May 2015 Newsletter

Is your family prepared to live off-grid for weeks or months on end?    In the Deseret News on Sunday April 19, 2015 there was a very large article and insert on the GREAT UTAH SHAKE OUT.  It had a lot of sobering information for what a 7.0 earthquake could do to everyone living along the Wasatch Front.   Some people are not afraid of a large earthquake, they feel that we are MORE likely to have an EMP or other terrorist attack.  Yes, those can likely happen as well.  My point in sharing this info and ALL info with you is to show you many things you can do to prepare your family for a number of scenarios.  If you are truly prepared to live off-grid for a good amount of time, you are prepared for just about anything.  Here are the things I gleaned from that article that will hopefully give you plenty of incentive to start preparing or keep preparing your family.

·         Results from a 7.0 earthquake centered along the Utah Wasatch Front could total up to $27.5 BILLLION in damages and lost wages alone.

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  Depending on the time of day there could be at least 2,500 deaths, 36,000 injured and at least 86,000 people left homeless.

·         The region’s main highways, utilities and communications would be severed.  Many utilities would not be restored for weeks and in some cases, months.

·         The main water line for Salt Lake City crosses the fault line 19 times.  There could be 10,000 water main breaks in the valley and up to 17,000 leaks.

·         Power will be easier and faster to repair than restoring drinking water.

·         There would be hazardous materials spills, landslides and hundreds of after-shocks.

·         Rocky Mountain Power is expected to shut down the region’s power grid anytime there is a good size earthquake, for a minimum of 24-48 hrs to inspect the system.  So realistically, even a much smaller quake would bring us loss of power for a couple days.

What is an EMP attack?

EMP stands for Electro Magnetic Pulse. In layman’s terms it is a giant power surge created by man, that is so strong, it would destroy all or most of the power grid and electronic devices in the U.S.  This can be caused by a giant solar flare but more likely by another country detonating a nuclear weapon in orbit above the U.S.  We would be plunged back into the pre-electronic age. That means no phones, tv, heat, air conditioning, banking, shopping without cash, etc.   It would take a minimum of months to get back to normal.  You may ask if this is a REAL or PLAUSABLE threat.  Yes, it is and our Military is worried about it.  Just another reason to prepare for possibly living off-grid at least for a while.  For more information on this subject you can do an internet search for yourself.

Item of the month:  Tote-able Toilet

The number one cause of disease is improper sanitation.  Lack of running water and working toilets can be an issue immediately after any natural disaster or water main break.  Each family should have AT LEAST ONE tote-able toilet or port-a-potty.  Also consider that most of your neighbors most likely don’t have one.  So if there is only 1 toilet for at least every 2 families, it is going to get very “interesting” very quickly.  The one shown above is very simple to assemble and very affordable.  This one consists of a 5-6 gallon bucket and a toilet seat and lid combo.  Keep this kit with your 72 hr kits or camping gear.

·         Inside you should also store heavy duty trash bags, if not heavy duty then you should double them.  If you can find black ones that might be nice.  You can never have too many garbage bags!  Emergency Essentials even sells special bags made just for this called Double Doody bags. I suggest having enough to change-out the bags once a day per family.

·         Several rolls of toilet paper

·         Baby wipes to save on water

·         A bottle of hand sanitizer

·         Toilet chemicals (can be found in sporting goods)

·         A bottle of bleach if it fits.

·         You can find toilet seat-lid combos at Macey’s grocery stores in the preparedness section and also at Cabelas and at Wal-Mart in Sporting goods and sometimes at Farm Supply Stores.

·         You need to have this on hand BEFORE an emergency.  If you wait until the emergency happens you probably won’t be able to find any.

·         For in depth information on Emergency Sanitation go to www.safeharboralliance.com and find his section on sanitation. He also sells DVD’s, teaches classes and posts videos on Youtube about this and other topics.

Tote-able toilet