Earthquake Preparedness

Earthquake Emergency Supplies and Your Earthquake Preparedness Checklist

By tyguy

A earthquake has the capacity to put lives at risk, and to do billions of dollars of damage in a matter of only seconds. The majority of people in high risk areas are not prepared, increasing their own and their families risk level when dealing with this type of natural disaster. Many people have been through earthquake drills. In addition, it is also critical to go through a earthquake preparedness checklist and to have earthquake emergency supplies.

photo credit: sanbeiji

The Earthquake Preparedness Checklist

Your earthquake preparedness checklist, first and foremost must minimize your exposure to immediate hazards if an earthquake was to happen. Have a look around your house, your workplace, or anywhere else you frequent for immediate hazards.

• Here are some examples of some common hazards:
• Pictures hanging over top of your bed.
• Unsecured cabinets. (Could potentially fall over)
• Unsecured appliances (you do not want your fridge to launch itself in an earthquake)
• Unlatched cabinet doors (cabinet contents could be launched out in an earthquake)
• *Ensure you are able to turn your gas off if you smell gas*

Your earthquake preparedness checklist should also take care of what to do during and after an earthquake. You need to be aware of hazards that you do not have control over, such as gas lines in your area or power lines you should avoid. In case your home is not safe to be in after an earthquake, you should have pre-selected a meeting place for your family clear of hazards.

Your earthquake preparedness checklist also needs to prepare you for after an earthquake. Two key points you need to cover are communication, and your earthquake emergency supplies. Keep in mind that it is extremely likely that your cell phones, and regular land line phones will not work after an earthquake. If the earthquake is severe and regular phone service will be interrupted for an extended period of time, temporary pay phones may be brought into your area. Make sure that you have some quarters included in with your earthquake emergency supplies. Since access to phones may be random, it will be hard to reach family in the affected area. Make sure you have an out of state, or out of province contact to be used as someone to update with information, and receive updates from.

With earthquake emergency supplies keep in mind that in a typical day you are not just at home. Many people only keep a kit at home which will not do them much good if an earthquake happens when they are at work. The bare minimum you will want have supplies for is 72 hours, and many kits are sold to get you through 72 hours. Personally I like to have more of a buffer, and have supplies on hand for 5 days. Earthquake emergency supplies can be put into kits to accommodate different needs and budgets.

The bare minimum for your earthquake emergency supplies will include things that will cover your most basic needs:

• Food (typically a 3-5 year expiry)
• Water(3-5 year expiry)
• Basic first aid
• Shelter (Tarp with rope works, or a tube tent)
• Mylar blankets
• Waterproof matches/lighter
• Light-sticks/Flashlights
• Wind-up radio
• Multi-tool
• Toilet paper (unless you are comfortable wiping your bum with leaves stay away for poison ivy)

This would be an example of a fairly basic kit, but depending on what you feel you and or your family's needs are don't hesitate to customize your earthquake emergency supplies kit. If you feel like not brushing your teeth for a few days would drive you nuts, then make sure you include a small hygiene kit. Make sure you are also aware of when various items in your kit expire, the last thing you would want in an emergency is water that you don't feel safe drinking.

This is a very minimal earthquake preparedness checklist and example of earthquake emergency supplies. The idea of this article is to give you a rough idea of what you can do to get started. I will be writing some more detailed articles to follow-up, but please do go through some more detailed literature. If an earthquake was to happen, it is important to be as prepared as possible.

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What You Should Do to Prepare for an Economic Collapse

Prepare for an Economic Collapse

Filed under Preparedness   Posted by: Rob Richardson

So what should you do to prepare for an economic collapse?

• Start Prepping Put together an emergency kit that includes extra food & water, clothing and a portable shelter (tents, tarps, sleeping bags.) For more information on prepping, check out our article on the top ten prepping tips for every SHTF situation. Everyone one of those tips can help prepare you to deal with an economic crisis.
• 
  
• Knowledge  Knowledge is key, and now is the time to get some. During any kind of disaster, including an economic collapse, knowledge will be your most powerful ally. Start reading books on survival, and start collecting information on how to live off the land.
• 
  
• Stock up on Supplies not Money  Now is the time to buy the things you need! I’m not talking about T.V’s or Ipods, but instead buy things that you will need to live and survive in the future. Things like clothing, food, and survival gear will never lose their value, but money will. It’s better to buy the supplies you need now when they are cheap, than later when inflation drives prices through the roof. The price of everything is going up, stock up while you can. Everyday supplies will be worth their weight in gold.
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• Put together a Bug Out Bag  Should this country face an economic collapse, chances are pretty good it will be followed by riots, violence and something much uglier than the initial collapse of the economy. A Bugout bag should be filled with everything you need to survive in an emergency situation.
• 
  
• Survival Laptops – Knowledge is power, but it can be hard to remember everything. Start Collecting as much information as you can on survival, prepping, food storage, and living off the land. Putting together a survival laptop or tablet, that stores all the valuable information you find, can help you during a crisis situation. A small laptop or tablet can fit thousands of survival books in a small portable device that can easily be carried with you anywhere you go.  I also suggest picking up a small Solar Laptop Charger that can keep your laptop going indefinitely.

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Wheat Berries for Long Term Storage

Wheat Berries: The Real “Whole Wheat”

Daisy Luther
The Organic Prepper
December 10th, 2012

When grocery shopping for bread, a plethora of options is presented. You can get…

100% Whole Wheat

Stone Ground Wheat

Whole Wheat

Cracked Wheat

Whole Grain

Multi Grain

60% Wheat

The marketing companies are full of wholesome sounding options…but most of us have caught on that it’s all a scheme to make the most money from the cheapest ingredients possible.

Chemicals in Commercial Wheat Products

The wheat products undergo chemical processing to make the pristine-looking white substance that most people envision when they think of “flour”. After the kernel is cracked open and ground, causing the nutritional benefits to be lost, it is chemically treated.

Even refined flour still has natural yellow pigments (such as carotene—a precursor of vitamin A). The millers discovered they could remove this color and make their flour even whiter by bleaching it. They started blowing chlorine gas into the flour after it was milled.Chlorine gas, a deadly poison if inhaled, not only bleaches the flour but also reacts with other molecules in the flour. Many potentially toxic chlorinated lipid compounds are formed from this chlorine gas, such as dichlorostearic acid.Chlorine also destroys major portions of Vitamin E as well as an important amino acid in the bread protein, methionine (which is classified as “essential” for human nutrition).Other chemical oxidizers are added to bleach and “mature” the flour, such as nitrogen dioxide, bencoyl peroxide, potassium bromate, potassium iodate, and azocarbonamide. (Source)

During the processing, flour is “enriched” which means that the manufacturers replace the nutrients they’ve removed with synthetic alternatives which cannot be easily broken down and used by the human body.
After the nutritionless, synthetically-fortified flour is sent to a factory and turned into various boxed and bagged items, more chemicals are added to keep the texture soft (in some cases), keep the item from molding or spoiling, and to keep ingredients emulsified.
What was once a nutritional gold mine is now a chemist’s time  bomb that your body is expected to digest and turn into energy.

Flour Most Foul

Many people have taken matters into their own hands and headed over to the baking aisle to purchase flour and make the bread themselves. Is the flour on the shelves any better than the loaves of bread in the tidy cellophane packages? What if you get whole wheat flour? Organic flour? A less refined flour?
Unfortunately, not really – within 24 hours of being cracked open and ground, 60% of the beneficial nutrients in a kernel of wheat have vanished due to oxidization. Within 3 days, more than 80% of the nutrients are gone. I know that in my own kitchen, I’ve had bags of flour that sat on a shelf in my pantry for months at a time.  
Not only does flour lose its nutritional value, it begins going rancid very quickly – 3-6 months for whole wheat flour and approximately a year for processed white flour. Rancidity occurs when the oils begin to oxidize. Not only do foods made from rancid products taste less appealing, the rancidity is actually quite dangerous.

Lipid specialist and University of Massachusetts professor Eric Decker [says there are two problems with rancid products,]  “One is that they lose their vitamins, but they also can develop potentially toxic compounds” that have been linked to advanced aging, neurological disorders, heart disease and cancer.“They’re carcinogenic, pro-inflammatory and very toxic,” says integrative medicine specialist Andrew Weil. “They are also widespread in the food chain.” (Source) 

The only way to truly reap the many nutritional benefits from a whole grain is to actually keep that grain whole until just before preparing and eating it.

Intro to Wheat Berries

Wheat berries are actually not berries at all – they are kernels of wheat. I buy hard red wheat berries and they remind me of brown rice in appearance.

The wheat berry can be ground into flour, cooked as a hot breakfast cereal, soaked and sprouted, or cooked and used in place of rice in many different recipes like pilafs or salads. Not only do wheat berries contain substantial fiber, they are also a great source of manganese, selenium, phosphorus, magnesium, lignans, and phytochemicals.
Wheat berries are the ultimate space-saving “concentrated food”. One cup of wheat berries turns into 1-1/2 cups of flour and 2-1/2 cups of cooked wheat berries.

Why Your Wheat Should Be Organic

When choosing which wheat berries to purchase for your long term supply, its well worth the additional money to opt for an organic source. Before the wheat seeds are planted, they are doused with pesticides and fungicides. These toxins are reapplied while the wheat is growing and they are also saturated with synthetic hormones to speed the growth of the plant. The PAN Pesticide Database identified more than 50 different pesticides soaking the California wheat crop of 2009.

The website “What’s on My Food?” shares 16 Pesticide Residues Found by the USDA Pesticide Data Program. These pesticides include proven neurotoxins, hormone disruptors, bee toxins, reproductive and developmental toxins, and carcinogens.
One concern that you don’t need to have: at this point there is no GMO wheat being grown anywhere in the world. This being said, most of the wheat on the market is from hybrids (they are not considered to be genetically altered) that are nutritionally inferior to the wheat our ancestors ate. If you have the option, the very best wheat to grow or buy is organic Einkorn wheat.

Making Bread from Fresh Ground Flour

Whenever I make bread from wheat berries I’m reminded of an epiphany in the story of Robinson Crusoe.

I foresaw that, in time, it would please God to supply me with bread…It might be truly said, that now I worked for my bread. I believe few people have thought much upon the strange multitude of little things necessary in the providing, producing, curing, dressing, making, and finishing this one article of bread.

from Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe

The idea of grinding my own flour was rather overwhelming. I was astonished to discover how simple it is with an electric mill. While I do have a manual grinder (Wondermill Deluxe Jr) as a back-up, the dry container of my Vitamix food processor does the job quickly and effectively. Including the process of sifting and regrinding the small amount of flour that isn’t fine enough, making my own flour adds less than 5 minutes to the bread making process for me. There are numerous electric mills on the market that add to the convenience without heating up your flour while grinding it.

…..

Wheat berries are an ideal addition to your long-term food storage. They will remain fresh and delicious for up to 20 years if stored properly. When I priced it out in bulk, the difference between conventionally grown wheat berries and organic wheat berries was $5 for a 50 pound bag – that is so nominal I can’t imagine opting for the poison-soaked choice.
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20 Things You Will Need To Survive When The Economy Collapses...

20 Things You Will Need To Survive When The Economy Collapses And The Next Great Depression Begins

By Michael, April, 2010

Today, millions of Americans say that they believe that the United States is on the verge of a major economic collapse and will soon be entering another Great Depression.  But only a small percentage of those same people are prepared for that to happen.  The sad truth is that the vast majority of Americans would last little more than a month on what they have stored up in their homes.  Most of us are so used to running out to the supermarket or to Wal-Mart for whatever we need that we never even stop to consider what would happen if suddenly we were not able to do that.  Already the U.S. economy is starting to stumble about like a drunken frat boy.  All it would take for the entire U.S. to resemble New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina would be for a major war, a terror attack, a deadly pandemic or a massive natural disaster to strike at just the right time and push the teetering U.S. economy over the edge.  So just how would you survive if you suddenly could not rely on the huge international corporate giants to feed, clothe and supply you and your family?  Do you have a plan?

Unless you already live in a cave or you are a complete and total mindless follower of the establishment media, you should be able to see very clearly that our society is more vulnerable now than it ever has been.  This year there have been an unprecedented number of large earthquakes around the world and volcanoes all over the globe are awakening.  You can just take a look at what has happened in Haiti and in Iceland to see how devastating a natural disaster can be.  Not only that, but we have a world that is full of lunatics in positions of power, and if one of them decides to set off a nuclear, chemical or biological weapon in a major city it could paralyze an entire region.  War could erupt in the Middle East at literally any moment, and if it does the price of oil will double or triple (at least) and there is the possibility that much of the entire world could be drawn into the conflict.  Scientists tell us that a massive high-altitude EMP (electromagnetic pulse) blast could send large portions of the United States back to the stone age in an instant.  In addition, there is the constant threat that the outbreak of a major viral pandemic (such as what happened with the 1918 Spanish Flu) could kill tens of millions of people around the globe and paralyze the economies of the world. 

But even without all of that, the truth is that the U.S. economy is going to collapse.  So just think of what will happen if one (or more) of those things does happen on top of all the economic problems that we are having.

Are you prepared?  

The following is a list of 20 things you and your family will need to survive when the economy totally collapses and the next Great Depression begins....

#1) Storable Food

Food is going to instantly become one of the most valuable commodities in existence in the event of an economic collapse.  If you do not have food you are not going to survive.  Most American families could not last much longer than a month on what they have in their house right now.  So what about you?  If disaster struck right now, how long could you survive on what you have?  The truth is that we all need to start storing up food.  If you and your family run out of food, you will suddenly find yourselves competing with the hordes of hungry people who are looting the stores and roaming the streets looking for something to eat.

Of course you can grow your own food, but that is going to take time.  So you need to have enough food stored up until the food that you plant has time to grow.  But if you have not stored up any seeds you might as well forget it.  When the economy totally collapses, the remaining seeds will disappear very quickly.  So if you think that you are going to need seeds,now is the time to get them.

#2) Clean Water

Most people can survive for a number of weeks without food, but without water you will die in just a few days.  So where would you get water if the water suddenly stopped flowing out of your taps?  Do you have a plan?  Is there an abundant supply of clean water near your home? Would you be able to boil water if you need to?

Besides storing water and figuring out how you are going to gather water if society breaks down, another thing to consider is water purification tablets.  The water you are able to gather during a time of crisis may not be suitable for drinking.  So you may find that water purification tablets come in very, very handy.

#3) Shelter

You can't sleep on the streets, can you?  Well, some people will be able to get by living on the streets, but the vast majority of us will need some form of shelter to survive for long.  So what would you do if you and your family lost your home or suddenly were forced from your home?  Where would you go? 

The best thing to do is to come up with several plans.  Do you have relatives that you can bunk with in case of emergency?  Do you own a tent and sleeping bags if you had to rough it?  If one day everything hits the fan and you and your family have to "bug out" somewhere, where would that be?  You need to have a plan.

#4) Warm Clothing

If you plan to survive for long in a nightmare economic situation, you are probably going to need some warm, functional clothing.  If you live in a cold climate, this is going to mean storing up plenty of blankets and cold weather clothes.  If you live in an area where it rains a lot, you will need to be sure to store up some rain gear.  If you think you may have to survive outdoors in an emergency situation, make sure that you and your family have something warm to put on your heads.  Someday after the economy has collapsed and people are scrambling to survive, a lot of folks are going to end up freezing to death.  In fact, in the coldest areas it is actually possible to freeze to death in your own home.  Don't let that happen to you.

#5) An Axe

Staying along the theme of staying warm, you may want to consider investing in a good axe.  In the event of a major emergency, gathering firewood will be a priority.  Without a good tool to cut the wood with that will be much more difficult.

#6) Lighters Or Matches

You will also want something to start a fire with.  If you can start a fire, you can cook food, you can boil water and you can stay warm.  So in a true emergency situation, how do you plan to start a fire?  By rubbing sticks together?  Now is the time to put away a supply of lighters or matches so that you will be prepared when you really need them.

In addition, you may want to consider storing up a good supply of candles.  Candles come in quite handy whenever the electricity goes out, and in the event of a long-term economic nightmare we will all see why our forefathers relied on candles so much.

#7) Hiking Boots Or Comfortable Shoes

When you ask most people to list things necessary for survival, this is not the first or the second thing that comes to mind.  But having hiking boots or very comfortable and functional shoes will be absolutely critical.  You may very well find yourself in a situation where you and your family must walk everywhere you want to go.  So how far do you think you will get in high heels?  You will want footwear that you would feel comfortable walking in for hours if necessary.  You will also want footwear that will last a long time, because when the economy truly collapses you may not be able to run out to the shoe store and get what you need at that point. 

#8) A Flashlight And/Or Lantern

When the power goes off in your home, what is the first thing that you grab?  Just think about it.  A flashlight or a lantern of course.  In a major emergency, a flashlight or a lantern is going to be a necessity - especially if you need to go anywhere at night. 

Solar powered or "crank style" flashlights or lanterns will probably be best during a long-term emergency.  If you have battery-powered units you will want to begin storing up lots and lots of batteries.   

#9) A Radio

If a major crisis does hit the United States, what will you and your family want?  Among other things, you will all want to know what in the world is going on.  A radio can be an invaluable tool for keeping up with the news. 

Once again, solar powered or "crank style" radios will probably work best for the long term.  A battery-powered until would work as well - but only for as long as your batteries are able to last.

#10) Communication Equipment

When things really hit the fan you are going to want to communicate with your family and friends.  You will also want to be able to contact an ambulance or law enforcement if necessary.  Having an emergency cell phone is great, but it may or may not work during a time of crisis.  The Internet also may or may not be available.  Be sure to have a plan (whether it be high-tech or low-tech) for staying in communication with others during a major emergency.

#11) A Swiss Army Knife

If you have ever owned a Swiss Army knife you probably already know how incredibly handy they can be.  It can be a very valuable and versatile tool.  In a true survival situation, a Swiss Army knife can literally do dozens of different things for you.  Make sure that you have at least one stored up for emergencies.

#12) Personal Hygiene Items 

While these may not be absolute "essentials", the truth is that life will get very unpleasant very quickly without them.  For example, what would you do without toilet paper?  Just think about it.  Imagine that you just finished your last roll of toilet paper and now you can't get any more.  What would you do? 

The truth is that soap, toothbrushes, toothpaste, shampoo, toilet paper and other hygiene products are things that we completely take for granted in society today.  So what would happen if we could not go out and buy them any longer?

#13) A First Aid Kit And Other Medical Supplies

One  a more serious note, you may not be able to access a hospital or a doctor during a major crisis.  In your survival supplies, be absolutely certain that you have a good first aid kit and any other medical supplies that you think you may need.

#14) Extra Gasoline

There may come a day when gasoline is rationed or is simply not available at all.  If that happens, how will you get around?  Be certain to have some extra gasoline stored away just in case you find yourself really needing to get somewhere someday.

#15) A Sewing Kit

If you were not able to run out and buy new clothes for you and your family, what would you do?  Well, you would want to repair the clothes that you have and make them last as long as possible.  Without a good sewing kit that will be very difficult to do.

#16) Self-Defense Equipment

Whether it is pepper spray to fend off wild animals or something more "robust" to fend off wild humans, millions of Americans will one day be thankful that they have something to defend themselves with.

#17) A Compass

In the event of a major emergency, you and your family may find yourselves having to be on the move.  If you are in a wilderness area, it will be very hard to tell what direction you are heading without a compass.  It is always a good idea to have at least one compass stored up. 

#18) A Hiking Backpack

If you and your family suddenly have to "bug out", what will you carry all of your survival supplies in?  Having a good hiking backpack or "survival bag" for everyone in your family is extremely important.  If something happened in the city where you live and you suddenly had to "go", what would you put your most important stuff in?  How would you carry it all if you had to travel by foot?  These are very important things to think about. 

#19) A Community

During a long-term crisis, it is those who are willing to work together that will have the best chance of making it.  Whether it is your family, your friends, a church or a local group of people that you know, make sure that you have some people that you can rely on and work together with in the event that everything hits the fan.  Loners are going to have a really hard time of surviving for long.

#20) A Backup Plan

Lastly, it is always, always, always important to have a backup plan for everything.

If someone comes in and steals all the food that you have stored up, what are you going to do?

If travel is restricted and your can't get to your "bug out" location immediately do you have a Plan B?

If you have built your house into an impregnable survival fortress but circumstances force you to leave do you have an alternate plan?

The truth is that crisis situations rarely unfold just as we envision.  It is important to be flexible and to be ready with backup plans when disaster strikes. 

You don't want to end up like the folks in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.  You don't want to have to rely on the government to take care of you if something really bad happens. 

Right now the U.S. strategic grain reserve contains only enough wheat to make half a loaf of bread for each of the approximately 300 million people in the United States.

How long do you think that is going to last?

Now is the time to get ready.

Now is the time to prepare.

The United States economy is going to collapse and incredibly hard times are coming.

Will you be able to survive when it happens?

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A Speculative Financial Doomsday Theory!

Surviving 2012 and Beyond - The Coming Financial Collapse

WATCH THIS SHORT VIDEO FOR PREPARATION FOR YOU AND YOUR LOVED ONES!

We should dispel all fear and any thoughts of darkness. The reigning in of a lighter, more joyous dimension is upon us.

However, a bike is nice to have hidden in the recess of your basement or garage, just in case.

Truth Site: Survival and Preparedness

Our Truth Site / Survival & Preparedness Information http://www.feedingtruth.com 

Survival & Preparedness Information Promoting awareness for the need to have a plan of action that will sustain you and your family in the event of a natural disaster, economic collapse, civil unrest or any number of catastrophic possibilities that could occur. FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) recommends that each home, workplace, and school have emergency kits and supplies for a disaster.

FEMA recommends being prepared for at least 72 hours after a disaster..... We believe 72 hours worth of preparedness... is NOT enough!

Investors Waiting on "Cliff" Scenario to Play Out

Stocks decline as investors wait on 'cliff' Stocks fall for a third day as investors wait for developments in 'fiscal cliff' talks. Associated PressBy Steve Rothwell, AP Business Writer | Associated Press – Wed, Nov 28, 2012 10:47 AM EST Stocks declined for a third day on Wall Street as investors waited for signs of progress on the "fiscal cliff." The Dow Jones industrial average fell 105 points to 12,772 just after 10 a.m. in New York. The Standard and Poor's 500 was down 13 points to 1,386. The Nasdaq Composite was off 29 points at 2,938. Stocks declined Tuesday after Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said he was frustrated by the lack of progress in budget talks. About $671 billion of tax increases and spending cuts will come into effect Jan. 1 if no deal is reached. Economists say the measures could eventually push the U.S. back into recession. Concern that the U.S. will go over the "cliff" has weighed on stocks since the Nov. 6 elections returned a divided government to power with President Barack Obama returning to the White House and Republicans retaining control of the House. In economic news Wednesday, U.S. sales of new homes dipped 0.3 percent in October though remain up 20.4 percent for the year, according to a government report. Stable home prices suggest the housing market is steadily recovering. Investors will also look will also look to the Federal Reserve for indications about the strength of the economy. A Fed snapshot of business conditions around the nation, covering October through mid-November, will be published at 2 p.m. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell 3 basis points to 1.61 percent. Stocks making big moves: — Chipmaker Analog Devices fell $1.03 to $39.09 after it said sales fell 3 percent in the third quarter due to weak economic conditions and global uncertainty. — Costco, the wholesale club operator, gained $4.45 to $100.90 after the company said that it would pay a special dividend of $7 a share next month, in addition to the regular quarterly dividend it pays shareholders. — Green Mountain Coffee Roasters surged $7.04 to $36.04 after the beleaguered coffee company reported fourth-quarter results and guidance that far exceeded the market's expectations.