| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| naturemaiden |
Posted - Nov 10 2012 : 05:23:47 AM
Good morning everyone!
i'm having some strong emotions after watching the news a little while ago. i needed to write.
I just got through watching the national US weather and it caught my attention. There is a snowstorm in 15 states, freeze warnings into southern Arizona and they are saying the temp will likely drop 40 degrees in minutes, not hours! It's something you'd see in a hollywood movie, and it's scary!
I also watched coverage on the people still affected by hurricane sandy. they have no electric for 12 days now. of course they have every right to be angry. it's a hard thing to deal with, and i'm not trying to minimize any of it just because i got through the storm ok.
...then the NY governor is bashing LIPA/National Grid. I find it annoying when he does that. Nearly 1 million people lost power. we were warned. LIPA/National Grid warned everyone power could be out for weeks. some people who were ordered to evacuate did not. in fact, a friend of mine who i saw yesterday who lives 10 min from me,and right across from the water now has an uninhabitable home. the whole neighborhood flooded with 4+ feet of water. they had to be rescued. they told me they ignored the evacuation order. they did not prepare in anyway whatsoever.
I dont know all the details about LIPA/National Grid and what they could have or could not have done better. All i know is that with a major storm like the one we had, ALL the damage it caused, HOW can people expect their lights to be back on the next day? Why are people not prepared better? I think getting the power back on to 98% of nearly 1 million who lost power (as it's reported) is pretty good after 12 days considering the damage we had. NJ and parts of NYC are in bad shape. You can't turn on the power unless structures are rebuilt, electrical components fixed, etc, & that's just what my common sense telling me that. Am I missing something here?
Please don't get me wrong, I'm not blaming the victims at all. I just wish people would take being prepared more seriously. I'm not talking about those who lost their homes to floods either. I'm talking about the people still in their homes without electric. I can't help thinking that back before electricity, what did people do when a storm hit? they had their food stores (because without it they would starve), they had their candles and wood for fires right? Why has that all changed? I'm not saying we should go back to living the old ways, but keeping some of those skills is so important. Have we've become a society totally dependent on others and not on ourselves? when something goes wrong we just blame someone else? The LIPA/National Grid workers must feel real unappreciated because they are not being thanked for anything, but instead are being totally bashed in the media, and yet they are still working non-stop. Yesterday's headline in one of our papers: Why LIPA failed. it annoyed me just to look at it.
With all the crazy weather we're seeing, we have to be prepared. we have to learn to adapt when things change. we have to have a plan. if we are not prepared we are going to suffer. I don't have to tell any of you, because that's what we do. but how do we make others aware?
I always felt it was a good idea to be prepared for the unlikely event of a natural disaster, etc. Then when the doomsday prepper show came on tv of course i felt that some people took it maybe a little too far. but then i am a little envious because i wish i could be prepared in some larger capacity to help my family and neighbors if disaster struck. maybe those people are not so crazy after all. if i had the money i'd be more prepared than I am now. yeah i have some bulk food, firewood, batteries, camp stove etc, but if i lost power for several weeks, who knows how we'd do. i know that after this hurricane i made a list of everything else i need to do, including if we had to evacuate. while some surrounding areas around me had evacuations, we did not. i can tell you that i wouldnt of been ready if we had to evacuate. next time i will be fully ready. when hurricane irene hit last year we lost power for 4 days. i dealt with it. period.
i think i'm going to write a letter to the editor of newsday. maybe he should educate the public (for those who dont know) how important preparations are.
sometimes i ask myself, what would Mary Jane do?
Connie
http://www.naturemaiden.com/ - Soap & Candle
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| 25 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| naturemaiden |
Posted - Nov 14 2012 : 3:38:17 PM
wow Emily, glad they are ok though!
Connie
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| alterationsbyemily |
Posted - Nov 14 2012 : 3:13:27 PM
Great post connie, this has been a huge topic of discussion in our home.
My husband's family lives in northern Jersey. We saw them the saturday before the storm and they said, there was no storm and nothing would happen. That they would not waste their time getting prepared from nothing, that the media was blowing up. Sunday started their 12 days without power! They had no food, no water, no heat, they went to work, yes I am serious, to sit around work with no power. We were really concerned for their welfare, but they refused to leave. My husband was so grateful for our prepardness and what we had lined up just in case.
Rant Start - this was such an eye opening time for my husband and his brother to understand really how delusional their parents are. Rant End
My kids live for the MJF mac and cheese camping food, both of them love it and I was glad to have such a big bag of it, just in case.
---
Farmgirl #2951
2012 Farmgirl of the Year
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| neeter302 |
Posted - Nov 14 2012 : 09:34:01 AM
There are so many great websites out there to assist people in basic disaster preparation. Just having a few basics supplies and a plan of action AND a plan B if plan A doesn't work out can mean all the difference. It dawned on me last night when people don't have their most basic needs met for a period of time they do things they wouldn't ordinarily do, resort to stealing, violence etc. Not a pretty picture. Particularly awful for the young and the elderly. |
| queenmushroom |
Posted - Nov 14 2012 : 07:13:26 AM
I always try to buy a weeks worth of grocs at a time. It's cheaper and if you buy a slightly larger package of meat you can generally get a few meals later on. I don't understand hoe a person shops for groceries on a daily basis.
Patience is worth a bushel of brains...from a chinese fortune cookie |
| naturemaiden |
Posted - Nov 14 2012 : 06:41:33 AM
i just heard an out of state worker here to help us was beat up....what the heck? that's messed up
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| gspringman |
Posted - Nov 14 2012 : 06:16:57 AM
Connie great post. You said exactly what I have been talking to my husband about. People need to quit relying on everyone else and learn to be a little more self sufficiant. Especially if they have been pre warned about a possible disaster. They need to get their heads out of the sand. No pun intended. We live in a fire danger area so I have begun emergency preps in case we need to leave or when we are snowed in and can't get out. We lose power a lot so we are prepared for that as well. A little something is better than waiting for someone else to bring it to us. All any of us can do is keep putting the word out there and pray it catches on.
Gail
Farmgirl #486
http://grammasladybug.blogspot.com/
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| queenmushroom |
Posted - Nov 14 2012 : 06:04:08 AM
One other thing I wanted to add about the lack of power, electricians from various states arrived to help. If these people were NOT union members, they were not allowed to help. A huge THAAAAANNNNKKK YOOOOOUUUU to the power companies that service the hurricane stricken areas of NY and NJ.for not getting power back to these people in a time of crisis just because your out of state help wasn't unionized. Thank you for the rant.
Patience is worth a bushel of brains...from a chinese fortune cookie |
| queenmushroom |
Posted - Nov 14 2012 : 05:18:05 AM
One of the many problems is over regulations on things regarding wood stoves, fire places etc. I'm not saying no regulations on anything. Yes the wood stove needs to be in a safe chimney. Most people who are "citified" if you will wouldn't know how to buiild a fire properly. And, if I were their neighbor, I don't think I'd want them trying to.
Secondly, short of burning their furniture, where would they get the wood and where would they store it? There are city ordinances that dictate what you can have in your back yard and what you can't. You'll find that having a cord or.or two of wood for emergencies is most likely on the communist list of what you can't have in your back yard. As far as flooding is concerned, if a person intentionally builds or purchases a structure in a flood zone (I'm not talking Manhattan or other areas of NY) and a flood, tidal wave or hurricane hits, then that person deserves the consequences of his/her poor judgment and no one not even their insurance company or feds should bail that person out because of their lack of judgment and foresight. Sorry for being so unpc this morning, but ignorance has to stop somewhere.
Lorie
Patience is worth a bushel of brains...from :la chinese fortune cookie |
| neeter302 |
Posted - Nov 12 2012 : 6:35:30 PM
We all need to have some degree of preparedness because every area has it's own potential hazards. Thank you everybody for your wisdom. Where I live we are on the outskirts of the New Madrid fault. There was a terrble earthquake in our area in the 1800's and they say we are long overdue for another. This past Saturday there was a 4.3 quake just southeast of us in Kentucky. It made me think, you never know what can happen, the weather's been freaky and our earth goes through shifts and cycles that can be unpredictable. How blessed we are to more often than not have early warnings about what's coming so that we can attempt to be prepared. It's just common sense but unfortunately some people who are very intelligent otherwise just don't have common sense. I encourage each and every one of us to take steps in preparedness. We're always joking about the Zombie Apocolypse and what we would do etc, it's a lighthearted funny way to discuss a serious topic, but then we get real about it. |
| westfork woman |
Posted - Nov 12 2012 : 08:16:25 AM
Thanks for starting this post. If we keep talking about preparedness maybe folks will pay attention.
Greetings from the morning side of the hill. |
| pinokeeo |
Posted - Nov 10 2012 : 10:17:32 PM
quote:
Originally posted by ClaireSky
I read somewhere that people have used those solar accent lights that you put around your sidewalks and house for light inside the house. They let them charge up during the day and then stick them in a pail of sand and bring them indoors with them for temporary lights inside. What a great idea!
Julie
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This is such a great idea. I have some of those lights, but never thought of bringing them inside.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
I cannot master those things that I have not tried.
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| Betty J. |
Posted - Nov 10 2012 : 5:06:09 PM
I can remember when my grandparents first moved to the Nebraska Panhandle and telling me about a horrific snowstorm. They were farmers and had to milk cows, feed chickens and hogs, etc. The snow blew for days and thank goodness they were somewhat prepared. It was so bad my grandfather had to tie a rope from the house to the barn to the chicken coop and pig sty so that he wouldn't get lost and freeze to death. This was way before they had electricity. Good that they only had a two-room house because coal and wood were the only things warming them. I also forgot that grandpa had to make sure the water that froze in the cattle tank was broken through so the cows could drink and the hens and pigs the same. Plus they had to carry water to the house and the windmill was about a half block from the house.
And those folks in New Jersey and New York think they have it bad? Oh, BTW, their facilities were an outhouse and quite a way from the house.
Betty in Pasco
I come from good farm stock! |
| Penny Wise |
Posted - Nov 10 2012 : 4:53:50 PM
connie; thank you for this post -and for NOT bashing! i agree with everyone who has written that people just don't seem to "get it' to be prepared...and it worries me..somewher on a news cast i heard that people who were warned just simply chose to ignore the warnings to be prepared or evacuate...
between global warming and everything else ; we truly need to be more prepared all around ! personally, i am worried that this winter could be an extremely harsh one- i have not studied up on it or read the almanac etc --it's just a "feeling" that i have !
on monday nite during the storm, we drove home from wisconsin from burying my brother in law- as i took teh rental car back i called my daughter who just bought a house- said to her "i hope you have a flashlight" (she owns an awesome tool box!) and her response was "just the one on my (cell ) phone--"-cripes! she did go buy one tho that night!
anyhow--we have become a complacent society and we need to be re-educated....again- thx for this post!
Farmgirl # 2139
proud member of the Farmgirls of the Southwest Henhouse
~*~ counting my pennies; my dreams are adding up!~*~ |
| ClaireSky |
Posted - Nov 10 2012 : 4:16:33 PM
Maybe everyone of else should consider having a few of these put aside in our emergency equipment for just that purpose.
Julie
Farmgirl #399
Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful. |
| naturemaiden |
Posted - Nov 10 2012 : 3:10:18 PM
Julie i never would of thought of that!
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| ClaireSky |
Posted - Nov 10 2012 : 2:39:24 PM
I read somewhere that people have used those solar accent lights that you put around your sidewalks and house for light inside the house. They let them charge up during the day and then stick them in a pail of sand and bring them indoors with them for temporary lights inside. What a great idea!
Julie
Farmgirl #399
Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful. |
| naturemaiden |
Posted - Nov 10 2012 : 2:19:55 PM
thanks for the fireplace tip. my husband cleans it often. he also put in an insert so i cant cook in it anymore :( so i just use the camp stove or fire pit outdoors when i need too. the fire pit is fun and makes the neighbors drool when i cook.
http://www.naturemaiden.com/ - Soap & Candle
http://modern-day-laura.blogspot.com/ -Filled with everything I love!
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| ClaireSky |
Posted - Nov 10 2012 : 2:02:59 PM
Connie, that was well spoken (written). I was thinking the same thing. That more people need to be more prepared for disasters.
Julie
Farmgirl #399
Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful. |
| prariehawk |
Posted - Nov 10 2012 : 1:48:31 PM
Just a note--for those of you with fireplaces, make sure the flue is kept cleaned. We had an ice storm a number of years ago and my neighbors lost power so they built a fire in their fireplace, which hadn't been used in years. they ended up with a chimney fire. The FD was here in the middle of the night, crawling around on their icy roof and the water from the hoses kept freezing. My neighbors ended up having to have a company that specializes in smoke clean-up come and clean out their house.
Cindy
"Vast floods can't quench love, no matter what love did/ Rivers can't drown love, no matter where love's hid"--Sinead O'Connor
"In many ways, you don't just live in the country, it lives inside you"--Ellen Eilers
Visit my blog at http://www.farmerinthebelle.blogspot.com/ |
| Bear5 |
Posted - Nov 10 2012 : 1:42:19 PM
Connie, I know how you feel, we've been through two hurricanes with floods. I can remember when I sat and wrote and wrote and wrote.
Thanks for sharing.
Marly
"It's only when we truly know and understand that we have a limited time on earth- and that we have no way of knowing when our time is up- that we will begin to live each day to the fullest, as if it was the only one we had." Elisabeth Kurler-Ross |
| naturemaiden |
Posted - Nov 10 2012 : 12:21:05 PM
Marilyn and Annika, thank you. I was unsure about posting this topic, and of course it was not to put anyone down or make people mad, but it puzzles me. I have a sister who has a phd degree, and yet she told me she never even bought batteries for her flashlights! and she lives less than a mile from the ocean! SIGH
and my sister is the one who will smirk at me because i love cooking in the fireplace, but guess what, I'M the one who'll be eating a hot meal when the lights go out. we'll see who's smirking then.
Education is so important, and of course common sense. I really am shocked by this, the 'hyper-media reality show plug and play world' is so true. it's sad to see just how disconnected some are, that all common sense literally goes out the window. i indeed find it sad.
http://www.naturemaiden.com/ - Soap & Candle
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| Annika |
Posted - Nov 10 2012 : 09:11:50 AM
Connie, I know, it's just that we live in a society where most people are so disconnected from the reality of what it takes to keep things all on and flowing with power, water, gas etc. Most people have no clue how their food is produced, what it contains and how it gets to them. We live in a hyper-media reality show plug and play world. I live in an area that while it's close to town has it's own weather pattern and temperature differences. we can get 6 foot snow drifts when it really starts snowing, the power often fails and the way out become impassable until we can dig through the 1/4 mile drifts to the road, which THEN may still need to be plowed! My landlords own the well that I use water from and the pump sometimes freezes up in the cold/stops working for what ever reason. I don't know how many times I've gone to the rescue of my landlords and neighbors with food and hot water cooked and heated on the propane grill, water, candles, matches, flash lights etc.etc.etc. I'm hoping to be able to afford a small generator soon because the weather is unpredictable and just funky! I do not get people who don't evacuate or wait until the last possible minute to dash to the stores for supplies only to be shocked that the shelves are already bare.
I'm angry at the people who have been trowing things at and swearing at the linemen and workers, and are screaming and angry and clueless to the reality of how hard it is to get all of the damage repaired to the power and water grids. Wake up people! If you do it in small bites, getting your home prepared for emergencies is doable on any budget. So first thing is to educate people and the second is to get them to actually do it! Thank you for bringing this up, it's something that needs to be addressed. I regularly throw up my hands and rant about people being deer-in-the-headlights when faced with an emergency, but I didn't want to start a thread because I tend to say things poorly and have a rather acerbic tongue that upsets people.
=}
Annika
Farmgirl & sister #13
http://thegimpyfarmgirl.blogspot.com/
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| mountain mama |
Posted - Nov 10 2012 : 09:02:48 AM
Connie,
I am with you I have no problem with flooding. I live at 9200 ft. But we have the danger of forest fire. 10 years ago we had the Hayman fire it came within about 1/2 mile from my house. We were evacuated. If we were not prepared it would have been traumatic.
Each part of the country has some type of danger from natural disasters.
All you can do is try to inform people if they choose to not listen you did the best you could.
Great post.
Marilyn
Farmgirl #408
Stress relief: go fishing, play in the dirt. go on a road trip, talk to a farmgirl. |
| naturemaiden |
Posted - Nov 10 2012 : 07:54:18 AM
...furthermore, my husband and i were watching the news, and one of the people without power was being interviewed. she had her fireplace going in the background, she was calm and not angry at all. during this interview her lights suddenly came on! you should of seen her face. it's people like that, that I admire.
Connie
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| naturemaiden |
Posted - Nov 10 2012 : 07:51:00 AM
Thanks Phyllis, i did write the editor, not expecting a change (imagine that) but to express my feelings.
I wish I had a travel trailer, it's on the list, it would be the perfect way to evacuate.
Connie
http://www.naturemaiden.com/ - Soap & Candle
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