SHTF Primer

[JWarren]

About a week ago, someone (A Moderator) asked if I would write a thread about what my family and I learned in living through the aftermath of Katrina in the devastated zone.

I am starting this as an outline form where I will attempt to flesh it out later. Some of what I will write may seem odd, and some of it may seem excessive. I am only writing from what worked and did not work in MY situation.

Some will not have the resources available to them that I did and I understand that. However, what I listed is what will get you by, and the lack of it COULD make life very difficult for you. Everyone’s situation will be different, just like every SHTF will have its own characteristics, duration, and obstacles to overcome.

I realize that I am specifically writing this towards a Katrina-like occurrence in a fairly warm climate. I do this because that IS my situation, and that was what I experienced. I think it would be very beneficial for others in other geographic regions to do a similar writing—such as those who had winter storms in CO.

I hope this can help someone, and I hope it may serve as a good blueprint to get started with. Again, I will be adding to this or fleshing it out with the rationale behind the points as time is available.


--- John


SHTF Primer:


I. Food and Water

A. Count on spoilage in 3 days
B. Cook as much as you can before spoilage
C. You will be eating Canned food and MRE’s after 3 days. Have it on hand.
D. If you need coffee as a luxury (I did), get a Grill-top coffee maker such as a percolator.
E. Paper plates are very handy
F. Get at least one good 55 gallon PVC drum and drum stand for drinking water
G. Get a few 55 gallon drums for washing and cleaning water.
H. Have bottles you can carry water out with you when you work. You can refill these.
I. Boil any water you intend to drink if you are not absolutely sure.
J. Do not let unsure water get near any of your orifices—even while washing.
K. Plan on cooking on propane. Get either numerous propane tanks or a outside mounted tank
L. Have an attachment where you can attach the mounted tank to an outside grill.​

II. Tools to get by

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​

A. More than one chainsaw

1. Chainsaw fuel mix
2. Spare chains
3. Chain oil (this will be the first thing the stores are out of when you begin to look)
4. Chainsaw sharpener​

B. Bolt cutters (for power lines)​

C. A good set of screwdrivers and socket wrenches
D. A couple good knives​

E. Tractor (if this is an option to you)​

1. Have a Box Blade attachment
2. Have Boom attachment or Front Lift
3. Have a logger’s hook
4. Have a few good Chains
5. Have a supply of Tax-exempt diesel for the tractor​

III. Fuel needs

A. Get numerous 5 gallon gas cans. You will not be able to buy then when you need them, or do what I did:
B. A good option is a 250 gallon farm fuel tank. Make sure you check the valve before you buy. Some leak bad. I got one for $75 dollars new.
C. Get a hand siphon pump at any auto-store. Gasoline doesn’t taste good.
D. Make sure you have fuel mix for chainsaws
E. Have diesel if you have a tractor. Tax-exempt is available for farm equipment.
F. Gasoline vehicles are probably best during the aftermath. Diesel was not available or heavily rationed due to emergency vehicles. However, Diesel stores better and longer.​

IV. Living Quarters

A. Have good perimeter lighting capabilities
B. Have a lot of outdoor chairs
C. Have a good folding table or two
D. Have a fire-pit
E. Candles will go fast—and produce a lot of heat
F. Have Several flashlights
G. Have a few table top lights
H. Plan to sleep in a communal room
I. Have a small window unit air-conditioner in that room.​

V. Cleanliness

A. Your home will be dusty due to having windows open and tracking in.
B. Clean out freezers and refrigerator before things spoil
C. Have water on hand in bathrooms to flush toilets
D. Have containers to haul heated water to a bath tub for bathing
E. Large pot where soiled clothing can be washed in hot water
F. Have a good supply of parachute cord to create clothes drying lines
G. Keep a lot of Baby wipes
H. Have an area where water can be heated for washing any dishes
I. Establish a burn area for debris and/or waste.​

VI. Communications

A. Have a Radio, hand crank is nice option
B. Lots of batteries, or battery re-chargers
C. Go with satellite TV over cable
D. Walkie-talkie is handy​

VII. Neighbors

A. Get on good terms with your neighbors—maybe organize with them.
B. Keep a check on elderly in your neighborhood​

VIII. Children

A. Plan to have Board Games
B. Plan to have Toys
C. Keep some Paper and writing instruments
D. Have Books on hand
E. Someone will have to keep an eye on children​

IX. Cash

A. Keep $1,000 dollars in cash hidden somewhere. No, this isn’t a lot of money and goes fast!​

X. Health and Comfort

A. Have a First aid kit—a good one
B. Keep a month’s supply of Medicines you take on hand
C. Have Band-aids, bandages and topical antiseptic
D. Boil any water you plan to drink unless it if from your drinking supply
E. Don’t let unsafe water anywhere near any of your orifices.
F. Have a good supply of Insect Repellent and Skin-So-Soft (works better than Insect Repellant—get it from Avon)
G. Have a good rain suit
H. Loose comfortable work clothes
I. Have a Wide-brimmed hat
J. Have Safety glasses (trust me!)
K. Have good work gloves​

XI. Damage to your home

A. Have a number of tarps
B. Have a good supply of nails and a good hammer
C. Keep a couple sheets of plywood around—the more the better
D. Always have some Duct Tape
E. Keep Disposable Cameras on hand to document damage for insurance.​

XII. Transportation

A. A Truck will be better than a SUV.
B. Four-wheel drive is nice, not may not be necessary
C. Gasoline truck is probably going to be better over Diesel due to rationing.
D. A Towing package is a MUST
E. Need a small trailer
F. A Four-wheeler is handy for nearby travel—especially one with a small trailer​

XIII. Generators

A. Get at least a 7 kwt generator. That is a minimum. I am getting a 21 kwt one soon.
B. HAVE a back-up generator—trust me
C. Get electric start… trust me
D. Have heavy chains to lock the generator to a heavy stationary object like the house.
E. Make sure you get a current stabilizer for sensitive equipment like freezer motors, water pumps, and battery chargers. You will burn up these pieces of equipment otherwise.​

XIV. Defense and Hunting (Avoiding the my gun is better than yours discussion)

A. A decent rifle that can pull double duty in defense and hunting.
B. A shotgun that can pull double duty in defense and hunting
C. A 22 rimfire rifle
D. At least 2 handguns
E. A good supply of ammunition for each of these firearms.
F. Make sure you have hunting rounds included.
G. For shotguns, having 00 buckshot and #6 shot will suffice.
H. A reloader is handy and lowers cost​

XV. Division of Labor

A. Determine who is interested and best suited for different areas. (Example: My wife kept up with all the children for basically everyone, my mother-in-law did the cooking and shared cleaning duties with my wife, my father-in-law and I did the digging out and heavy work.)
B. Stay out of each others’ way.​

 

[Caimlas]

Something else to keep in mind, re: fuel: the EPA will fine you severely if you have a fuel tank over 55 gallons that has petrolium fuel in it if they find it. They also require you to

So, either hide that sucker in a shed, and/or use smaller (50 gallon metal drums) with a hand pump or similar when needed. Or comply with EPA requirements (which you should be able to find on the web) and erect a secondary containment of some kind. I believe a metal cement-floored garage with a lip, or sealant around the base and enough capacity to take care of any potential spills inside is sufficient.

Also, fuel - deisel, at least - needs to have special antibiotics put in it for long-term storage. You can't just pour it in a drum and store it as-is. I think the time frame for bacterial growth is a matter of months. The bacteria will digest the fuel, with the byproducts being more bacteria, water, and bacteria-poop. The fuel remaining will run poorly (due to the poop and bacteria) and the corrosive water/poop will quickly eat through the bottom of your holding container (resulting in a spill/leaking) if your container is metal (as it should be).

I believe long-term gasoline storage has similar bacterial problems and needs an additive at least, but I don't know if it's an antibacterial additive.

 

[Kali Endgame]

JWarren,
Thanks for taking the time to outline what you used/did. You keep mentioning farm related stuff. Are you in a rural area or near a city/town?

 

[bogie]

Can one purchase gasoline or diesel delivered in 55 gallon drums? Just a thought...

 

[JWarren]

Caimlas wrote:

Something else to keep in mind, re: fuel: the EPA will fine you severely if you have a fuel tank over 55 gallons that has petrolium fuel in it if they find it.

Our situation didn't have us long-term storing it... I went to Baton Rouge and loaded up on Gasoline to keep from making so many trips.

I WISH an EPA person would have come to my house and tried to fine me LMAO~!



Kali wrote:

You keep mentioning farm related stuff. Are you in a rural area or near a city/town?

I'm glad you mentioned this. I do live in a rural enviroment, and because of that, I am fortunate that a lot of the equipment I meantioned was available to my family.

Neither my father nor my in-laws are farmers, but both have several hundred acres of land that has to be maintained. Because of that, both had access to tractors, chainsaws, and tools.

I realize that this isn't the situation for many people, and before I moved back home, it wasn't my situation either.

But to put it into perspective of how ugly things can get, my father-in-law lives just outside a city of about 50,000. To get out of his residential area, we had to cut and pull over 300 trees to clear only 1 mile of road. Just to get able to leave the "rural subdivision" it required 3 men with chainsaws, a tractor with a box blade and front-end lift and about 12 hours of cutting.

I honestly don't know HOW long it would have taken or how it would have been possible without those tools. And because we were not all over the news like New Orleans, NO ONE was coming to cut us out. In fact, our roads all around became passable within about 3 days-- but it was because the residents took personal responsibility to clear what they could.


Obviously, if you are an apartment dweller or within a metropolitian area, you will have different needs which my experiences do not give me an adequate basis to address.


Thanks!


John

 

[silliman89]

Good info. Thanks.

 

[JWarren]

bogie wrote:

Can one purchase gasoline or diesel delivered in 55 gallon drums? Just a thought...

My dad has always had diesel delivered and pumped into a large holding tank above ground. This fuel is tax-exempt diesel that is only allowed to be used off the highways, such as in a tractor. It is stained orange in order to mark it as non-taxed.

If you were to put this in a diesel truck, it will stain your fuel filter and other parts, marking you as breaking the law. And they WILL check. I know a number of people who have gotten in trouble doing this.

However, during the storm's aftermath, they temporarily lifted the ban on using tax exempt diesel in highway vehicles. So if you have a diesel that you owned during Katrina, they'd never be able to prove anything as long as you had that vehicle. Not advocating breaking the law, but this situation has crossed my mind.


I've never heard of anyone getting bulk gasoline delivered. Probably because it doesn't store that well, and most larger equipment is diesel.

John

 

[kkille1lsu]

JWarren, where were you for the storm?

 

[JWarren]

I weathered it in Bogalusa, LA in Washington Parish with my in-laws although I live about 15 miles away-- just across the state line in Mississippi.

John

 

[bogie]

The farmers around here tend to have diesel pickups. General consensus is that if it is a "farm truck," then they can run the off-road stuff.

 

[Geronimo45]

"Chain oil " I've always seen used motor oil used for that purpose - when you replace the oil in your car, put the old stuff in the now-empty bottles. If you've got multiple cars, you ought to have a lot of it.

Rubbing alcohol. Get some - 90% or 70% solutions - I'd opt for 90%. You can clean things up with it, use it to sterilize cuts, or start a good fire - a controlled burn from a substance with more uses than lighter fluid.

 

[JWarren]

It probably depends if they have one of those "Farm Vehicle" tags.


John

 

[DogBonz]

Also,

Worse case you can usually use home heating oil in place of diesel.

 

[308win]

it was because the residents took personal responsibility

Warren, Nice. Looking forward to your wite-up. Not trying to hijack your effort but it seems to me your quote above is the mind-set and SOP that will get you through.

 

[TallPine]

"Chain oil " I've always seen used motor oil used for that purpose - when you replace the oil in your car, put the old stuff in the now-empty bottles. If you've got multiple cars, you ought to have a lot of it.

Take my word for it - don't! I tried using used motor oil for bar oil for a while, and ruined the oiler pump in the saw in short order. Plus the stuff really doesn't lubricate bars and chains all that well. Though I suppose if you were in a bind then it would be better than not using a chainsaw to open the road/driveway etc.

I've never heard of anyone getting bulk gasoline delivered. Probably because it doesn't store that well, and most larger equipment is diesel.

Lots of ranches and many rural residences around here have above ground gasoline storage tanks. It sucks to burn a half a tank of gas just to go to town and buy gas. We don't have a gas storage tank here (yet) but I always fill a bunch of 5 gal gas cans everytime the pickup goes to town.

 

[K5mitch]

Excellent information. Reminded me of when my father and I had to bring supplies down to coastal Virginia a few years back to help my grandparents.

Hurricane aftermath looks like a warzone almost. You aren't kidding about the chainsaws and oil, either. We had to cut our way to my grandparents house.

The chain idea is brilliant for the generators! You wouldn't believe just who might try to steal your generator.

 

[Geronimo45]

TallPine - were you using a newer saw? The one I see treated that way is about twenty-ish years old or more. Though it has issues even starting...

 

[hso]

Something else to keep in mind, re: fuel: the EPA will fine you severely if you have a fuel tank over 55 gallons that has petrolium fuel in it if they find it.

Please provide a citation in 40 CFR for this.

 

[Woodsmoke]

Gas Storage?

What additives are needed for gas storage?

I live in The Woodlands (Houston) and store gas for my back up generator. I know I have at least 10 gallons left from preparations for last hurricane season. Is this gas no longer usable?

 

[larry_minn]

Regards non-road tax fuel. First it is dyed red. Second it is for NON road equipment only. It probably depends if they have one of those "Farm Vehicle" tags.
NOPE. If it is a lic motor vehicle (car/pickup/grain truck/semi even if YOU ARE NOT ON A PUBLIC ROAD AT THE TIME you can be fined. I have neighbors who were in line at local elevator with their 15yr old grain truck and the Patrol were "dipping" their tanks. A HINT of red and they got fined. One larger operation had 4 trucks caught in same line. They came out to farm and tested EVERY road unit on property. Let him go with $20k fine AND (now get this) he had to sell EVERY dsl pickup within 6 months or face more fines. He was allowed to keep grain trucks/semis but NO dsl pickups/suv/cars.
They do spot checks on highways/towns and esp sales barns.
What is fun is to be driving a GAS pickup and they want to dip the tank. I ask "Why do you want to dip my tank?" The State Patrol Commercail Vehicle Inspection dolt says "To see if you are running non-tax dsl in your truck" I told him my pickup wouldn't run on that. You see its a GAS ENGINE. (My dsl was parked in shed at home that day) Bad part is I used to run Power ATS fluid in fuel. (fyi that stuff is dyed red) I can't anymore due to fears of fines.

 

[Jeff White]

I'm going to close this thread. Rather then have it drop of the page and out of sight, JWarren has agreed to work with hso to refine his posts and his excellent narratve will become part of the THR library.

Jeff