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Responding to Realistic INCH Scenarios

4K views 36 replies 19 participants last post by  Mule Skinner 
#1 ·
This thread is partly motivated by the flooding on the Feather river, and the poor condition, and serious damage to the Oroville Dam.
But I hope it will move on to cover other, similar events.

What totally plausible, realistic crisis events could destroy your home, and what have you done to mittigate that event?


1. I suggest the Oroville Dam is the perfect definition of an I.N.C.H. event. If I still lived anywhere along the Feather or the Sacramento River, I would pack my stuff, list the house for sale, and move to higher ground. Preferably higher ground in another state.

I'm not coming home, because my home is now floating in San Fransico Bay.

2. I currently live in a rural part of the Ozark mtns. We have wild fires on a regular basis. Some of these fires grow large enough to wipe out unprepared homesteads. I responded to this by clearing a very large area around my buildings. I also shopped around for a good farm insurance policy that covers wildfires.
 
#2 ·
This thread is partly motivated by the flooding on the Feather river, and the poor condition, and serious damage to the Oroville Dam. But I hope it will move on to cover other, similar events.

What totally plausible, realistic crisis events could destroy your home, and what have you done to mittigate that event?


1. I suggest the Oroville Dam is the perfect definition of an I.N.C.H. event. If I still lived anywhere along the Feather or the Sacramento River, I would pack my stuff, list the house for sale, and move to higher ground. Preferably higher ground in another state.

I'm not coming home, because my home is now floating in San Fransico Bay.

2. I currently live in a rural part of the Ozark mtns. We have wild fires on a regular basis. Some of these fires grow large enough to wipe out unprepared homesteads. I responded to this by clearing a very large area around my buildings. I also shopped around for a good farm insurance policy that covers wildfires.
I think a lot depends on the state of your insurance company and the scope of the disaster.

I am south of Saint Louis. I have earthquake insurance. If the New Madrid goes it could be an INCH situation for me. More likely an uncomfortable rebuilding period.

Though Katrina was an INCH situation for a lot of folks... The area is still habitable. Not many folks are rebuilding though.

It would take A LOT for me to leave Tyler Island... I own it... it is home. Too many resources there. Fires, earthquakes, floods, I could weather them all. Now if Missouri Became the Peoples Republik of Missouri... I may have to re locate.
 
#3 ·
Greatest threat for me is if Mexico takes over Texas. I think I would rather be killed than INCH out in that scenario. So many Mexicans and even Americans who's loyalty is with Mexico in Texas that it is only a matter of time. I guess we might get to learn from California first but our huge border would be hard to defend especially with half of their troops already here. There is no relocation insurance I know of that covers being forced out by war. Unlikely but still highest probability where I live.
 
#4 ·
Naturally Occurring Disasters. In Texas a natural disaster may be a result of severe weather such as floods, tornados, hurricanes, drought, thunderstorms, winter storms and fire or less commonly from a disease epidemic.
http://texashelp.tamu.edu/004-natural/index.php
Thats funny. You are FROM Texas and you are concerned about a takeover by the Mexican Govt. I would bet the Texas National Guard would disagree.
Your concerns of a political and cultural takeover are valid. I hear more chatter of Texas succession than from ANY other state. I would side on the side of Texans being able to take care of themselves more than any other state.

Your Lone Star State will fare just fine from that threat my friend.
Heck you guys were one of the only places that handled EBOLA.:D:
 
#6 ·
Honestly, I think the only true and really possible INCH level events would be either "The Big One" (we are over due for it) being even bigger than the experts predict or some sort of TEOTWAWKI level event that changes the world forever. Anything less, and I would come back home and rebuild.

Heck, in most TEOTWAWKI level stuff, I would still be here at home.
 
#7 ·
House fire. People focus on the big things and ignore the mundane. And while it is possible you CAN go home again, if the fire doesn't destroy everything - or at least that you can rebuild if it does - it is also possible, if you don't have fire alarms, smoke detectors, extinguishers, and a plan, that you or members of your family won't be concerned about that because you'll be dead.
 
#8 ·
Most common one? Fire.
There's others of course, earthquakes have totaled homes (not so common with better/modern ones in developed countries) a tsunami could level your entire city. Huricanes in USA for sure can and do destroy homes in US.
Then you have other examples. Economic crisis in various countries have forces people to move abroad lookign for work. War can force you to leave too. I know of home invasions where the family had to leave the Province or even the country because the people they killed defending themselves were cops or criminal families kept threatening them.
Financial persona disaster, sickness, may leave you homeless or force oyu to move too.
FerFAL
 
#9 ·
The most plausible risk in my area would be flooding.

When I first moved here, I lived in an area where I was unable to leave my neighborhood. All three ways to get out were under water by 4 to 8 feet of water.

I moved to where I'm at now and while flooding could be an issue, it's not very likely, as I'm above the flood plain now
 
#10 ·
Forest Fire for me, it is the only down side to living in a National Forest.
 
#11 ·
INCH is a "not coming back" kit.

Flooding, fire, mudslide, avalanche, rock-slide, minor earthquake, hurricane, tornado...anything that could possibly destroy your residence is still livable ground and (if covered properly) recoverable with insurance.

I do think some natural disasters could force me from my home, depending the location. Looking at the sink-holes in FL, those would be non-livable conditions. Some earthquakes cause far more than just structural damage and I've seen some properties that would be financially impossible to deal with perpetual mud slides. I've witnessed Mt. St. Helens blow...if too close to the epicenter, that's a definite immediate INCH. The New Madrid or even the whole Yellow Stone "super volcano" events would make inhabitable living conditions for a generation if they occurred. I've seen some rough droughts that affected wells and water tables to the point that without power, those places would become literally inhabitable during the drought periods.

Add in various man-made situations such as a nuclear power plan up wind from you. If government housing was being built next door. Consider something as severe as Flint Michigan; if something affected the ground water long term...that could quickly become an INCH consideration. Red Dawn fantasies are just that; fun to debate but highly unlikely. I recommend training and preparation as prudent "minutemen", but there are far more dangerous threats to your residence than blue helmets or paratrooping Chicoms.

Finally, there is the age-disease where all the old people INCH from north to south because of that darned cold weather:D:

INCH is really a catastrophic plan that should be considered, but in reality, I wouldn't pour a lot of resources or time into it. The reality that your home could be destroyed by fire, flood or tornado are far more likely and recovery plans are far more important than just vacating the region.

ROCK6
 
#14 ·
We have fires. Twice in the last 23 years I was told to evacuate. Actually the lay out of my property, there is little worry about it getting to my house, with the fire brakes I have but I play the game as a curtesy to the fire fighters. Its easier on them if they don't have to worry about me. Its no big deal I have a large horse trailer with living quarters all prepped out and they set up an area in town at the fair grounds. A big camp out of evacuees, more of a get together then any thing else.

I live on a private road a mile from the highway. A more common event is getting snowed in. I'm retired, I don't have to be anywhere and I can last a long time setting it out or I could dig a path to the highway if I decided I wanted to go somewhere. But I have plenty of wood, food and water.

We have had occasions where the power went out for a week or more. No biggie, I had two generators. Also enough camping gear to make it fun.

I'm too high (4500 ft) and no rivers close by so floods are not a big deal. I'm in the mountains so we don't get tornados. I did get one good hail storm but no damage that the insurance wouldn't cover.

Worse comes to worse I have plenty of books, a wood stove, and candles to read by.
 
#15 ·
1. Local volcanic activity that destroys or makes unusable the property in the area

2. Volcanic activity that drops more than three feet of ash in my area.

3. Invasion that is not likely to be repelled within a year.

4. Announcement of an impending extraterrestrial object impact in my area.

5. Rapid climate change that would result in glaciation over my area.

6. Earth subsidence resulting in submergence of my area.

7. Formation of a new volcano on or within twenty-five miles of my location.

8. Rapid climate change that would result in enough sea rise to inundate my area.

9. Nuclear device detonation close enough to my location to result in long term radiation levels well above 0.1R for one year or more.

10. Widespread HAZMAT incident in my area that would have serious effects lasting more than a year.

All I can think of off the top of my head.

Just my opinion.
 
#17 ·
4. Announcement of an impending extraterrestrial object impact in my area.

.

The incoming asteroid is a very real possibility, especially since we've had several surprise arrivals. (Don't understand why that is!) The problem I see with this one is the wide range of variables:
-- How big is it?
-- How much area will it affect?
-- How much time do we have?
-- How accurate is the prediction of impact location?

As far as I know, we've never had a large asteroid impact in historic time (except maybe that one in a remote part of Russia a hundred years ago.) We have no experience whatsoever in dealing with these.

-------

As an aside: A couple of friends and I have had fun speculating that these surprise asteroids are actually alien space ships -- in disguise so we don't recognize what they are -- flying by to have a close look at us.
 
#19 ·
See, before I ever heard the term INCH, I called it an ENDCIV pack as in "End of Civilization". The bag intended to be, essentially, a homesteading kit for the worst possible events. Not just what I need to set up a nice camp while I wait for things to blow over, or a kit to get me to another safe location...even beyond anything like that...a true, Break Glass in Case of TEOTWAWKI bag...

To me, INCH is the pack where I go some place with nothing but this gear and have to build a new place to live from scratch, potentially without ever coming back to any place because for some reason all those places to come back to are gone.
 
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#27 ·
For me, There are only 3 scenarios I can think of that would turn into an INCH scenario.

1. EF-5 tornado. Sure, we could rebuild as we have insurance, but it means pack up everything and anything that is super important and leave in less than 5 minutes of warning. THIS is the main bug-out scenario I plan/practice for. I have eyeballed 5 tornados or funnels from my house in the 24 years I have lived here. All were EF-1 thru EF-3. I did see an EF-4 pass over my neighborhood from a distance while we were storm-chasing once. We have had an EF-5 that was heading directly towards us at about 45 minutes away and were preparing to leave when it dissipated.

2. Extraterrestrial event. Aliens land and take over our city, asteroid hits our city, Etc. A CME or even an EMP isn't an INCH scenario, as the house would still be standing.
Interesting note: The Tunguska Event (The Russian meteor impact over 100 years ago) was not an actual impact, but an air-burst of an up to 600 ft diameter meteor blowing up miles up in the sky, theorized by scientists. An actual impact would be n extinction level event.

3. Nuclear disaster at a nuclear power plant to my southwest. The prevailing winds blow from the south west. Why in the world they decided to build a nuke plant directly upwind from the DFW metroplex is puzzling......

Hick, you are a little less likely but still in the risk zone for large tornados. Joplin got hit hard.

As far as mitigating, I try and keep both vehicles that would be used as BOVs at least 1/2 full of gas at all times. Both have kits in them always. Tornado season (or other risky times) I fill up each vehicle upon return, (we have 3 gas stations next to neighborhood) Also, I have my vehicle laptop on with a continuously updating radar loop so its already to go, if needed. If it looks particularly stormy, I have extra sets of clothes already loaded in the vehicles, along with the 2 dog crates in my van.

I have mapped out several different routes that would be tangent to a likely path of a tornado. I have back roads and side roads with lots of options to avoid getting stuck in traffic. Getting on an interstate or freeway would be deadly. Some of my travel options are also power line and pipeline right-of-ways that have nice flat ground and often have gravel pathways. They also often have pole gates. I have bolt-cutters.

In the event of a non-weather emergency, I would just use the bad weather plan, although I think we might have a bit more time to prepare in advance of the emergency.
 
#28 ·
2. Extraterrestrial event. Aliens land and take over our city, asteroid hits our city, Etc. A CME or even an EMP isn't an INCH scenario, as the house would still be standing.
Interesting note: The Tunguska Event (The Russian meteor impact over 100 years ago) was not an actual impact, but an air-burst of an up to 600 ft diameter meteor blowing up miles up in the sky, theorized by scientists. An actual impact would be n extinction level event.

.
I think a landing by intelligent aliens would be a big time disaster~!

Likelihood, if they have sophisticated space travel, that they are much more technically advanced, i.e. more powerful militarily.

Possibility that they will arrive with new viruses and bacteria, and other such as we have no defenses for.

Complete ignorance, on our part, of how to deal with them.

Yep. That'd be Bad News.
 
#31 ·
I am not convinced that all alien species that develop intersteller or intra-galactic space travel would necessarily be all that much more advance than we are in other ways. Could be, certainly. But not an absolute. I actually believe we could be travelling outside our solar system right now, given just one breakthrough in technology. Which I happen to think has occurred, but is not being used for one of several reasons.

Just my opinion.
 
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#33 ·
You're right: Aliens who come to visit would be anywhere on a wide spectrum of possibilities (and even impossibilities!) However, I think it would be a mistake to assume that they are friendly and not very smart.

In order for travel outside our solar system to be practical, we need propulsion that is both MUCH faster and capable of moving MUCH more mass than we have today. I can't argue existence of it one way or the other, but so far I haven't seen any indication of it. Even if we had a light speed drive, the nearest star is still four years one-way.
 
#36 ·
In my area, every large area you clear of trees and brush, immediately starts growing native grass and clover. Every time I want to clear a hilly area, I fence it and let the Goats thin down the brush. Then I clear the main trees with a chain saw, and let my livestock keep the grass short.

Btw, we average 44" of rain. One year we got 80".
 
#35 ·
The reality is, until human kind spreads out at least into our solar system with permanent colonies, there are threats out there that just cannot be prepared for and will wipe us out.

There are events that, regardless of the sophistication and depth of your preparations, just cannot be ultimately survived. Sure, you might live longer than some others. Sure, you and yours may be able to claim being the last humans alive.

Really though, what is the point of that?

I prefer to focus on the level of events with a much greater chance of survival, and hope that the breadth and depth of my preps will help me through if something bigger happens.
 
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