[Brutal]

So...

First, I accidentally posted my greeting on the "Events, Connections and Get Togethers" part instead of the New Member Introductions part, so hello...

I grew up on the Mississippi coast, and am former military... I've always been preparing... either for a lack of money... a hurricane... or for deployment...

I've read a lot of the boards (not enough!), and have learned a lot!

I do have a question though... I'm living in Houston at the moment, and am at least months (if not a year) away from being able to afford some land in a reasonable location... How would you prepare in the interim?

What I mean is this... I honestly know that I am capable of surviving off of the land (I've done it before)... but I now have a fiance who I would have to take with me in the event of a SHTF situation... would you try to prepare to bug in inside a major metropolitan area, or try to prepare to bug out to somewhere in the woods? When I say a major metro area - we look up to see the downtown skyline... I really don't know that this would be a good place to try to bug in at...

Your thoughts? And thanks for your response.

 

[kev]

Getting out of houston during a disaster is not a viable solution - just look up what happened during the Hurricane Rita evacuation. People were running out of gas after sitting on the highway for 12+ hours, and only moving a couple of miles.

A fried of mine tried to get out of Nederland, Texas in front of Rita. 8 hours later she had only moved 3 miles. When my parents evacuated Bridge City in front of Hurricane Rita, what normally took 1.25 hours to drive, took 9 hours.

I live in Jasper, Texas. Right before Hurricane Rita hit, I made a trip to houston to get my son from my ex-wife. She said he would be safer with me, since Rita had a path of hitting Houston dead center. Traffic was backed up for 9+ miles through towns like Lumberton. Little did we know that Rita would move to the east and hit Orange, Texas - East Texas head on.

Unless its a nuclear attack an some other reason where you "have" to leave, bugging in (shelter in place) is probably going to be your only real option.

First, I recommend that you look into a way to filter water - and stockpile some water. For my personal use, I have a couple of berkey water filters - the royal berkey and the berkey light. With 2 filters installed in the unit, it has a rating of about 6,000 gallons. I heard the ceramic filters have a rating of something like 10,000 gallons.

Safe drinking water, and washing your hands is the best way to prevent the spread of disease - that is why I list it first.

After the water, I recommend stockpiling some meals in mylar bags with oxygen absorbers. This can be anything from dried pasta, shells and cheese to beans and rice.

Some people like to stock up on stuff like MREs - which can get expensive.

Mountain house makes a wide selection of survival / disaster preparedness foods.

Personally, I'am trying to stock up on a wide range of foods - everything from dried beans and rice, to noodles to canned goods.

One thing though - only stock what you eat. That way you can rotate out your stock easier, you just eat and replace.

Are you able to cook without electricity? Do you have a camp stove, grill or something else you can cook with?

5 - 7 day igloo or coleman ice chest - will keep your food colder then in a fridge that you open with no electricty.

Hand crank radios and flashlights.

 

[Brutal]

Thanks!

I had to fight the traffic through Rita to get some hardware for my company to Austin for shipping... because Fedex had closed... it wasn't a fun task. I do know most back roads between Austin and the Louisiana border... but wouldn't prefer that path. For Ike, we stayed in... It was about like every hurricane I weathered in when growing up on the MS coast... the worst part was watching the morons who didn't prepare... they were scooping water out of drains, pools, and fountains because they hadn't stocked enough.

I think I'm trying to figure out just how much would be the minimum I should put into prepping so that I can put the most possible away for land.

Funny you mention Lumberton... I drove through there this past weekend... I spent a few days in Big Thicket with just my basic gear - you guys call it a BOB?. I have some pictures somewhere... I will post them when I get a chance.

 

[indjoe]

hello and welcome
should you plan to bug in major city? yes you should be prepared to bug in may not be
the ideal situation but if it's gridlock in every direction a nuke has gone off or bio weapon
you would want to stay inside.but also have a plan to get out of dodge if you have enough warning or maybe your on vacation and a locale disaster happens at home
have an bol outside of normal area atleast a storage locker with some clothes if climate control food water so the answer is yes plan to but also have plan b don't be so set on a plan that you can't change with what is happening we can't plan for everything but
we can set ourselves up for success

 

[kev]

If you live close to the baytown, la porte area, do you have enough plastic and duct tape to seal off your windows and doors - just in case of a chemical release.

During the first Persian gulf conflict in 1990 - 1991, the Israelis were told to have heavy plastic and duct tape ready - just in case Saddam Hussein dropped a SCUD missile on Israel that contains chemical warfare agents.

 

[Brutal]

First, I recommend that you look into a way to filter water - and stockpile some water. For my personal use, I have a couple of berkey water filters - the royal berkey and the berkey light. With 2 filters installed in the unit, it has a rating of about 6,000 gallons. I heard the ceramic filters have a rating of something like 10,000 gallons.

Safe drinking water, and washing your hands is the best way to prevent the spread of disease - that is why I list it first.

Thanks for the info Kev. I have a Katadyn Pocket and a Hiker Pro... do you think it would be a good idea to get a larger gravity fed type for the home?

 

[Crutch]

Your in the perfect location to find survival groups also.

Real survival groups. Not hate groups, or religion based "survival groups".

Groups where its fun, you go to learn, make contacts, and friends.

Texas has more survival groups then any other state. I suggest contacting a few, and attending a few meet and greets.

 

[kev]

survival in houston texas

Thanks for the info Kev. I have a Katadyn Pocket and a Hiker Pro... do you think it would be a good idea to get a larger gravity fed type for the home?

Its just you and your partner? Then a single hand held filter should do just fine. I have heard some good things about the Katadyn Pocket filter. But do you have a source of fresh water near by?

On the other hand, my wife and I have 3 adult children, and several young grand children close by (live in the same town). I cases like that, where you have lots of people that depend on you, then maybe look at a larger gravity fed system.

I have a royal berkey and a berkey light - each unit has 2 filters. As a backup I'am looking at buying some ceramic filters.

As for groups:

Texas group - http://www.survivalistboards.com/group.php?groupid=4

East Texas group - http://www.survivalistboards.com/group.php?groupid=5

I know that a few of our Houston members had formed local groups and were having meetings somewhere in Houston.

 

[Brutal]

After your comment, I was looking at the Katadyn ceramic filters... they have two - one rated at ~40,000 gallons and another rated in months of usage.

Thanks for the group info. I will look it up.

 

[letsgetreal]

1st, Hello and welcome.......2nd, that's something you have to decide.......living in the woods is harder than it looks, not to mention hundreds, if not thousands others will be doing the same thing.......a good rule of thumb, imo, is to plan in BI, unless you HAVE to BO, but then have a place lined up, other then the woods.....btw, when BI, try turning off your electricity for a few days and see how you'd survive...........you need to get and boil water, get and cook food, preserve food, etc.........

 

[Brutal]

Thanks. When I say live off the land, I mean I know how to work the land. I feel plenty capable of short term survival (a few months) in the woods, but I wasn't thinking of making it a place to run to if there is trouble in the city (especially since I wouldn't be alone in that endeavor)... that wouldn't be realistic. I'm hunting properties right now, but I'm a bit off in finances for what I'm looking for.

As far as going without for a bit - I've been through 6 hurricanes in the past, which resulted in anywhere from 3 days to 5 weeks with no power or water...

It isn't a walk in the park.

I think my reason for searching out these boards, is that the way the economy has been, and with fears of the worst in relation to it, I think that something bigger than a regional disaster has become something that I want to try to prepare for... which seems unrealistic in downtown Houston... at least to me.

 

[SgtBooker44]

Howdy,

Welcome to the forum from Northern California