Double Vodka.
Not Belgium, York. Yes, I remember now that they did kill the hill lambs because they thought theyâd be contaminated by the radiation so unfit for consumption. Not trying to scaremonger, but it wonât hurt to stay indoors if you get a similar cloud of radiation will it? No point in going out and dancing in the rain.
ETA: Just had a look around about this as I was relying on my memory entirely. It turns out that some farms are still being monitored today for radiation.
[i]The worldâs worst ever nuclear accident, at Chernobyl in 1986, sent a plume of highly radioactive material into the atmosphere first detected outside the immediate region by atomic workers in Sweden.
Contamination arrived in Britain through light nuclear rain, and radiocaesium-137 was deposited in mainly upland areas of Wales, Scotland and England where it seeped into the peaty soil used mainly to breed livestock.
The European Commission ruled that a maximum level of 1,000 becquerels per kilogram (bq/k) of radiocaesium should be allowed in sheep being reared for meat to safeguard the consumer. Similar guidelines were given for fish affected by contaminated rivers.
A continuous assessment of restrictions on British farms has taken place over the last 23 years and the number affected has gradually been reduced. Animals are checked by hand monitors and if lower levels of radioactivity are found throughout a flock then the farm is considered for release from the restrictions. The monitoring work is undertaken by the Rural Payments Agency in England and Rural Inspectorate for Wales, answering to the Food Standards Agency.[/i]
Ehem, going back to disaster preparation, a couple of questions have sprung in my mind:
- Planning a escape route from the city: the last Big One back home caught me in mid-downtown, and Iâm telling you, getting out of there and walking all the way home was no fun, and it only took me a couple of hours -but we have no highrises. After reading about how people had to walk/hitchhike/wait it out from 12 to 2 days to go home in Japan, and then seeing the scary cartoon Tokyo 8.0 -again, not recommended for parents of small children, and small children themselves- but that highlights the dangers of a city in ruins, I wonder: what is the safest route home?
How about the river parks? In case an earthquake takes down power in Taipei city, can we make it by walking along that route? Is it safe enough? Remember, no power means no MRT, no traffic lights, gridlock, chaos and mess. âBorrowingâ one of the many bikes parked around the office is another option. It has a bit more mobility than a scooter.
- Pet evacuation: Iâve seen pets evacuated in Japan in backpacks. Iâm thinking about making a big crate mobile for the cats. Any ideas?
BTW, rope is very important. I played Spider Woman in one to rescue my cat when he fell two floors down and got stuck in an A/C.
- Regarding the knife: are we talking a utility Swiss Army knife here or a Rambo knife like Dragonbones was advocating? Or both?
[quote=âIconâ]2. Pet evacuation: Iâve seen pets evacuated in Japan in backpacks. Iâm thinking about making a big crate mobile for the cats. Any ideas?[/quote]This may sounds cold hearted, but in an emergency situation, you should expect to pack everything you need to survive for at least a few days, on your back. Roads will likely be broken, mobility a challenge, your own energy resources strained: how on Earth are you going to move around a large create full of cats? It would be difficult â and possibly dangerous â to take anything beyond a leash, wouldnât it? And even then, if a catâs not used to a leash, youâre going to be carrying it, or have the cat tangled in your legs or dragging behind. If its several cats, the leashes would be a tangled mess before you got down the stairs.
What about a couple small sacks of catnip to encourage them to follow on their own steam?
Much as i loved my two persians, back in the 921 quake I saved my own hide . Me and the gF got our clothes back on adn fled and left the cats. The cats are safest in the house. They have water and food. Better then taking them out to the street where they can get lost (they are not outside cats) and i cant give them water or food. IF the house stays up, they are safe (albeit scared). IF the house falls. Well they die (hopefully) . Just dont want them wounded and hurt.
Much as I loved them. They were best in the house at that time.
And if the house did fall and they did die. I would be torn as to whether I shouldve saved them? But in that situ the situation for myself would probably be dire too and I cant be trying to save my cats. I would be in danger of dying myself as it is.
Swiss Army knives are good if they are made by a good manufacturer. Most of the Swiss Army knives available for purchase in Taiwan come apart after very little use.
Also, they can be awkward to use and have a lot of accessories that you probably wonât need.
Think simple. A compact, strong bladed knife which is easy to sharpen (yes, you should have a good, portable sharpener) and which is easy to carry around is ideal. A secondary knife, like a Swiss Army knife, should also be available - but I wouldnât count on it as a primary instrument.
A Rambo knife - like a machete? Only if you intend to live in the mountains for a while.
I went out today and bought two emergency lights(the ones that come on when the power goes) to put on the stairs at my house. I may throw one up over the door, too. In the event of an earthquake with power outage, might as well see where Iâm going when I run to escape.
Costco has some packs of three night lights that also function as power-out lights, as you describe, and can be used as an emergency mini-flashlight. About $600 for three, I think. But they tend to stay on even when itâs daylight, and the on-off switch doesnât work well. Crappy made-in-China quality. Still, they do provide the light; they just donât reliably turn off to save power like theyâre supposed to.
Any comments on the escape route? That one is bugging me a lot.
As to pets, if it is so sudden as a quake, ther is no point in running out as our area is trapped among high rises and power lines and heavy equipment. Running out, quickly is useless. The largest park nearby -actually, the only one- is also surrounded by factories, a pump station and two 40 story highrises.
Hence, the closest âemergency shelterâ is the riverside park⌠if one can get there. Is it safe? Seems nothing will fall on you, there is âwaterâ nearby. Flashflood would be the only worry.
Where do you live and where are you going to âescapeâ to?
Itâs a serious question.
Water is one of the most important things to have prepared in disaster time. So be sure to keep a few bottled water in your survival kit that can last you at least 72 hours. Or you can also consider getting a Lifesaver bottle (lifesaversystems.com/) that can filter any dirty water into sterile clean water.
The Headquarter in UK is also working with NPO to donate Jerrycans to Japan. Japan is running out of clean drinkable water. The first shipment is already out. lifesaversystems.com/donate03.html
Full Disclosure:
My company is currently working on to distribute this product in Taiwan, so if you are interested, shoot me an email and we can get into more details albert[at]veda.com.tw
[quote=âIconâ]Any comments on the escape route? That one is bugging me a lotâŚ
Hence, the closest âemergency shelterâ is the riverside park⌠if one can get there. Is it safe? Seems nothing will fall on you, there is âwaterâ nearby. Flashflood would be the only worry.[/quote]
After Japanâs disaster Iâd be staying away from waterways: I suspect the Taipei Basin has more to worry about with âflooding from aboveâ than a âtsunami from belowâ, but I still wouldnât like to take my chances.
Wasnât there some news story a while back predicting what would happen if the Shimen Dam broke?
Any university campuses nearby? I live near Tamkang University, and seeing as how itâs elevated with lots of open areas, thatâs where Iâd be heading, assuming the time spent trying to stuff my cats into carry cages doesnât get me killed.
Just got a little crank-powered flashlight delivered today - Iâd meant to get one of these for years, but the Japan quake has finally got us moving. Itâs got a little siren, which may or may not be easier on the ears than the ICRT it can also apparently pick up.
Iâve also got a couple of the big 4L bottles of water, which shall remain untouched until September 2012, when if I remember Iâll get replacement bottles. The being-assembled ârun for itâ pack will probably just contain a single 2.5L bottle, because I doubt much more will fit; however, like most of us here, I hope that in event of a serious disaster we can just hole up in our apartment. Weâve always got plenty of canned food thatâll keep us alive if not necessarily in culinary heaven. (And we have almost as many can openers as we have flashlights!)
For Swiss Army knives, you want the actual Victorinox ones: youâll see Victorinox stamped at the base of the main blade. The cheap local variants are truly awful.
Note to all: replace your flashlight batteries regularly. In Taiwan batteries seem to leak and die a lot more often than Iâm used to.
About that Shimen story, everybody said I imagined it⌠then that it wasnât that bad. I think if there is an earthquake strong enough to break it, I donât think weâll be left to escapeâŚ
But that is still an issue: could the riverparks, with walls on the sides, still be considered safe escape routes? There would be no buildings, but there are a couple of high voltage towers on the way, in the parks. I could take my chances with a flash flood, but donât know what else could be out there to watch out.
At least, that route is clear of highrises⌠I think.
Hopefully, the kitties will be so scared theyâll freeze. God help us if such an escape is necessary. Canât leave my furry children behind.
The riverside parks ought to be fairly passable, unless the river shifts course due to uplift. But if there were a tsunami, I imagine the surge would very quickly funnel up the river, and with those high, straight walls, youâd be screwed.
Yes, but the rivers in Taipei run west, and there is unlikely to be a huge surge from the west.
Icon, you live in XinDian. Where are you planning on going?
There are plenty of mountains to run up in XinDian. Head towards some high ground and stay there until it is safe to come down. There are no buildings and the only possible danger will be from landslides.
If you get to the river, you either run down further into Taipei - built up areas, people and possible danger, or you run up towards the mountains through Bitan anyway - and if itâs that other river that goes past the zooâŚcanât remember - isnât that the Keelung river - then the sane applies except you run up to ShenKeng and if you get that far, any chance of a tidal surge will be so minimal you may as well go skinny dipping. In fact, the chance of a surge that far up the rivers in XinDian is quite slim, unless they are already swollen due to heavy rainfall.
Thereâs plenty of high ground. head for that - you donât need to go that far up. Leave your cats, they will be fine. Itâs ironic that many pet owners have lost their lives or have been injured while rescuing their pets, only for the pets to survive anyway.
Well, I work in Taipei City, close to Main Station, in a bunker -literally, this thing was built to resist aerial bombardement. Hence, I am pretty sure it will stand -dunno about ending up as a tortilla if any of our bookshelves/book piles falls on me. The problem then resides on getting from downtown to Xindian.
Actually, the fear of landslides is quite real in the hills of Xindian, some pretty unstable areas. But I live on top of the MRT, the problem we have there are no empty spaces. Lostinasia mentioned universities: the nearest would be Shishin in Jinmei, but those low, small bush and little trees hilltops do not fill me with confidence. Chengda seems safer, me thinks.
Oh, and Iâve got the scars from trying to rescue pets that need no rescuing: a couople of nighst ago, a neighborâs Schnauzer wanted a piece of Bobby and Bobby was about to let him have it. In my haste to grab him, I lost my balance and fell. Ouch, knee + pavement - skin.
Seems to me that you significantly reduce the chances of a cats survival (and your own) by packing it into some kind of carry cage, so unless you want to keep them by you for emotional (or, in extremis, nutritional?) support, Iâd let them run free.
[quote=âJaboneyâ][quote=âIconâ]2. Pet evacuation: Iâve seen pets evacuated in Japan in backpacks. Iâm thinking about making a big crate mobile for the cats. Any ideas?[/quote]This may sounds cold hearted, but in an emergency situation, you should expect to pack everything you need to survive for at least a few days, on your back. Roads will likely be broken, mobility a challenge, your own energy resources strained: how on Earth are you going to move around a large create full of cats? It would be difficult â and possibly dangerous â to take anything beyond a leash, wouldnât it? And even then, if a catâs not used to a leash, youâre going to be carrying it, or have the cat tangled in your legs or dragging behind. If its several cats, the leashes would be a tangled mess before you got down the stairs.
What about a couple small sacks of catnip to encourage them to follow on their own steam?[/quote]
Also, not much eating on a cat. You know, if it really gets harsh and you got hungry like. Just sayinâ⌠
I was doing an inventory/maintenance check on my stuff today and I was reminded about this thread by another thread recently started by Yuli.
This article is to show you what items of equipment I feel necessary to carry. It may not necessarily suit you, but it may give you some ideas about what to include in an emergency kit if you are stuck. I am no expert in survival tactics, and I look nothing like Bear Grylls. Also, having been lost in the mountains on more than one occasion without the convenience of a film crew on hand, I canât claim to know any better than anyone else about these things. But even so, this kit has go me through some scrapes.
In truth, I feel a little silly posting this, and Iâm likely to appear over-cautious and attract criticism from people who may have other opinions, but hopefully someone may find some value to what i have posted here.
Anyway, I thought to take a picture of what I take into the mountains on a typical trip. Except for the first aid kit, it is only a one man kit, and it is minus provisions like food, which has been discussed extensively in this thread already.
Although this kit is designed to make it easy for me to live in the mountains for a few days, it also serves as a kind of grab-bag should there be a disaster.
It is light, but fairly comprehensive. It has been put together for ease of use and access.
After a trip, anything used is immediately replenished.
I think paranoid red-neck Americans call this a bug out bag.
The items are laid down on a poncho which is water proof and about 9ftx6ft. Admittedly, the poncho is not the best color if you are intending to get rescued.
On the poncho top left:
Pocket vest. This vest is worn most of the time whilst I am walking. It contains the following items for ease of reach in the pockets provided at the front. Items placed in the vest are either often used or may need to be accessed quickly. The vest is also ideal in having the basic survival items close at hand in case the main bag is lost or has to be ditched in an emergency. The items can be seen on the poncho:
GPS (*see note at bottom)
âLâ shaped flashlight (clips onto front of vest) with red, yellow, blue and opaque filters.
Traditional compass
Sighting compass
Headlamp (LED) with blue, green and red LEDâs for night and trail use, also signaling. 1 white main LED 2 watts.
A magnesium fire starter/spark flint.
Alcohol pads. These are used to help start fires quickly and easily and aid in the treatment of insect bites and very minor injuries like grass cuts
An Eclipse Mints tin containing matches and sand paper and also some lint.
An all purpose knife (clipped to belt)
A back-up knife.
A pair of field binoculars (not shown)
Water purification tablets (not shown)
9ish inch jungle knife (also not shown)
Para-cord - donât leave home without it
Small knife sharpening stone
A coupe of snap glow sticks
A small sewing kit
Whistle
Cell phone (but not always)
At the top of the poncho I have a basic jungle hat, well ventilated (although I prefer to wear a bandanna so i can see upwards to see bugs and snakes, branches etc and so my vision is not hampered by an annoying rim) and on the right hand side at the top I have a rucksack with a waterproof lining.
In the rucksack I put:
The first aid kit
The hammock (not that one - thatâs just an example)
A mosquito net (not shown)
Some insect repellent (not shown)
Mess tins (3 - aluminum ex military, very light and very effective and easy to clean)
A water filter straw (not sure how effective these are, but as a last ditch they might come in handy - this example is still boxed, but the one used is not)
A light flask (1.5l) which can keep liquids warm.
A sturdy metal water bottle and canteen
Any food for my intended journey, plus emergency rations (not shown)
A pack ax, strapped to the back of the rucksack (also not shown)
A willingness to adapt existing equipment to uses other than what they are designed for(not shown)
Common sense (not shown)
My pack doesnât contain traps, snares or fishing hooks because I think these things are often gimmicks. Traps and snares can be made easily in the wild using the things around you, as can fish hooks. Anyway, who needs fish hooks when you can use your hammock as a big net?
The poncho can be used for weather protection, either as a wrap-around, as a kind of ground tent, or, as I use it, in conjunction with a hammock slung between two trees. The poncho is then strung above the hammock as a shelter and a mosquito net is placed inside. If you intend to sleep in the wild and you donât have a tent, this is the best solution. I use it so I can travel lightly and it is much lighter and more versatile than a tent. I also find it to be more comfortable than a tent and believe it or not, warmer and drier, even in very heavy rain. It can also be used for fresh water procurement, both from rainfall or as a kind of big bucket, or to trap condensation.
The pack ax is very useful and would be indespensible in a disaster scenario
The other item in the photograph I donât take with me, and was left in by mistake, but is explained:
Home use:
The black square bag is actually a portable battery, and it powers an emergency tube light. The tube light can be powered from a fully-charged battery for about 9 hours on two tubes and about 15 on one. It is very useful to have around the house if the power goes out or something worse happens, as initially you will want a lot of well distributed light to get your act together. The light can then be used sparingly, potentially giving you sporadic power for weeks. And it is portable. It is also useful to put in the car. I also have a paraffin lantern to serve as a more constant source of light. Other kinds of oil other than paraffin can be used.
The fire extinguisher is self explanatory.
There is a cheap LED light which can be attached to things. There is no switch, just press the whole unit and it will turn on. Good for when you are in a panic and need an initial source of light.
I also keep an old camping gas stove in the house so I can get on with some tea or pasta or something if the kitchen doesnât work.
Of course, In always have a supply of water and dried food around the house.
First Aid kit:
This is a representation of what can be found in my mobile first aid kit, although it is not exhaustive:
Cold and flu packs, basically just for moral/feel good in the cold factor.
Bandage length
Plasters/elastoplast (some waterproof)
Emergency blanket/space blanket
Various gauzes
Eye pads for eye injuries
Burn/scald cream
UV protection
Paracetemol
Triangular sling
A pair of tweezers
Surgical gloves
Surgical tape
Saline solution
Iodine for cut sterilization
And house kit:
More of the same. but more home-based:
*The GPS is a useful tool to have, but I donât rely on it. If the power goes down due to a disaster, ground stations needed for a position fix may not work and the unit will be inaccurate. In any case, I prefer to keep my compass skills up. As with everything in this pack, I try not to use it by making do with what I can get by on in the wild. The items I use the most are the knives, para-cord and the fire lighting material. i have matches for back-up. As a rule, I practice the hard way while I am able, leaving the things that can aid me in the event of an injury or more serious situation untouched.
This kit goes out with me every time I spend more than a couple of hours in the mountains alone. Obviously I wouldnât take it to YamingShan or SOGO. but the equipment is there if it is needed.
It looks like a lot of kit, but in reality, it isnât. Everything fits into the vest and bag with room to spare, and it is not heavy. None of the kit is particularly expensive. Most of it is old and cheap, but it still works effectively.
I take one set of back-up batteries for each electric item, except for the LED headlight, for which I take 2 sets.
You might want to pack a stove and gas cylinder. I get by on fires.
Having equipment I donât intend to use, or I donât know how to use, is pointless. I make sure I know how to use everything I carry. If I canât use it or donât know how to, I donât take it or donât pack it.
Anyway, thought I would post something like this as I am surprised nobody else has. i hope you find some of it useful. Thanks for reading.
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