Category: Weather

Letter Re: Being Prepared: A Tale of Two Hurricanes

Dear Sir, After reading A Tale of Two Hurricanes by N.D., I thought I would share some lessons that my family and I learned from Hurricane Ike. First off, I became turned onto the prepping mindset about a year and a half ago. I have been trying to get my father thinking in this mindset and he recently read “One Second After” by William R. Forstchen which seems to have truly sparked something inside him. I plan to let him read my copy of your novel “Patriots” as well. Well we live in the “country” northwest of Houston. Most people …


Being Prepared: A Tale of Two Hurricanes, by N.D.

Hurricanes Katrina and Rita In August of 2005 Hurricane Katrina had slammed into the coast of Louisiana and Mississippi.  I really don’t need to tell you the destruction and subsequent aftermath of that storm as it is well documented for all to see.  We had lived in New Orleans for sixteen years and had moved to Houston five years prior to Katrina so were used to living in hurricane alley. We thought…. September of 2005, a month later, the Houston area was threatened by Hurricane Rita.  Rita was the fourth most intense Atlantic hurricane ever recorded. The paranoia at the …


Prepare and Practice Often, or Pay The Price, by J. in the Great White North

I want to relate a story that happened to me this past week that I think will be instructive for many SurvivalBlog readers. My journey into prepping started about a year ago, when my eyes were opened after reading a contrarian economist’s books about the fragile state of our economy, and the impending implications that will inevitably result if our world continues to operate on tomorrow’s dollar and with a Nanny-state mentality. The very same day I finished his latest book, I went to my local bookstore to find similar titles that could augment what I’d already read.  This is …


Letter Re: Cold Weather Patrol Tactics and Techniques

Dear JWR: Regarding the recent Cold Weather Patrol Tactics and Techniques article, just one note about condensation prevention from bringing a cold weapon indoors. Packing or leaving a heavy duty garbage or similar bag outside and placing your weapon inside the bag can greatly reduce condensation from the indoor climate. Just place your weapon completely inside the bag. I like to compress the opening in my hand like a balloon opening and instead of blowing into this opening, I suck as much air out as I can with my lungs. If two or more deep inhalations are required to remove …


Letter Re: Prepping Paid Off in Midwest Snowstorms

JWR: As you know the Midwest experienced a large snow event this past Tuesday and Wed that left many people dealing with a large amount of snow and the associated problems that come with a large scale storm. I am fortunate that I was able to be safe with my family due to my preps however many were not as fortunate. This storm was predicted for several days and beginning as early as Sunday 1/30/11 the shelves at the local stores were getting thin. By Monday night there was large swaths of empty shelves and staples such as Bread and …


Two Letters Re: Prepping Pays Off in Midwest Winter Storms

Hello, I just wanted to write you about an experience I had recently. First of all I own a very dog eared copy of your novel “Patriots“ that was given to me by someone who I look up to a lot. This individual was the first person to expose me to the “bug out” bag concept. As a result I’ve always been a preparedness type of girl. In high school and college I always kept provisions for myself wherever went and as a result I’ve been able to rise to the occasion many times when things got tough. As a …


Letter Re: Experiences in the Southeastern Ice Storms

Jim, I would like to add my two cents to the discussion of the Great Carolina Blizzard of ’11. I had some similar experiences to B.H.: Deep frustration over dead batteries in cars. I had two every day drivers that just would not start. While it was fairly cold for our area, I suspect that high humidity added to the cold had a draining effect on the batteries. In the future, I would think about a short start and warm up every 8 hours or so on vehicles that I knew were to be needed on short notice.  It took …


Letter Re: Experiences in the Southeastern Ice Storms

Jim: Our family lives in a rural area of South Carolina, recently affected by a freak snow storm that shut the area down for a week, and is still affecting our area in other ways more than 10 days later. Our family was much better off than most we knew, but this little test really showed our weaknesses. We thought we were prepared, but we found some holes in our planning that came as a complete surprise. I’ve taken notes, and hope to be better prepared for next time, and hopefully can pass along some advice in the process.   First …


Letter Re: Observations on Atlanta’s January 2011 Ice Storm

Hi JWR: One of the parts of SurvivalBlog that I enjoy the most is when folks contribute their real life experiences after going through some sort of hardship. Reading the examples from others helps me to fine tune my preps. Let me participate by providing my observations from the ice storm, amusingly titled Snowpocalypse 2011, that hit Atlanta recently. The roads were impassible due to the city’s lack of snow removal equipment, and pretty much the entire city was stranded in their houses. What would’ve been a blip of a storm in the north ended up crippling this city, and …


Letter Re: Firsthand Experiences in the Australian Floods

James, I would like to bring you and your readers a synopsis of the floods in Australia and their probable scenarios; firstly I have a first hand view through sandbagging and seeing friends through rising floodwaters, so I have a strong viewpoint. Around where we were in Brisbane east side , the water rose very quickly, the house where our friend  is on a flat concrete slab, the water rose within 2 hours about 3 feet ! The house was saved along with much prayer. It is estimated that seven billion tons of water has been dumped on Queensland ! …


Letter Re: Grateful for SurvivalBlog in Australia

Dear James,   I read much of your blog site and started to get prepared two years ago when the financial crisis first hit.  Now, while staying dry enough, I am surrounded by flooded towns and washed out roads and bridges.  So much of what you have written is of value here right now.  I thought you would appreciate an on-the spot report.  Now my friends are scrambling and I don’t look like such a fool.      We in Jandowae have potable water but our nearest neighbouring town, Dalby was trucking in a million litres a day.  Even locally …


Two Letters Re: More Flooding in Australia

Hi Jim,   Just to let you know, a TEOTWAWKI situation came to our town (Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia) two days ago.  Toowoomba is known as the Garden City, and sits at the top of the Great Dividing Range, at 3,000 feet above sea level.  After weeks of constant rainfall that soaked catchments of a drought stricken region, we received six inches of rain in an hour. This deluge caused a flash flood (that has been since called an “Inland Tsunami”) that raged through the middle of Toowoomba.  The speed of the flood took everyone by surprise and cars and people …


Letter Re: An Alabama Snowstorm

James Wesley: It is beginning to snow in Alabama.  In small towns all around, the grocery stores have been stripped down to the shelves.  People were buying food to cook in fear that they might not make it to the grocery stores when they need to.  Milk is all but gone.    I went to the grocery store Sunday morning to pick-up a few doughnuts for our Sunday school class.  I saw one of my wife’s friends on the junk food aisle.  She is a single mom of two.  She said, “I have $40 to buy groceries to get us …


Letter Re: The Queensland Floods

Jim, I’m almost 58 years old –  have lived in North Queensland (“Qld”) most of my life.  This is the worst flooding in Qld that I can remember – it is so widespread.  I have a house in Townsville, but have spent most of the last two years at my retreat area, 4.5 hours by car from here, and Townsville does not usually experience a lot of rain.  However, found myself in Townsville before Christmas, and the road then flooded over at Ingham, and was not able to drive to my retreat area to be with my daughter for Christmas …


A Doctor’s View of TEOTWAWKI, by Michael S., M.D.

Dear Mr. Rawles, I am a physician in Iowa and have read SurvivalBlog and many books related to survival including yours. In general there are many good thoughts and insights in the Blog. History predicts the future and some facts of history seem to have been overlooked by many survivalists. Many predict that in a long term situation, those left would be in an 1880s situation. In Iowa, most counties had a peak population in the 1880 census. Most counties in Iowa have lost population every census since then (1940 was generally flat) this means that the land could support …