GB Govts Advice on disasters??

[SimonM]

So you get the "If there's a flood/famine/war I'm coming round yours" then too?

My old man was helping me about a year ago and found my stash of water bottles in the loft. He had a right laugh at my expense but then said he would come and stay at our house if the wheel fell off.

I pointed out that it would cost very little to have his own stash of food and water. Just buy a few things extra each time you go shopping and rotate your stock. He still doesn't have a stash tho

Simon

 

[spiritofold]

I love going round looking at how long different food lasts, only the type of stuff i'd normally eat though. We have big waterproof boxes that have such bits put in them, survival boxes, just in case. There was one that did'nt get rotated cos it was right at the back of the cupboard with other stuff hiding it. When we got to it some of the things were out of date by 4 years! Mainly dried stuff like rice, peas etc.

Anyway, instead of chucking it away i eat it, and it was fine!

I think its worth keeping a supply of food like this, you just gotta keep an eye on it.

 

[mortalmerlin]

The problem with most TEOTWAWKI scenarios is that all the people that have made preparations will be overwhelmed by all the people that haven't.

That's why you have two stores, your own and the one you let people see which has all the out of date stuff from your private store.

In reality when real shortages do strike (ie, for more than just a few days) there will be laws imposed to prevent people from hoarding food and food will be collected by whoever has the job of keeping the peace for redistribution, mainly to the peace keepers.

It's also not a case of The End Of The World scenario, there are all sorts of reasons for taking a few sensible precautions that don't need to cost you anything but a bit of time and thought. Wars, epidemics, climate change, man made and natural disasters have all happened in living memory and in all probablility will happen again.

Preparing doesn't guarantee you will survive but it does stack the odds in your favour.

 

[rik_uk3]

Another thing to consider, a lot of the TEOTWAWKI people say they would head for the hills, do you really think that the powers that be would stand for thousands fleeing towns and cities? Don't thinks so myself, thousands loose in the countryside would be to hard to control, keep them in the towns, much easier. Why would survivalists survive a pandemic free from infection themselves?

Right, I'm off to Lidl, need more corn dog

 

[Toddy]

............

In reality when real shortages do strike (ie, for more than just a few days) there will be laws imposed to prevent people from hoarding food and food will be collected by whoever has the job of keeping the peace for redistribution, mainly to the peace keepers.
...........
QUOTE]


Y'see, I think that's paranoia, not preparedness. That's the edge of teotwawki that irks folk.

Heavy snow, and we've had over a metre and a half here relatively frequently, stops the world around us. Torrential rain for days and weeks on end, makes it miserable to get out for Mums with kids and the elderly. Black iced pavements do the same. The rare occasional power cut does likewise. Hadn't thought about the water mains being contaminated tbh. It rains so much that I'd just Milbank the stuff if needed.

These are the preparedness's that most of us deal with. My pantry is a Winter store as well as good housekeeping.

cheers,
Toddy

 

[Tengu]

Do they do corn dogs????????????????????

I wasnt asking for advice, merely curious about what our govt say.

I already keep things in stock, but my family (those of the uninsulated house...) dont see the need to.

 

[spiritofold]

What is a corn dog?

 

[bikething]

What is a corn dog?

Like a hot dog, but for vegetarians

seriously though, 'corn-dog' is a nickname for corned beef ;-)

 

[spiritofold]

Never knew that! Thanks

 

[Bernie Garland]

Well i'm one prepped and ready,for whatever,but i think it'll be power cuts, have had three already,and its not winter yet,have two generators with fuel just to keep the freezers running,one petrol one diesel, have three freezers,full of venison rabbits ect and room for this seasons pheasant duck and partridge,all are allotment veg has been blanched and frozen so were all right for a good couple of months,we have a log burner in the front room and when the doors are left open it heats the house,we also use four paraffin hurricane lamps now.instead of the electric to keep the bills down,we also have two store cupboards filled with tinned stuff,waters no problem just millbank it from the brook 150yds away and firewoods no problem as there's tons in the field 50 yds from are front door.

We don't live like this in case there's an emergency,its the way we live because were in a village with just a paper shop,and the nearest supermarket is a 2hour walk there and back.We were without a motor a couple of years ago for 6weeks and learnt the hard way.

And no your not having my address

Bernie

 

[Shade]

......for the amusement of all.
It down loads a word dcument the subject of which leads back to the start of this thread
Always makes me howl with laughter.

www.gyregam.com/ready.doc

 

[Tadpole]

So you get the "If there's a flood/famine/war I'm coming round yours" then too?

that is why I tell no one anything, when people moan about the shops running out of food/water/fuel. I just agree, and go on my merry way, to a warm house with enough stuff for a week if we are not careful or maybe twice that if we are. The end of the world is less worry me to me than my neighbours coming round and eating me out of house and home every time there is a media led panic, sometimes I think the media have share in the big four supermarkets.

 

[rik_uk3]

Do they do corn dogs????????????????????

I wasnt asking for advice, merely curious about what our govt say.

I already keep things in stock, but my family (those of the uninsulated house...) dont see the need to.

Corn dog is slang = corned beef

 

[johnnytheboy]

I had thought about putting a 1000 litre tank in my garden for harveting rainwater, suppose if a disaster occured it would be a good source of water when purified

I never thought about the food aspect, a few cases of tinned chopped toms, mixed bean, and rice and lentils etc wouldn't go a miss, even makes me rethink the planning of my garden i'm about to flatten, might be worth putting in a few veg patches etc

All good food for thought if you excuse the pun


Just as an sideline but somehow relevant, i heard from a police man that in London the parking wardens are being trained to the same level of authority as the police, the reason is just in case of a civil war!!!!!!

 

[Tengu]

Oh, that really sounds likely...

Sealed Knot, anyone?

 

[xylaria]

I have the well stocked pantry, by very little stuff is in tins. I have dried pluses, barley oats, flours, sugars, suet, packet yeast etc etc.. To me it not preparedness it is housekeeping. I was brought up if you couldn't get something, you made do with what you had, and you didn't whinge that tea had more barley than meat.

I got friends that have said if it goes wrong they are coming around to mine, but that is not because I loads of supplies (I don't) but because we have a lot of camping equiptment, and I know quite a bit about foraging food. I don't mind it easier to forage in small groups than alone, they have knowledge of fishing which i don't. Knowlegde can't stolen, flooded or pillaged. I just prefer stockpiling that instead incase the zombies attack.

 

[rik_uk3]

The NHS trust I work for are putting some staff through the 'FIT' test to see which of them will be able to work (suited up) in the event of a pandemic outbreak, very spooky

 

[Shambling Shaman]

Knowledge can't be stolen, flooded or pillaged.

Quite true, being mentally prepared is just as important as stocked shelfs. imo

 

[bikething]

Like a hot dog, but for vegetarians

speaking of which..

I hadn't considered the water shortage problem. We've had water mains work done round here and there's usually a letter sent round a few days in advance advising us to fill jugs and pots with water as the tap water will be dirty for a bit after the works..

the trouble is I work away a lot so may not see the letter until I get home on a friday to dirty tap water

so today while shopping I grabbed 3x5litre bottles of spring water for 87p each (you couldn't buy a decent 5l water bottle for that!) and on the side was this :

the world's gone mad I tell you!

 

[BigShot]

Some people are talking about "The End Of The World As We Know It"...
...personally I've always preferred the "Zombie Apocalypse" turn of phrase.

"When the zombies come..."
That basically covers everything - leaves no room to get derailled by "never gonna happen" - "but it actually could if..." discussions - and let's face it... if you're prepared for the shambling undead hordes, or for PETA releasing Rage infected chimps you're prepared for a blackout when a power station is flooded, a lightning strike overwhelms the grid, some scumbag poisons a resevoir, an epidemic breaks out and other stuff besides.
Heck if you're prepared for zombies all the rest could happen at the same time and you'd be ok. Haha.



My view:
If you've got food in reserve and know what to do in the event of a zombie apocalypse, you've got a buffer of supplies to get you through the first few days while people panic and wonder what's going on. It will keep you away from the supermarkets where thousands of people will be panicing (and fighting) to get what they need. If you want to keep up the "I've got nothing" appearance - you could show up in the street and at the local supermarket complaining about the lack of food and supplement your rations with foraged food (assuming the zombies/angry mobs aren't making it unsafe to go out).
With a buffer of fuel, food and water ou can get your bearings in the situation and take it all in your stride.


The most likely scenario is "the grid going down". Powercuts, problems with the water supply, large fuel strikes and so on would leave most of the affected people in a difficult position. Add weather issues like heavy storms, deep snow flooding and lighting strikes to that and there's definitely scope for needing to manage for at least a few days.

I see little point in stockpiling a food-mountain, if the Zombies do come, eventually you're going to need to go out to forage and hunt anyway, as long as you can get past the first panic without incident you'll be well fed, warm and healthy which will be a lot more than could be said for people with nothing stored and ready for the apocalypse.



As it happens - I've actually got very little in reserve for when the zombies come - but the subject definitely intests me.
What happened in the wake of Hurricane Katrina should tell us a lot about how much we can rely on the authorities in a "****" scenario, although there's an extra layer of beurocracy that slowed down the response there (the federal government couldn't do anything until the mayor asked them to - and it took a long time for that to happen - that wouldn't be an issue in the UK).

I think self reliance is the best plan in the event of any form of fast or slow moving undead invasion.