Some info about Flu Pandemics
1. The first wave of flu is generally mild, but is followed by second and third waves that are harsher and deadlier. On average, the second wave comes six months later.
2. Incubation period is 1-4 days.
3. Quarantines work to stop the flu in its tracks.
4. Rural areas survive best.
5. Avoid all public gatherings.
6, Infrastructure will fail. The people who run it will be staying home too.
7. Multiple emergencies can happen at the same time. (ice storms, hurricanes, earthquakes, etc.)
8. Few schools or places of work have an emergency plan in place such as homework to send home with kids to do during quarantine.
9. Majority of deaths are caused by dehydration and related illnesses such as pneumonia.
How to Prepare for a Flu Pandemic
a. Have copies of medical records. Doctors may be working from home and not have access to records.
b. Have a three-month supply of foods you normally eat. Store water.
c. Store basic medical supplies to fight symptoms of the flu. (Headache, cough, stomach issues, etc.) Also disposable gloves, masks etc.
d. Teach family proper hygiene habits and practice them.
e. Prepare to live without electricity and clean source of water. (Paper plates, cups, plastic utensils and hand sanitizers could cut down need for water.)
f. Supply of foods and drinks for those ill or recovering from flu.
g. Have entertainment items on hand such as books, games, crafts, batteries and so on.
h. Do not panic.
Friday, May 15, 2009
Monday, February 16, 2009
Meals Ready to Eat (MREs)
So as reported previously, we invested in 10 MREs for our food storage. Although, I carried one around with me almost everywhere I went (in my emergency bag), I had never actually tasted one. So today, I took the plunge and decided to try one Chicken Salsa MRE. It was pretty good, but not an entire meal by itself. Contrary to what the name implies, it is only the entree portion of a meal. You can also buy desserts, side dishes, etc that would make an entire meal. But in a pinch, it would do just fine. Actually here is what Karey and I would have for lunch in an emergency.
One Chicken Salsa MRE and one Clif Bar Energy Bar.
An MRE does not need to be heated, but they will generally taste better if they are heated. I put mine in boiling water.
Other methods of heating them mentioned on the website, include heating it on a hot car engine or in the sun. This is what it looked like, half eaten.
In an emergency situation, Karey and I would have almost normal meals with little or no preparation.
One Chicken Salsa MRE and one Clif Bar Energy Bar.
An MRE does not need to be heated, but they will generally taste better if they are heated. I put mine in boiling water.
Other methods of heating them mentioned on the website, include heating it on a hot car engine or in the sun. This is what it looked like, half eaten.
In an emergency situation, Karey and I would have almost normal meals with little or no preparation.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Excellent Talk by President Hinckley About Preparedness
I was talking to Mom and Dad the other day, when they mentioned this talk. I went searching for it and found it. This is the second half of a talk given by President Hinckley in October 1998. I thought that it was not only prophetic, but also very applicable in our day.
"Now, brethren, I should like to talk to the older men, hoping that there will be some lesson for the younger men as well.
I wish to speak to you about temporal matters.
As a backdrop for what I wish to say, I read to you a few verses from the 41st chapter of Genesis.
Pharaoh, the ruler of Egypt, dreamed dreams which greatly troubled him. The wise men of his court could not give an interpretation. Joseph was then brought before him: “Pharaoh said unto Joseph, In my dream, behold, I stood upon the bank of the river:
“And, behold, there came up out of the river seven kine, fatfleshed and well favoured; and they fed in a meadow:
“And, behold, seven other kine came up after them, poor and very ill favoured and leanfleshed. …
“And the lean and the ill favoured kine did eat up the first seven fat kine: …
“And I saw in my dream … seven ears came up in one stalk, full and good:
“And, behold, seven ears, withered, thin, and blasted with the east wind, sprung up after them:
“And the thin ears devoured the seven good ears: …
“And Joseph said unto Pharaoh, … God hath shewed Pharaoh what he is about to do.
“The seven good kine are seven years; and the seven good ears are seven years: the dream is one. …
“… What God is about to do he sheweth unto Pharaoh.
“Behold, there come seven years of great plenty throughout all the land of Egypt:
“And there shall arise after them seven years of famine;
“… And God will shortly bring it to pass” (Gen. 41:17–20, 22–26, 28–30, 32).
Now, brethren, I want to make it very clear that I am not prophesying, that I am not predicting years of famine in the future. But I am suggesting that the time has come to get our houses in order.
So many of our people are living on the very edge of their incomes. In fact, some are living on borrowings.
We have witnessed in recent weeks wide and fearsome swings in the markets of the world. The economy is a fragile thing. A stumble in the economy in Jakarta or Moscow can immediately affect the entire world. It can eventually reach down to each of us as individuals. There is a portent of stormy weather ahead to which we had better give heed.
I hope with all my heart that we shall never slip into a depression. I am a child of the Great Depression of the thirties. I finished the university in 1932, when unemployment in this area exceeded 33 percent.
My father was then president of the largest stake in the Church in this valley. It was before our present welfare program was established. He walked the floor worrying about his people. He and his associates established a great wood-chopping project designed to keep the home furnaces and stoves going and the people warm in the winter. They had no money with which to buy coal. Men who had been affluent were among those who chopped wood.
I repeat, I hope we will never again see such a depression. But I am troubled by the huge consumer installment debt which hangs over the people of the nation, including our own people. In March 1997 that debt totaled $1.2 trillion, which represented a 7 percent increase over the previous year.
In December of 1997, 55 to 60 million households in the United States carried credit card balances. These balances averaged more than $7,000 and cost $1,000 per year in interest and fees. Consumer debt as a percentage of disposable income rose from 16.3 percent in 1993 to 19.3 percent in 1996.
Everyone knows that every dollar borrowed carries with it the penalty of paying interest. When money cannot be repaid, then bankruptcy follows. There were 1,350,118 bankruptcies in the United States last year. This represented a 50 percent increase from 1992. In the second quarter of this year, nearly 362,000 persons filed for bankruptcy, a record number for a three-month period.
We are beguiled by seductive advertising. Television carries the enticing invitation to borrow up to 125 percent of the value of one’s home. But no mention is made of interest.
President J. Reuben Clark Jr., in the April 1938 general conference, said from this pulpit: “Once in debt, interest is your companion every minute of the day and night; you cannot shun it or slip away from it; you cannot dismiss it; it yields neither to entreaties, demands, or orders; and whenever you get in its way or cross its course or fail to meet its demands, it crushes you” (in Conference Report, Apr. 1938, 103).
I recognize that it may be necessary to borrow to get a home, of course. But let us buy a home that we can afford and thus ease the payments which will constantly hang over our heads without mercy or respite for as long as 30 years.
No one knows when emergencies will strike. I am somewhat familiar with the case of a man who was highly successful in his profession. He lived in comfort. He built a large home. Then one day he was suddenly involved in a serious accident. Instantly, without warning, he almost lost his life. He was left a cripple. Destroyed was his earning power. He faced huge medical bills. He had other payments to make. He was helpless before his creditors. One moment he was rich, the next he was broke.
Since the beginnings of the Church, the Lord has spoken on this matter of debt. To Martin Harris through revelation He said: “Pay the debt thou hast contracted with the printer. Release thyself from bondage” (D&C 19:35).
President Heber J. Grant spoke repeatedly on this matter from this pulpit. He said: “If there is any one thing that will bring peace and contentment into the human heart, and into the family, it is to live within our means. And if there is any one thing that is grinding and discouraging and disheartening, it is to have debts and obligations that one cannot meet” (Gospel Standards, comp. G. Homer Durham [1941], 111).
We are carrying a message of self-reliance throughout the Church. Self-reliance cannot obtain when there is serious debt hanging over a household. One has neither independence nor freedom from bondage when he is obligated to others.
In managing the affairs of the Church, we have tried to set an example. We have, as a matter of policy, stringently followed the practice of setting aside each year a percentage of the income of the Church against a possible day of need.
I am grateful to be able to say that the Church in all its operations, in all its undertakings, in all of its departments, is able to function without borrowed money. If we cannot get along, we will curtail our programs. We will shrink expenditures to fit the income. We will not borrow.
One of the happiest days in the life of President Joseph F. Smith was the day the Church paid off its long-standing indebtedness.
What a wonderful feeling it is to be free of debt, to have a little money against a day of emergency put away where it can be retrieved when necessary.
President Faust would not tell you this himself. Perhaps I can tell it, and he can take it out on me afterward. He had a mortgage on his home drawing 4 percent interest. Many people would have told him he was foolish to pay off that mortgage when it carried so low a rate of interest. But the first opportunity he had to acquire some means, he and his wife determined they would pay off their mortgage. He has been free of debt since that day. That’s why he wears a smile on his face, and that’s why he whistles while he works.
I urge you, brethren, to look to the condition of your finances. I urge you to be modest in your expenditures; discipline yourselves in your purchases to avoid debt to the extent possible. Pay off debt as quickly as you can, and free yourselves from bondage.
This is a part of the temporal gospel in which we believe. May the Lord bless you, my beloved brethren, to set your houses in order. If you have paid your debts, if you have a reserve, even though it be small, then should storms howl about your head, you will have shelter for your wives and children and peace in your hearts. That’s all I have to say about it, but I wish to say it with all the emphasis of which I am capable."
"Now, brethren, I should like to talk to the older men, hoping that there will be some lesson for the younger men as well.
I wish to speak to you about temporal matters.
As a backdrop for what I wish to say, I read to you a few verses from the 41st chapter of Genesis.
Pharaoh, the ruler of Egypt, dreamed dreams which greatly troubled him. The wise men of his court could not give an interpretation. Joseph was then brought before him: “Pharaoh said unto Joseph, In my dream, behold, I stood upon the bank of the river:
“And, behold, there came up out of the river seven kine, fatfleshed and well favoured; and they fed in a meadow:
“And, behold, seven other kine came up after them, poor and very ill favoured and leanfleshed. …
“And the lean and the ill favoured kine did eat up the first seven fat kine: …
“And I saw in my dream … seven ears came up in one stalk, full and good:
“And, behold, seven ears, withered, thin, and blasted with the east wind, sprung up after them:
“And the thin ears devoured the seven good ears: …
“And Joseph said unto Pharaoh, … God hath shewed Pharaoh what he is about to do.
“The seven good kine are seven years; and the seven good ears are seven years: the dream is one. …
“… What God is about to do he sheweth unto Pharaoh.
“Behold, there come seven years of great plenty throughout all the land of Egypt:
“And there shall arise after them seven years of famine;
“… And God will shortly bring it to pass” (Gen. 41:17–20, 22–26, 28–30, 32).
Now, brethren, I want to make it very clear that I am not prophesying, that I am not predicting years of famine in the future. But I am suggesting that the time has come to get our houses in order.
So many of our people are living on the very edge of their incomes. In fact, some are living on borrowings.
We have witnessed in recent weeks wide and fearsome swings in the markets of the world. The economy is a fragile thing. A stumble in the economy in Jakarta or Moscow can immediately affect the entire world. It can eventually reach down to each of us as individuals. There is a portent of stormy weather ahead to which we had better give heed.
I hope with all my heart that we shall never slip into a depression. I am a child of the Great Depression of the thirties. I finished the university in 1932, when unemployment in this area exceeded 33 percent.
My father was then president of the largest stake in the Church in this valley. It was before our present welfare program was established. He walked the floor worrying about his people. He and his associates established a great wood-chopping project designed to keep the home furnaces and stoves going and the people warm in the winter. They had no money with which to buy coal. Men who had been affluent were among those who chopped wood.
I repeat, I hope we will never again see such a depression. But I am troubled by the huge consumer installment debt which hangs over the people of the nation, including our own people. In March 1997 that debt totaled $1.2 trillion, which represented a 7 percent increase over the previous year.
In December of 1997, 55 to 60 million households in the United States carried credit card balances. These balances averaged more than $7,000 and cost $1,000 per year in interest and fees. Consumer debt as a percentage of disposable income rose from 16.3 percent in 1993 to 19.3 percent in 1996.
Everyone knows that every dollar borrowed carries with it the penalty of paying interest. When money cannot be repaid, then bankruptcy follows. There were 1,350,118 bankruptcies in the United States last year. This represented a 50 percent increase from 1992. In the second quarter of this year, nearly 362,000 persons filed for bankruptcy, a record number for a three-month period.
We are beguiled by seductive advertising. Television carries the enticing invitation to borrow up to 125 percent of the value of one’s home. But no mention is made of interest.
President J. Reuben Clark Jr., in the April 1938 general conference, said from this pulpit: “Once in debt, interest is your companion every minute of the day and night; you cannot shun it or slip away from it; you cannot dismiss it; it yields neither to entreaties, demands, or orders; and whenever you get in its way or cross its course or fail to meet its demands, it crushes you” (in Conference Report, Apr. 1938, 103).
I recognize that it may be necessary to borrow to get a home, of course. But let us buy a home that we can afford and thus ease the payments which will constantly hang over our heads without mercy or respite for as long as 30 years.
No one knows when emergencies will strike. I am somewhat familiar with the case of a man who was highly successful in his profession. He lived in comfort. He built a large home. Then one day he was suddenly involved in a serious accident. Instantly, without warning, he almost lost his life. He was left a cripple. Destroyed was his earning power. He faced huge medical bills. He had other payments to make. He was helpless before his creditors. One moment he was rich, the next he was broke.
Since the beginnings of the Church, the Lord has spoken on this matter of debt. To Martin Harris through revelation He said: “Pay the debt thou hast contracted with the printer. Release thyself from bondage” (D&C 19:35).
President Heber J. Grant spoke repeatedly on this matter from this pulpit. He said: “If there is any one thing that will bring peace and contentment into the human heart, and into the family, it is to live within our means. And if there is any one thing that is grinding and discouraging and disheartening, it is to have debts and obligations that one cannot meet” (Gospel Standards, comp. G. Homer Durham [1941], 111).
We are carrying a message of self-reliance throughout the Church. Self-reliance cannot obtain when there is serious debt hanging over a household. One has neither independence nor freedom from bondage when he is obligated to others.
In managing the affairs of the Church, we have tried to set an example. We have, as a matter of policy, stringently followed the practice of setting aside each year a percentage of the income of the Church against a possible day of need.
I am grateful to be able to say that the Church in all its operations, in all its undertakings, in all of its departments, is able to function without borrowed money. If we cannot get along, we will curtail our programs. We will shrink expenditures to fit the income. We will not borrow.
One of the happiest days in the life of President Joseph F. Smith was the day the Church paid off its long-standing indebtedness.
What a wonderful feeling it is to be free of debt, to have a little money against a day of emergency put away where it can be retrieved when necessary.
President Faust would not tell you this himself. Perhaps I can tell it, and he can take it out on me afterward. He had a mortgage on his home drawing 4 percent interest. Many people would have told him he was foolish to pay off that mortgage when it carried so low a rate of interest. But the first opportunity he had to acquire some means, he and his wife determined they would pay off their mortgage. He has been free of debt since that day. That’s why he wears a smile on his face, and that’s why he whistles while he works.
I urge you, brethren, to look to the condition of your finances. I urge you to be modest in your expenditures; discipline yourselves in your purchases to avoid debt to the extent possible. Pay off debt as quickly as you can, and free yourselves from bondage.
This is a part of the temporal gospel in which we believe. May the Lord bless you, my beloved brethren, to set your houses in order. If you have paid your debts, if you have a reserve, even though it be small, then should storms howl about your head, you will have shelter for your wives and children and peace in your hearts. That’s all I have to say about it, but I wish to say it with all the emphasis of which I am capable."
Monday, December 8, 2008
3 Month Menu
We recently found a blog called Safely Gathered In which gives practical advice on how to create a 3 month supply of food that you will actually eat. It breaks the process down into steps that I can actually do, and that's half the battle! Here's what we worked on for FHE tonight.
We made a chart that has spaces for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks, for 14 days. Then we brainstormed 14 dinner recipes that can be made only from nonperishable items. We tried to do a few vegetarian meals, a few with canned chicken, a couple with tuna, and even a couple with beef (one using jerky - we'll see how that works out!). Here's our list:
Spaghetti
Chicken Pot Pie
Taco Soup/Black bean soup
Jerky Curry
Chicken Salad w/ homemade bread
Thai Chicken w/ rice
Chicken/Tuna w/ egg noodles
Chicken & Rice casserole
Pasta & Sauce
Beef Stew
Bean & Rice Soup
Tomato Basil Soup
Coconut Curry Chicken
Chicken & Biscuits
Some of these came from recipes from the Safely Gathered In blog, others were ideas we had ourselves.
The next step will be to compile a list of all the ingredients for these meals, and multiply by six to cover three months.
After that we'll do the same for breakfast, lunch, and snacks. Once we've got our complete shopping list, we can start looking for really good deals on these items. And before you know it... Three months' supply! Voila!
Do you have any ideas for "pantry only" meals? What kinds of system do you have for building food storage?
We made a chart that has spaces for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks, for 14 days. Then we brainstormed 14 dinner recipes that can be made only from nonperishable items. We tried to do a few vegetarian meals, a few with canned chicken, a couple with tuna, and even a couple with beef (one using jerky - we'll see how that works out!). Here's our list:
Spaghetti
Chicken Pot Pie
Taco Soup/Black bean soup
Jerky Curry
Chicken Salad w/ homemade bread
Thai Chicken w/ rice
Chicken/Tuna w/ egg noodles
Chicken & Rice casserole
Pasta & Sauce
Beef Stew
Bean & Rice Soup
Tomato Basil Soup
Coconut Curry Chicken
Chicken & Biscuits
Some of these came from recipes from the Safely Gathered In blog, others were ideas we had ourselves.
The next step will be to compile a list of all the ingredients for these meals, and multiply by six to cover three months.
After that we'll do the same for breakfast, lunch, and snacks. Once we've got our complete shopping list, we can start looking for really good deals on these items. And before you know it... Three months' supply! Voila!
Do you have any ideas for "pantry only" meals? What kinds of system do you have for building food storage?
Friday, October 3, 2008
2 week supply
In my one and only week in relief society in the last 3-1/2 years, they emphasized that even having a 2-week supply of food and water in your house is very helpful and attainable for any circumstance...small spaces, small budget, etc.
We have had several times the last few years that we have had to use what we had on hand--like the President's Day snowstorm in 2003 that closed down life for a week. Or especially when the remnants of hurricane Isabel (also in 2003) came through and our area didn't have power or phone for a week.
We were very grateful for our :
Extra batteries
Cases of bottled water (since water treatment plants were also without power)
Grill with extra propane
Non-perishable, easy to prepare food
Candles
Flashlights
These items tend to be the first to disappear off the shelves during the emergency situation, not to mention the fact that many emergencies don't give lots of warning, so it just makes sense to keep them in the house and you won't have to be one of the crazy ones looking all over town for batteries during a huge snowstorm.
We have had several times the last few years that we have had to use what we had on hand--like the President's Day snowstorm in 2003 that closed down life for a week. Or especially when the remnants of hurricane Isabel (also in 2003) came through and our area didn't have power or phone for a week.
We were very grateful for our :
Extra batteries
Cases of bottled water (since water treatment plants were also without power)
Grill with extra propane
Non-perishable, easy to prepare food
Candles
Flashlights
These items tend to be the first to disappear off the shelves during the emergency situation, not to mention the fact that many emergencies don't give lots of warning, so it just makes sense to keep them in the house and you won't have to be one of the crazy ones looking all over town for batteries during a huge snowstorm.
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Fruit Punch Anyone?
About two months or so, my very awesome wife ordered some food from the cannery. She ordered very useful things like flour, wheat, sugar, spaghetti and fruit punch. Well, I went to pick up the order at the cannery the other day. They were out of the sugar, we will not be eating sugar in an emergency situation (actually we will probably just buy a big bag from the grocery store).
Well at the cannery, I also realized that the fruit drink mix that we bought was actually about 50 pounds worth. So we have plenty of fruit drink mix. Also if I ever forget English, I will still know what I am drinking. If anyone of you need fruit drink, you can have some of ours.
Then the problem was we would not have enough water for the mix. But today we received somewhere between 1000 and 4000 gallons of water by FedEx (we received ten of these things, although only two are pictured).
Thanks for idea for the water bottle thingies. I think that they will come in handy in an emergency. I also ordered MREs from Emergency Essentials (there are various meals besides this one) and I will post on how they taste in a later post.
Well at the cannery, I also realized that the fruit drink mix that we bought was actually about 50 pounds worth. So we have plenty of fruit drink mix. Also if I ever forget English, I will still know what I am drinking. If anyone of you need fruit drink, you can have some of ours.
Then the problem was we would not have enough water for the mix. But today we received somewhere between 1000 and 4000 gallons of water by FedEx (we received ten of these things, although only two are pictured).
Thanks for idea for the water bottle thingies. I think that they will come in handy in an emergency. I also ordered MREs from Emergency Essentials (there are various meals besides this one) and I will post on how they taste in a later post.
Thursday, July 17, 2008
I've Got Water on My Mind
Slowly, but surely, we have been working to get our food storage built up. It is going . . . . slowly . . . . but . . . . surely (did I already say that?). The main concern we have had recently is water. We are very limited in the space we have to store water. Water takes up TONS of space and weighs . . . well, TONS. Side note: I just started giggling when I noticed what the word "tons" is backwards. Back to the topic -- plus, I get a little freaked out about the idea of water sitting in our basement for an extended period of time. I realize there are ways to treat water, but I just assume that any water left sitting for a long time will turn green and grow mosquitoes. For those of you with plenty of storage, you can go back to whatever you were doing in your gigantic house with a 3-car garage. For the rest of you, I have found something that, we think, will work for us. And might could work for you. (that last sentence was for those of you in Oklahoma).
We found a special on these water bottles that are supposed remove up to 99.9% of pollutants and contaminates found in most water sources (i.e. rivers, streams and lakes) and comes with some free water chlorine tablets. The site claims that between the filter and the tablets you have a portable "mini-municipal bottled water plant". The site also claims that each bottle filters up to 100 gallons of water, so one small, lightweight bottle takes the place of one of those huge, heavyweight water barrels (that may, or may not, turn green and grow mosquitoes). On another site, a reviewer claimed that the bottles worked fine up to 400 gallons. We live exactly 0.62 miles from a large creek and 1.25 miles from the Potomac River. Each of these bodies of water contain exactly 9.7 gazillion gallons of water that has the potential to be drinking water (if only we had a mini-municipal water plant). Here is a link to the website where you can get one water bottle for $16.95. However, if you buy 10+ you can get them for $10 each, which includes shipping and tax. We bought 10, which means that for $100 we now have at least 1,000 gallons of drinking water and at the most 4,000 gallons. That is a lot of barrels (or old 2-liter Diet Mountain Dew bottles) worth. If some of you want these, but do not want 10+ you could always coordinate to buy them together.
The big downside to these is that we have to lug the water at lease 0.62 miles to get to our house. Our hope is that in the event we have to use these water bottles, the plumbing will still be working in our house (it just may not be safe to drink). If not, we will get to perfect the art of balancing a big water jug on our heads like in third-world countries . . . and who has not dreamt of that?
We found a special on these water bottles that are supposed remove up to 99.9% of pollutants and contaminates found in most water sources (i.e. rivers, streams and lakes) and comes with some free water chlorine tablets. The site claims that between the filter and the tablets you have a portable "mini-municipal bottled water plant". The site also claims that each bottle filters up to 100 gallons of water, so one small, lightweight bottle takes the place of one of those huge, heavyweight water barrels (that may, or may not, turn green and grow mosquitoes). On another site, a reviewer claimed that the bottles worked fine up to 400 gallons. We live exactly 0.62 miles from a large creek and 1.25 miles from the Potomac River. Each of these bodies of water contain exactly 9.7 gazillion gallons of water that has the potential to be drinking water (if only we had a mini-municipal water plant). Here is a link to the website where you can get one water bottle for $16.95. However, if you buy 10+ you can get them for $10 each, which includes shipping and tax. We bought 10, which means that for $100 we now have at least 1,000 gallons of drinking water and at the most 4,000 gallons. That is a lot of barrels (or old 2-liter Diet Mountain Dew bottles) worth. If some of you want these, but do not want 10+ you could always coordinate to buy them together.
The big downside to these is that we have to lug the water at lease 0.62 miles to get to our house. Our hope is that in the event we have to use these water bottles, the plumbing will still be working in our house (it just may not be safe to drink). If not, we will get to perfect the art of balancing a big water jug on our heads like in third-world countries . . . and who has not dreamt of that?
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