Complacency is the worst enemy of a prepper.  To be complacent means you have accepted the status quo and don’t believe there are looming risks.  In this case, hurricanes.  While the last hurricanes to make landfall in Georgia have been less than category three, it doesn’t mean it won’t happen.

Consider the article published in 2011 about Georgia being free from hurricanes for 114 years.  While it does give a nod to category 2 hurricanes that did make landfall, the article lets on as if the damage was minimal.  This is false.

In fact, people suffered and died; and property damage valued over $23 million  in 1947.  By today’s price index that is more than $233 million.  Even a category two hurricane can be devastating.

What did they say about hurricane Sandy when it landed?  Didn’t they call it the “storm of the century” and a “once in a hundred years storm”?

The truth is we can never know what the future holds, especially when mother nature is concerned.  Preparing for hurricanes is simple, takes a small amount of time, and is worth the effort.  Georgians should wonder if the more than a century of few storms is about over.  It ended abruptly when Sandy raged through the region.

If you live near the coastal region, making plans for evacuation of family, pets and livestock, and precious property is important.  Having such a plan will decrease stress levels when evacuating and returning to a hurricane disaster area.

The plan should include knowing how high the tidal surge in your region might be.  For instance, the tidal surge might be 12 feet above normal tide levels.   It will be important if you live at four feet above sea level to know water levels might be higher than you imagined.  If you have wind storm insurance, it won’t cover flooding caused by the tidal surge.

For more on the topic and how to prepare, see How Preppers Prepare for Hurricane Season and What Does Windstorm Insurance Cover? on The Daily Prepper News.

Happy Prepping!

The Georgia Preppers Network now has it’s own brand new forum.  Join Here: www.Georgia.PreppersNetwork.com/forum *Note:  If you are already a member of the APN, you will still need to register a new login username and password to access the forum.

You can still reach the old Georgia/APN sub-forum here

Map of all American Preppers Network and Partner meetup groups.

Scroll past the map for a listing.

Region 2

Region 3

Marietta http://www.meetup.com/Marietta-Preppers-Networking-Group

Region 4

Region 5

Region 6

Region 7

Region 8

Region 9

Region 10

Region 11

Region 12

by CCCooper

Many people believe that “SURVIVALIST” are a bunch of paranoid, anti-govt, gun crazy, loons. Nothing can be further from the truth. Many people who are PREPPERS, get the survivalist label because of an ignorant and uninformed public that has no real clue of what a prudent man should do or how a prudent man should act. For much of the lifespan of America, a man was considered a thrifty sort that put by a sufficient amount of food and supplies to carry his family thru hard times that MIGHT appear next week …or next year.

As a PREPPER, one constantly has to think of the WHAT IFs and decide if he MUST prepare, would like to prepare, or plan to prepare at a later date. The basics that the 3 B’s try to cover are definite necessities, just the amounts and volume may differ.

You can’t maintain a focus on one area of your life and hope that the rest will somehow fall into place. You must balance the 3 Bs and strive for proficiency and sufficiency in each area. That means budgeting for storage foods, medical & first aid supplies, and your method and means of protecting the first 2 Bs- ie; Guns/Ammo/Security Details, etc.

At this point, once the NEED has become apparent, you must start down the road with a plan. Plan for the immediate and plan for the WTH contingencies. Basics will come first. Food/Water/1st Aid kit/Firearm. That is as easy as it will get as the 3 Bs can be expanded exponentially. The first 72hrs will lead you to a 5 day plan, a 2 week plan, a 30 day plan, then into the future as far as you can imagine.

Start with the agreement on NEED then prioritize your needs acordingly.

by marshwillow

Even in disaster situations neatness counts.Disease can and will spread when sanitary conditions change.
Changing of clothes as often as possible.  It will be more sanitary and a mental lift for a stressful time.
Children thrive in dirt but not filth.

Get yourself in the habit of cleaning up as soon as you awake-wash up! Make up your bed and clean your sleeping area. Pest can and will invade.  Keep soaps,these are relatively inexpensive.  Clean and repair clothing. Wash hands often. Keep a pail of water and encourage children to wash entering and leaving the buggout location or home.

Be wary of people staying and sharing your living space.  Look for unhealthy hygiene.  Encourage adults to take responsibility for themselves and their living area.  It effects them and you.

You will find that everyone’s idea of clean is different.  Take time to check each other for the dreaded lice and bedbugs.  Ticks,fleas,flies and other crawlies will make your life miserable.

Your children are so suseptable to getting these crawlies, so please store some lice remover and other items to rid yourself of pests.

Don’t forget about the dog,cat or whatever pets you have.  They need to be kept pest free and reasonably clean.  Remember there will be no vets.  All in all cleanliness is essential.

by TNTCrazyLady

There are so many things that people are worried about from natural to human caused crises – From Air Quality and Invasive Species, Diseases and Privacy to UV Indexes and Boarder Alerts.

Plus I like “quick references”, so graphics and maps are my top choice.

As a result I have accumulated some links that I would like share. These two links will take you to online resources for keeping abreast of just about anything that may concern you. You can read them online, download them in PDF format or just print them off for your own hardcopy.

The ‘Top 4’ update regularly and are a great way to keep on top of all kinds of Natural and Man-made Crises. They have live alerts, that can be emailed and or sent to your cell phone:
http://nmurbanhomesteader.blogspot.com/2011/08/4-great-sites-to-help-keep-you-informed.html

Threat Matrix (global) Open Source Intelligence Dashboard Control / Fast Jump Menu Maps – Maps, Graphs, Charts, Predictions, Lists of Recent Incidents, and other items are all updated automatically as new data is added to our databases from which it draws.

The Disaster Center Follow for links to: NOAA — Warnings – Advisories; Current Warning; NWS Active/Special Warnings;Surface Analysis Loop; Graphical Forecasts; National Forecast; National Radar; National Satellite; Satellite Environment Plot; Real Time Water Data; NWS Offices and Centers

Nature’s Fury – Real Time Activity/Alerts for Preparedness and research

Earth Observatory NASA – For Risks on: Aerosol Optical Depth; Chlorophyll; Cloud Fraction; Land Surface Temperature; Net Radiation; Sea Surface Temperature; Snow Cover; Total Rainfall; Vegetation, etc.

This one has the links to various potential crises, including the Top 4: http://www.scribd.com/doc/62202540/US-Hazard-Risk-Map-Links-August-2011

TNT

I share Preparedness, Homesteading, Self-reliance knowledge & doc’s at: http://NMUrbanHomesteader.blogspot.com/ & http://www.scribd.com/TNTCrazyLady

All links in these two documents were validated as of August 2011.
“If it is to be, it is up to me.”
William H. Johnsen
Depression-era realist/impressionist painter