The Vault Room: Preparedness in Tornado Alley, and Beyond

The recent string of tornados in the Midwest clearly illustrate that point that every family should have a very sturdy vault/safe room. Just a standard basement will not suffice as a shelter.The following newspaper quote came in the aftermath of a tornado in 2005: “…According to Rizzo, Harold O. Orlofske, 54, who died in the Stoughton tornado, had properly sought safety in the basement of his home but was killed when the chimney collapsed onto him…” (See: USA Today Article) If properly constructed, one room can simultaneously fill several vital roles: Walk-in gun vault, storm shelter, fallout shelter, and panic …


The White House Warns: Time to Stock Up on Food! We Can’t Stop the Advent of the Asian Avian Flu

As ABC news reported: “In a remarkable speech over the weekend, Secretary of Health and Human Services Michael Leavitt recommended that Americans start storing canned tuna and powdered milk under their beds as the prospect of a deadly bird flu outbreak approaches the United States…” See: http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/print?id=1716820


Letter Re: Advice on Long Term Moth-Proof Clothing Storage?

JR- A great deal of discussion regarding emergency kits, bug out bags, and general storage of necessities always dominates survival and preparedness related literature, web sites and blogs. I was wondering if anyone had any knowledge of the best way to pack clothing for long-term storage. Ideally, vacuum sealing of individual items as well as a complete days worth of clothing would be best, however in the absence of a close to anaerobic environment that would keep out moisture as well as most fiber eating insects such as moths from staying alive to eat holes in your clothes, what can …


Letter Re: Asian Avian Flu, Storage Food, and the Current Bulk Ammo Shortage

Mr. Rawles, Katie bar the door, get your beans and bullets, now. Driving into work I heard the supreme potentate Sean Hannity himself say that he had a stockpile of food as well as a separate broadcast facility closer to his house with generator back-up and its own satellite feed for when “times got bad.” His caller was giving Sean the Mormon guide to foodstuff stocking per adult per year. I don’t know what the lead in for this discussion was about, it might have been Asian Avian flu or the Iran situation, but I thought it was interesting that …


Odds ‘n Sods:

A 50/50 chance of mutation and then up to 50% of the world’s population dead?Yikes! This one is a must read: http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/AvianFlu/story?id=1724801 o o o Arab Central Banks Switch Some Assets from Dollars to Euros. See: http://news.independent.co.uk/business/news/article351127.ece o o o I just heard thatReady Made Resources has received some scarce late issue digital TA -1042A/U U.S. military field telephones, brand new in the box. This is the current issue type requires a four conductor wire (or two runs of standard WD-1 commo wire.) The good news is that you can talk in full duplex! Any 12 volt power source works …


Jim Quote of the Day:

“Thou [art] my hiding place and my shield: I hope in thy word. Depart from me, ye evildoers: for I will keep the commandments of my God. Uphold me according unto thy word, that I may live: and let me not be ashamed of my hope. Hold thou me up, and I shall be safe: and I will have respect unto thy statutes continually. Thou hast trodden down all them that err from thy statutes: for their deceit [is] falsehood. Thou puttest away all the wicked of the earth [like] dross: therefore I love thy testimonies.” – Psalm 119:114-119 (KJV)


Note From JWR:

Special Thanks to SurvivalBlog reader Doug H. who out of the kindness of his heart utilized some arcane scripting voodoo to add an anchor to each entry in The SurvivalBlog Glossary. Henceforth, clicking on each link to the Glossary will result in a specific entry being displayed. For example, try clicking on: “TEOTWAWKI.” Note that it will take us a while to go back through and retrofit all of the existing Glossary links, to make them properly “targeted.” Thanks for your patience.


Letter Re: Home Dehydrating and Home Vacuum Packing

Sir: As a “very long time” survivalist, I read everything I can get. I also enjoy your website as it is the most informative one out there! Now for my problem: I was diagnosed with what is called Celiac Sprue. This is a horrible allergy to anything that contains Gluten, such as wheat, barley, and rye. What this means is that if I were to eat anything that contained Gluten I will come down with extremely bad cramps, diarrhea, nausea, and fever. Basically, It feels like I have the flu but ten times worse. As you can see this makes …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Check out the outdoor survival and land navigation resources at Survival Monkey. This is are also a site where you can read the full text of the EMP web novel “Lights Out.” See: http://www.survivalmonkey.com/ (OBTW, Survival Monkey is not to be confused with Trunk Monkey. I love those commercials!) o o o Mr. Bravo mentioned that prices are falling on lithium batteries for Surefire (and similar) high-performance flashlights and lasers. The batteries do not have to be expensive (up to $10 each at the camera department!) There are many discount online sources that sell them in bulk for not much …



SurvivalBlog Now Hosts Free Downloadable Shooting Targets and Target Logs for Your PC Printer!

As a public service in support of military, police, and citizen marksmanship, SurvivalBlog.com is pleased to provide web site space for The Target Tracker System© (TTS) and The Target Tracker System – Law Enforcement© (TTSLE). Just click on the Free Targets / Logs button in our top bar and then click on the links for the .zip files. Our sincere thanks to DBG, who donated these products as a fundraising vehicle for SurvivalBlog!


David in Israel Re: A Winter Crossing

While living on the dry side of the state of Oregon [eastern Oregon] while in college, my bugout plan always included heading to one of two prepped positions one a cramped remote cabin and some buckets of food and gear the other a friend who had well prepared but was too close to a highway. Circumstances would have dictated which to go to. In winter, my plan was to ski and sled in my gear. Without the assistance of a massive snow plowing network, much of the northern United States would be locked-in, once winter arrived. Almost all logging roads …


A SurvivalBlog Reader at Front Sight, by The Wanderer

Where to begin? I have to preface this letter by thanking you for making me aware of Front Sight Resorts. I had heard of it before, but had not understood the value that waits, nor the reality of the training. This is the best investment I have made. I decided to take a Four Day Defensive Handgun class at Front Sight. I found myself second-guessing my investment of both money and time away from work/family. The concern of the investment ended as soon as I met the staff. Talk about Qualified! Let’s say Over Qualified. I don’t want to get …


David in Israel on Flashlights and Batteries

For a non tactical flashlight (momentary/click button on bottom) I prefer the Underwater Kinetics flashlight. These use four size AA batteries.They are widely used as firefighter helmet lights and survive well, even in fire/ground abuse environments. I try to keep everything standardized to AA and have a large stock of NiMH and lithium-ion rechargeables around. For long term kit storage the comments about 9 VDC lithium is right on, AA lithium batteries are also available in the camera section and can be expected to last much longer in storage than alkalines. I try to avoid CR-123 tactical and laser gear …


Letter Re: Shelf Life of NiMH Batteries?

JWR, There have been a few posts about batteries lately and a question I have been unable to find an answer to is: Do Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMH) batteries have a limited storage life before they are put into service (receive their first electric charge)? It would be nice to know if I can buy a quantity and store them away until needed. I’ve not seen this addressed anywhere and maybe you know or one of your readers knows the answer. Regards, – Keith JWR Replies: That goes beyond my base of knowledge.  Would any readers care to chime in …