I’ve heard a few of you folks mention having set aside emergency supplies for typhoons and other such disasters, so after all the recent news about hurricanes in the U.S., I’m determined that I want to maintain some sort of typhoon/earthquake/unspecified unpleasantness sort of kit here in BFE. I have a vague idea that it should consist of food and water for our household for 72 hours, but it would be interesting to hear specifics from other posters.
(I’m sure some wisacres are going to suggest weapons, ordinance, night-vision gear and the like, but I guess that’s par for the course! )
I had an earthquake bag set up afore the big one on 921. Had a good book or two, an extra credit card and address book and phone numbers, passport numbers, and some money. Cans of tuna fish, water, goodferever granola bars. Medikit, clothes, which were a good idea as we left our house half neked, and a sleeping bag, batteries.
I’m sure there’s more…whisky and smokes if you smoke.
In a real emergency, ALL the water and powmien at 7-11 will be long gone.
Take a look at what you normally use, and stock that in your supply. It will do you little good to get cans of tuna if you hate fish and refuse to eat it.
Remember to set aside some of your medications, if you have anything you have to take regularly (or even for emergencies, e.g., migraine medication, a bee-sting allergy kit, birth control pills, blood pressure medication).
Food, water, some extra cash for a sudden expense, first aid junk.
A small supply of nonperishable antibiotics MIGHT be a good idea IF you are willing to learn how to use them properly. They’re cheaper than a bottle of beer here. Hint: [color=red]doxycycline and tetracycline are perishable[/color] and will be more toxic to you than the bugs if you use them after a year or two, maybe less in the heat here.
[quote=“MaPoSquid”]…
A small supply of nonperishable antibiotics MIGHT be a good idea IF you are willing to learn how to use them properly. They’re cheaper than a bottle of beer here. Hint: [color=red]doxycycline and tetracycline are perishable[/color] and will be more toxic to you than the bugs if you use them after a year or two, maybe less in the heat here.[/quote]
What are “nonperishable antibiotics” and where do you get them in Taiwan, and in the US (If anyone happens to know… I don’t think I can get any antibiotic without a prescription. Is that incorrect?)
www.72hours.org
that’s spot on, mate! That helps a lot and has me sorted for the time being… cheers.
I’m still interested in what other posters have come up with, though. Any plans that one makes need to be flexible and able to meet as many contigencies as possible. When I posted this, I imagined being stranded at home with no power or water for several days, but as jd’s experience shows, a total bug-out/ get out quick/living in the street scenario should also be planned for. I was driving around the other day and noticed that we live very close to a canal that runs paralell to the GaoPing river, which means that we could be at risk from storm surge, so a bad typhoon might have us running for the hills.
I’ve got 10 gallons of water cleaned up and set aside: BFE water is shite and requires some preparation to make it potable. I’ll probably just take one 5gal jug and our earthquake bags in a bugout.
Antibiotics that don’t degrade over the short term.
Antibiotics are OTC in Taiwan, as is everything else I’ve ever had a need for. My understanding from past posts on this forum is that drugs with a potential for abuse, such as Valium or heavy-duty painkillers, require a valid prescription or are not sold. If you’re in the U.S., you might want to bring a bottle of aspirin with you since it’s outrageously expensive here.
BTW, another thought, an electric rice cooker will probably be pretty useless in a power outage, but a gas or charcoal barbecue might be nice to have. Even if all the meat has spoiled from lack of power, you can still boil water for the rice. . . .
After extended power outages following various quakes, landslides and typhoons here (well, one of each), I found that boredom was a major bummer. No TV, no radio, no music, no lights.
So, with that in mind I’ve built up a whole box of candles, another of batteries, and another of battery-powered lights. But more importantly:
1 battery-powered radio (I got one called WebBoy which combines a light, siren, radio and fan, all on a sealed lead-acid rechargeable – I think I got it at RTMart)
1 battery-powered CD/tape player
Bulk batteries from Costco.
Do remember:
Extra TP & meds. Enough water not only to drink but to wash a bit by.
Can opener.
folding fans (no AC!)
Also, it’s nice to have at least one or two lamps that you don’t have to hold, e.g., a 360-degree Coleman (e.g., Costco’s; battery powered) which can light a whole room; hand-held flashlights aren’t very good for illuminating activity areas.
)