Hi guys! I'm not new to Homesteading Today. A few years back we had a small farm and we were homesteading and I used this website many times for reference and just to chat. Move forward a few years and last summer we moved from the states to Puerto Rico to live because it's so much cheaper and you aren't required by law to pay for over priced medical insurance or pay huge property taxes. Last summer by the grace of God we didn't get any major tropical storms or hurricanes but this year by everything we read it could be a totally different story. My question is how do we get prepared? What food is smart to have on hand? A first aid kit basic or are there extras we should have. I know basic stuff because we lived in Upstate NY for years so we had occasional storms and such but this is a whole new ball game. If we get hit hard we could get cut off from the mainland for awhile and we want to be ready. There is so much information out there but what is good and what is just crap? I appreciate any tips or help you all could give us. Thanks!
Canned foods are best because they will survive flooding and still be edible.
Other foods should be stored in watertight container if there is danger of flooding or water damage.
Foods that require minimal preparation are good if you don't have a way to heat them.
First aid kits should be as complete as possible to handle all injuries and illnesses associated with contamination such as diarrhea and vomiting as well as fevers. Splints for broken bones can be improvised, and "Vet Wrap" can take the place of Ace bandages for many things. Even if you don't have the skills to use everything, you may be able to find someone who knows how. A good first aid manual should be a part of every kit too.
Battery powered LED lighting is worth it's weight in gold, and extra batteries or a way to recharge them is handy for long term events.
Think about everything you would want for a 2 week camping trip and that is what you will want to have.
Have multiple ways to start fires, and learn how to use them all ahead of time.
If you have cast iron skillets and Dutch ovens, all you need for a cooking gourmet meal is a fire.
One of the most important things is LOTS of water for everyone.
There should be at least a gallon per person per day just for drinking, and more for washing and flushing toilets if you have them available.
Lots of things like blankets, towels and clothes can be packed in 50 gallon plastic drums with watertight lids.
Learn how to distill water. It isn't hard and ensures you'll always have a supply.
Good first aid kit.
Dehydrated and canned food goods. MREs are ok but that isn't something to you want to serve everyday if your holed up in your home and sedentary.
A generator.
Just a couple of things to add: find a place to go when it floods (higher ground). Nothing is scarier than living on an island and watching the water rise towards where you are staying. Next, find shelter that can withstand 100+ mph wind and is out of the flood area. Learn how the locals survive the storms. We lived inland from the ocean, not near a creek, in a cinder block building, above the 2nd floor. Our car was in an enclosed garage, also above the 2nd floor.
During a hurricane, we lost power for 6 days and then had rolling blackouts for the next month. No gas station worked. No ATMs or debit cards -cash only. Only restaurants working were steakhouses with gas grills, and generators for their refrigerators. Nursing homes went on the radio calling for ice to keep medicines cool. Remember batteries since knowing what is happening is important. We had canned goods (remember to get things you will eat without warming up) originally, then we made soup (from dried mix) that we heated and ate when the power came on, then shut into the fridge for the length of the brown outs. Boredom is a real problem - maybe include a deck of cards in your supplies. We went to bed when it got dark, since candles & flashlights didn't give off much light and needed to saved for real emergencies.
If you have animals, they will be really uneasy, and you will need food and supplies for them too.
During the wars in Eastern Europe a few years back, outside of food and water the most wanted items were toilet paper and fire starters. The most wanted services were medical and gunsmithing.
At our house we are trying to phase out batteries. We stock items (radios and flashlights) that are hand crank or solar.
In our experience and opinion batteries are a weak link prone to leaking or dying even with proper storage and rotation.
The one exception would be batteries that can be recharged.
Hello...
I am pretty new to the US and coming from Germany...
And we always had 6 month worth of food at home...in these monthly boxes...
I am starting them now here as well...
Page is in German but i think a website translator, common sense and the pics should do it... http://survival.4u.org/vorraete/monats-tonne-neu-2010.htm
And here even a calculator for different survival stages... http://survival.4u.org/vorraete/kalkulator.htm
They optimized it so that it is mostly water and critter safe and enough food that stays good for years for a person per month per container...not sure if you have some side like that in english...but go for it...
@Meinecke Those are neat links! I like the concept of one month per box. It is much more efficient to buy the needed foods, instead of just randomly buying more food. The translator worked very well too.
Best part of it is, that you can literally SEE waht you have available...easy to stack/store if you choose right container and you can calculate the kind you want (just surviving towards luxury food) yourself.
Unfortunately i had to eat them all when i immigrated to US since you are not allowed to bring the food in the container...
Happy that you like it and it might gives some additional ideas...these guys on the page even test cook with there containers after years to see if the way works right...
Hello...sure i can...and my oldest stuff was about two years old...some of it already badly over best by date...
But since this page/calculator just considers stuff, that should not even have a best by tag, most of it was without any quality loss...my cookies did take some air moisture and got from typical powery crusty to chewy, but tastewise far from any complains
Noodles, oil, tea powder, seasoning, salt, sugar, fliur etc were all perfect condition and not even cooking was different with them...
I could have sealed them better and even put an oxygen killer in the container as they suggest to slow aging even more down...
Some of that stuff might not be local cuisine, so should be substituted with local and personal favorites...
But take a look at the calculator and decide your own...
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