store for fresh bread, milk & eggs. My family eats a lot of cereal/milk, salads, sandwichs, etc. that require perishable items. It will require a major adjustment on our part when we go into lockdown mode.

Here is a recipe for a Flour Tortilla(wrap) that can easily be made over a BBQ grill, fireplace or woodstove. I've tested it & they are really good fresh, but not so great once they cool down & set overnight. So cook up what you can eat for that meal. All the ingredients are very cheap & store well longterm.

Flour Tortillas

Serving Size: 12

- 4 cups unbleached all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 4 teaspoons baking powder
- 2 tablespoons vegetable shortening
- 1 & 1/2 cups warm water (or more if needed)

In a large bowl, stir together the flour, salt and baking powder. WIth a pastry blender, a fork or your hands, gradually work in the lard or shortening until it is all incorporated. Add enough warm water to make a soft but not sticky dough. Turn out onto a lightly floured board and knead for 5 minutes.
Divided the dough into 1/4 cup portions and form them into balls.
Roll each ball into a flat round about 6 inches in diameter & 1/8 inches thick.
Heat a large heavy skillet over medium high heat. Place the tortillas one at a time in the dry hot skillet; cook until brown on both sides. Remove from the skillet & keep warm in a clothe towel until ready to serve.

I ate them with warmed up canned stew & it was a great combo. I also experimented making wraps out of them & stuffing them with foraging items like lamb's quarter, chickweed, dandelions & wood sorrel.

Wood Sorrel leaves have a strong sour zing to them which is to much by itself, but added great flavor to the wraps mixed in with other stuff.

Chickweed is a wild edible that if very prolific here in SW Missouri & if it grows in your area I would highly recommend learning what it looks like. I don't like it raw near as much as when it's cooked.

Good points on faucet handles & doors. I love the ones that swing outwards as you can just open with the elbow or foot.

If the restroom has those papertowel dispensers with little levers you push to get a towel, push out a foot or so of towel BEFORE you wash your hands, then if you need more towel, you use the one you already have out to touch the lever for more. Why touch the dirty lever with clean hands...

"...The tipping point becomes when school district closings are announced, forcing working parents to have at least one parent home during the day..."

A Seattle High School had 170 students out sick Mon, 200 yesterday, and 300 today, some so sick they are in the hospital. So the school has shut down for at least the rest of this week. So there are undoubtedly a lot of working parents scrambling to cover the rest of the week, and hopefully not get sick themselves...

After our local flu pandemic exercise, I put together a kit of:
A couple N95 masks
A few packs of nitrile gloves
Safety glasses
A bunch of hand sanitizer and extra isopropyl alcohol
A few packs of Immodium AD
A few packs of flu symptom relievers (kids and adult)
A couple cans of Gatorade

If we did get hit with a near worst-case, it gives me the basic recommended protection in case I had to go out for something. But more importantly, we've got some simple tools to fight the symptoms, especially dehydration.

Thats right, the "more regulation" crowd removed any medications the school nurse used to have access to. I remember getting inoculated in school for crying out loud.
Now the nurse is only equipped with tools to improve your self esteem.