Category: FEMA & Other Disaster Agencies

What I Learned Living Through Harvey, by M.S.

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I’ve lived through several disasters and learned some thing. The worst events, in my experience, were the World Trade Center attack, Hurricane Sandy in New York City, and then most recently Hurricane Harvey in Beaumont, Texas. South East Texas was hit with life threatening, devastating rain fall, which put entire cities under water, turned towns into islands, and crippled the municipal water system of Beaumont. The following is a list of lessons I learned during this experience. 1. I’m not overly paranoid. I’ve been freedom oriented and interested in prepping for a while, and many of my family and friends …


After Action Report On Hurricane Irma, by Florida Dave

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The Prep Prepping Our prepping to deal with Hurricane Irma was done in a series of steps based on the probability of a strike affecting my area. I wrote about this in a previous article posted on SuvivalBlog. My preps for a Hurricane started two weeks prior when I notice a storm taking a track towards Cuba and local meteorologists saying, “We need to watch this one.” I had recently completed a quick inventory and tested the generator, lanterns, and camping stove. So my two week prior check was done, or so I thought. Pre-Labor Day Preliminary Prepping On the …


My Recent Experience Bugging Into A Disaster- Part 2, by J.W.

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Travel Prepared- Non-Lethal and Sidearms I always travel prepared for whatever may happen. I am older, and while still in good shape, my fight rounds are probably down to less than a minute before I get worn out (comes with age), so I travel prepared to personally defend myself and those with me in any situation. As always, situational awareness is first and foremost. On short trips, I prepare by carrying both non-lethal protection and sidearms. On long trips (my long trips average 2500 miles round trip), I carry additional long guns that are purpose minded and a reasonable amount …


My Recent Experience Bugging Into A Disaster- Part 1, by J.W.

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I had a recent experience of traveling into a situation where everyone else was leaving due to Hurricane Irma. I learned some valuable lessons during the process. Homes in Both Florida and Midwest My home is in Florida, and my bug out location is in the Midwest. I spend most of my time during the summer at the BOL due to the climate, the gardening opportunities, and most of all the simple peace and quiet living. Two weeks ago, Hurricane Irma was seven days out in the Atlantic and on a track that may bring it closer to Florida. When …


Letter Re: Irma – After Action Report

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HJL, As Alfred E. Neuman say’s, “What? Me worry?” I live in North Central Florida, so usually by the time a hurricane reaches us, it’s dwindled in strength. Having read Mr. Rawl’s blog for many years, I do prepare. Oddly, this time around, employers let most of the employees leave work Friday, even though the event wasn’t expected until sometime on Saturday. It ended up being later. Guess hurricanes work on their own schedule. Friday, I went to Walmart to do some last minute stock ups. Tarps were gone. Water was gone. Camp stoves were gone. Batteries were still in …


What We See And Believe Is Not Always Reality, by Old Bobbert

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Let’s talk about reality and what we see and believe, but just for a moment imagine this scenario. Visualize the following presumably safe evening event at your home one day soon. A Grateful Situation…Somewhere You are reflecting on the terrible situation in (name any major city, state, or area) and you are very grateful that your home area is not severely affected by that power grid outage somewhere else in the country, specifically about 1,000 miles away from your home. Your area power system is functioning just fine. You’re feeling really bad for that area as you watch the video …


Survival To Go, Revisited- Part 4, by JMD

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We have revisited my survival supplies carried on the go in travel, by airplane or otherwise. It’s been an extensive list. Now, let’s look at how we might use these in a survival scenario. Survival Scenario So let’s take a look at how this kit can support you in a potential travel survival scenario. Let’s say you’re traveling on business in New York City when the power goes out. You pull out your radio and start scanning to figure out what’s going on. You hear bits and pieces on various Ham, CB, and radio channels. Suddenly, you realize that a …


The Antifa Threat Spiral: Some Safe Predictions on the Coming Unsafe Era- Part 2

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In Part 1 of this article, I pointed to the rapid post-election growth of the leftist so-called “anti-fascist” (Antifa) movement. This movement has some clear parallels to the draft protests of the late 1960s and early 1970s.  Now, in Part 2 , I’ll further describe how the threat spirals will likely develop. The Crypto Guys It is safe to assume that cryptography and novel communications techniques will be used by leftist domestic terror organizations, as they internally develop their tradecraft. It is very likely that anonymous mail forwarders, Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) and a variety of cryptographic tools are already …


The Antifa Threat Spiral: Some Safe Predictions on the Coming Unsafe Era- Part 1

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The rapid post-election growth of the left’s so-called “anti-fascist” (Antifa) movement is alarming. This movement has some clear parallels to the draft protests of the late 1960s. These protests spawned a wave of domestic terrorism with groups like the Weather Underground, the Black Panther Party, the BLA, the FALN, and the SLA.  Anyone reading this who is under my age is probably missing out. This is because they don’t have a good recollection of just how profoundly violent the late 1960s and early 1970s were in these United States. Bombings, fake bomb scares, riots, arson, bank robberies, airliner hijackings, attempted assassinations, …


Preparing for a Flood– Part 3, by S.G.

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For the past two days, we have looked at risk management strategies for floods in Part 1 and Part 2. Today, we conclude with the final risk response strategy and the final step in Risk Management– Risk Monitoring. Scenario 4: A flood has happened. The water has peaked and is now receding. You may be in several positions now. If you left early enough, then you got out in time with your bug out gear and family intact. Your house condition is most likely unknown, but regardless the area is quarantined and you won’t be able to get back for …


Preparing for a Flood– Part 2, by S.G.

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Yesterday, as we look at preparing for a flood, we started discussing risk response strategies for floods. Today, we pick up on the fourth risk response strategy. Strategy 4: Mitigate. Mitigation is when you make deliberate actions to reduce the severity or likeliness of an uncertain event. We are going to spend a lot of time here, in four sections. These will focus on what to do in four timeframe scenarios. Scenario 1- A flood may happen sometime. The best time to prepare for a flood or any emergency is well before it happens. Most people, when it comes to flooding, …


Preparing for a Flood– Part 1, by S.G.

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A Real Flood Disaster Crisis With seconds left before a disaster in the midst of a flood, David Phung made a daring decision. He jumped out of the safety of his boat and onto the roof of a Mazda Miata that was rapidly sinking into a swirl of muddy brown floodwater. Using his bare hands, he ripped the roof open just in time to pull a drowning woman from her car, and then he went back to save her dog. [1] David’s heroism saved the woman’s life and was a striking example of the kind of spirit American’s are known …


Letter Re: My Family Preparedness Plan, by R.S.

Hugh, The best books I have read concerning an EMP are Lights Out by Ted Koppel and Collapse You’re On Your Own by Kay Mahoney. One is fiction, and one nonfiction tells us all we need to know about a terrible event. The first book examines the reality of our delicate electronic infrastructure and how easily it can be shut down. The second book tells the story of the aftermath of an EMP on regular, small town folks, like us, and how we might handle the calamity. I like my electricity and the comforts it provides to me and my …


Hurricane Preparedness Experience- Part 4, by N.K.

I recommend more gas cans so you’re not constantly refilling the same two. I won’t say how many NATO cans I now have, but I won’t have that problem again. If you get NATO cans to avoid the spillage common with now-mandated CARB cans, get several extra NATO vented spouts; nothing else fits them. An assortment of funnels is handy, too. For vehicle filling, extend the NATO spouts with 1/2” steel or brass press-on nipples (the galvanized steel is less expensive and works fine and I’d avoid the plastic versions) from Lowe’s plumbing department and about 16” of 5/8” ID …


Hurricane Preparedness Experience- Part 3, by N.K.

Cooking was interesting. I had a propane gas grill with two spare 20-lb cylinders, a dual-fuel Coleman camp stove, a couple of single-burner butane units, and the ability to build a fire in the backyard. The gas grill got used, because it was easiest. It did take a couple of days to learn how to cook more than simple camping meals on it. We have an old style coffee percolator for camping, and getting the heat to it correctly on the grill took some learning. Cooking on the grill was something we should have practiced before we needed it. A …