Ok, gonna ramble here on a Monday morning while the coffee kicks in.

Where I live is not an earthquake area but potentially in the path of a Tsunami around these parts.

The recent events in NZ and Japan has prompted me to make sure the BoB is a better state to go instead of having some components all over the place. End result? The BoB is heavier than I'd like especially with 6-9 liters of water. Need to review this.

I also have a small stash of food and supplies at work and my work bag has a small PSK. The truck has water and more equipment. Food storage in a truck in hot weather is a problem. I'm experimenting to see what keeps well. Baked beans? haha. I've also assembled a cook kit from British style mess tins and esbit type stove.

The other major consideration are my parents who are in their 70's. I don't think we'll be bugging out very far by foot. Dad still goes to the gym everyday but mum had hip replacement several years ago and has reduced mobility. If we had to go on foot, roller bags will have to be the way to go. I'm hoping to bug out first by truck ahead of the jam. That means being ready to go on short notice.

We live in a coastal city so if the sea comes inland by 10KM, there goes everything. Thankfully there are some hills nearby, but everyone is going to making for them and there aren't facilities for shelter for the most part.

There's a fire station a block away and the hospital is a couple of kilometers away but its on low ground.

During the last Tsunami scare, there was a traffic jam leading to the highlands a couple of hours drive away. Unfortunately a good part of that route lies on low ground now far from the sea.

How do you protect yourself from possible physical dangers
I've been in a car which was swamped by flood waters. Freaky. Don't recommend it.

How do you find your family?
Cell phones are the only practical means for now. I've got VHF, but I'm not sure I can get parents to use them.

How do you get home?
Worse case, walk, but I'd rather have the truck to pick up parents.

How do you find aid stations?
Fire station, hospital and police HQ nearby, but all on low ground. Not sure about fall back.

Will you be able to get news from radios?
I've got a hand crank multiband radio, but the main radio station is also on low ground. See a pattern? Haha

How can you tell if you've been exposed to radiation?
Hopefully we'll never get a nuclear power station nearby. Fallout from far away, is pretty much beyond my control

When will "help" arrive (I know this is a potentially loaded question)?
The authorities have been fairly well organised for small and medium scale disasters like floods because they occur so often.

What will aid stations be like?
Schools are usually used for evac sites. Haven't heard any horror stories and they've been well supplied. Just a lot of people in the same place. From past floods, people have been very neighbourly, helping each other.

Can you drink water coming out from a broken water pipe?
Filter, bleach, micropur tabs.