Now I just have to figure out how to get back in the house after taping the front door shut.

This is a well-written account of what happened with Lowell in Hawaii and how a community got back on their feet.

The short version of the adventure is that some preps need to stay in the house to keep the weather out if a window breaks.

Batten down early as you can always undo it later if the storm isn't as bad, consider it a dry run for next time.

The unspoken thing is that the community will band together in times of disaster, make friends and get to know neighbors more than a howdy from the mailbox.

The Boofwang radio isn't going to save you on it's own, the reach of it is about 3mi +/- a repeater ripped down in ferocious winds.

What you can do is work with your neighbors on the radio and agree upon a channel to share information supplies, support, and more.

Meshtastic/Core can now fill some of those gaps as well

The takeaway adjustment for Tennessee:
Have an effective way to wash and properly cool off because 14 hour days in high humidity will start to add up.

Let's say a cyber attack happens and your entire country's power goes out. No internet, no cell towers, nothing.

How do you prepare for that?

How do you deal with not being prepared enough, during the situation?

How long do you think it will take to resolve, likely by international aid and intervening?

Do's and don'ts?

Most important things? Bare minimum?

Hey Everyone,

Interested to see if anyone has a Luminaid Lantern in their setup. I had a Packlite Max 2 in 1 for camping a while back, but it looks like they have 2 new models that are geared more for “Emergency light source + phone charging”.

- PackLite Titan 2-in-1 Power Lantern
- PackLite Survivor 3-in-1 Power Lantern

Looks like they’ve also upgraded to a “Twist to open” design which is a welcome change compared to having to manually blow it up which I didn’t like because it would get moldy over time.

They have a 2 year shelf life which is not as ideal. I’m guessing thats if it’s left uncharged?

Note: I know there are better options for solar chargers, light sources, and power sources. Just wanted to see if this has come across anyone else’s radar.

Hi everyone! As the title states, how would a person best prepare for a long term winter power outage, lasting for several weeks to months? For instance, heating, cooking, preventing frozen pipes, hygiene, light, water, etc.?

Please share your thoughts, experiences, and strategies!

A long term winter power outage is something I need help with preparing for, so any input is greatly appreciated. Thank you all!

edit:

We have 2 people, midwest USA near the great lakes, 1200sqft or so, natural gas.

We know there are people prepping to live underground for years, especially elites who have the funds for bunkers, etc. A movie comes to my mind a lot, one where the characters find an unused bunker that has food growing indoors and the ability to live sustainably for years. How is that done exactly? How do people plan to survive underground or in sealable bunkers like that? Furthermore, what if there’s no access to sunlight at all? I guess I could try asking AI, but I prefer to talk to humans, if possible. What do you know about this? I can’t wrap my mind around it.

We're in the middle of hurricane season and after losing power twice last fall I started looking into backup options. Called two electricians for Generac quotes. Both came back around $12,000-15,000 installed for a whole-home natural gas unit.

That's a lot of money for something I might use 3-4 times a year. And the maintenance contracts run $200-300/yr on top of that.

On the other end I looked at small UPS units but a 1-2kWh battery keeps the fridge going for maybe 6-8 hours. Our outages are usually 12-20 hours.

Turns out there's a whole category of 4-5kWh portable battery stations now that sit in that gap. No installation, no permits, no maintenance contracts. You charge it from a wall outlet and wheel it wherever you need power. They've gotten small enough that one fits in a closet.

I did the math on what I need during an outage. Fridge, chest freezer, router, lights, coffee maker, microwave for reheating, and charging phones. Continuous baseline around 250W with spikes for the kitchen appliances. For a 12-hour outage that's roughly 3.5-4kWh. A 5kWh unit covers that with buffer.

Not a whole-home solution by any means. But it covers the stuff that matters during a typical outage at about a fifth of the cost of a Generac install. Figured this might help somebody staring at a $14k Generac quote and wondering if there's a middle ground.

Hi all,

I’m totally new to the whole prepping thing and have also gone down the EDC rabbit hole.
As a reference I’m a F(40) living in a city in Europe. I always carry a backpack when commuting to work and otherwise o always have a bigger sling or crossbody bag with me.

I’m in the process of changing up my EDC. Im a bit stuck because I don’t want to go overboard but also don’t know what makes sense to carry in an Urban environment. Do you just carry the basics- SAK, flashlight, lighter, small boo boo kit, wallet, phone, keys and a charger? Or do you have a small pouch with more inside?

Should I carry a Sillcock key (I have one) or a small fixed blade like a ESEE Izula or Candiru or an emergency blanket, firesteel, some rope? As you see I think Im overthinking it. I don’t want too look like I’m going camping since this is for EDC Urban, also I try to keep my pockets lighter (SAK, flaslight, phone) since well not all my jeans/pants have beautifully deep pockets.

Any suggestions or pointers in the right direction before I run out and buy the whole store!

It's one thing to have a flashlight at home, but another to actually find it when everything goes dark.

Do you keep one in each room, by your bed, or just have all your emergency lighting in one spot?

Curious what works best for you.

The supermarket cyberattacks across France, Belgium and the Netherlands this week are a good reminder that disruption doesn't necessarily mean empty shelves or a power cut.

In France, hackers tampered with refrigeration systems in hundreds of supermarkets, causing food to spoil. Separately, Ahold Delhaize had to take some systems offline following a cybersecurity incident, affecting online services and operations at brands including Albert Heijn and Delhaize. The incidents have not been confirmed to be connected.

What stands out to me is how much of our everyday life depends on systems we barely think about. A supermarket can still have a building full of food, but if its refrigeration, ordering systems or distribution network stop working, things can go wrong surprisingly quickly.

I've been trying to prepare for these kinds of disruptions by keeping a rotating stock of food at home, having some meals that don't require electricity to prepare, keeping cash available and storing important information offline. Nothing particularly extreme, just trying not to depend on being able to buy everything exactly when I need it.

But supermarkets are only one part of the picture. Pharmacies rely on distribution systems, petrol stations need functioning payment and supply systems, and many of us depend on online banking, digital identity services and mobile networks for everyday tasks. Even getting a delivery or accessing an important document can become difficult if the relevant systems go offline.

I'm curious what other people have identified as weak points in their own daily lives. What have you changed after seeing incidents like these, and what do you think most households still overlook?

Personally, I find these real world examples more useful than imagining some extreme collapse scenario. They show how an ordinary disruption can affect several things at once, and give us a chance to address the gaps before we actually need to.

Hi!

I consider myself a pretty prepared person and I have enough food for about a month but I also live literally right next to a grocery store, like we share a fence.

In discussing emergency plans again with my husband since the DOE just declared a power grid emergency for our state, he said "if shit really hits the fan we can just steal from the store right next to our house, should last us awhile"

Obviously, we prepare so we don't have to do this, but you never really know. And we have always kind of looked at it as a backup plan.

To be honest this sounds reasonable in a worst case scenario but I wanted to get others opinions.

When would looting canned goods and medicines from the grocery store next to my house be considered acceptable? What would you do?

I got home from work tonight with a bag of groceries and just wanted to make dinner and sit down. I hit the kitchen light switch a couple of times, checked the breaker, and then found out the whole building was out. Management doesn't have an ETA.

I keep a Jackery around for outages, so I hooked up the fridge. I'd used it once during a planned maintenance outage that lasted about five hours, but that was during the day and the fridge was the only thing I had plugged into it.

I made rice, unplugged the rice cooker, then used a small electric burner to finish dinner. I kept checking the battery percentage, though. It looks like the fridge should make it through the night, but I'm really hoping the power comes back before I leave for work tomorrow. I'm not thrilled about leaving it on the battery all day.

How do you guys usually handle dinner when the power's out? I hadn't really thought past keeping the fridge running.

Have you installed a bison pump? Thoughts? Wish you knew? Regrets?
Other brands of well casing topper manuals?
Solar pumps?

I'm looking for thoughts from people who have actually installed a backup pump situation and any pros/cons/would/wouldnts.

Thank you!

Apologies if this has already been discussed.

What I’ve started recently is a SHTF journal and collecting as many physical books. Knowing if the grid does go down, I don’t want to have to worry about having to rely on electronic devices. It will also act as a guide for my family should anything happen to me so they aren’t totally in the dark and the information I learn on my SHTF journey isn’t lost. While my wife supports me, it can sometimes be information overload so this seems like a better alternative to just annoying her with it and expecting her to remember everything.

What I’m curious is what would you have in your SHTF journal for the most important information?

Im curious about everyones pantry.

Here is a part of mine.

In different places in my home i have more.

The big bins are filled with food for the dogs (2) and chickens (3). Below on the left (on the floor) there is water.

Sorry, english isnt my native english

I have been bug-in prepping for years for any situation at home. But realised that I really have nothing on me when I'm at work or out and about. I live in the city, bike to work, do my little office job, and starting to consider that there are things I would like to be prepared for at all times.

Most EDC posts are either larger bags/backpacks that are stocked to bug-out fully, or just a little tin box with the most basic of basic. I have yet to find a helpful post about how to have a case or container that is somewhere between a tin and a backpack. For example a 10x20cm case with realistic things I might need when at work or just simply away from home. Something I can throw into any of my bags.

I'd like to believe I have a solid plan to build this over the next coming days, but still hoping somebody out there has suggestions or wants to share what they have?

This is what I plan to have:

• BIC lighter with tape wrapped around
  
• Emergency dumb-phone with all important numbers saved
  
• Laminated sheet of nearest bomb shelters, phone numbers, etc.
  
• Painkillers and antihistamines
• Basic first aid - sanitizing wipes, bandaids, tweezers, hemostop.
• A pair of socks, wool gloves, and underwear
• Compact rain poncho
• Emergency blanket
• One-time use heat pads/handwarmers
• A lightweight multitool
• Pen and notebook
• A snack or two

What am I missing, in your humble opinion?

This may be common knowledge for some of you, but I'm obligated to share in hopes that it will save somebody else some time and money.

I spent a lot of time and effort packaging dried goods into mylar bags with O2 absorbers. They shrunk tight like a brick and we stored them in white gamma seal lid containers (like the ones made for dog food). They sat for a few months in this state, remaining unchanged during this time.

Then...I drove them to my BOL at a few thousand feet higher elevation. When I arrived, I checked in on them and found that all of my mylar bags had evolved from tight bricks to just regular mylar bags with plenty of excess air in them.

Also during this trip, I brought along a large number of Coleman Dual Fuel plastic bottles and larger steel cans of fuel. The plastic bottles must have expanded due to the elevation, about half of them had lost most or all of their fuel, seemingly to evaporation as there was no spill marks on the wood floor of our trailer. The cans, however, were still full and intact.

So I'm bummed. Lesson learned: I will be sure to package my mylar bags a the higher elevation in the future.

I originally sealed the mylar bags with heat just above the zip-loc portion of the bag, and there isn't really any room on the bag to cut open, add new O2 absorbers and reseal. Has anyone dealt with this issue and what did you do about it to preserve your stores?

Assume a long term SHTF (>6 months). Medications such as blood pressure, asthma, heart meds, and many more will either run out for individuals or not be available.

How do you keep a supply on hand and what sources could be used (indiamart, bartering, seeing multiple doctors). The issue is real.

Hello. I broke my arm last month so it's in a sling. Because of this I haven't been able to wear anything with sleeves, that includes my jumpers and fluffy winter coats. I have been living in sundresses and ponchos. Yesterday afternoon my heating suddenly went off. After being put on hold for ages , then cut off , TWICE by the company my housing association uses I got to talk to a human. Was told it would take three or four hours for somebody to come out to sort the boiler out, turned out to be over six.

After about an hour of getting colder and colder I realised how daft I was being. I had suddenly remembered the foil blankets and hand warmers in my stash. With a hot Earl Grey. foil blanket and hand warmers I stopped being cold. After about four and a half hours I fell asleep. Woken up by the boiler guy. It turned out the problem wasn't the boiler, it was a temporary gas supply outage. Got me wondering, does anybody know if there is such a thing as a heater that is powered by AA or AAA batteries?

Also has anybody out there in Redditland had to break into their stash beyond beans for dinner?

There's frequent and fun questions about kits and gear, I very much appreciate the opportunity to suggest improvements or "did you consider" comments. I think it helps us reevaluate our own plans and preparations.

Wondering if there's already a program or spreadsheet beyond Red Cross and FEMA basics for helping people formulate their risk assessment, plan, PACE considerations, training needs, comms, and then the actual gear needs.

I've lived long enough to have been through several "welp, that didn't go as expected" situations and honestly the most effective preps have been knowledge and cash... But there are situations where only the right tool will save the day. Knowing how to start a fire is good, but wearing a coat so you can survive without a fire is better.

One thing I regularly help folks with is the bushcraft/hotel decision. If your plan is to disappear into the woods, you had better have built a lot of skills up prior to making that trip. This should be addressed in a capabilities section of the risk assessment. If you could die without your medicine, well, that kinda tops the list before learning how to make a debris hut.

First: do any of you know of a spreadsheet automation or similar tool to guide folks through risk assessment, plan, and equipment?

Second: if not - what kind of information/logic would you want to see or expect from such a tool?

I am building a new house soon in the middle of a 60acre parcel, I was curious what prepping related ideas I should consider integrating into the house? So far these are the things that I have planned already.

- large pantry
- storm shelter/safe room in basement
- generator connections
- panels planned for future solar
- wood stove for backup heat
- outside hose bibs for garden close to house

Has a recent storm or power outage changed your spouse's mind about prepping? My spouse used to brush it off, but after a couple of outages where the fridge warmed up and the house got miserable, their tune changed completely. Once they felt how quickly basic comforts disappear, the whole “it won’t happen to us” mindset cracked.

That shift at home had me paying closer attention to the recent grid alerts and general infrastructure reliability. It’s a good reminder that multi-hour outages can happen anytime.

Right now, I'm focused on the basics: keeping food cold, phones charged, and having enough supplies to get through a few days without power. I've been looking into power stations to see what makes sense for a basic outage setup, and I'm currently considering something in the Bluetti range since their during this fall period seems more reasonable than before. Open to other suggestions based on real outage experience too. Appreciate any practical advice.

How are michigan/midwest folks prepping for the upcoming el niño? There seems to be so much information out there and it’s hard to dial in what the impacts are expected to be over here. The majority of my prep has been for power outages, so camp stove, small generator, etc. Interested what others are doing.

Where we live, it can get as low as 30 degrees in the winter. We rent and in previous apartment complexes we have lived the heater has gone out for whatever reason and the time to repair if it ever got repaired was longer than a couple days. My solution back then was to get a sleeping bag that I could comfortably sleep in on top of my bed.

Since it has been ages since I bought a sleeping bag, I am seeking recommendations for sleeping bags intended for withstanding 30 degree temperatures.

Seeking a sleeping bag that can comfortably hold a 6ft person, 300 lbs range.

Thanks in advance.