James,
Thanks to the information presented in your book “How to Survive the End of the World as We Know It” we were able to “weather” Hurricane Irene without much difficulty. It was amazing to the pandemonium at the super markets; people were waiting for water to be brought out from the stockroom and wondering whether they would “die of thirst”. If they had only looked over their shoulder they would have seen a pallet filled with cases of soda (on sale: four cases for eleven dollars). The same goes for D-cell batteries; people were lamenting that they didn’t have batteries for their flashlights; if they were only to look up they would have seen plenty of flashlights that took AA batteries and a plentiful supply of batteries to go with them.
There were of course long lines at the gasoline stations; I had been keeping the tank in my car at least 3/4 full (thanks advice from the “Fong-man”character in “Patriots”
Everyone in my neighborhood was extremely calm and we checked on each other. One of my neighbors had just returned from the mountains so we were able to give her some of water and supplies I stockpiled. We were only without power for 14 hours and the [public utility] gas and water were still functioning.
One thing I did after a few days was to conduct a “post mortem” on my contingency plan. For example, I took your weekend challenge but was unaware that our hot water heater, which runs on gas also requires electricity [for ignition.] Some of my supplies and gear could have purchased for much less; especially one of the pre-packed go-bags I purchased.
I live with an older parent. I was okay with the devotional candles and the flashlights but I was worried about my elderly mother stumbling around with a hand held light source.
Thanks again for publishing this information; I’m sure you’ve made a difference in a lot of people’s lives. – Greg T.
[JWR Replies: Thanks for your encouraging feedback. In my experience a headlamp (such as a Petzl) is ideal for keeping your hands free for other tasks. They can even be used by elderly folks with walkers.