When it all comes unraveled

We've got 85 degree temps on tap for this afternoon, and it should be temperate for the rest of this week, but that's just the story here on the west coast.  On the east coast, Hurricane Sandy is getting ready to bear down on several states, disrupting services and forcing people to put their emergency plans into effect and find out how well prepared to be independent and off-the-grid they really are.

In a way, I'm envious of their disasters, because west coast disasters tend to be caused by earthquakes and we don't get much notice for them.  Actually we get none, so there's no flying out to Home Depot in a panic to stock up on batteries and bottled water. It can all come unraveled at once. We've had two moderate quakes since we moved into this house, but neither was large enough that emergency plans went into effect.  That's good, because as of right now, we don't have any.  Oh of course, we have earthquake insurance (buying that was  a given when we moved here) but as far as storing water, food, medical supplies and a "bug out bag" in case we need to evacuate, we haven't done anything.

This is not to say we won't do it.  Now that the bulk of our"settling in" chores have been accomplished, I know it's important to put together 1) a bag of goods that could keep me going in my car, should I get stuck someplace, unable to get home.  2) enough supplies in the house itself to keep our family going for a couple of weeks, should "the big one" hit.  

When we moved to this house, one of the things that happened was that our food storage system got out of whack.  We went from having a large pantry to store food to having NO pantry to store food, which has been problematic.  Of course we did the logical thing and downsized what food we keep around here, but let's face it:  should a major earthquake strike and at least one of us is at home, a healthy supply of canned and packaged goods would be a blessing, and would make life a lot more comfortable.  So now that we're moved and have some extra storage space allocated, a good supply of canned goods as well as some dry goods (like dry rice, wheat and beans) would probably be a good idea.  We have a solar oven, so can boil water and cook every day without any power whatsoever, if we'd like.  But if we want heat inside the house, we will also need a generator we can run at least a couple of hours a day.  That's more expensive, so we may get it down the road a bit.  The food I can take care of this week and be ready.  If we needed to, we could all sleep in the same room in order to stay warm.  But food and water are non-negotiables.

So in any disaster (including one that's not your own, like Hurricane Sandy is to us west coasters) can provide the occasion to audit your own emergency preparedness and see what's lacking. You can bet when I hit the store on Friday I will be buying some goods which will be put aside for emergencies and rotated regularly, just so they're there in case we need them.  Those tall bookcases and amoire will get bolted to the wall sooner rather than later, too.

Because while people who live in hurricane zones know what to expect and get some notice its coming, those of us in earthquake country do not. Any moment, any moment at all, could be the time that all those preparations become necessary not only for comfort, but actual survival.