Hurricane Maria, Puerto Rico in distress big time the people need help, this is terrible.

  Hurricane Maria will be forever embossed in our memory, the total devastation experienced by the Puerto Rico's is unprecedented in our history. The trees were all (it appears to be all of them) demolished by the fierce winds and driving rain to be followed by flooding which always adds an entirely new dimension to any disaster. The information coming out of all of the areas is sparse at best.

Water Water everywhere and not a drop to spare. 

  In the case of Houston and Florida, we are hearing nothing, it's understandable why it's like that, for the most part. More information is coming from Puerto Rico, through any means possible, mostly social media, they need help and are increasingly becoming more and more desperate, understandably so.
  In the case of Houston and Florida not releasing any information on the recovery efforts is understandable, however, we must ignore the politics, making my reasoning sound like an excuse which it may very well be. There is so much damage in the Houston area, causing so much cleanup, coordination between City, State, and Federal governments, and FEMA's efforts to offer aid and assistance to the victims. It is very easy for someone (like me) to read an article in the news or online and form a very critical opinion of the actions being taken. I am sure there are a lot of complaints already, they don't need a piling on from people unfamiliar with what's really happening on the ground. As is the usual way of things, the recovery will be well underway once the debris, water, and mud is taken care of. An adequate supply of materials and manpower will be instrumental in the recovery efforts, without them it will be a much longer gloomier outcome. To me it's understandable news is being restricted a bit, I read the Houston local newspaper to get updates, the blame is just beginning in earnest, it will get more intense as the recovery grinds on. It will take many years for both Florida and Houston to recover fully. The Orange crop in Florida is pretty much destroyed as per the news stations on TV. It makes me wonder how many other crops have been ruined as well, Texas is a large farming and livestock provider for the entire country, it is most likely quicker for livestock to be replaced and brought up to the levels that industry was at prior to the disaster. Cotton, corn and other row crops will not be planted until spring, hindering the farming recovery, not forgetting the Ranchers and Farmers probably are dealing with destroyed homes as well. All of the industries have a long row to hoe, they will eventually bounce back.
  Puerto Rico is in a class all alone, the entire island has been destroyed, there are no utilities intact, it will take a long time to restore them. I saw on the TV news that looting was taking place, it is so common in the big cities after any kind of a disturbance that places a huge load on law enforcement. The people are starving, the report showed people breaking the windows of a grocery store the manager was working on to reopen, he was almost ready to open. The place was destroyed inside after it was rebuilt and put back together after the monster plowed through. I thought "well they are stealing food and water most likely," that would add a little logic to the destruction. Actually, alcohol was the first isle emptied, everything else followed, eventually the store was pretty much emptied out of the entire stock. Looting is never OK, however, it always follows events such as this. I hate to use the word "but" in this instance, but they are in dire straights, does the old saying "desperate times demand desperate means," have a place here? What would I do to feed and shelter my family, loot, rob, steal, or cheat? I like to think I would not, many a desperate person has spent years in jail because they thought their actions could be explained. Unfortunately, after the fact, most reasoning loses its foothold when being judged by people who have never been in a situation close to what the Puerto Rican People are facing.

There will be a lot of infrastructure repairs, the washed out roads are causing
delays in relief.

Electricity, natural gas, gasoline and diesel fuel take a back seat when a person is fighting for survival lacking the basic needs of humanity, water, food, and shelter. I blogged about how long it may take to rebuild the Electrical system, the water systems may take just as long to repair. 3 million people are in need of supplies, that's 1/2 gallon per person per day just to satisfy their daily needs to stay alive. One case of pint water bottles will supply one person one week, actually six days, if one drinks the recommended 1/2 gallon a day. Sanitation is an entirely different issue, a gallon a day is needed for staying clean at a minimum. Then there is cooking with water, and cleaning the dishes, oh man dish soap, clothes, and the other cleaning supplies, the entire ordeal makes my head spin. I can hardly imagine being the person placed in charge of distributing supply's, I understand placing the military in charge as long as our government doesn't declare "martial law" or some other equally crazy plan. I liken this challenge to Napoleon Bonaparte in his march across France towards Russia, the supply line had thousands of cargo wagons that stretched 200 miles. Napoleon's army arrived in Russia leaving a large gap between warrior and supplies. The Russians took a "scorched earth" policy and fled to the East and Moscow, the French army was planning on living off the land once they gained Russia. By the time the supply lines made it to where Napoleon was (near Waterloo) the army was in retreat to Denmark, thousands of soldiers died of starvation and disease while on the route. As with the "Emperor of France", the response to Maria in Puerto Rico is a matter of life and death, hopefully, life takes precedence. Apparently, that is where the rescue operation is falling apart and the reason a good solid military officer should coordinate the distribution of the relief supplies. It will have to be planned to a "tee", the deliveries will become the norm in short order after the first delivery is made, a common question asked of the truck driver may very well be "when will you be back?" Luckily the supplies are in the port, however lacking the manpower to drive the equipment to make that final critical connection with the people in need. That is the good point of having the military run the operation, they have the manpower and the equipment to get it done, with a General in charge they also have the horsepower to succeed. That's just the initial delivery of the essentials water, food and maybe a tent, no solid building materials yet, in fact not for a long time yet. Deliveries must continue for many weeks at least, how many trucks does it take to haul 1,500,000 gallons of water per day? Even though it's an estimate of 1/2 gallon per person per day, people need more realistically 5 gallons per day, cooking, drinking, and hygiene. In the case of food, it's almost the same numbers, 8 ounces of "meat", chicken, turkey, beef or pork equals 1,500,000 pounds each day. The numbers become staggering after just a few needs are calculated and penciled out. Shovels, picks, brooms, wheelbarrows, and gloves are another initial need to be supplied, in large numbers, At that point the cleanup can begin, like Houston there will be huge piles of debris stacked for blocks awaiting the army of trucks needed to haul it off, maybe burning it on the spot is a viable solution. I would venture to guess that mold, viruses, and critters are pretty much the immediate villains that must be dealt with as soon as possible, open burning may be quicker and a means of minimizing illnesses. It is estimated that a lot of people will be leaving the island and relocating to the mainland, most likely Florida, the government had better do a good job in responding to this disaster, to be done correctly they will be "heroes", if they botch it up they will be "zero's, I hope success and failure is not attached to a body count, it's sad enough now.

Puerto Rico will have at least this amount of debris, I wonder if open burning
is an option.

  I can't imagine Houston or Florida much progress in less than a year, it will take much longer to get those two close to where they were, some of their infrastructure is still in place. Not so in Puerto Rico, everything is destroyed and in need of rebuilding, even the trees are gone. It was prior to the twin Hurricanes a very lush green tropical paradise, even the landscaping has to be repaired, It's a disaster of enormous proportions, the hospitals are full, the airports are disaster relief stations and the streets are full of good people struggling to survive, I hope God blesses them. There is one streak of silver in the lining, that is the dam has not failed, yet.
  Thanks for reading and sharing. I made my first YouTube video, if you are curious what old Jacques looks and sounds like take a look, I think it's pretty entertaining. I'm not too embarrassed for being an old guy in a young person's world. https://youtu.be/XB4frGzKMF8

jacquesandkate  emegencykitsplus.com

7 leadership traits, you may shake your head in agreement or roll your eyes in bewilderment, you decide.

  I'm writing this blog without an idea what it will be about, I kind of want to write about the gross lack of leadership that has enveloped our country and indeed the world, I know leaders, I have worked for two good leaders and many more poor ones. Some of the traits leaders display are:
  1) They don't call people names, even their enemies are safe from it, real leaders figure out a way to make their differences work in a mutual way for both sides. They know there is no faster way to alienate or chase supporters away than using ethnic slurs and derogatory words directed towards individuals that are not as secure in their positions as they are. I was a supervisor in a plant working with another man who was the manager of 1/2 of the plant. This man was everything I am not, he stole over $100,000.00 worth of equipment, that was the amount he was caught with. He had a Christmas party, I did not attend, he got on a racist rant toward one other man, thinking he was a comedian. He was not funny, he was supposed to be a leader of people, he ended up being a litigant in court, and he lost. I was under investigation as well, when one incident happens most companies I have worked for assume the one case is the tip of the iceberg. I was exonerated, I don't call names and I have never used a racial slur. I tell my grand kids the same story and tell them if they want a problem, use a racial slur.

Respect is earned, it's not handed out like brochures at a rodeo.

  2) Leaders are listeners, the strongest leaders I have worked for listen with the intent of hearing what is being said. They gather all of the information they are able to until they have enough to discuss possible outcomes with the people assisting them. They typically do not "cut" people off in the middle of a sentence, and they repeat what is said, as to be perfectly clear in their understanding. A natural leader wants to hear opposing opinions, that makes decision-making easier with a bunch of options on the table. Leaders listen intently and give good solid answers seeking buy-in, they know co-operation is necessary when it comes time to enact the decisions being made. I have attended meetings, a lot of meetings as many people do, the last place I worked did not know how to have a meeting, leaders do. A management consultant was interviewing me, (a requirement of the company was to talk to this guy once a month, another sign of no leadership ability). He asked me what I thought of the companies supervisor meetings, my answer was as follows: Imagine being at a professional basketball game, the plant manager is the referee with the ball, and all of us supervisors are the players. The manager lobs the ball into the air, now when it comes time for the two centers to jump up to tip the ball, they stand there and watch it hit the ground and along with the other players watch it roll off the court. Nobody makes a move toward the ball. This manager would ask for volunteers for a project, the slinking down in the chairs was very noticeable, the strategic chairs that promise not to be noticed during the meetings were the first ones filled. Enthusiasm in that plant was at a bare minimum, created by people placed in a leadership role that was not leaders, and it stuck out like a sore thumb. I need to make a point here about myself, I do possess some leadership abilities, however, I am not a #1 leader, I can lead only when I am the number 2 guy.

This is what is suppose to happen, it didn't at the outfit I worked at.

  3) Leaders know their limits, I know I am not a number 1 leader, I am when there is a leadership void, but as soon as a real leader shows up I yield. They know that leaders know if they are weak or strong leaders, that's a problem when someone who is not is appointed to lead. They know when to delegate, and they don't delegate everything like non-leaders do, in fact, people who can not lead delegate freely, they see it as a position of strength. Delegation, when done correctly, does show strength, when done incorrectly it portrays laziness. They know what they know and never pretend to know something they have no idea about, that's when they delegate, then they learn.  If you would like to read more on leadership click this link.
  4) Leaders are not protective of their jobs, they know positions change rapidly, they always have someone in the wings they are preparing for their job. I was never in that position because it was always recognized as a #2 leader, valuable until they make me #1 in charge it then allows me to rise to the highest level of my own incompetence, I'm OK as a 2. Leaders include all parties involved in management with the budget, but not to the extreme, we are not all CPA's. A job I had as a maintenance supervisor was like that, my direct boss told me to go over the budget twice a day, that's 2 times a day. This plant had no less than 6 ladies working on it all day long, I had to drop accounting in College, the instructor told me it appeared I would never catch on. My boss told me to go over a ladies work, this lady very respectable in her field, she was (and still is I'm sure) and I was to check her work. I refused, it would have been more of a insult to her, and me as well, I could check mechanical work but never would I be able to check her work. I had three levels of management above me, and due to the plant manager not being a leader, he hired people with less leadership ability then he had. I don't know why they do that, most people think it's to make their job safe, but if they recognized natural leadership abilities in people wouldn't that enable them to see lack of leadership in themselves? They never do, they just hire incompetent people, then wonder when they struggle, no one can survive someone in a leadership role that protects his job, it's just a matter of time until the unit falls apart.
  5) Real leaders have an agenda, and they share that agenda with the people responsible for putting it in place, they do not hide information forcing the #2 to guess at the final result. I worked for a man who started out as a "pipefitter", and became a supervisor, he could only function in chaos. He would also withhold information on jobs we were working on, I could never figure out why he did that, we explained it by saying oh well "he's just a pipefitter." What he would do and it drove us crazy is when we were running a pipeline (I was a millwright) he would initially tell us "OK, run this pipe to that point there." it would be maybe 40 feet away taking us an hour or so. We would then have to go get him so he could tell us to run another 20 or 40 feet until we had to fetch him again. We would do that for weeks on end, he did it until his last day of work, I still can not figure why or how he learned to do that. He did have an agenda, but he did not include anyone else in one it, we had no idea what was in the batters box. It led to frustration and confusion, in the end everything worked out and the jobs were completed. leaders have a clear-cut agenda and they share it with the crew.

Plugging along getting the job done. 

  6) Leaders may not think outside the box themselves, many do, and most do recognize when someone in their employ does, leaders think independently. Never commenting on how strange or weird someone is, they use references such as "what an interesting person", or "he has unique thoughts". Never do they say "that guy's nuttier than a fruitcake", leaders welcome free thinkers and are quick to accept new ways and thoughts. Leaders welcome new fresh ideas, commonly making the observation that new, original thoughts are the rarest bird in the universe, leaders look for new ideas.
  7) Finally, leaders never dress down their subordinates in public, and when they do have to talk to someone they always leave the person under their employ a way out, a way out to keep their dignity intact. Leaders are not out to destroy people, they are out to help them achieve their goals because a real leader knows their strength is in the people working for them.
  Leadership is hard enough without making your employees your enemies, they are not your friends, leaders know that as well, but they do deserve respect. Leaders also know, whether learned in college or the world of hard knocks that respect is earned, it's not handed out like brochures at a rodeo, we all have to earn respect.
  At this point in time, I do not see anyone in our government displaying leadership qualities, from the president all the way through Congress, there are no leaders. While people in the disaster zones are all helping each other survive, once in a while someone ask's "where is FEMA?" Leaders emerge in a void, however in a locked up system like our government is, that void has been there for decades and will remain far off into the future. Unless the dangerous lack of leadership we are experiencing now ends up killing all of us. Yes, this comment is aimed at exactly who you think it is, I am not political, but this lack of leadership is to the point of endangering our very existence, making self-reliance more important than ever. A link to leadership styles.
  I read a quote once, I don't know who wrote it, I googled it and was unable to even find the quote, maybe a reader knows, if you do please tell me in the comments. The quote: "Where are the Champions of the people, the ones that have tried and failed, then tried again and won, where are they now that we need them?"
  Indeed, where are they? Thanks for reading and sharing, your comments are very much welcome.
jacquesandkate  emergencykitsplus.com

Hurricanes, Dams and Earthquakes oh my! Some things you probably know, some you may not. Does solar fit in?

   The people of Puerto Rico are facing an impossible chain of events, multiple hurricanes, flooding and complete destruction of the entire infrastructure. If that is not enough now an impending dam failure is certain, 70,000 people in the path of a great wall of water. Putting matters in an even more dire picture, the shipping ports are shut down due to damage from the two storms, They must be repaired before they can receive shipments of fuel, water, and food. One catastrophic event after another, unfortunately, it is not unique to them.

This is how it begins prior to landfall, some brave souls surf in it, not me.

  Mexico has suffered their third earthquake within the past 3 weeks, one offshore and two in approximately the same location, the one this morning was a 6.1, preceded by a 7.1 and an 8.2 that began this chain of events. It is unknown if they are related, it will be determined over the next year or so. There have been over 1,000 aftershocks, with people still trapped in some of the crumbled structures, there would have been more damage had the Mexican Government not made stricter zoning laws. After 10,000 people lost their lives in the 1985 earthquake which devastated Mexico City, the earthquake construction requirements were upgraded to the same level as Japan and the United States. In the midst of the swarm of earthquake activity a hurricane blew in from the Caribbean Sea, water adds an entirely new level to any disaster.
  This year of record-breaking storms sure puts reality in its place, earlier in the year during the snow melt the concern was overflowing dams and rivers going over their banks. Oroville Dam, still an issue, however, it is being repaired with completion estimated for fall 2018. The California Department of Water Resources reports they are on target for a good temporary fix by the end of November 2017.
  The Anderson Dam in San Jose is undergoing repairs as well, the channel (Coyote Creek) is being deepened, widened and the levees are being improved. The Mayor was on TV last week accepting full responsibility for the entire mess, it's rare for a politician to make a statement such as that. They do have the resources to repair the damage.
  Houston's Dam failure was much bigger than the Anderson Dam, however, they shared just about the same characteristics. Both released water during an extremely high rain event, (let's not forget Houston's was much larger) and the water ended up in residential areas. Houston got 4 feet of rain whereas San Jose gained water from rain but mostly snow runoff. I am hoping the Texan's are planning repairs to all of the critical infrastructures that were destroyed, they are such a resilient people I cannot imagine them not making improvements. The news is hard to come by concerning Houston right now, which is understandable, they are cleaning up and drying out.
  Florida is up to their eyebrows in cleanup as well, they did not have any dam issues, but man do they have water. Cleanup is going full steam ahead as it appears from afar, I imagine things are much better when the water is drained and gone. They have high humidity there and when combined with the 80-90+ degree temperatures it is unbearable especially when there is no relief to be found anywhere. The CDC has advise on dealing with the heat. (link)
  The disasters sure put a new perspective on life from my viewpoint, the disasters I thought were nearly unbearable earlier in the year, now seems not so after Houston, Florida, Mexico and Puerto Rico. The wildfires in the west were outrageously horrible as well, loss of life, property, and livestock, yes it will take a long time to recover fully, but at least they can start now. It is my experience that it takes two years for a house that suffers total destruction from a fire to go through the insurance requirements and the actual rebuild. In comparison, it will take six months for the Houston and Florida areas impacted just to dig out and clean up enough to start rebuilding. Depending on the structure, repairs can not begin until engineering, design, and acceptance of plans is achieved. It takes weeks to modify a blueprint, just one part of it, most large projects (Dams, Bridges, and waterways) have hundreds of blueprints, all must be drawn, checked and approved prior to the first shovel of dirt being turned over. A question some of us may have is "why don't they just use the old drawings?" The answer is simple, that design failed, it has to be done correctly from the ground up.

Big projects need big equipment and lots of manpower.

  It will take Mexico and Puerto Rico, on the other hand, a year just to dig out and clean up, unbelievably Mexico will most likely recover quicker than Puerto Rico. Mexico is a step ahead, they have upgraded their building codes years ago, one less hurdle, they do know what they are doing. Unfortunately, when the codes are re-written they can only be imposed on new construction, regular homeowners and landlords generally do not have the funds to comply. Eventually, all of the pre-1985 buildings will be gone, I hope not with the price of loss of life.
  Suffering the most is Puerto Rico, two huge earthquakes, dam failure most likely, complete loss of all utilities and the infrastructure destroyed. The entire country needs to be rebuilt, everything is gone. The electric generating plants have been reported to be an operative condition with little or damage, however, the delivery system is gone. All of the switchyards, power poles and lines are above ground, and as most of the power lines in the U.S. in need of repairs. I'm sure this is jumping the gun a bit, I hope it's not callous of me but I will say it anyway. Is this a golden opportunity to energize all of the houses, restaurants and other small to medium users with solar? If it's so profitable for the solar companies in California (I don't know if the companies are doing the same in every state) to install panels "free", why can't it be done in P.R.? For larger establishments small generating plants (gas turbines) could be built at all of the critical establishments, Hospitals, Police and Government offices, they are available in deliverable "skids" producing as much as 20 megawatts. The excess electricity could be injected into the "grid" and sold to other users. Would it be faster, easier and cheaper to energize each entity on its own rather than take on restoring power to 3 million people? If small gas turbine plants were installed throughout the country the only hardcore infrastructure that would be needed is a high-pressure natural gas line supplying them. The Government spoke's person this morning stated the main focus is on restoring power and water, she also said that all areas of the country have not been heard from.
  What about the houses and other structures? It sure looks like a shortage of building materials is coming, cement, wood, bricks, and steel, needed for a million homes or more. Florida upgraded the building codes there as well, after reading about the changes that were made the people that did not evacuate made more sense. A lot of the homes, new construction, are built to withstand a Catagory 3 hurricane, that explains why people kept saying on TV (Weather channel) they do not evacuate unless the storm exceeds Category 3. I still question the people choosing to "ride it out" on their boats, how did they end up, I have never heard. Have you ever thought of how fast a lot of people could be evacuated if we had a healthy railroad system? A state like Florida could run a line from Miami north and serve the entire state moving thousands of people out of harm's way days before landfall, just another pipe dream I have.

It could work, if we took train travel seriously. 

  The Dams, it is so easy to sit back on my chair and criticize Dams, however, it would not be as easy to explain away devastating floods if we did not have them. I have studied Dams just enough to be dangerous, I studied the Dam building era. The engineering can be criticized, the materials and locations can be as well, I won't do that, they are built and now we have to accept whatever they offer. I do question if repairs and modifications are enough in light of what appears to be ever increasing the intensity of these storms. All records are breakable, if predictions are accurate the rainfall and storms will increase in intensity and rain volume. Maybe the Dams all need to be examined, California has over 2,000 operating Dams, Texas has in excess of 3300, that's a lot of work. Information concerning the era of the Dam Builders click here.
  A lot of jobs will be available in construction over the next decade, that is how long it will take to rebuild and redesign completely. There will be more storms, more powerful is yet to be known for sure but it cannot be ignored, the Dams must be able to hold back the predictable amount of water, with a way to release the overage in a safe way and not into housing sub-divisions.
  Thanks for reading and sharing my blog, leave a comment or question.

jacquesandkate  emergencykitsplus.com

Puerto Rico what would life be without electricity, the entire island is dark, here is a few things we can do to survive.

An awakening of sorts occurred in the early 1950's in the U.S.A., the first "pulsator type" washing machine hit our shores from Japan, they reached the U.S. market in 1953. Also, television began in earnest to become what the major broadcasting companies are today, they started to broadcast very aggressively. A better design of refrigerator was also making its debut in the American market. 1953

The electric motor tells us this is one of the "new" style washers. My mom's
had a hand wringer on it, of course that was a kids job, "stop your sniveling
and keep cranking" she would shout over the sound of the motor running. Yes
some had gasoline motors.

was becoming so "electrified" by the expansion of the use of home appliances it has been referred to as "the year of electrification". Due in part to the three sacred "treasures" 1) Black and white TV, 2) New modern refrigerators 3) The washing machine. By the time 1973 rolled around, most households owned these 3 appliances, we have added much more since then. Sitting in a dark room suffering from insomnia, how many little green and red lights do you count? They are everywhere now like the camera's on cell phones, we take all the "stuff" that is plugged in for granted, whether we like them or not. I pay close attention to the disaster's that play out in the world, I have a lot of compassion for the lives that are affected by the severity of these unbelievable natural disasters. A report from Puerto Rico states the entire island does not have electricity, what would life be without electricity? Internet outage, power blackouts, indoor lighting without electricity. In the past 100 years, our demand for electricity has only increased, it has never decreased, I fear we take it for granted. What in your opinion is the most important electrical discovery in the past 100 years? (Leave your answer in the comments.)
  The production of electric power is very expensive, the producers spend an enormous amount of money to make an equally enormous amount of money as profit. The industry demands large amounts of water and fuel to produce the megawatts that are in high demand in these most modern of times. The plants using gas turbines as heat sources are much more efficient than the old solid fuel plants. I worked in plants burning natural gas in a gas turbine, wood waste in the form of 2-inch chips, and petroleum coke which is a by-product of the gasoline processing industry. To make electricity a lot of fuel is needed, and when it comes in the form of solid fuel the cost to produce power increases substantially due to the amount of maintenance on the fuel feed systems and the ash systems. That is a major influencer in the reason the demand for coal is in a terminal nosedive, coal will never be a major fuel in producing electrical power again. Petroleum Coke is actually "synthetic coal", its use as well has been curtailed to the point of it being obsolete as well. The production of electricity is dependent on a lot of equipment, all of it runs on the "parasitic" electrical demand on the plant. The "parasitic" load on the plant can be as large as one megawatt, 1.000.000 watts. In the event of an earthquake occurring while the plant is online, (I worked in plants brought down by mild earthquakes, lightning storms, and high winds, the plants shut themselves down automatically.) After the plant shuts down due to shaking, lightning strike or any other outside influence, the entire plant must be inspected, mechanically and electrically. Upon completion of the inspections, the plant can once again run, some of the big plants that burned solid fuel took as many as 3 days to achieve full power, sometimes it takes longer depending on difficulties encountered during "startup", it takes a long time to make steam from a "cold" plant. It is common for a plant to experience damage during startup that may force it into an outage, termed as a "forced outage" the plant is then doomed to be inoperative until the repairs are made. The repairs depending on the damage incurred have the potential of lasting anywhere from a few days to a few month's, sometimes a year or more. If the plant outage is joined by a utility outage, that is outside lines, transformers, and other delivery equipment, the outage has the potential to last a long time, I suspect as is occurring in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Marie laid waste to the island inhabited by 3.4+ million people. The plants generally handle an emergency shutdown very well and are able to start right back up after the inspections are completed, however, that can still take several days. I stated these facts to enlighten people a little as to what it takes for the "miracle" to happen, walk up to the switch on the wall, flick it up and voila! there are lights, heat or entertainment.

A Large Coal fired plant, that appears to be steam coming out of the stacks,
to know for sure a closer look is needed, sometimes ammonia crystals cause
the stacks to plume like that, but in the end I'm not sure what it consist of. 

  After a catastrophic disaster surviving without electricity becomes a rock solid new reality, we must find a way to live without electricity for at least a week or more.
  1)  How can we produce indoor lighting without electricity? The most obvious would be battery powered lanterns, a stock of batteries is needed and stored ahead of time, a lot of batteries. Solar lights can be used, either a self-charging solar lamp or a stand-alone solar cell providing a battery charging bank as a "trickle charger". Inexpensive solar systems are available, a cell large enough to charge a 12-volt battery or better yet several 12-volt batteries will provide power for multiple lights and energy to charge our electrical gadgets. Camping lanterns, propane, or white gas work well, are convenient and inexpensive to use, and one advantage to camping lanterns is they generate a moderate amount of heat, not enough to heat a house but it will raise the temperature a few degrees. Tea lamps may be part of the answer, they are a small candle powered light capable of producing enough electricity to charge a cell phone or taking a much longer time a laptop may be charged. Candles may also be used, the age-old solution for lack of lighting will never go out of use. Another source of light may be had with "Hurricane lamps", growing up we had several throughout the house set up and ready for use in the event of a severe blizzard or a tornado, that far north Hurricanes are not a worry. Hurricane lamps are the old fashion looking glass globe lights, inside is a wick of cotton about 1/2 - 1 inch wide and approx. 1/4 inch thick. The reservoir is filled with lamp oil, the wick draws the fuel up, we light it and sure enough, you will have lights. The final suggestion and possible solution may be a power generator purchased and connected directly to your breaker box for use in an outage. The same can be said for a complete house solar system, of course, both must be installed prior to a utility outage. Be sure to know how to use whatever it is that is decided on for lighting, electrical shocks can kill, inexperience while working with electricity is able to kill as well. I prefer using propane camping lanterns for lighting backed up with a few Hurricane lamps and some candles.

This is a "Tea Lamp", generating enough electricity to charge a cell phone.

  2)  Cooking during an electrical blackout can be a challenge as well, however, if like me you are a bar-b-que kind of person, they work well for meals. Keep in mind water will need to be boiled, it can be boiled on an outdoor grill but it takes a lot of fuel. Camp stoves are a solution to boiling water, one burner or two, they are available in all kinds of sizes and configurations. I  recommend a two burner dual fuel stove, they burn either white gas or unleaded gasoline, enabling us to cook for a month on less than 5 gallons of fuel. A home wood fired stove may be used for boiling water and cooking some food items, it pays to keep in mind it will take an enormous amount of time to cook a meal on one. Cooking on an open fire is possible, boiling water can be achieved as well, the shortcoming is if there is enough fuel available. I prefer my camping stove, many years ago we bought a free standing propane stove that makes use of a 5-gallon propane tank, it seems to be less efficient than the dual fuel camp stove but the convenience is worth it. A huge pot for boiling water is a must, water will be scarce.
  3)  If it's cool outside heating without electricity may be a challenge as well. There is a huge concern when it comes to heating during a power outage,  Carbon monoxide, do not warm your home with an outside grill, hibachi, unvented gas, kerosene or solid fuel heater, the potential for CO2 to gather in your home is huge. Do not sit in your vehicle while it is running in an enclosed space, also if you do run your motor vehicle do not do so with the access door to your house open.
  A good answer for heating a home is a wood burning stove, they are much more efficient than a fireplace and will not allow warm air to escape up the flue. A wood burning stove must be installed prior to a disaster event, knowledge of how to use them is important. Pellet stoves are another choice, my house is heated by a pellet stove year around, some are capable of running off of a car battery, it's a good way to go for heat.
  Of course, we can always bundle up, long johns, wool socks, heavy trousers and a warm jacket.
  4)  Water without electricity, my main focus is having enough water, we can live up to 4 days with no water, on the 4th day we begin to die from dehydration. A case of 24 one pint bottles of water is enough to supply one person, 1/2 gallon a day, for one week. It will take 4 cases per person per month for drinking only, no hygiene water, no cooking water, and no coffee water. A water purification system is a device that is worth having in your survival kits, there are many on the market. A large coffee percolator will suffice for boiling water, making coffee and making soup, that's a pretty good use of one item. Purchase a gallon of unscented bleach and add that to your disaster supplies as well, for water purification and hygiene considerations it is a must-have.

We need to have some means to boil water, this will work, depending upon where
you live fuel may be a problem.

  Surviving without electricity in this day and age is inconvenient at best and deadly in it's worst case. If a member of your family is disabled and dependent on electricity definitely if it's within your means purchase a generator for your house. Hire an electrical engineer to spec out the size for your needs, to merely run out and purchase a 1.5kv generator may be a poor choice if it ends up being too small for the equipment it is supposed to power. Be certain you will have access to whatever fuel it burns, and make for sure your fuel storage capabilities are up to the consumption demands of the unit, if they are not they will have to be constructed. Another alternative for a disabled person would be to evacuate to a location out of the disaster zone.
  I certainly don't trivialize the recent disasters we are suffering in Florida, Texas, and Mexico but there is one thing I always get back to, something that is near and dear to my heart. I must have coffee in the morning, I do not have now, however, I do plan on purchasing a propane powered coffee pot and a case of coffee, caffeinated coffee.
  I can only imagine the suffering the victims of the three disasters are going through, In some instances, all the preparation in the world would not have changed things for them. In other cases it may have answered nicely, most of the time preparation and planning are worth much more than the expense and hassle of putting it all together. By just taking the time to construct an emergency plan with your family you will find it will pay off greatly, especially if no one in the family is home or is not in contact with the others, this one document has the capability of saving one or all of your loved one's lives and it's free to put together.
 

This will do. 

This is by far not a complete list, but it does address a few concerns, offering answers that work, nothing fancy, most of the stuff is available in the garage (if you are like me, it seems I'm a borderline hoarder sometimes.) camping gear, and other miscellaneous items we can put to good use. It fits right into our company's mission statement which reads partly to "become as self-reliant as we possibly can be." I encourage you to be, please pay attention to my numerous water warnings, it is the most important piece of survival equipment we can have. Keep a case of water per person on hand, that will last 7 days if you drink the minimal amount of water required by the human body to survive.
  Thank you for reading and sharing the blog, leave a comment and tell me what you think.
jacquesandkate  emergencykitsplus.com

How are Hurricanes born, Why is the West Coast immune to them? I explain it here.

  Hurricanes are flaky, unpredictable, powerful, very destructive and very wet, they are a water fueled event, losing much of their strength after achieving landfall. How are they formed, where and how do they gain and lose their strength? It's not real complicated but there is a lot to the formation of a Hurricane, I will explore and explain the catastrophic beginnings that impact the East Coast of the United States, it will describe the steps as they occur throughout the world.

The birth place of Tropical Storms that impact the Eastern U.S. and Southern Islands.

  Tropical Hurricanes are fickle, all of the right conditions must be present in order for one to begin to form, as soon as those conditions break down, so does the storm. Mostly all Hurricanes (Cyclones are nearly the same, I will refer to both as "Hurricanes") have a beginning as a "tropical disturbance". Areas of thunderstorms and active weather in the tropics, in the case of our "Eastern" impacting storms most originate off the coast of Africa. Often "cold fronts" coming from the North make their way into tropical areas, meeting the warm air and ocean of the tropics. During Hurricane season unsettled stormy weather, referred to as a "tropical wave" will blow over the Atlantic from Africa. Several conditions must be met in order for these areas to form into a tropical storm or Hurricane, they are:
  1) A tropical thunderstorm
  2) It must be 300 miles from the equator. (500 kilometer's)
  3) The water temperature of the ocean must be 80 degrees F (27C) or warmer to a depth of at least 165 feet deep (50 meters apprx.) in the ocean.
  4) The atmosphere must be saturated with moisture.
  5) Very low wind shear is needed. too much and the storm will not be able to spin.
  A tropical storm will form once all of these conditions are met, pressure in the center of the depression will drop allowing strong winds to rush towards it when it achieves a wind speed past 39 miles per hour it is then officially called a "tropical storm", it is then named. Irma performed just like this on August 30th, 2017 picking up speed and energy as it transversed the Atlantic Ocean driven by the trade winds. Measuring and tracking all of the data collected by means of instruments on islands, buoy's and aircraft that fly directly into the storms measuring wind speeds. Predicting the path of a storm as well as all of the parameter's involved is expensive, each prediction cost several million dollars, many lives are saved when the predictions are accurate.
  Hurricanes gather energy as they move across regions of water that is warmer than is common, and the wind shear is minimal causing the pressure in the eye to drop even further. That is when the wind really intensify's, as the monster is being created it is able to gain or lose strength as it progresses across the wide span of warm tropic water. Hurricanes are cataloged as dictated by the Saffir-Simpson scale, the base measurement is their wind speed, then a prediction of the extent of potential damage is enabled. When the wind speed is 74 miles per hour or greater the tropical storm is then categorized as a Hurricane. There are 5 Hurricane categories, most of us have heard the terminology I will list and briefly explain them:

Lightning and thunder are part of it all, tornado's are as well.

  1) Category 1: Wind speed of 74-95 mph, minor damage forecast, injuries to humans minimal and isolated, short term power outages.
  2) Category 2: Wind speed of 96-110, property damage is significant with flooding, falling and blowing debris increases the threat to humans, power outages become a multi-day event.
  3) Category 3: Wind speed of 111-130 mph, property damage is intensive with mobile homes destroyed and extensive flooding, evacuations of humans is mandatory, lose of all utilities for up to several weeks.
  4) Category 4: Wind speed of 131-151 mph, great property damage is incurred houses and structures destroyed beyond repair, threat of death is serious in certain areas for humans, very long term utility outages.
  5) Category 5: Wind speed of greater than 155mph, complete destruction of homes and shopping centers, many trees are blown over uprooting them, the possibility of lack of utility's is extended to months.
  For a comparison Hurricane Irma achieved wind speeds of 185 miles per hour, that's a powerful wind. I was once in a wind storm that had gusting winds of up to 80 mph, once in a while we have those kinds of winds, it destroyed our dock, breaking the 12" diameter wood pylons off at the mud line on the bottom. I was on the dock at the time tying down a huge boat we were storing for a person, the wind caught the boat by the broadside causing pressure on the pylons. The first pylon sounded like an explosion, then immediately after that the other two snapped, wind is powerful.
  That's how Hurricanes are made, and it's only one half of the Hurricanes life cycle, the second act is the degrading cycle and how it loses it's energy and dissipates into thin air. Warm moist water feeds them, the warmer the ocean temp the more energy a Hurricane gathers, that is until it makes landfall. As the storm loses the warm water it weakens, there is no water over land so they basically run out of gas however when they reach wind speeds of under 75 miles per hour they are down graded to "tropical storm" status. A Hurricane can head back out to sea, enabling it to once again achieves wind speeds that classify it as a Hurricane, sometimes as with Hurricane Hermine in 2016 they make landfall and are down graded only to energize after returning to sea, they can make land fall again. But when the Hurricane is on land it gradually weakens to the point of becoming a storm as it moves North, dumping great amounts of rain with gusting winds it is doomed to never live in it's glory days ever again, it has died.
  Even though not classified as a Hurricane a tropical storm is still capable of causing extensive damage, as in 2012 "Super-storm Sandy" was not a Hurricane when it made landfall and destroyed New Jersey and New York. It's hard to even imagine a storm being more destructive than a tropical storm that morphs into a Hurricane, I've tried in my mind to equate blizzards and wildfire destruction to them, there is no comparison. The extremely high winds and massive amounts of rain causing flooding, as well as the unbelievable cleanup in its path make Hurricanes the worst storm we encounter. Earthquakes can cause as much damage, without water, when the flooding is added it's like making bread, a little water goes a long way in the batter.

It doesn't take a lot of water to make bread, it doesn't take a lot
during a hurricane to make it unmanageable. 

  The people in Houston and Florida have lost everything, as I explained it to one of my grandson's (20 years old), if they want to brush their teeth all they need is a toothbrush but they don't have one, neither does the store, a mop, nope, how about socks no don't have them either, same with every thing, they lost it all. Recovering will take many years, if they can recover completely is another question, it takes hundreds of years to build a city or state, when they are destroyed in mere days the old sing song "Rome wasn't built in a day", takes on a whole new meaning.
 thanks for reading and sharing, leave a comment or question, I answer everyone, I enjoy writing and talking to everyone.
jacquesandkate  emergencykitsplus.com

What steers the Hurricanes, Why the East Coast and not the West Coast? The answer is here.

  As I was watching the onslaught of the Southwestern, and Midwestern U.S. of Irma and Harvey they displayed a very irrational course of travel. I have (as most other people most likely) have wondered what in the world can steer a phenomenon as big and powerful as a hurricane. I look at where the islands are and sometimes it appears the storms follow either the inside path with islands on each side or the outside path and up the east coast. The inside path looks almost to "bounce" off the edges and center of each island. The outside to the north appears to be guided on its left side, (North is to the right), then travels up the east coast. Another thought I seem to have at least once a month is why don't we on the west coast ever suffer hurricanes. They do start down around South America and travel North, mostly they fizzle out by the time they get to about 100 miles south of San Diego. One of the goals of the Haarp project was to "steer" tornado's and hurricanes, it did not work.
 

It's a small map for a lot of  violent storms. 

Hurricane Forecast consists of not only it's predicted path but storm surge, wind speed, temperature and future pressure. The forecast cost in the millions of dollars to produce, employing people on the ground in the vicinity of the storm, sending storm equipped aircraft over the storm, many instruments and television crews. The money is well spent, the forecast saves many lives during the season. The forecast will pinpoint where the Hurricane is most likely to track, making evacuation's much easier and logical. Accurate predictions strengthen the trust the people have in the professional weather forecasting personnel and the company's providing such services. Corporations that deal with dangerous chemicals and toxins are able to prepare their company's for the storm by relocating the stock or other precautionary measures. The chemical plant in Houston that experienced the explosion was able to tell the authorities a day prior to the fire due to taking advantage of the knowledge gleaned from the forecast. The area around the plant was evacuated and kept vacant until the threat was over. The weathermen have to be very accurate with the actual path of the storm following their prediction. An accurate Hurricane forecast is instrumental in saving lives and protecting assets.
  Do Hurricanes use the islands and Continent to guide their track? Hurricanes are among the most powerful storms on the planet, huge circulating high-velocity clouds spinning ever faster toward the center eye. Meteorologists predict where a Hurricane will make landfall by the standard warm and cold fronts of the many-layered latitudes, they are called baroclinic storms or extratropical cyclones. Defined as a storm system that gathers energy from the temperature changes in the horizontal levels of the storm, the contrasts of temperature fuel these types of Hurricanes. Baroclinic storms or extratropical storms are low-pressure systems that are related to cold fronts, warm fronts, and occluded fronts, the strongest winds of these storms are about 8 miles up. Tropical Cyclones highest winds are at or near the surface of the earth. A tropical hurricane would stay where it is if it wasn't for the temperature variations, the difference in temperature drives the storm forward, actually pushing it through the atmosphere and driving worldwide weather. I noticed that effect with Harvey, the winds after the monster made landfall were occurring far to the north, it appeared to be up to southern Iowa and as far east as Indiana, the hurricane driving weather was obvious.

The west coast of the U.S. is to the left, notice the wind directions, the
east coast is on the right, here the wind pushes the hurricane's
towards Florida. 

  The track of a Hurricane also depends upon where it originated, one that formed in the eastern Atlantic (off the coast of Africa) is forced west in the trade winds that travel west in the tropics. Generally, these storms head in a Northwesterly direction headed for the Eastern U.S. after dredging over the top of many islands. There are three bands of wind circulating around our planet, the entire global wind pattern is called "general circulation", each hemisphere has three wind belts of their own.
  Northern Hemisphere wind belts are Polar Easterlies, Prevailing Westerlies, and the Tropical Easterlies.
  Southern Hemisphere wind belts include: The Tropical Easterlies (there are two of them) the Prevailing Westerlies (two here as well) and the Polar Easterlies (go figure, they share the same names whether North or South.)
  The path is determined which wind belt the Hurricane is in, making them more predictable. A Hurricane that developed off the coast of Africa is driven Northeast by the tropical easterly's, then as it travels far north it is caught in the Prevailing westerlies (just south of New Jersey) from there it is pushed to the East and out into the ocean, there are many paths a storm can take on the East Coast. This also explains why Hurricanes never reach the West Coast of the U.S.
  Hurricanes Don't go up the West Coast, what's with that? The same effect that takes place on the East Coast is at work on the West Coast, the exception is the Tropical Easterlies blow from North to Southwest on a bias. The effect of this is the storms are blown West from about 100 miles south of San Diego, as long as that wind belt stays constant, it would be an extremely rare occurrence for a Hurricane to make landfall in California. It does cause some Hurricanes to head towards Hawaii or the open ocean.

Pacific Hurricane tracks 1980-2005, a bit messy but it does
make a point, this is 25 years of storms.

  The wind belts keep the storms in the Gulf of Mexico and the Eastern United States, The Indian Ocean region and the South China Sea Create the other Hurricanes of the world. The storms in the Southwestern Pacific Ocean head towards Australia or Asia, yes depending on what wind belt they are born in. Read everything you ever wanted to read about Hurricanes, link.
  What does steer Hurricanes? Wind and Temperature, the earth's wind currents and the temperature of the levels of the atmosphere. There is a lot to Hurricane forecasting, this is by far not very much of it, I started out wondering if the islands and mainland's steer them. No, they don't, I'm now wondering how much the wind belts had to do with forming the islands. That's just how my mind works.
  There's a whole world out here full of questions and short of answers, I sometimes wonder how much will ever be figured out. There is another series of Hurricanes heading for the Islands and the East Coast, I don't know how many the people will be able to withstand. I also wonder if and when we will start abandoning areas that get pummeled by storms, one a year is probably withstandable, but what about 2-3 or 4? How in the world can these areas prepare for these disasters if they come stacked on top of each other? How many times in one year will people be able to withstand the loss of everything and bounce back?
  Thanks for reading, please share it and comment.
jacquesandkate emergencykitsplus.com
   

Oaxaca earthquake, the one thing we can't live with and we can't live without, no it's not what you're thinking.

On September 7, 2017, an 8.1 magnitude earthquake occurred 600 miles from Mexico City, off the Southern Coast of Mexico, the strongest quake to hit Mexico in 100 years. 50 million people felt the trembler, knocking some out of bed in their pajama's into the dark streets. The Mexican States of Chiapas and Oaxaca were hit the hardest, they are closest to the earthquake's epicenter, 9 million people populate the two States. At least 55 people were killed in the hardest hit regions, 45 in Oaxaca, 12 in Chiapas, and four in Tobasco. A total of 61 people lost their lives. After shocks reported by the United States Geographical Society measured above 5.0 (Richter scale), the earthquake's epicenter was 43 miles deep, shallow for an earthquake as stated by USGS geophysicist.

Mexico City is a little hard to spot, it's below Hidalgo, the white spot. The reason I added it is it does show the earthquakes epicenter, in the gulf of Tahuantepec, approximately 600 miles from the Capital.

The shallow depth translates into more severe shaking, normally accompanied with a Tsunami of which this one was not neglected of. Tsunami waves of taller than 10 feet may hit the Mexican coast, and 3-foot waves may be experienced in Ecuador and as far away as New Zealand. In the Mexican City of Juchaitan De Zaragoza in Oaxaca State the hospital collapsed, the patients had to evacuate, medical treatment commenced in the parking lot under the lights of cell phones. I am always amazed at the human spirit, although I shouldn't be, most people run toward a disaster and want to become a contributing source of help, I should stop being amazed, however, I don't think it's healthy to not be. 36 lives were lost in Juchaitan De Zaragoza, Mexico (this number is included in the 45 deaths that occurred in Oaxaca) thousands of homes were damaged it is unknown if they can be rebuilt. The mayor of Juchaitan De Zaragoza, Gloria Sanchez Lopez asked for help "don't leave us alone," she pleaded, "We are in a total disaster." This was one of the strongest earthquakes in Latin American history. One person in Guatemala perished as well. In Mexico City, where reminders of the devastating 1985 earthquake are still visible which resulted in 9-10,000 lives extinguished. (The anniversary of the 1985 event is September 19.). Mexico City sounded the alarm, (for the latest quake) people began to stream out of their homes onto the street, of its 9 million residents, two people experienced injuries.
  As is usual in these devastating catastrophic events people were trapped in collapsed buildings, many volunteers working frantically to free them. The large trucks were having a very difficult time transversing the roads, private vehicles took over delivering basic medical supplies, trauma supplies, food, and water. The people of Juchitan dug through the collapsed buildings and other wreckage digging for survivors, by hand, backhoe, and shovels. Cleanup began in the early afternoon, while recovery continued.
  After the 1985 earthquake, Mexico strengthened their building codes to equal Japan's and the United States, they learned a valuable lesson. The earthquake of September 7th was impressive due to its force and the length of time it lasted, placing an indelible mark in the minds of Mexico City residents.

We will get involved, all of us. 

  The earthquake epicenter was in the middle America Trench at a place where one slab called the "Cocos" plate slides under the America Trench in an action known as "subduction". Its movement is extremely slow, traveling at about 3 inches a year building up the pressure as it goes. Suddenly at one point, the stress becomes too much for the plate to withstand and it shears, causing an earthquake, in this case, a shallow one. The sudden collapse of the plate is also capable of moving a lot of water very rapidly, Tsunami is created, capable of traveling throughout the ocean world until it collides with the land and as in Japan 2011, (9.1 magnitude) chapter two of a terrible disaster plays out. The quake in Japan was 30 times more powerful than this one off the coast of Mexico.
  Earthquakes are unpredictable, Geologist will sometimes issue a press release pertaining to how close they are to being able to predict them, I believe one year they will be able to. Earthquakes happen on every continent in the world, some places are more prone, the circle of fire surrounding the Pacific Ocean being one. The movement of the plates have created all of the earth's mountain ranges, and changed the course of rivers, (the New Madrid Earthquake in Missouri of 1811) caused the mighty Mississippi to flow backward. A little-known fact is in August of 1802 the great spiritual leader Tecumseh (Shawnee) predicted the quake by stating "when the earth shakes and the great river reverses its course we will meet at that spot." 9 years before it happened. (believe 1/2 of what you see and none of what you read, it is a legend with no proof.) The fact remains, however, the course of many rivers have had their courses changed and stopped by earthquakes.
  Have you heard of the Spanish Galleons that were found in the middle of the Southern California desert? It is said that on the North Shore of Baja California deep beneath the surface is a Geological formation called the "Anvil". I am relating this as it was told to me by the manager of a Power Generating Plant I was employed at, so a grain of salt is suggested. The desert was an ocean in the 1600's when the ship floated north, the sea was already drying up. What reportedly occurs is every 1,000 years or so an earthquake occurs that either closes or opens the "anvil" when it's closed the water does not flow underground north, when it opens it does. The water will flow under the sand until it fills up the underground aquifers, turning the ground into quick sand, the water rises to a level where I was, just under 100 feet, the ocean takes over. Palm Springs would be underwater, it's no wonder the Native Americans lived in the mountains bordering the city.

I've been in El Centro, I never looked for the ship, I don't know what remains of it, it's a good subject for another blog. 

  As with every other catastrophic disaster, the addition of water complicates matters many times over, the same is with earthquakes. Hurricane Harvey is the most obvious recipient of a double whammy, but then Hurricanes are a water event. Not so with earthquakes, when a tsunami is created it is the worst of the bad. An inland quake is mostly total devastation of the hardest hit areas, but dry, most earthquakes I have experienced were low magnitude and surprised me and the people around me. (please leave a comment if that's what you have experienced,) They all surprise me, I've been in several, the Loma Prieta was big, I felt it, but I lived 300 miles from the epicenter, we had no damage. I have experienced most of the small ones with the same reaction as the people around me, it begins and we look at each other, dismayed, someone calls out "was that an earthquake?", truly that's how I've experienced them.

Good photo of  what causes earthquakes, or how they occur, the cause takes many eons to build up pressure.

  This Earthquake is different in many ways, however, one way that it will be remembered is that on its tail is a Hurricane, how much water in the form of rain will it bring to complicate an already terrible situation? With not enough water, we die, with too much water we die, water in the wrong spot, we die, it's true about water, as well, "we can't live with it and we can't live without it."
  So many natural disasters that have occurred in September, so many humans impacted, the truth is it can happen anywhere at any time. My battle cry "store water" it's our most in demand commodity, we don't realize it because it is so readily available. Have we taken the availability of water for granted? I think we have, purchase at least 4 cases of water and store them, rotate them through your house hold inventory, but please stock up on them. The way I think of it is I am going to buy the water anyway why not buy 4 today then replace the one on the top of the stack with a fresh one at the bottom as they are used. In the long run, the cost is identical, I will drink the water anyway, so think about it, buy a few cases you'll be a few steps ahead and you won't get dehydrated during a disaster. A final thought, in the aftermath of Irma, 6 million people were displaced, it translates to 3 million gallons of water per day just to supply enough for people to drink, it will pay to stock up.
  Thank you for reading, please comment, and share with everyone. I have added a button if you wish for the blog to be emailed to you. Thanks.

jacquesandkate  emergencykitsplus.com

Survival bunkers and underground survival shelters is it worth the effort? Read this and decide.

I wrote a blog a few weeks ago about the repercussions of a catastrophic disaster rendering the San Francisco Bay Area and the surrounding area, about a 100-mile radius, without electric power, water or any utilities. Part of that was a few paragraphs on the "preppers" who plan on evacuating to a secluded location. (What is a prepper? Click here) That's all fine, I have no problems with that, however, it started me thinking, after I stated: "we will need farmers, not soldiers." How much do we eat per year per person and how many acres would it take to provide food for one person for the duration of one year. It is my belief that most people (myself included) have no idea the amount of water, land and work it takes to provide for one person for a period of one year. Let's start:

An abandoned ammunition bunker is a ready made survival structure.

One ton, 1996 pounds of food eaten on average by every man woman and child in the United States.
  1) Dairy, we each consume 630 pounds of milk, cheese, heavy cream, and all dairy, 31 pounds of cheese each. Per person per year, this tells me I'm going to need a milking cow, 4 to supply 25 people for a year. It involves raising alfalfa, corn, and other cattle feed, good feed makes good milk, more acreage, and a pasture. One-half acre for the four cows, a pasture would have to be a rotating 2 1/2 acres which equal 5. While one side is growing feed such as "vetch" the other 2 1/2 acres is being grazed by the cows. Of course either we will need a bull or find someone that has one, being in the middle of nowhere that will be difficult, the cows must be pregnant every two years or so. If we want butter, ice cream, cream, and cheese, we will have to make it from scratch, which means at some point some one will have to make the processing equipment. If you are interested in the very confusing subject of how many acres it takes to raise a steer click here.
  2) 270.7 pounds of chicken, turkey, beef and pork, this doesn't sound like too large of an amount.  Beef consumption has been on the decline since the 1970's, Poultry surpassed beef as the meat most consumed by Americans, just over the past few years. Pork consumption has also been on the rise, although slightly over the past few years. Approximately 55 pounds of beef, 60 pounds of chicken, 42 pounds of pork, and approximately 18 pounds of turkey per year per person. We will need 7 steers per year to feed 25 people, now granted we're talking about 12-14 children and 10-12 adults so 7 steers may be one or two too many. Then we will need about the same amount of hogs for pork, almost the same amount, 5 hogs would supply what we need, 750 chickens would supply 120 1/2 pound servings per person. Turkey is much lower, one turkey per person per year, if they average 15 pounds, which is a fairly small bird.
  The pasture will have to be much larger, or summer grazing would have to be eliminated, 10 acres of pasture for the milk cows, bull, and steers, rotated between growing various feed grains plus feeding out a little. The animals are also able to forage for themselves, it's still done in the Sierra Nevada's, the steers are driven up the mountains in the spring and rounded up in the fall. That means we'd have to have horses, and know how to drive cattle, I personally have no idea how that is done. The dairy cows and the bull will have to stay home, as well as at least one steer. The pigs will need a pen, they are fairly simple to take care of, they are pretty content in a well built spacious pen, 5 hogs would need a pen of about 1/8th of an acre. A plus with hogs when they free range is they are prolific snake killers, so if there are rattle snakes around they won't be if there are pigs around. There will be chickens every where, One layer per egg per day, we will need at least 25 layers to supply eggs, allowing some eggs to hatch to supply the 750 we will need over the year.

That is one big hog on the far side of that horse, unless that's
a small breed of horse.

  3)  Vegetable and fruit consumption has been on the decline for the past 10 years, consumption has fallen from 300 pounds per person per year (2003) to 272 pounds (2013). That statistic is a little misleading, potatoes, orange juice, and lettuce made up 22 pounds of the 28 pound decline, Americans are consuming more of other vegetables, we are still eating them, however, we are now supplementing them with a wider variety. In a bunker situation we would raise a lot of root vegetable's, turnips, beets, squash, potatoes and the like, the reason is they store easier than some others. Beans, (dried) onions, garlic, peppers, and herbs would be basic crops. We will need one acre per person to grow all of the vegetables we will need for one complete year. A 25 acre farm will be needed and is the reason I said the preponderance of the population of our small group will have to be experienced farmers and ranchers. It will take 1/4 acre per person just to raise enough potatoes to supply us for 6 months, harvest would be done, then planting would begin. If we are fortunate enough to live in an area that experiences mild winters we will have a winter crop. We will have to grow some vegetables for seed as well, after onions, garlic, and other root crops go to seed they get tough and stringy, but still edible, we will have to have seeds.
  4)  Equipment, land, and storage will be a huge concern, will we have fuel? Most likely the first few years we will, maybe we will be able to make our own biofuel, alcohol is simple to make, diesel engines are capable of burning a lot of variations of fuel. It will take a lot of fuel to farm 25 acres and control as many animals as is needed to survive. Custom equipment and implements will have to be constructed, special equipment the types of which has not been used in this country for at least 100 years. Horse drawn, human operated, steam or water and wind power may be used, such as a windmill for providing power to pump water. Water to supply the crops, animals, and people, with no electricity either a manual pump, gravity from an uphill source or a windmill for a deep well may well be the only choices. Beasts pulling plows, wagons, and sleds are special animals, not every horse or ox is suitable for training. Most if not all of the bridles, reins, and other equipment will have to be made by the group, as well as every thing else we will be using.

When we say "off the grid" is this what is meant? In a bunker situation this
would be an activity enjoyed by the masses, all 25 of us. 

  As far as land is concerned, all concerns will have to be addressed prior to the disaster striking. 50 plus acres, will be large enough, but that far in the middle of nowhere the concern would be "cleared" land, 25 acres of crops another 25 acres could be planted with corn or wheat, we will have to be able to make bread from something.
  Storage is another concern, silos, root cellars and smoke houses will have to be constructed and understood. In an enclosed space any commodity that produces dust will explode violently. I was in the middle of a wood dust explosion, my partner and I caused it by not thinking, but we did not get injured I think because we were in the exact center of it and it was not in an enclosed space, we lit a cutting torch and Kaboom! A huge ball of orange flame over 75 feet high and a diameter about the same. It was like being inside a fluorescent light bulb. All of the stored food supply needs to be kept dry as well, the mold is a serious concern. Rodents, wild animals, and rot will certainly have to be dealt with.
  Supplying food will be the number one objective, fending off invaders will most likely never take place for a few reasons. Most of the blogs bunker preppers write talk about how far in the middle of nowhere they are, who will find them? Any one that does will almost certainly have to know in advance where they are, that means the group will know them. The second point is an invader would have to completely dedicated to taking our compound over by force, taking a huge amount of supplies not only to get there but to be able to survive once they do. The last item is I seriously dought if anyone who is desperate and possibly starving to death would invade a working farm just to take it over, a farm is a living entity all of its own, farmers work with it not over it. A deep understanding is required to produce a viable and productive farm, farming is the most important industry of any civilization. Do you know where our food comes from? Click here for a short explanation.
  I have not said a word about sweeteners, sugar, corn syrup, alcohol or coffee, I would stock up cases and cases of coffee, at least a life time's worth. I haven't mentioned fire wood or hygiene either, soap making, candles, shoes, and linens would all have to be hand made. There will be so much labor involved in each aspect of our imaginary bunker site that no less than 25 people would be needed. With any fewer people in the event any thing happens, injury, illness or death the entire colony would be severely compromised. Think if you were alone with your spouse and 3 children when the father is bitten by a snake or falls and breaks a leg, his load is transferred to everyone else. Fighting intruders will be the least of that families concerns, making it through the winter would then be the main goal.
 

Corn is the crop that saved the stranded balloon travelers in
Jules Verne's "Mysterious Island." A few corn kernels were found
in the privates pockets, it multiplied into a live-able amount.

What's your opinion? Maybe I'm all wet in my thinking if you think I am, leave a comment. Will we end up in a spot like this that involves a complete collapse of our society as is popular thinking recently? Will it turn into a "Mad Max" situation if it does render down to that?
  Thanks for reading, I would like to read your comments.
jacquesandkate emergencykitsplus.com