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Bug Out Bag
This question is somewhat related to zombie apocalypse, but with a more practical application.
Do you have a "Bug Out Bag" in case of an emergency (could be an emergency of any sort - flood, fire, earthquake, etc.) that would require you to get out of your home in a hurry? What is included or what should be included?
For example:
Flint/firestarters/waterproof matches/lighters
Compass
Hand crank radio/flashlight/cell phone charger
Rope
Leatherman tool/Swiss Army Knife/hammer/hatchet
72 hours worth of food
Water purification tablets/filter
Work Gloves/Sterile Gloves
First AId Kit
Emergency poncho/sleeping bag
Magnifying Glass
Mirror
Shrill Whistle
Duct Tape
Toilet Paper/Paper Towels/Dishrags
Sewing kit
Entrenching tool
Do you think you should have enough stuff for three days or a week?
Do you have a "Bug Out Bag" in case of an emergency (could be an emergency of any sort - flood, fire, earthquake, etc.) that would require you to get out of your home in a hurry? What is included or what should be included?
For example:
Flint/firestarters/waterproof matches/lighters
Compass
Hand crank radio/flashlight/cell phone charger
Rope
Leatherman tool/Swiss Army Knife/hammer/hatchet
72 hours worth of food
Water purification tablets/filter
Work Gloves/Sterile Gloves
First AId Kit
Emergency poncho/sleeping bag
Magnifying Glass
Mirror
Shrill Whistle
Duct Tape
Toilet Paper/Paper Towels/Dishrags
Sewing kit
Entrenching tool
Do you think you should have enough stuff for three days or a week?
Comments
Anyways, now that I've read your post. Enough food for 3 days is enough.
. . . or would you?
Wallet, phone, keys, laptop, usb sticks, leatherman, pen, pencil, sharpie, notebook, earplugs, business cards, stain removal pen, chewing gum, moleskine, boogie board, occasionally DS and/or additional camera (other than the one in my phone), lip balm. Everything I need for almost any realistic situation.
You can always see a weather related emergency coming. It's not like it can sneak up on you. If it is sneaky, like a tornado, it doesn't damage a wide enough area to make survival difficult. If a twister blows away your house, you can likely hit up the grocery store and a hotel afterwards.
In the occasionally wise paraphrased words of Penn Jillette, you can always save your ass with money. Always have money. If there is a place where money won't save your ass, don't go there. If money won't save you anywhere in the world, then no bag or kit is going to make a shit of difference.
Rym: OMG! It's an earthquake!
Scott: Don't worry! I have my buisness cards! "Always see a weather related emergency coming"? Tell that to people who've lived through hurricanes, mudslides, floods, earthquakes, etc. These things can all happen quite suddenly. You might have some foreknowledge about a hurricane, but hurricanes have a nasty habit of suddenly shifting direction.
What if, angels and ministers of grace defend us, someone lit a cigarette in your apartment building?
What about housefires? Are you so very certain that you'll never be the victim of a housefire? Perhaps you have a method of predicting housefires. Oh wait - I forgot. You're prepared for every conceivable eventuality. You always have your lip balm.
So, what's your point? Should you always carry a large sum of money with you in case of emergency?
Any disaster that is likely is already covered. Any situation that is not covered will be either so improbable, that it is stupid to prepare for it, or so devastating that no reasonable preparation could suffice. The extremely devastating scenarios are also so unlikely, that the burden of preparing for them is not worth it. The suffering you will feel by worrying about them is worse than the things themselves. Just stop worrying.
2) Situation can be foreseen and prepared for. Example: Evecuate from the hurricane.
3) You'll be ok with money. Example: Localized disaster like tornado or house fire.
4) Situation so unlikely that preparation isn't worth it. Example: Do not carry around a biohazard suit in case of outbreak.
Emergencies aren't limited to flooding, hurricanes, and such. Power outages, blizzards, and many other unforeseen things can happen. That's why they're called emergencies. Preparation for emergency doesn't mean sitting around and worrying, as you seem to think. A minor amount of effort in preparation can pay off big in the event of an emergency. I'll hazard that you've spent much more time worrying about smoking and acheivements than I have about emergencies.
I have to say something about evacuation in the event of a hurricane and your assurance that fire and flood can't hurt you. Do you really believe that evacuations are pulled off without a hitch and without problems? Ask the people who tried to evacuate before Katrina. As far as flood and fire, do you think that a flood has to reach the third floor before it affects you? Do you think that the flood won't disrupt city services? Do you think building foundations are unaffected by floods? It's nice that you have renter's insurance, but if you have a fire, what do you do while your claim is being processed?
Scott, I truly believe that, without some sort of preparation, you'd have about as much chance of surviving a real emergency as a newborn kitten. Actually, a newborn kitten might be picked up and cared for because she is cute and lovable. You? Not so much.
I'm going to use hurricane Rita from 2005 as an example because I think Scott would have been screwed in that situation. Hurricane Katrina hit three weeks before Rita and everyone in the Gulf Coast was on edge. No one wanted to be left behind and get stuck in Houston fighting for their lives like what happened in New Orleans.
We knew Rita was coming, there were strict instructions on who should evacuate (towns between Houston and the Gulf) and that everyone should have their hurricane preparedness kits ready before it hit in a few days. Guess what happened? No one actually was prepared for a hurricane, despite the fact that we'd seen Katrina a few weeks before this. Everyone ran out to the stores bought all the bread, milk, water, batteries, and every other important supply you could think of. Then Rita was upgraded to a category 5 and everyone in Texas and Louisiana freaked out and panicked. Houston was already filled with Katrina evacuees and they were trying to get away, everyone from the coast was trying to get inland, everyone in Houston then decided they wanted to get away too. Gas was sold out all over Houston, and the few places with gas left had prices as high as $5 a gallon (maybe more). Not to mention that when you finally did find gas and tried to evacuate you were stuck on every single road/highway/tollway out of Houston. The evacuees before you tore through each town up to Austin/Dallas/San Antonio like a swarm of locusts. All the hotels were full along the way, there were gas stations with gas left, the ATMs were empty because no one thought to bring cash and emptied every one they could find, no stores were open to the horde due to fears of looting/rioting/etc so have fun peeing in front of everyone that's stuck on the road with you. People ran out of gas/diesel in the evacuation and then they were stuck there. One of my classmates left too late, was stuck in traffic for 10 hours (got a whole 50 miles maybe?) and turned around and went back to Houston because she couldn't afford to get stuck on the road with her kids. James and I were on the road for 26 hours (the same amount of time it takes us to drive up to NYC from Houston) just to get from Houston to San Antonio. We were lucky and had a gas station get a supply truck right as we got into a tiny town that was maybe 30 miles away from San Antonio.
Rita ended up fizzling out and while a lot of Houston lost power they were able to get everything up fairly quickly (faster than Ike's damage in any case). I'll only mention Ike in passing where most of Houston was without power for 2-3 weeks after Ike hit, where again not having food or supplies would not have worked for you Scott. Supermarkets could only take cash, and again gas stations began to run out as well and (powered) hotels were very quickly filled up with people with home damage. ATM cards were useless and neighbors began bartering supplies to keep going until power came back. You were even more out of luck if you tried to save your car from tree damage (there was a lot all over Houston from Ike) and stuck it in the garage and then were car-less for 3 weeks because you couldn't get it out.
With power outages of extended duration I would just leave town on a boat, plane, or (non-electric)train. If the outages are extremely localized, it's no problem at all.
All emergencies can be divided into those where money can save your ass and those where money can not save your ass. Tell me a situation where money can not save your ass, but the "bug out bag" will. I don't see any.
NYC is most vulnerable to a long term blackout. Under the right set of circumstances the power loss could be much more than 3 days. After 3 days most generators would be run down. I'd stay inside and eat my own food and not venture outside and wait it out.