Notes From The Soggy Zone
By Mitch Berg
Last week, I ruffled some of the usual feathers by posting a link to this video by Ryan McBeth.
McBeth is a former anti-tank grunt who now does open-source intelligence and systems work. His Youtube and Substack channels are interesting; he doesn’t get everything right (he is still claiming Mossad figured out how to remotely blow up lithium batteries, although his reasoning for getting to that conclusion isn’t wrong), and he certainly runs in official-ish circles, but he shows his math.
I pointed this out, not to “run cover” for officialdom (wtf?) but out of awareness that all “sides” of every issue on social media are farming engagements to draw clicks, eyeballs, and of course the mother of all motivations, “monetization”.
The real lesson? Waiting for government to help you out after an emergency is a sucker bet. Government may mean well but be incompetent; it may do its best but be overstretched; it might be actively undercutting you; it might be all three and then some. But one way or another, example after example in the real world shows us you, the regular schnook, are likely to have to see to your own well-being after a disaster.
Seeing to that well-being is either a waste of time, or absolutely vital – and you won’t know which until it’s too late.
This note comes from a friend of a friend:
“I’m in Asheville, NC right now and we were devastated by the hurricane. Day 5 of no power, water, internet, or even cell service. We are cut off from the world. Here’s what has mattered so far and what hasn’t in my particular situation:
Life saver #1 = Starlink internet. All our phones say SOS. Can’t text for help. Don’t know what’s going on. I plugged in my satellite internet and have been helping the whole neighborhood call loved ones. Everyone is offering me anything from their supplies because it’s so valuable.
Life saver #2 = Solar panels and 3000w battery pack. I can run satellite internet, electric kettle to purify water, charge headlamps, electronics, instant pot for cooking, ice maker for the cooler, everything I need. I’ll won’t run out of the sun like I would propane or gas if this extends a lot longer.
Life saver #3 = Gas cans and extra gas. These are sold out everywhere and are harder to get than gas itself. When power goes out so do gas station pumps. When you have portable gas you can run a generator, evacuate, drive to where the supplies are, check on family members, etc. People are stranded and sleeping at gas stations for days in their car waiting for power to come back on so they can get home.
Life saver #4 = Knowledge on how to survive without a huge stash. Some preppers spend too much on stocking up and not enough on education. None of us knew the hurricane was going to be this bad. Some people lost their entire house including supplies. Those who know multiple ways to collect water, purify it, start a fire, find food, are the ones still alive that haven’t been rescued yet. I could go for another month if I had to with nothing but my backpack and tools.
Life saver #5 = Hand sanitizer. Sanitation is rough here and the hospitals are out of power, food, and water. People are starting to smell and after you touch something you do not want to get sick and go to the hospital because it’s bad there too. The water you do find may not be safe for hand washing without purification. I wash my hands with soap and water and then do hand sanitizer after to stay healthy.
Other things I’ve relied on:
Cash. No power means no debit cards can be used
Disposable cutlery and plates
A 4×4 truck that can drive where others can’t or help tow people to safety
Solar/battery radio
Dogs for company and to alert if someone is outside
Hasn’t mattered as much as I thought:
#1 = Guns! I haven’t even thought about needing my gun and realized I put too much on this. Strangers have come together in our area and are taking care of each other like you wouldn’t believe. Each person has a surplus of something and is missing something else. We all share while still respecting boundaries and only sharing what we choose. Again, this can depend on the area but here if you are acting paranoid/standoffish of others and open carrying a gun, the nice innocent people are going to avoid you and you will be isolated without community or resources. I’m still glad to have a gun but I wish I spent more time on other skills too instead of putting so much emphasis on shooting. (And to anyone who says, “it only takes one time and you will be glad for your aim”, you’re missing the point I’m trying to make here.)
#2 = Food. This is easy to find for me but it may be due to the part of the country I’m in. I can also fish, forage, and don’t cook much because I don’t want to waste water on dishes. I had shelf stable food prepped and lll probably end up only using 25% of it in a month. As people’s freezers start to thaw we’ve had big cookouts so it doesn’t go to waste and I’ve been full most nights.
Again, this list could be based on location, type of natural disaster, weather, etc But it’s interesting to me because I’m actually living it instead of preparing and wanted to share.”
As the correspondent notes in the last graf, it “could” be based on location. And it most certainly is based on the relative health of the social fabric in the area.
October 14th, 2024 at 12:37 pm
He’s not wrong.
Stocking up on supplies doesn’t help if the supplies get washed away. OTOH, if that didn’t happen, the supplies are useful after the perishables have been used up. Personally, I’d recommend a “yea and” approach. Have a non perishables stashed AND learn some basic survival skills.
He’s also correct about guns. As most proponents will tell you, conceal when you carry. Don’t walk around looking like a militia member from a DoJ propaganda poster. That just freaks people out. He pays a bit of lip service to “if it goes bad” possibility, but I think that’s because of where he lives. His community is pulling together. If he lived in a city like Minneapolis, I think he’d be valuing his guns more while guarding his property from looters because not every community pulls together during crisis.
October 14th, 2024 at 3:08 pm
He stocked up on shelf-stable food. He hunts for food. He has a solar panel, huge backup battery, satellite internet. He keeps cash on hand, extra gasoline, and drives a 4×4 instead of a Prius. GOOD for him!!
For him, this event is more of an adventure than a disaster, because he is more of a “prepper” or “survivalist” than 95% of the population (including me).
After Democrats succeed in imposing Utopia on America – when gasoline and gas vehicles are banned, when cash is banned, when hunting is banned – he’ll be as miserable as everybody else stuck sitting around waiting for Kamala to ride in on a unicorn delivering ham sandwiches.
October 14th, 2024 at 7:08 pm
I do have a large water purifier that I use daily that can also filter water from a variety of sources, like lakes, ponds, rivers and swimming pools. It filters out 99% of contaminants, including most pharmaceutical residues, holds 2 gallons of purified water and will filter up to 200 gallons before the filter needs replacing. It was only $200. It’s a little too big to tote around, so I have a smaller version for camping, etc. It’s really nice to drink pure water. My coffee, iced tea and scotch all taste better.
October 14th, 2024 at 10:07 pm
It is impossible to prepare for every bad weather possibility, there are too many variables. To consider Florida hurricanes, for example, whether you live in a stick-built house, concrete beachfront condo, or trailer house, you need to decide which disaster you’re going to prep for because different scenarios require different resources which require different storage options and different implementation timelines:
Scenario 1 – Ordinary storm. Wind and rain, no damage or flooding, we do not leave home, power and water stay on.
Scenario 2 – Storm predicted to hit directly as Category 2 or lower (or to brush us with strong wind and rain but no flooding). We do not leave home. Power out briefly but we have safe drinking water.
Scenario 3 – Storm predicted to hit us as Category 3 or above, we evacuate taking Go Bags. Storm causes damage but the building is livable and we go home. No power and no safe drinking water for several days. Possible looters.
Scenario 4 – Storm predicted to hit us as Category 4 or above, we evacuate taking INCH Bags because we anticipate major damage, building not livable, we’re never coming home.
And then you need to implement your plan early enough to beat the mad rush of other people trying to prepare for disaster at the last second.
I think the greatest asset the guy in Asheville has is his pre-storm mental attitude. He has already analyzed the likely scenarios for his location and he has prepped for them so when the disaster occurs, he already knows how to handle it and has the supplies on hand. Admirable.
How many of us can say that?
October 15th, 2024 at 6:20 am
My sister and b i l live in Sarasota. Their house was built three years ago with the most current hurricane defense construction, which includes a natural gas powered whole house generator. Milton knocked out their grid power for 12 hours, which was a non issue, and their yard was full of palm leaves. Since they have lived there for five years now, they have their evac and survival plans in place. As soon as he gets any inkling of a coming storm, he fills both cars and four five gallon cans with gas, just in case. After a storm passes, he fills both cars from the gas cans.