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Emergency Preparedness
4 years ago
3 days of frozen hell.
As I write this, I’m safe, warm, with power, internet, food, and water, but that state has fluctuated over the last 3 days. And many, many, many people in my state of Texas aren’t as lucky as I am.
I’m writing this as much as a warning to others as a way to decompress and process everything I’ve just gone through.
Texas is not a state designed to work in the cold. Everything from our grid to our roads is not designed for snow or ice. There are roads that travel 4 stories into the air on massive twisting and interlocking chaos that turn into twisted metal death traps the second it’s wet and below freezing. There are no salt trucks. There’s a few snowplows, but because of the road dots (reflective safety dots on the road) they have to be incredibly careful or they’ll cost the city millions in damages. The roads also have insane inclines that turn the roads into sledding hills. And houses are designed to let heat out, not keep it in.
This storm fucked us. Our governmental leadership ran away to Cancún, tried to blame ANTIFA for the weather, or AOC for magically converting the whole power grid to renewable energy (it’s only 10%) and for not listening to the federal government to weatherize the grid.
I feel like the only reason I got through it relatively unscathed is the kindness of friends and the fact I had prepared for something like this since I was a teenager.
I don’t like the word “prepper” because it tends to bring to mind MAGA chuds and treasonous assholes, but I’ve always liked to be prepared for an emergency. I think this came out of watching Zombie movies as a kid and watching people die over preventable things. So I’ve always had a little go-bag in one form or another growing up, and in 2020, when everything was going to complete shit, I expended on it extensively and threw some actual resources into it, and I think that’s the only reason I was able to ride through the storm in some comfort.
But, this was a way to find considerable gaps in my planning and preparedness.
Let’s start with the things that worked.
Water:
I had a buttload of clean drinking water. They sell water in soda cans, I had that along with some plastic bottles, and some gallon jugs just laying around the house. This was so magical to have. Just knowing I could pop the top on something and drink it – knowing it was 100% safe was a life saver.
Power and Light:
I have multiple power sources and lights. When I saw the weather reports rolling in, I decided to charge everything.
I also had a solar panel which was a god send. On day 2 with no power, I was able to pop this bad boy outside and charge up two of my power banks to full in just a few hours. I never once had my phone die this entire time because I had all of those chargers.
https://www.anker.com/products/vari.....solar/A2421011
Quick side note on this though: I tested it in the summer, and the devices you’re charging can overheat if stored directly in the pouch on the panel. It’s better to have some long USB cords, and place the devices – like battery banks – somewhere protected from the sun. Like under a chair or just with a t-shirt thrown over them. In the snow though, I had no issues. I did wrap them inside of a ziplock bag, just to make sure no water shorted them out.
I also had a weather radio/light/charger that was incredibly handy. It was easy to stand on end and turn into a makeshift lantern to illuminate a room. It was also nice having a way outside of cell reception (which was horribly spotty) to get news updates and have some entertainment.
The best part about it? It can also be run off of AAA batteries or cranked by hand if you’re really desperate. There’s a solar panel on it, but that takes days to charge it. But after 3 days, I never needed to charge it.
https://www.amazon.com/Emergency-Po.....3-b0156e5c6669
Glowsticks were also amazing to have on hand, I just snapped them and instantly there was light.
This lantern was also great to have. I’ve had it for over a decade, and just kind of floating around the house, and it instantly turned any space into something workable.
https://www.amazon.com/Energizer-Wa.....NsaWNrPXRydWU=
Having a headlamp was also a godsend, I was able to strap it to my head and I had both hands free to do whatever I needed. Weather that was digging the car out of the snow, strapping blankets over the windows, or trying to find something buried in a dark closet in the middle of the night.
Clothing:
I had some thick wool socks that kept my feet warm, and when combined with these down booties, I my paws never felt cold:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B.....UTF8&psc=1
Food:
I had a bunch of jerky, canned fruit, crackers, freeze dried ice cream, etc that I’d bought just in case I needed some quick calories to keep me going. After you haven’t eaten anything warm for hours, biting into a piece of jerky that you know is going to fill your belly helps keep you going.
Now, let’s talk about where I fucked up:
Fire
I had dozens of ways to start fire. Fancy electric lighters, flint and steel, matches, lighters, etc. I had kindling, like cotton balls covered in petroleum jelly and this stuff called “fire cord”. I even had fuel for the fire: Wood, charcoal, and fuel alcohol.
Do you know what this dumbass didn’t have? Something to put the fucking fire >in<. I’d tried to go camping over the summer and left a cooking stove I had there, and hadn’t gotten around to replacing it. So I had limitless options for fire, but no receptacle to hold the fire. I tried to make a charcoal grill out a bread pan, it worked for about five minutes before the wind blew it out.
This means, I had no way to boil water or cook food. I had DOZENS of freeze-dried meals, all ready to go, just waiting for the hot water to enter them and make a hot meal to warm the body and soul. Or just brew a cup of tea and get some warmth in me that way. I would have fought someone for a cup of tea by day 4.
I have fixed this. I have ordered a propane stove, a alcohol burner, and a small wood stove.
Thankfully, if the water had been contaminated, I have a lot of ways to filter water to make it drinkable even without heat.
On day 5, when we walked through the door, and threw everything away in our fridge, I was so happy when I got to sit down with some freshly boiled water and eat one of the freeze-dried meals. It warmed me to my soul, and I don’t think any meal will ever taste as good.
On day 3 to 4 we had escaped somewhere that had a gas fireplace, but the issue was we didn’t really have a way to put a pot in it to boil water in. So again, I had all this food, but no way to really make it. I’m aware I could have just put cold water in it, but I wasn’t that desperate for calories yet – thankfully for that jerky and an excursion to find a McDonalds.
I was tempted to put a tin can right in the fire, but I didn’t have a good way to get it back out. I was also worried about it overflowing and breaking something inside of the gas fireplace. Like causing the ceramic log to crack.
I have bought a set of backpacking tongs/utensils to correct this.
Another minor issue: Organization
I noticed, I would always know I had something to do a task, but finding it in my bugout bag or in storage was always a pain. I lost tools in my bag, and would have to dump everything out to find them. I found a pair of pants I’d been missing for months that I didn’t know I’d packed in there. I couldn’t find my Leatherman and eventually realized it was stashed in my toiletry bag.
Before leaving for the friend’s house, I picked up my cooking set, and thought about bringing it, but I put it back down because I thought I wouldn’t need it and I didn’t want it to take up space in my bag. If I’d just had that, so many options would have been open for me. I’ve decided to get something smaller to replace it, and prevent me from ever making that mistake again. Plus, it can hold my alcohol burner.
I should be able to close my eyes and find anything in that bag without thinking. I really need to look at how I’ve packed and try to streamline things.
I’m not going to go through everything I have in this post, but needless to say, I’m very thankfully I was prepared as I was. I can’t tell you how happy I was knowing I had a solution for almost any problem.
If you’re interested in making a kit of your own, here’s a checklist put out by fema a few years back which is a good starting point:
https://static.wixstatic.com/media/....._2420_s_2.webp
And here’s a website that’s created by the US government that can give you some ideas:
https://www.ready.gov/kit
As we go into a more uncertain world as the climate changes, things like this will happen more and more often.
Floods, fires, and freezing temperatures are just going to be the norm. Don’t get caught off guard. Make a kit, and save for your life.
And for the love of god, never run a generator in your home or your car in your garage. Don’t make it easy for the grim reaper to take you, fight like hell, and don’t give up.
A special shoutout to the women who opened their home and let us recharge and eat a hot meal for the first time in days. Ya’ll were life savers.
Keep your stick on the ice, folks. We’re all pullin’ for ya.
As I write this, I’m safe, warm, with power, internet, food, and water, but that state has fluctuated over the last 3 days. And many, many, many people in my state of Texas aren’t as lucky as I am.
I’m writing this as much as a warning to others as a way to decompress and process everything I’ve just gone through.
Texas is not a state designed to work in the cold. Everything from our grid to our roads is not designed for snow or ice. There are roads that travel 4 stories into the air on massive twisting and interlocking chaos that turn into twisted metal death traps the second it’s wet and below freezing. There are no salt trucks. There’s a few snowplows, but because of the road dots (reflective safety dots on the road) they have to be incredibly careful or they’ll cost the city millions in damages. The roads also have insane inclines that turn the roads into sledding hills. And houses are designed to let heat out, not keep it in.
This storm fucked us. Our governmental leadership ran away to Cancún, tried to blame ANTIFA for the weather, or AOC for magically converting the whole power grid to renewable energy (it’s only 10%) and for not listening to the federal government to weatherize the grid.
I feel like the only reason I got through it relatively unscathed is the kindness of friends and the fact I had prepared for something like this since I was a teenager.
I don’t like the word “prepper” because it tends to bring to mind MAGA chuds and treasonous assholes, but I’ve always liked to be prepared for an emergency. I think this came out of watching Zombie movies as a kid and watching people die over preventable things. So I’ve always had a little go-bag in one form or another growing up, and in 2020, when everything was going to complete shit, I expended on it extensively and threw some actual resources into it, and I think that’s the only reason I was able to ride through the storm in some comfort.
But, this was a way to find considerable gaps in my planning and preparedness.
Let’s start with the things that worked.
Water:
I had a buttload of clean drinking water. They sell water in soda cans, I had that along with some plastic bottles, and some gallon jugs just laying around the house. This was so magical to have. Just knowing I could pop the top on something and drink it – knowing it was 100% safe was a life saver.
Power and Light:
I have multiple power sources and lights. When I saw the weather reports rolling in, I decided to charge everything.
I also had a solar panel which was a god send. On day 2 with no power, I was able to pop this bad boy outside and charge up two of my power banks to full in just a few hours. I never once had my phone die this entire time because I had all of those chargers.
https://www.anker.com/products/vari.....solar/A2421011
Quick side note on this though: I tested it in the summer, and the devices you’re charging can overheat if stored directly in the pouch on the panel. It’s better to have some long USB cords, and place the devices – like battery banks – somewhere protected from the sun. Like under a chair or just with a t-shirt thrown over them. In the snow though, I had no issues. I did wrap them inside of a ziplock bag, just to make sure no water shorted them out.
I also had a weather radio/light/charger that was incredibly handy. It was easy to stand on end and turn into a makeshift lantern to illuminate a room. It was also nice having a way outside of cell reception (which was horribly spotty) to get news updates and have some entertainment.
The best part about it? It can also be run off of AAA batteries or cranked by hand if you’re really desperate. There’s a solar panel on it, but that takes days to charge it. But after 3 days, I never needed to charge it.
https://www.amazon.com/Emergency-Po.....3-b0156e5c6669
Glowsticks were also amazing to have on hand, I just snapped them and instantly there was light.
This lantern was also great to have. I’ve had it for over a decade, and just kind of floating around the house, and it instantly turned any space into something workable.
https://www.amazon.com/Energizer-Wa.....NsaWNrPXRydWU=
Having a headlamp was also a godsend, I was able to strap it to my head and I had both hands free to do whatever I needed. Weather that was digging the car out of the snow, strapping blankets over the windows, or trying to find something buried in a dark closet in the middle of the night.
Clothing:
I had some thick wool socks that kept my feet warm, and when combined with these down booties, I my paws never felt cold:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B.....UTF8&psc=1
Food:
I had a bunch of jerky, canned fruit, crackers, freeze dried ice cream, etc that I’d bought just in case I needed some quick calories to keep me going. After you haven’t eaten anything warm for hours, biting into a piece of jerky that you know is going to fill your belly helps keep you going.
Now, let’s talk about where I fucked up:
Fire
I had dozens of ways to start fire. Fancy electric lighters, flint and steel, matches, lighters, etc. I had kindling, like cotton balls covered in petroleum jelly and this stuff called “fire cord”. I even had fuel for the fire: Wood, charcoal, and fuel alcohol.
Do you know what this dumbass didn’t have? Something to put the fucking fire >in<. I’d tried to go camping over the summer and left a cooking stove I had there, and hadn’t gotten around to replacing it. So I had limitless options for fire, but no receptacle to hold the fire. I tried to make a charcoal grill out a bread pan, it worked for about five minutes before the wind blew it out.
This means, I had no way to boil water or cook food. I had DOZENS of freeze-dried meals, all ready to go, just waiting for the hot water to enter them and make a hot meal to warm the body and soul. Or just brew a cup of tea and get some warmth in me that way. I would have fought someone for a cup of tea by day 4.
I have fixed this. I have ordered a propane stove, a alcohol burner, and a small wood stove.
Thankfully, if the water had been contaminated, I have a lot of ways to filter water to make it drinkable even without heat.
On day 5, when we walked through the door, and threw everything away in our fridge, I was so happy when I got to sit down with some freshly boiled water and eat one of the freeze-dried meals. It warmed me to my soul, and I don’t think any meal will ever taste as good.
On day 3 to 4 we had escaped somewhere that had a gas fireplace, but the issue was we didn’t really have a way to put a pot in it to boil water in. So again, I had all this food, but no way to really make it. I’m aware I could have just put cold water in it, but I wasn’t that desperate for calories yet – thankfully for that jerky and an excursion to find a McDonalds.
I was tempted to put a tin can right in the fire, but I didn’t have a good way to get it back out. I was also worried about it overflowing and breaking something inside of the gas fireplace. Like causing the ceramic log to crack.
I have bought a set of backpacking tongs/utensils to correct this.
Another minor issue: Organization
I noticed, I would always know I had something to do a task, but finding it in my bugout bag or in storage was always a pain. I lost tools in my bag, and would have to dump everything out to find them. I found a pair of pants I’d been missing for months that I didn’t know I’d packed in there. I couldn’t find my Leatherman and eventually realized it was stashed in my toiletry bag.
Before leaving for the friend’s house, I picked up my cooking set, and thought about bringing it, but I put it back down because I thought I wouldn’t need it and I didn’t want it to take up space in my bag. If I’d just had that, so many options would have been open for me. I’ve decided to get something smaller to replace it, and prevent me from ever making that mistake again. Plus, it can hold my alcohol burner.
I should be able to close my eyes and find anything in that bag without thinking. I really need to look at how I’ve packed and try to streamline things.
I’m not going to go through everything I have in this post, but needless to say, I’m very thankfully I was prepared as I was. I can’t tell you how happy I was knowing I had a solution for almost any problem.
If you’re interested in making a kit of your own, here’s a checklist put out by fema a few years back which is a good starting point:
https://static.wixstatic.com/media/....._2420_s_2.webp
And here’s a website that’s created by the US government that can give you some ideas:
https://www.ready.gov/kit
As we go into a more uncertain world as the climate changes, things like this will happen more and more often.
Floods, fires, and freezing temperatures are just going to be the norm. Don’t get caught off guard. Make a kit, and save for your life.
And for the love of god, never run a generator in your home or your car in your garage. Don’t make it easy for the grim reaper to take you, fight like hell, and don’t give up.
A special shoutout to the women who opened their home and let us recharge and eat a hot meal for the first time in days. Ya’ll were life savers.
Keep your stick on the ice, folks. We’re all pullin’ for ya.
But yes a learning experience and you can get ready for the next emergency. I guess part of my problem is I worry I wont end up using some items, they'll collect dust, and then I'll discover I cant operate them or use them due to a hard expiration
...and we're really happy to hear you've survived a Texas winter.