# Storm Shows Americans Are Totally Unprepared



## Woody (Nov 11, 2008)

This is a piece about the latest storms hitting California. It keeps pointing out that these folks had several days of notice, yet not many took heed. My favorite quotes are highlighted in the beginning of the article:

"I thought we were going to watch tv all day, but now the power's out," Beth Ludwig said. Her mom added that the kids had never experienced a power outage before.

Georgia Virgili was one of the hundreds of thousands in the Bay Area who lost most of the conveniences of modern life.

"I didn't have power," Virgili said. "I couldn't get my car out of the garage, I have no food, I have no cash, so I'm trying to forage for something."

http://www.shtfplan.com/headline-news/storm-shows-americans-are-totally-unprepared-i-have-no-food-i-have-no-cash-so-im-trying-to-forage-for-something_12122014

As the biggest storm in five years took aim at California this week cities across the state distributed sandbags, cancelled school and warned residents to prepare for power outages. And though the storm didn't really live up to the media hype, some people did take the warnings to heart and made last minute trips to the grocery store to stock up on foodstuffs and other supplies just so they wouldn't have to go out in the rain.

But not everyone was prepared. One San Francisco resident in particular highlights just how susceptible America is to disasters and what to expect in the event of a widespread emergency.

"I thought we were going to watch tv all day, but now the power's out," Beth Ludwig said. Her mom added that the kids had never experienced a power outage before.

Georgia Virgili was one of the hundreds of thousands in the Bay Area who lost most of the conveniences of modern life.

"I didn't have power," Virgili said. "I couldn't get my car out of the garage, I have no food, I have no cash, so I'm trying to forage for something." (CBS)

The storm that swept California over the last 48 hours wasn't really that severe. Moreover, the public had nearly three days of advanced warning that it was coming. Yet, even this was apparently not enough to convince people to make even the most basic of preparations.

Mr. Virgili was totally unprepared, as are about 99% of Americans based on recent preparedness surveys conducted by The Discovery Channel.

As many as three million Americans now fall into the category dubbed 'preppers' - people who are making detailed plans for the end of the world as we know it.

The preppers are an ever-growing group of survivalists who take extreme measures to prepare for a major catastrophic event.

Given the various threats faced by humanity, including scenarios like an economic collapse. a rogue attack targeting our power grid or massive natural disasters, one can only imagine what it will look like should the system as a whole experience a sustained large-scale disaster.

To give you an idea, here are a couple of pictures taken in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy in 2012. Within 72 hours the system began to break down as transportation systems in large metro areas came to a standstill. The only supplies available were being distributed by the National Guard and availability was so thin that FEMA had to place emergency orders for more food. There was no clean water, no gas, and grocery stores had been cleaned out to the point that people resorted to digging through the trash just to find a meal:

dumpster-diving-sandy3

Luckily, the emergency was similar to what we saw in California, so it didn't come as a surprise to government officials, who had already mobilized the National Guard with distribution areas for Meals Ready To Eat and filtered water:

72hours-2

Time and again we see the same story play out during disasters. During winter storms grocery store shelves have been cleaned out. After the Haitian earthquake tens of thousands were left without medical aid and armed gangs looted and killed anything they could. And who could forget Hurricane Katrina, where the government failed so miserably with their emergency response that it took them three days just to get clean water to those stuck in the Super Dome.

Now consider what would happen if something like this went on for days or weeks. What about months?

A recently released Congressional report suggests that a worst-case scenario grid down power outage lasting one year would leave 9 out of 10 Americans dead. This is an extreme example, of course, but certainly a plausible one and it emphasizes just how serious and horrific it will be for those who are not prepared.

That nearly 99% of Americans have made absolutely no plans to insulate themselves from disasters and emergencies is shocking, but to be expected. Most people are under the impression that all of those billions of dollars being spent by the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency are for supplies that will be distributed to the general population should disaster strike. The government will help, but their capacity in an extreme emergency will be very limited. Former Secretary of DHS Janet Napolitano has warned that their response teams will likely be overwhelmed and she has recommended that people have at least a two week supply of food and water. But that warning has fallen on deaf ears, as evidenced by the "tragic" stories we hear in the aftermath of disasters on a regular basis.

America as a whole is not prepared.

If the worst happens we can fully expect a complete breakdown of our civilized society within 72 hours. What's astonishing is that much of what is to come could be prevented if every individual took responsibility for themselves and put together a basic preparedness plan that included some emergency provisions like a 30 day food supply, water reserves, medical supplies and a personal defense plan.


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## Genevieve (Sep 21, 2009)

Hubby was telling me this morning about the woman named georgia. I just shook my head.

I've got news for people, all that money the gov is spending on supplies ARE FOR THEM! and not the public lol they're covering their own azzes and don't give a rats behind about the public at large.

I can't believe that the one person's kids have never seen a power outage. boggles my mind. we have them all the time here, usually from either limbs/trees down or folks taking out poles in wreaks 


I will bet you that these same people will never follow the directions and get supplies ready for the next time.


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## Alfred_E_Neuman (Dec 5, 2014)

Amazing isnt? Around here, keeping 2 weeks worth of food in the pantry is considered the normal. So are gardens. Go down into town, and they are panicking over a snow storm. They have nothing! 
A good friend of mine was picking up some small items at a grocery store prior to a storm. There was a woman in front of him in the line, she had a stack of microwave oven dinners. He asked how she was going to cook them and she said in the microwave, like he was dumb!


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## Tirediron (Jul 12, 2010)

People are only as smart as their connection to their food source no matter how wise they think they are.


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## Gians (Nov 8, 2012)

The news stations really covered this storm big time for days, telling and showing people how to get ready. Hopefully since the storm wasn't that bad, the next set of warnings won't be ignored by more people. I've seen what the winds can do to trees down in Sacramento and even remember seeing parts of houses going down the river when I was little. Luckily nothing that bad happened from this last storm, winds didn't live up to what they were predicting. We were more than ready, as was my family. Usual number of trees fell over and there was some street flooding in and around Sacto (aka City of the Trees). It's one of the only places I know of that still allows people to dump their yard waste and leaves in the street for pick up. Then it comes as a big surprise that the drains are clogged during heavy rains :hmmm: The City composts it, which the residents should be doing. When I lived there, I'd sometimes go around and collect leaves to compost. Wife and I have talked to several people in and out of State and, without giving away too much info, have noticed the prepping idea is catching on...ever so slowly but it is happening. That said, some will unfortunately never have a clue.


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## Woody (Nov 11, 2008)

Speaking of advance notice... I remember something I forgot to post about!

The big storm that hit western NYS a few weeks ago. The weather channel predicted it a week ahead of time and had stories and updates on it every day. As it got closer, they did a pretty good job of predicting where the hardest hit areas will be. So, storm comes, and comes, and comes. In the aftermath the Governor has a news conference saying how NYS needed their own weather forecasting agency so they would not be caught off guard and could have advance warning of major storms. 

TWC seemed a bit upset. ALL day they played the governors news conference and then showed where they hinted at a major storm in their 10 day forecast. They followed up with short segments of their forecasts of where the snow would fall and how much. It must have really pissed someone off at TWC because for the next two days, I caught segments of it. It was like a 4 or 5 minute segment starting with the Gov.'s statement and then their forecasts starting at 10 days out.

The Governor countered back with another news conference saying he did not mean they did NOT have advance warning... But... Well... That they NEEDED a new agency to coordinate all the weather forecasts and make appropriate preparations. His response conference was pretty sad.


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## notyermomma (Feb 11, 2014)

Woody said:


> The Governor countered back with another news conference saying he did not mean they did NOT have advance warning... But... Well... That they NEEDED a new agency to coordinate all the weather forecasts


Translation ... the governor's ex-wife's third cousin NEEDED a kickback for starting his new meteorology forecasting service. Fixed that for ya.  (I'm all for job creation, don't get me wrong. But can we at least be honest about it? Pretty please?)

One thing to keep in mind with the article in the OP is to consider the source. It's on a prepper website. Which is not to say that none of those individual anecdotes didn't happen, but the writer has a clear agenda which he hammers home in _very_ broad terms for the last six paragraphs. By definition an article like this isn't "news," it's a rant based on current events.

After most disasters, news outlets seek out the unprepared because they have dramatic stories that generate ratings. Preppers by definition can't offer that, so they don't make the headlines. I would agree that most Americans aren't as prepared as we need to be, but both the MSM and the author of the article quoted here are cherry-picking their information.


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## VoorTrekker (Oct 7, 2012)

http://home.toshiba.com/news/read/article/the_associated_press-california_cleans_up_as_storm_hits_southwest-ap

The photo is quite interesting.

"CAMARILLO, Calif. (AP) - Californians cleaned up Saturday from a major storm that soaked the drought-stricken state before moving east to drop rain on the Southwest.

Perhaps the biggest job was in Camarillo, about 50 miles northwest of Los Angeles, where a Friday mudslide besieged houses, making 13 uninhabitable. The debris flowed down a hillside burned by wildfire last year.

"It's quite an earth-moving operation," said Elton Gallegly, whose wife's family owns one of the damaged homes and who stopped by Saturday to check on progress."


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## Grimm (Sep 5, 2012)

Genevieve said:


> Hubby was telling me this morning about the woman named georgia. I just shook my head.
> 
> I've got news for people, all that money the gov is spending on supplies ARE FOR THEM! and not the public lol they're covering their own azzes and don't give a rats behind about the public at large.
> 
> ...


Growing up in California from the age of 7 to now at 35 I can honestly say I have only experienced one power outage in California. It was when a car crashed in to a power pole a block away from our apartment. The power was out for maybe 3 hours during the day. My neighbors were freaking out. I was just sitting on my couch with a book and my camp stove coffee.

Before the age of 7 we lived in Texas and had at least one outage a year. Taking a bath in the evenings by candle/oil lamp light was common.

Even when we lived in the mountains last year we heard stories of how the power goes out for a week or two at a time but never experienced it.


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## Woody (Nov 11, 2008)

I have lived through many, from a few minutes to over a week. I'd say most were a couple of hours long.

Funniest one I remember... I lived rural in NE PA. Was remodeling the home so had no electric or running water. I go up one morning and got ready for work. Left and started the commute, it was early and still a ways from sunup. Drove the mile or so to the main road, then a few more to where I could hit the 4-lane. I'm driving along, sipping my coffee... I had the strangest feeling something was up, different, but couldn't figure out what it was. I drove on and got on the 4-lane. I started getting a stronger feeling something was up, I was seeing very few vehicles, even for that early. I'm cruising the 4-lane and keep looking down at the Susquehanna River valley to my left. Something was different. Then it hit me!!! There were NO lights anywhere!!! I started looking harder and sure enough, NOTHING was lit up!!

I kept on. I wondered what was up, I don't remember a storm, but there could have been. Somewhere between there and town, lights started coming back on. I do remember as they came back on it was not all at once. I could see "blocks" or areas coming on, then a pause, then another one, pause, more... I don't remember the cause but it was the talk of the day. Next morning I took closer notice of the lights on my commute. Lots of places on the first mile of my commute should have told me what was up, I just did not notice.


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## Alfred_E_Neuman (Dec 5, 2014)

Woody said:


> Speaking of advance notice... I remember something I forgot to post about!
> 
> The big storm that hit western NYS a few weeks ago. The weather channel predicted it a week ahead of time and had stories and updates on it every day. As it got closer, they did a pretty good job of predicting where the hardest hit areas will be. So, storm comes, and comes, and comes. In the aftermath the Governor has a news conference saying how NYS needed their own weather forecasting agency so they would not be caught off guard and could have advance warning of major storms.
> 
> ...


Yeah, Cuomo is as dumb as he is ugly which is pretty dang UGLY!


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## Alfred_E_Neuman (Dec 5, 2014)

notyermomma said:


> Translation ... the governor's ex-wife's third cousin NEEDED a kickback for starting his new meteorology forecasting service. Fixed that for ya.  (I'm all for job creation, don't get me wrong. But can we at least be honest about it? Pretty please?)
> 
> One thing to keep in mind with the article in the OP is to consider the source. It's on a prepper website. Which is not to say that none of those individual anecdotes didn't happen, but the writer has a clear agenda which he hammers home in _very_ broad terms for the last six paragraphs. By definition an article like this isn't "news," it's a rant based on current events.
> 
> After most disasters, news outlets seek out the unprepared because they have dramatic stories that generate ratings. Preppers by definition can't offer that, so they don't make the headlines. I would agree that most Americans aren't as prepared as we need to be, but both the MSM and the author of the article quoted here are cherry-picking their information.


Yes, sir, the kickbacks and what not sounds about right for this state!


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## Alfred_E_Neuman (Dec 5, 2014)

This thread reminded me of when I was growing up, we used to live not far from the town high school. During football season we could hear the band, and the announcer from the house clear as day.
One winter, we had a storm. In the morning, I looked out and did not think things looked bad at all nor did my dad. Ok, so he dropped me off at school on his way to work. 
The student parking lot a gravel and dirt field was empty but the faculty lot was full. I went in to my first period class advanced biology and turns out the school was on a two hour delay. My teacher gave me the quiz for the day while killing time and then came back 20minutes later to tell me school had been canceled. Turns out the out laying areas were all snowed in. 
My biology teacher asked me how I was going to get home. I shrugged my shoulders and said, I will walk. 
And walk I did. 
Now a days I am sure either me or my parents would of been arrested!!


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## Beaniemaster2 (May 22, 2012)

Well, I'm sure even the best prepared couldn't anticipate a mud slide that could wipe it all out... Sometimes you just can't prepare for everything... I really feel for those people, prepared or not...


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## Tirediron (Jul 12, 2010)

The mudslide part really sucks and I feel for those people. being too lazy or fluff headed to buy a case of water and a few thing that a person could eat cold when a storm is coming is just not too wise.


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## Cotton (Oct 12, 2013)

I was reading some old threads on this topic. I concluded this thread could have just as easily been named "All Storms Show Americans Are Totally Unprepared"

I even ran across an old thread I started about "power off drills"
http://www.preparedsociety.com/forum/f2/power-off-night-22284/

People don't listen or learn&#8230; After the '11 tornadoes I was without power 12 days. I'd bet dollars against donuts I have neighbors tonight who wouldn't have fresh batteries for a flashlight or a candle in their house that wasn't wrapped in lace sitting in the bathroom. Especially younger folks and this is a rural area. Sad&#8230;


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## Bigdog57 (Oct 9, 2008)

We see this here in not-always-sunny Florida too. We get several days warning of approaching hurricanes and tropical storms, but there are always a high percentage of folks with no clue. Of course the majority are Yankee transplants, with no hurricane experience. Just before a hurricane or bad storm, I like to go to Wally's for "The Floor Show"..... It's great fun to see those who do have some small clue rushing in to buy the stocks of bottled water, batteries, flashlights, canned food, etc. They fight each other - soccer moms wrestling with college kids. 
I'm well stocked, being a lifelong Floridian and well used to the storms (almost never as bad as hyped). We in T-town are especially blessed, as a geographic anomaly directs the storms away from us usually. We haven't had a "bad 'un" in decades. 
It's funny too, seeing those same idiots coming back to the stores later, trying to return the emergency items they just bought. They don't comprehend the idea that another storm will be coming again.....
We preppers just sit back and chuckle.....


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## TheLazyL (Jun 5, 2012)

Grimm said:


> ...honestly say I have only experienced one power outage in California. ....


When we live in a small Town power outages lasted about 4 or 6 hours.

Now we live in the country and the longest we have been out is 3 days. At day 2 the house was getting a bit on the cold side so I fired up the generator to take off the chill, wife could do laundry and use her curling iron.

After 3 days the power came on for a half a day then went out for another full day. Tree limb.

To me it was a slight inconvenience. For the wife it was TEOTWAWKI. And most on my inconvenience was answering the wife's questions, why, how long, should we call the power company again, what's taking so long...vract:


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## TheLazyL (Jun 5, 2012)

Bigdog57 said:


> ...It's funny too, seeing those same idiots coming back to the stores later, trying to return the emergency items they just bought....


Reason for returns is because they used maxed out credit cards to make the purchases?

Or they needed the welfare money for more important things...


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## Bigdog57 (Oct 9, 2008)

Could well be. 
I've had only a few power outages in my AO. Never more than a few hours.
Dad and Mom once had power off for several days, and they are much closer to town. But they are on "Tallahassee Arc & Spark" with it's bad reputation for outage. I'm on a better run county co-op.
Being in a twelve year old DW, I am experiencing the expected appliance failures - cheapos installed. The main central heat&AC has failed, so I am using window AC's and portable heaters - my power bill has dropped considerably, the items can be run on my genset, and I have backup propane heat to augment the electric. I like it better now!
Big fridge failed, but I do quite well on my 'emergency' mini-fridge and chest freezer (originally bought for deer hunting).
Clothes drier failed, but the sun dries things quite nicely with no electricity needed!
Yep, "A country boy can survive!" And quite comfortably.


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## Meerkat (May 31, 2011)

Grocery prices alone should make more prep or buy when on sale and store up when possible.


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