My Neighbors Mutual Assistance Group

We learned a lot during the Feb Snowmageddon 2021. The greatest things we learned were the necessity to be prepared for almost anything and that we have a great community that willingly shared and cared for and with each other.

• We were lucky that we had fairly good electrical power with minimum disruptions - especially compared to other areas.

• Most kept their water dripping and broken pipes were minimal.

• We shared via Facebook and people gave willingly of small heaters and other lifesaving equipment. (I no longer access Facebook)

• Most had sufficient food supplies and those who didn’t were able to meet basic needs through the generosity of their fellow neighbors

It would be nice since we face so many ongoing threats, for us to unite & assist each other.

See https://www.ready.gov/plan for basic ideas on planning for emergencies from FEMA

Here are my minimum recommendations for you whether you participate with us or not:

1. 1500 Calories of food per person per day for 30 days - I’ll be happy to recommend some freeze dried and/or dehydrated foods for long term storage. You can meet most of the needs with canned goods and dry (beans, rice, legumes, etc.) foods

2. 1 gallon of water per person per day for 30 days, check out the Aquatub Kit 2.0 bathtub water storage system (65 gallons minimum) - bottled water cases, 5-gallon jugs, etc.

3. Method of indoor heating and/or cooking (butane or propane) - Sam’s has a great little Chef’s single burner butane stove suitable for indoor use - make sure you also get a carbon monoxide detector - DON’T use any indoor open flame cooking without having a CO detector. You can get the burner with the CanCooker kit https://www.cancooker.com/

4. Don’t rely on your stove top for heat, you could melt the items directly above, instead, use your oven and leave the door open

5. UCO makes a 3-candle candelier (that produces enough heat to warm a pot of water for coffee, instant soup, hot chocolate, etc. Get an extra box of candles.

We also are on the verge of major civil unrest, there is a war looming between China and Taiwan which could bring on WWIII; Serbia and Bosnia are at it again; Russia invaded and is occupying the Crimean peninsula and is now deploying troops to invade and occupy the Don-Bas region of Ukraine; Belarus is importing and forcing migrant Arabs across the borders with Lithuania, Latvia, and Poland - those 3 are considering invoking article 4 of the NATO charter - an attack on one is an attack on all (another WWIII powder keg).

Yellowstone is acting up; New Madrid fault zone is acting up; La Palma volcano - now 2 months of eruptions - has been upgraded to a 3 (Mt St Helen’s was a 4 and Krakatoa was a 5) - if the fault zone fractures, there could be a 150-foot-high tsunami hit the east and south coasts of the US. We’re at Grand Solar Minimum - look up Dalton Minimum or Maunder Minimum. This will have a dramatic negative impact on food supply in 2022 and going forward.

Then the other political stuff going on - defund the police with over 100% increase in violent crime, increasing racial tensions, hyperinflation on the horizon, critical supply shortages, politically motivated invasion of illegals coming across the southern border, decrease in energy production and distribution, this new infrastructure bill will automatically increase cost of Natural Gas 30% which is a major source of power generation in the US; another wave of COVID, etc. This last month we’ve had three major coronal mass ejections which have had major Impact on internet, electric power distribution, and communications - look up Carrington Event. If, rumors are correct - there may be a resurgence of Smallpox - prepare to isolate for at least 30 days.

Other disaster prep suggestions

• Good family first aid kit with extra over the counter medications, cold, flu, pain, anti-diarrheal, cough, antihistamine, allergy, Benadryl, etc. Get an ample supply of cleaners, disinfectants, personal protective equipment, & diarrhea / sputum / vomit cleaning.

• Small solar charger for cell phone / walky-talky & a communications plan should internet / cell phones fail - consider Motorola Talkabout T800 or T600; Back Country Access BC Link 80; or Midland X-Talker T10 - use channel 6 (GMRS / FRS - not CB) for our community

• Battery/solar/hand crank emergency radio like Midland ER210 you’ll need NOAA & EAS (weather and Emergency Alert Stations)

• Water purification equipment (Berkey Water Filter, Sawyer, etc.)

• Flashlights, candles, matches, lighters, etc.

• Toilet paper and paper towels - if the sewer system freezes / backs up, have a plan on how you’ll dispose of human waste - come look at my bucket potty systems if you want ideas. Cloth diapers with a method to clean them will be beneficial if you have family members in that age group. Recommend saving your ashes from your grill / wood fires and/or a bag of lime to mix with your solid waste - it will help it decompose faster.

• Plan on how to dispose of other trash - trash pickup may become very limited. Get kitchen trash bags and contractor trash bags for this - consider those with deodorants. Don’t just leave them out on the street as rodents and wild animals will surely destroy them in their quest for food - we will try to have a collection / disposal point.

• Sufficient hygiene, feminine hygiene, and infant / toddler care items

• Consider a small gas generator &/or solar panel system or a home solar system with battery backup (with the overcast, I didn’t have much power generation until day 4 of snowmageddon, then, when the grid was up, I was exporting electricity to my neighbors - that is, I was producing more than I used.)

• Don’t forget your pets, they’ll need to eat / drink, too.

• I have a 5-gallon pot & plan to have a community contribution kettle if it gets bad - Sunday Chicken Noodle Soup, Tues Chili & Rice, Fri Nail Soup - you bring a veggie, meat, or pasta for a“whatever is in there” soup. Recommend you store canned chicken, noodles, pasta, rice, chili, etc. to add to the pot. Cooking fuel (charcoal/firewood) will also be important. We might add a 4th meal (spaghetti) if we can get enough pasta and sauce saved up from the community. All meals will be community collective food supply.

• Self Defense, I make these recommendations to have some commonality in ammo / spare parts should they be needed - ammo has been unpredictable since 2008, but NATO standard ammo is in supply (in prep for military needs?) 9mm, 5.56mm, 7.62mm

  • Shotgun 12 or 20 gauge with 00 buckshot

  • .223 cal. or 5.56mm rifle or carbine

  • 9mm pistol

  • .22 LR rifle or carbine (scope is great for rabbits, squirrels, small game)

  • .308 caliber 7.62mm long rifle with scope for hunting larger game

I’m FEMA / Civil Defense trained, member of FEMA’s CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) & TACDA - The American Civil Defense Association. I’ve been doing this since 1963 Cuban Missile Crisis & believe now is the time of greatest need for preparation. Contact me if you’re interested in developing a plan. - Lee