Storm and Disaster Planning

[gulfcoast john]

A few things we’ve learned about storm/disaster preparation:

We’ve been through 14 named hurricanes in the last 40 years together, the worst being #13 (Hurricane Katrina, which made landfall with a 34 foot vertical storm surge about 30 miles west of our home in Ocean Springs, MS with a 19 foot vertical surge against our cement slab at 21 feet). We hope to share a few observations that we hope might guide you in making the best, or at least good, decisions for you and yours for disasters of all flavors.

Our hearts and prayers go out for the residents of Ft Myers Beach, where we have wintered over on our trailer boat at the Pink Shell Marina 5 star resort for the past three years at the fantastic rate of $31/night including power, waste pump outs, 3 heated pools (including one adults only), gym, sauna, 8 miles of walking beach at all tides, free margaritas and cheese/fruit trays 2-3 PM T and Th, etc etc.

The highest priority is clean drinking water. You might live a week without food, but not without water. We’ve tried 5 gallon water containers with added bleach, but they’re clumsy to handle, so we switched to distilled or spring water 1 gallon jugs ($0.86 each at your market). Rain or pool water can be used for showering (with a big plastic sprinkler container and a helper) and for toilet flushing (remove the tank top to add flush water). Never waste sterile drinking water on bathing or flushing. Total loss of water pressure in hurricanes and other natural disasters is uncommon (not counting ‘boil water’ notices due to lower than ideal pressure) but occurred in both Katrina (2005) and Sally (2021) in our neck of the woods.

Stockpile enough food and water for 7-10 full days. Mom knew that peanut butter and jelly sandwiches required no refrigeration and were pretty good after working hard at clearing debris (which is 90% of post storm activity).

Generators are a difficult subject. In many past storms, more folks have died of Carbon Monoxide poisoning from improper and stupid use of generators and gas ovens than from the storm itself.

On the other hand, at least 241 folks in south Texas froze to death in 2021 simply because the commercial power grid went out for a week. If the utility power disappears for a week in bad weather, would you also die? Our answer is ‘no way.’ Your Answer may differ.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/14/us/texas-winter-storm-deaths.htm

C-Brats generally recognize and respect all the safety rules regarding properly operating a generator. New models are required by law to include automatic high-CO shutdown circuits. However, if the owner is drunk or stoned and splashes gas all over the electrical connections and hot muffler while refueling a running machine, unfortunate results can occur despite the governments’ best intentions. I expect a regulation on this as well (perhaps a breathalyzer on the starting recoil rope)?. But I digress.

A ‘portable’ generator capable of powering an average fridge and a few fans (2500 running watts) costs $250 to $500, which is less than the average value of the steaks and seafood we routinely have in the fridge. They would all spoil after three days with no power.

A quiet ‘inverter’ generator costs more, but it seems to us well worth it as we have lived next door to hammering generators LOUDLY all night long for weeks on end after storms. They become unbelievably annoying very quickly.

We have a 15-20 year old Honda EU2000 that starts and runs reliably (just drain the carb at the end of season). I generally trust the engineers at Consumer Reports, even though they give rave reviews to the Harbor Freight Chinese Predator. Somehow I doubt that you will be handing it down in working order to your grandchildren. Bob Austin is also on record in commenting that you are WAY more likely to hand down a Honda generator to your grandchildren than a Chinese knockoff. I think his criticism is very fair on this point. From a strictly financial analysis, the cheapo Predator with a Harbor Freight return warranty for something you hope to never need or use may well make sense for you and yours. And having one is DEFINITELY better than having no options at all (except dying) for power when the grid goes down. As always, YMMV.

This cheapest solution to powering the most critical home circuits is that you have extension cords from a ‘portable’ generator snaking all over your home.

The next most elegant solution to home power during utility outages is the one we chose… a ‘home generator transfer switch’ installed by a professional electrician to connect or disconnect our 120v panel from the utility grid, and instead power it from our choice of home generator power.

We have an ancient Honda 2000ui and a 2021 Westinghouse 8500w to choose from, depending on day or night needs. We have a $220 LG window AC unit in the bedroom to keep that area cool as needed.

It’s critically important to know how much power each of your appliances on each or your circuits draws (just like on our boat, with only 30 amps to play with). A Kill o Watt or equivalent meter is critical in estimating your Watts Needed. We label every appliance with its wattage draw so we know exactly how much power it draws. That might be overkill. (Credit to Dr Bob, who has been an advocate for many years).

https://www.amazon.com/P3-P4400-Electricity-Usage-Monitor/dp/B00009MDBU/ref=asc_df_B00009MDBU?tag=bingshoppinga-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=79920803409632&hvnetw=o&hvqmt=e&hvbmt=be&hvdev=c&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=&hvtargid=pla-4583520382177274&th=1

The absolutely most elegant solution to home power is the one Dr Bob chose when he built his home…an automatic Generac (or other) LPG powered whole house generator. These may have the output to power your HVAC and your dryer, which you might not need under these conditions. In the worst conditions (vision Ft Myers today or a cyber attack on US utilities), the LPG lines might be offline or compromised, which is something you should think about. In my view, the weakness of some of these designs is that they start up in the midst of the worst of a storm, with water and debris whipping around, rather then you manually start up after the worst is over. We had one of our Honda 2000ui sets outside, totally covered by a contractor trash bag, but still rain penetrated it enough to prevent it from starting the day Sally was leaving us.

So, clean drinking water, food and power are the top three priorities.

Katrina in 2005 was a large-scale disaster and a learning opportunity in how fast the thin ‘veneer of civilization’ can wear off. Despite six feet of razor wire along the inland four blocks of waterfront mansions, looters pilfered everything from heirloom silverware to activated EPRIBS and confronted homeowners with knives and guns.

Within ten days, abandoned dogs formed into roving packs and attacked people at random. Eileen (a surgical Wound RN) was recruited as a Red Cross volunteer on the spot when one poor guy was in the ER with over 200 separate dog bites (I worked in the UC/ER). That day the police began shooting dog packs with rifles and that problem was resolved within a few weeks. Yes, I know you can’t find an hotel on your evacuation route that will take Fido.

For two weeks in our area after Katrina, there was no power, no phone and no cell service. There was no 911 to call. If you need the police, they don’t know it. Thieves were stealing generators and gas from the owners at gunpoint and knifepoint. 20 years ago we bought a $199 pump-action shotgun for self protection because the shop owner proclaimed, ‘once the bad guy hears this thing chamber a round, they leave immediately.’ I’ve heard that many times. We’ve never needed it or chambered a round yet. But I think it’s a nice thing to have available, just in case. Just consider it and get training if you do. YMMV.

Hope this helps you and yours in your planning for the next disaster or grid disruption.

John

[TmBates]

Great advise, thanks for sharing.

[Foggy]

The best advice is to avoid being near the projected path of a hurricane in the
first place.

If possible, evacuate well in advance and follow official warnings. Don't plan
advanced vacations in hurricane prone areas late in the Fall.

Tougher if you are on a small island like I was, twice. There's really no place to go.

First in September 1992, hurricane Iniki (Cat 4) devastated Kauai. Luckily I was on
Maui, 200 miles away, but still got huge storm surge, floods, high winds and local
carnage. Second one, wrong way - went from W to E - Lennie (Cat 4) nailed me
November 1999 in Grand Case, St Martin 2 days after I stepped off a Swan sloop
sailing from Bermuda. I experienced "the eye" (it does not wink at you...).

Aye.

[thataway]

Certainly excellent advice by John. I have not counted the number of storms, but my first several were in the late 1950's when I was a med student at Baylor Med in Houston, Texas. We lived in Va, for 2 years when on active duty in Army Medical Corp, and had one there. There have been at least a dozen in the 30 years since we have been residents of Pensacola. Marie was in visiting Biloxi when Camille hit.

With Ian we were starting with our preps as it began to enter Caribbean waters. If it had come on up the gulf, as initially predicted, there was a very good possibility it would have been a Cat 5 at landfall.

Our initial preps are to be sure our vehicles are full of fuel, and we have emergency gear packed. We stock up on water. (Our home does have one deep irrigation well, but it can be easily converted to domestic supply--and is artesian in nature.). We also have Three 6 Gallon containers for Water. We keep plenty of bleach and filters for sterilizing water.

As John noted we do have an 18 KW "whole house" natural Gas generator, and it has been very reliable. The problem with the portable (we had 8 KW for Ivan) was keeping enough fuel. We used our 50 gallons of gasoline (stored in 5 gallon cans) and at one point sent a pickup with several 50 gallon drums in the bed to Alabama to get more fuel (not only illegal but also a very dumb idea to carry 50 gallon drums of fuel in the back of a pickup....

We have food for 90 days in our dehydrated emergency stores. We have fresh and frozen food for at least 2 weeks. (But one needs power for that). We never lost natural gas nor water pressure. Yes, we did boil and filter the water.

When we evacuate we tow Marie's car behind the RV, and I tow our 18' Center Console. We can put some extra supplies in the boat--(covered with tarps). We have Axes, chain saws, "Come Along" and Farm jacks in the SUV and RV, as well as some long and sturdy ropes to drag trees out of the way.

If we cannot get back to our house by road vehicle, then we can launch the boat and take it to our home.

Security: After Ivan We put a large sign (4' x 8') "you loot, we shoot". Almost all of our home owners were armed. In Florida you can open carry on your own property. I choose to carry a revolver in this circumstance. We did not have the potential looters with Sally, for some reason.

[daninPA]

Excellent preparatory advice.

In more northerly climes we have the threat of ice storms, where sudden cold fronts overtake warm, humid air causing widespread ice formation.

The 1998 New York North Country ice storm was such a disaster. My parents were without power for weeks, and only a large wood stove got them through. Alas, most wood stoves are gone due to insurance and regulatory pressure. I'm not sure what they would now in an ice storm (they are now in their mid-eighties). It's unlikely I'd be able to rescue them for a while as the roadways were blocked by tangled power lines and downed trees for many miles in the last storm.

https://www.northcountrypublicradio.org/news/icestorm.html

[Foggy]

Well, some prefer to be reactive to severe weather and deal with the unknown
chaos that accompanies it. I prefer, as stated above, the proactive approach,
again, if possible.

I've not always followed Grandma's sage advice, inadvertently inflicting
self caused morbidity to my regret.

Standing water, common in post hurricanes, contains not only sewage but a
particularly nasty bacteria, vibrio vulnificus. Wading around your flooded living
room or street with a small cut or scrape on your leg, or having a compromising
medical condition, is a good way to contract it, though rare. Eating raw shellfish,
my affliction, is another.

Regardless, Lee County, FL is now having a spike in the 50% fatal flesh eating bug.

[colbysmith]

Speaking of hurricanes, how did our fellow C-Brats make out that lived in Ian's path? Colby

[daninPA]

[gulfcoast john]

Thanks all for sharing your experiences and options in the hope of preventing others from having to climb a steep or difficult learning curve in the middle of an emergency.

Storing enough generator gas safely is indeed very problematic. I used to think I’d just keep the car full of E0 gas during storm season and siphon it out as needed, but then discovered that pumping or siphoning gas out of modern cars is impossible. An alternative involving finding and re-connecting the fuel pump under the hood while deactivating the starter motor and multiple computer-controlled fail-safes sounds even more dangerous. PM me if there is an easy or safe (preferably both) solution to pump gas out of our 2021 Genesis 80 and we’ll practice it.

Pumping gas out of your C-Dory (with a 12v electric gas pump and approved hose as Dr. Bob has previously wisely advised) seems much more direct and easy. Assuming someone hasn’t already done that, ha ha.

On the other hand, only you and yours can decide what your most desired critical circuits are, rather than buying the generator capacity to run the entire house all the time. We decided on:

1 Fridge/freezer (27CF), 200 measured running watts
2 Single BR window 6k BTU AC for nite use, 225 measured running watts
3 A few ceiling or floor fans, under 200W total
4 Ignitor for gas InstaHeat water heater, est 10w and only when using hot water, which can not be ignited manually; same for gas oven, which we would favor over 110v toaster oven (up to 1200w draw on the generator). The gas range CAN be ignited manually.
5 A few LED lamps,all under 100w
6 A $860 Generator House Switch (installed cost including a generator 30A shore power cord) prevents us having extension cords all over the house and enables ‘power management’ at the 120v main house panel.

Most of you already know that all compressor devices (fridge and window AC above) may draw 2-3 times the running watts on startup. So crank their thermostats down to COLDEST before starting them, then start em up and leave them on COLD while on generator power to avoid high-draw compressor-start cycling. After closing a cold fridge for the last time at night, it will stay cold without any power for 12-24 hours with the door closed.

The above indicates that we could run all of what we REALLY need on the 120v panel on a single Honda 2000iu for a long time on not much gas.

Re DaminPa’s difficult situation with very elderly parents living alone, I would consider an easy start 2000w generator (20 ft away from the house, cabled to the frame of a car) running two 1500w electric low boy electric heaters as the safest emergency solutions to save lifes.

https://www.westmarine.com/west-marine-portable-cabin-heater-7867500.html

We have used these for decades, they are far more reliable than ceramic models, and tip over proof.

Consider some generator ‘security’ 20 ft away from home like a SS cable to the frame of your car. For Honda generators, advise this, otherwise thieves can make away with your suitcase generator with only two quick 10 second hacksaw cuts through the plastic carry handle;

https://www.amazon.com/Deterrent-Security-Generator-Companion-63230-Z07-010AH/dp/B079DM5HGS/ref=asc_df_B079DM5HGS?tag=bingshoppinga-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=80195681205869&hvnetw=o&hvqmt=e&hvbmt=be&hvdev=c&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=&hvtargid=pla-4583795269567639&psc=1

The comments on the pros and cons of firearm protection (and the downsides) are very valid and should be considered very carefully by us all, including me.

Foggy’s comment on ’always evacuating’ for anything strikes us as a bit problematic. His Michegan EM authorities do not advise ‘evacuating’ in advance of all arctic blasts in which power might be lost. In our experience, ‘evacuation orders’ have resulted in literally millions of Southern residents cramming the roads and soaking up all hotel reservations within 500-800 miles or more. Combined with sleep deprivation, desperation, and full rest stops, driving for 18 hours in a desperate state can be more dangerous than staying home in an area that is NOT in an official EVACUATION ZONE. Be very careful in your decisions on this.

Colby,
We don’t do much Facebook but Eileen says Jim (in Naples) posted that they came out ok.
We haven’t heard from Molly Brown (PG area) or flboy77 (Sarasota canal).

As always, hope this is helpful and no insults to anyone, ever!

John

[Foggy]

[ssobol]

[Foggy]

Most people have never shot anybody, looter or otherwise. I haven't but I have
been shot, twice. That's another story.

The following is just one example of using deadly force and the aftermath. Not
judging it, just mentioning it to give maybe one unaware cowboy a small glimpse
of a grizzly incident that most would not want to be involved with.

I wish to point out, this may have turned out much, much differently.

Former E-6 2112 Precision Small Arms Tech at U.S. Marine Corps
(Military trained author, www.quora.com))