The Most Important Site on the Internet

Imagine this scenario: you’ve been told to prepare for a natural disaster, so you stock up on canned goods, bottled water, candles and batteries for your weather radio. Maybe you even go so far as to purchase a portable generator, just to run the refrigerator and a few lights. If you’re like me and always prepare for the worst, you buy a few extra boxes of shells for the shotgun, just in case.

Fast forward to the storm hitting. Your power is out, your telephone is dead, water is beginning to pour in your front door and you see smoke coming from a neighbor’s house. You call 911 from your cell phone, and no one answers; for the first time in your life, you are utterly stranded. No one is coming to rescue you, and whether you (and your family) live or die is entirely in your hands.

Hours turn to days and your situation worsens. No one has come to check on your neighborhood, your house is flooded to the second floor and you’ve burned through all of your food. Your last remaining drinking water is carefully hidden, since you watched your neighbor get his water stolen at gunpoint by two men in an inflatable raft. Currency is worthless in this new economy; the only things of value are food, water, and shelter. How long, you wonder, will it be before a passing helicopter notices the NEED HELP! sign on your roof. Are you better off risking the floodwaters, poisonous snakes, downed wires (where there’s still electricity) and armed posses to get help?

If you think this couldn’t happen in America, here’s a reminder that it already has. On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina delivered a direct blow to New Orleans and the surrounding area. For those of us watching from a distance, the initial reports didn’t look too bad; and then the levees that held back Lake Pontchartrain were breached by the storm. The city of New Orleans became a lake, and thousands of people were trapped by the floodwaters. Communication broke down, order broke down and anarchy ensued. Today, four years later, New Orleans is still recovering from this disaster; many residents never returned and entire neighborhoods have been abandoned. We no longer see much coverage on the news, because New Orleans’ fifteen minutes of fame have come and gone. The rebuilding of this great city is not one of America’s finest hours.

A gentleman named Shane was there for Katrina, front row, center seat. He lived through his experience and was kind enough to document it for the rest of us. His website, Listening to Katrina, can be found here:

http://www.theplacewithnoname.com/blogs/klessons/index.html

Shane’s site is free, although donations are welcomed. In my opinion, this is the single most important site on the internet, and here’s why:

1) Shane is one of us, an everyman. He’s not a retired Navy SEAL, he’s not a survival expert and he’s not a professional adventurer. He was just an ordinary guy, caught in extraordinary circumstances, who took the time and effort to document his lessons learned.

2) He doesn’t preach politics or religion; instead, his site is organized in a very readable manner. It tells you what to do in advance and gives you an idea of the mindset you’ll need to get through your own ordeal.

3) The site illustrates that we don’t always live in an organized, protected and safe world. Someone once said that we’re three missed meals away from anarchy, and Shane’s site gives step-by-step documentation on this descent.

Take from the site what you will. For me, this was preparation of a “bug out bag” (BOB), to be grabbed in the event of a forced (and hasty) evacuation. Shane provides a checklist of what should or shouldn’t be in it. My own BOB varies from Shane’s list, so here are my thoughts on the matter.

First, you need to decide on a method of travel. For me, I’ll be heading out before an area floods; my primary method of travel will be a four-wheel-drive truck with plenty of ground clearance. My BOB is designed for travel by vehicle, but is light enough to carry on my back if circumstances require it. The bag itself is a military canvas duffel bag, equipped with shoulder straps and a lockable top. Not what I’d choose to hike the Appalachian Trail, but it’s cheap, sturdy and good enough to get you from Point A to Point B.

The bag holds a sleeping bag (fiberfill, not down, since wet down gives little insulation), an inflatable sleeping pad, six MREs (meals ready to eat, or ‘meals rejected by Ethiopians’ as they’re commonly referred to), six Clif bars, a UV water purifier, iodine water purification tablets, a quart sized water bottle, flint and steel, a Leatherman multi-tool, a Jetboil stove and extra fuel cans, a GPS and compass, spare batteries for the electronics and a two person tent. My single luxury item is a coffee press for the Jetboil; disaster is a poor excuse for missing a properly brewed cup of coffee.

Remember that the human body can go about two weeks without food, but only 48 hours or so without water. In a natural disaster, fresh water will be a rare commodity, and you simply cannot carry enough with you (remember that water weighs 8 pounds per gallon). Having multiple methods to purify water gives you flexibility and gives you a prolonged source of drinkable water.

Is that is? Not exactly. At the last minute, I’d throw in my laptop, a portable hard drive with a system back-up, my passport (and copies) and any other significant document or paperwork I have (Social Security card, will, other IDs, etc.). As for clothes, pack light. You don’t need more than two pairs of pants, a couple of shirts (think layers, especially in cold climates) and a change of underwear, socks and a waterproof shell. Wear comfortable and sturdy shoes – you may be walking in them for quite a while.

If you take meds daily, include them with your clothes and documents. Don’t forget to have “road cash” ready in advance, since you may not be able to get cash from ATMs (or even use credit cards for the foreseeable future).

A simple BOB can be assembled for under $100, and may save your life in the event of a natural disaster. If you can get through Shane’s site and NOT be compelled to construct a BOB at your earliest opportunity, you’re a braver man than I. Or crazier.