Disaster strikes: whatever kind most likely in your location. Now you are going to bug-in. What steps should you take to make your home safe and set up for survival in an emergency of unknown duration? How best to address sanitation, food prep, and all your other everyday needs?

In my area the obvious disaster is earthquakes. Numerous sources give the standard procedures for "safing" your dwelling for that occurrence and some procedures are enshrined in building codes - securing your water heater, etc.

What is interesting is that the most common disaster all of us face is fire - originating either within or outside the home. Bugging in is a bankrupt strategy for that occurrence, except in occasional situations. Therefore plan B had better involve leaving the old homestead, together with priority items.

I say that because twice since I have been in my present house, the car has been fully loaded, ready to drive away, because of advancing wildfires - and I am an advocate of bugging in for most disasters.

You must be flexible and provide options for yourself.

down here hurricane, typically less than cat 4 (which is my evacuation threshold)... in 04/05 inconvenience was no power for about 6 days... we didn't get hit like Polk or Charlotte counties did...minor wind damage and debris

cooking on propane camp stove(s)...(3) 25# bottles and 1# fill attachment

at that time I did not have much in the way of frozen foods...cold cuts etc were kept cool for the duration in 5 day coolers (frozen gallon jugs for heat exchange)

sanitary sewers and water not interrupted,but has been previously...home made "luggable loo"...5 gal bucket, with plywood seat/cover and trash liners just in case...42gal trash can in shower for flushing toilet if needed...42 gal spare under eaves with rain water

12 gal water stored in spigoted jugs, bottle of clorox ... added a Sawyer filter this last summer

sleeping major problem, as school resumed about 4 days into event...night time temps in the high 80s well after midnight..small tent fan for 04, larger fan and 12v auto battery source after 04...

hot water tank supply lasted about 2 days...used solar heated pump up sprayer...worked on other sources this summer...120ft hose, and 42gal trash liner... heated water on single propane burner to shave with

added a multi tool and Mini Mag light to my belt even at school

land line phone restored quickly, some intermittent cell coverage lost, but not too bad

pleny of canned food stockpiled, and added to it after 04

very good coordinated county emergency management for water and ice distribution... did not need to take advantage

car fuel tank was filled, and additional 10gal on hand

higher quality cordless drill for boarding up purchased... roof mastic, and blue tarps in case of roof damage

gas chain saw and machete for cleanup

for personal protection, Fla is a right to carry state...one of the .223 carbines was outside of the gun safe when I was home

Geez, what's around here? Hurricane or freak snow storm I guess.

Cooking: Camping stoves. Unfortunately limited fuel, since I don't camp much and thus haven't stocked up. Fortunately, ramen soaks up water cold and MRE's come with little heaters. In both instances, water should be fairly easy to come by - both stocked and due to location.

I live in Hampton Roads, essentially a hunk of land intersected by several rivers and bays. Nasty brackish metropolitan water, but sanitation wise, it'll work. Sponge baths, if need be dumping human and dog waste. However, for that, either homemade "luggable loo" as above, or just dig a hole out in one of the undeveloped land tracts. there's a lot locally that's set aside for future construction, so still forested. Again, might have to deal with thousands of others with the same idea, so that determines which route I'll go.

I'll probably be OK for first 7 days. After that, I'll be hurting in the water department (food probably getting low but ration-able). However, being a military family, I doubt they'd let me sit on my butt for 7 days and NOT have called me in. In that case, I'll be living off MRE's anyway.

I think in terms of storms damaging my house, fire, flooding, and getting snowed in.

Storm damage: 1) Secure the scene and make sure nobody is in danger (this includes immediate evacuation if there's any question of structural collapse). 2) Render any needed aid. 3) Assess the damage and decide if it can be temporarily repaired out of my own resources, with outside help, or not at all. 4) Decide whether to stay or go. 5) Check on my neighbors and see if any of them need help.

Fire: Evacuate immediately. If we get our hides out of the houe intact we've won. If we manage to do so with (in order of importance) car keys, clothes, shoes, cellphone, wallet, or a bug out bag, we've won big. If possible move the vehicles away from the house.

Flood: I've fought floodwaters successfully several times and lost once due to a double sump pump failure. The response is essentially the same as that for storm damage, with additional hazards including drowning, bacterial contamination and electrocution.

Snowed in: If the power's on, pour the wine and watch a movie or read a book. If the power's off, bundle up, strictly enforce fire hazard discipline, and cook without the oven or microwave. If power doesn't come back on before running the risk of pipes freezing but the gas still works, wire up the generator to the furnace and get the house warmed up. My plan calls for strictly rationing generator fuel for only the most essential purposes, so we'll get the house warm and the phones charged and shut down as soon as that's done. Our plan does not allow for lending the generator to neighbors but I would be willing to do almost anything else to help them.

If it gets real cold and the gas doesn't work, then we'll go into the room with the best insulation (my home office) put down some bedding, put plastic over the windows, and huddle up. We can run space heaters off the generator but I don't have either the space heaters or the generator capacity to get the whole house warm enough to keep pipes from freezing. We do have a Coleman stove and plenty of fuel canisters for cooking.

How do you "safe" your home systems: electric, gas, water, sewer?

How do you "safe" your home from: fire, flood, high winds, earthquake, extreme heat, extreme cold, tree falls, animal invasion, unwanted human visitors, and whatever you might see as creating an energency?

At least one of your problems is easily avoided - floods. Stay out of areas that are subject to inundation. Essentially this means not building within the 100 year flood plain; take to even higher ground if you wish to be more certain. The extent of potentially floodable lands may not be obvious.

Others can be tricky. Frame construction is generally the most resistant to earthquakes, but obviously is more susceptible to fire, although measures can be taken to render frame buildings more fire resistant

pull the main electrical buss, shut off gas

for wind

for new construction

check with you building code...see how it compares with the south Florida post Andrew codes with emphasis to truss strapping, and reinforcing double wide garage doors if attached to the main house...when the garage door went, so did the roof...

think I'd include a safe room with continuous pour walls and roof... possibly a commode and sink

for retrofit...cut plywood and spring steel "plylocks" if you have a block construction, and don't want to have permanent "tapcon" installation ...a step up is the corrougated steel shutters

if you have gable ends to your roof, add 2x8 diagonal bracing to the roof truss

reinforced double wide garage doors, or 2x8 brace to middle of door... (I preload the brace with a diagonal between my trailer hitch and the brace)



for physical security... steel entrance doors with good dead bolt, inexpensive security camera or minimum good peep hole, motion sensor lights... I use a 24/7 rear yard light as it borders a alleyway

good high intensity weapon's light if you choose to have firearms as part of your plan...I'll go on a soapbox here... if you significant other is not comfortable with a shotgun, do not force your decision...If someone would like a thread on firearms, I have 25years of practical shooting background...

battery powered tent fans for ventilation

Water in
Sewer out
Air in
Electricity in
Cable, satellite, fiber-optic in and out

I think I read you can install anti-backup devices on sewer lines, are there worthwhile analogs of such devices to protect / isolate other home systems?