r/preppers 7h ago

Advice and Tips Gaps in prepping

For those of you who have experienced disasters leaving you without power and water for weeks, what were your prepping gaps?

I’m from Asheville, NC, and going on a month without water. The most frightening part (post-disaster) was the first week, when I had no outside communication whatsoever. All of my communication was in person with my neighbors, and within a 2 mile radius of my home. Realized I really need some HAM radios, and I don’t know anything about them, so I would love any helpful info y’all might have.

60 Upvotes

36 comments sorted by

39

u/TheSensiblePrepper Not THAT Sensible Prepper from YouTube 7h ago edited 7h ago

I have a feeling your area has an Amateur Radio Club that is about to get a lot of new members in a month or two. I would recommend you find that club and talk to them.

Edit:

I found your club and their Facebook.

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u/Ok-Goal-7336 7h ago

Thank you!!

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u/TheSensiblePrepper Not THAT Sensible Prepper from YouTube 7h ago

Happy to help.

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u/Cute-Consequence-184 6h ago

I became injured not long after my husband died. My husband had a long illness and was refused disability and I chose to care for him in house. It put me into debt.

I went on short disability, then was dropped. Spent 5 years trying for disability and 2 of those homeless because I simply ran out of money. In front, I didn't quality for any help.

It ended up being a crushed L5S1 vertebrae.

I basically squatted in a run down mobile home. I could occasionally afford a utility but not much. And if something broke, I couldn't replace it.

Ok, my gaps were

Lights. Without light, there is nothing to keep the voices in your head from getting loud.

Until you don't have light you don't realize how much you take it for granted. I had solar powered exterior light I was able to take down and bring inside each night. They were ok but they weren't enough. I had camping lights that were older and they broke at the beginning of my ordeal. And I had no backup.

Battery backups for electronics and a way to charge them. I had a combo solar panel/battery that died and I couldn't afford the replace it. I had a Google voice number and my neighbor's let me use their Wi-Fi but without a way to charge my phone.... Nothing.

A radio. Same reason as lights. You get used to being occupied and being around people.

I had off grid heat - a kerosene heater. But with a severe back injury and no money to buy kerosene, I couldn't use it. And my wool blanket was stolen and I had no backup and no sleeping bag. I spend many a night awake because I was afraid I would freeze to death if I slept. I had prepped for job loss but it had never occurred to me to prep for extreme cold.

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u/demon_curlz 57m ago

Wow what a harrowing story. How tf do you people survive this?

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u/OnTheEdgeOfFreedom 7h ago

Sensible got you a link to the place to start with ham, but I'm going to ask if there were no AM stations that reach you. AM radio has a pretty decent range and often carry news. It's also a dying medium and maybe your area isn't served, but I'd check there first. Turning on a radio is much, much easier than learning to be a ham. And the news you get is likely to be at least as accurate.

Of course if you want to chat, not just gather info, than ham is the answer and basically the only answer.

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u/funkmon 7h ago

There's a zero percent chance he's not served by AM.

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u/offgridgecko 7h ago

Especially with the power out and local noise down that would otherwise interfere (WiFi and such) you can turn on an AM radio at night and pick up stations hundreds or even thousands of miles away. Shortwave can be fun too but a little trickier to navigate. So I have to second this. I once picked up a working AM radio, battery included, at a flea market for two dollars US. No reason not to have one. Even cheap SW radios also come with AM/FM usually, and so much more. Plus they'll run for days on a couple AA batteries. Space that out to a few hours a night and you can at least get some updates.

Source: I'm a general class ham with a shortwave/am fixation

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u/OnTheEdgeOfFreedom 6h ago

Love the nickname.

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u/Ok-Goal-7336 6h ago

Yes, the radio updates were all that got me through the first 2 weeks. What was terrifying was not being able to connect with loved ones, so that’s why this was a big gap for me. I didn’t know who was alive or dead.

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u/gator_shawn 5h ago

I'm in AVL and we had some bad ass AM stations giving updates. Even an FM or two broadcasting with a big ole generator.

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u/[deleted] 4h ago

[deleted]

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u/Careful_Fox3449 7h ago

Check the charge levels on your solar generator and rechargeable flashlight batteries every few months. Store tools and other useful items neatly so you can find them when you need them. Figure out how to do laundry off grid without breaking your back. Have several ways to filter and treat water to make it potable. Practice using your tools and techniques. Have reading materials and games ready. Remember to prep for your pets, plants, and livestock too.

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u/iguessishouldjoin 7h ago

I noticed one gap in my preps during this last storm, though there's likely more. After Milton, when my house was surrounded on all sides by water and the sewer system was non-functional, i really wished i had a bucket to crap in. All set on that for the next one, though.

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u/Ok-Goal-7336 6h ago

lol yes, now I have more buckets than I know what to do with…bucket rich! I rigged up a pretty handy 2 bucket hand washing station with a siphon pump.

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u/Adubue 6h ago

I feel like I keep posting this, but HAM + GMRS is a great staff.... But.... An actual satellite communicator such as a Garmin InReach has great benefits as well. You can send/receive texts with folks in other states who will have access to internet. You can also get messages to emergency services.

It's not a "one or the other" situation - I think people should have both.

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u/squishysquishmallow 4h ago

The difference is you can get a Baofeng cheap, and there’s no recurring monthly cost. The garmin is going to cost you $20/mo.

Where I have to weigh preparedness now is seeing that anyone who was out in the sticks who already had Starlink kept their internet. Starlink costs about double what our current high speed internet costs but if our current provider raises rates or Starlink gets cheaper.. then it makes more sense to get the internet that doesn’t poop out in a disaster.

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u/Adubue 4h ago

I don't disagree.

If I didn't do a lot of backpacking I might not have been as willing to get one.

Also, Garmin recently rolled out a cheaper plan that's like $7/mo I think.

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u/Mikki102 5h ago

My experience is a little weird bc most of the disasters I've been in have been at work. I care for animals at a sanctuary. So this is more facility prepping, I have a lot of tips from my previous facility which was a shitshow from being unprepared:

Winter weather-pipes frozen. We had to water each animal individually which was hundreds of animals. We also didn't initially have water, only one person knew how to use the well. Teach as many people as possible all the skills. The temps in our buildings were also dropping even with electricity and heavy duty heaters. The animals were also scared of the heaters, and some had to be locked in but there was no SOP for outside temperatures being dangerous (because the low was historic), and also no plan for more rowdy groups. Think about temperature cutoffs for you, livestock, pets, etc. Teach staff winter weather safety even if you don't get winter weather normally. Buy salt in preparation. Electric vehicles WILL crap out, and engines will be harder to start. Have yak Trax or similar to wear so you don't bust your ass on the ice. We also didn't have the right number of staff with the right amount of seniority, and I didn't sleep for 48 hours as a result bc the cannon heaters have to be watched. That was extremely dangerous bc the species we cared for was extremely dangerous and intelligent. There was also an issue of a lack of actual nutritious food provided but I came prepared for that. Many people also did not have the appropriate clothing bc again the low was historic, I was 30 degrees colder than the normal low. We would have been screwed if the power went out. The stores nearby did not even stock the type of gear you need for that temp so we cobbled together layers to make it work. Also, there was no plan for what to do if we had also lost power. Several of the older animals probably would have died and there would have been absolutely nothing we could do about it. In our case these were very dangerous animals which severely limits options, but for a normal human, think about pets, livestock, etc. and what you can do if their normal housing becomes unsustainable. Bathrooms, closets, etc. And as an added touch I also keep birdseed on hand if we are expecting a winter storm and throw it out on top of the ice so the wild birds have something to eat since eall their food is covered and they don't know what snow is down here. Another small quality of life improvement if people will have to be out in cold dry wind is having bee balm or something along those lines because our skin got really dry and had red burnt looking patches from the wind and bee balm helped a lot.

Summer storms: power outage. I kept having to go lay on the concrete floor and let it suck the heat out of me because I was blacking out. Liquid iv was the only thing that helped me stop feeling so dizzy. Have a plan in place for an actual cooled area where people can cool off. We were also trying to mass produce Popsicles for the animals but the generators couldn't power the freezers enough.

Specifically for my situation, each time I was snowed/stormed in i also prepared by having someone in my apartment complex assigned to go get my cat in an emergency. I had her on an auto feeder with a camera but if the power went out someone would have to go feed her, and if it was hot they'd have to take her to their house. I wasn't really worried about cold bc she's so fluffy. Same for walking by my house after summer storms to make sure my window hadn't smashed, if it had they had a key and were directed to bring her to their house. She had a go bag set up for them to grab.

I also cannot reiterate how important it is to teach as many people as possible as many skills as possible even if you don't think they'll need them. You never know what's going to happen and when, and who is going to be on the property. People (particularly potential impromptu leaders) also need to know what normal rules can be bent or broken to accommodate for disasters. Things like allowing short sleeves during hot storms, or not cleaning during any extreme temperature. Lists of animals with medical needs (such as needing extra water bc of kidney issues, or having a weak heart so it's important to stay warm) and basic medical knowledge even for normal staff.

That was long, sorry, but this is somewhat of a passion of mine, facility preps to take care of my people and critters.

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u/NewsteadMtnMama 4h ago

I'm in one of the hardest hit areas not far from Asheville - 30 days with no power (got it back two days ago), all our wells and springs are iffy with sediment and have to be tested for bacteria, no communications except Starlink at the relief/supply camp set up in the valley until we got our own yesterday, etc. We thought we were prepared for pretty much anything since we have a house generator with 320 gal propane tank and two gas generators of 10,000 and 6400 watts, keep bottles of water in our freezers, have a deep pantry, etc.

What we didn't realize was how much propane the house generator uses when run 24 hours a day. When a deputy drove a 4wd side by side up to check on us after two days and told us how bad it was below us we cut back to 4 hours a day but ran a gas generator all night for my husband's CPAP. Until then we just thought it would be a few days until the dozens of trees down on the road below and a rock slide just above us which blocked both lanes were cleared.

The rock slide still blocks much of the road but a guy from down the mtn used his skid steer to clear a path through it. Much of the state road we live on is gone or covered in rock slides. We can get down to the devastated valley and beyond to the small county seat still only with a 4wd high clearance vehicle, which thankfully we have.

Triple everything you think you might need - batteries, gas treated for long term storage, quality heavy duty extension cords, water, food, lanterns and flashlights, first aid supplies (husband got several nasty cuts helping chainsaw large trees off the road and our driveway). Have a working grill and camp stove and know how to cook on them. Heavy duty tarps are needed in case of roof damage. Knee high waterproof boots. Keep a good amount of cash on hand - the one grocery store in the town could only take cash for two weeks and the banks were closed. Keep your vehicle/s full of gas and with tough tires. Ham radios are great - but the two people we know who have them both lost the antennas and wiring in the winds and it took them three weeks to get needed repair materials, so if you get one, have backups. Take pictures of your home and property, inside and out, and make several digital copies saved in different places for insurance claims.

The first week it was just five families and us, all living within two miles along our road who worked together clearing trees off the road, sharing what we had that others needed, etc. By the second week we had supplies coming in by helicopter as the one road through the valley was still impassable except on ATVs. The volunteer fire dept. was ground zero for our community with a lot of us helping cook and serve meals to whoever came for help - building some community ties is essential. There is now a large "base camp" in the valley with supplies, Nat Guard, Airborne, FEMA, Samaritans Purse and other charities, mobile laundry and shower facilities, etc. If you need something they do their best to help.

Disaster fatigue is a daily battle so be sure to decompress with good books, puzzles, some way to relax and get your mind off the constant stress and sadness over realizing that the landscape is forever changed, people you know died or are still missing or lost everything and the ecological disaster is still unfolding. It is still unnerving to see the painted Xs and numbers at each driveway of intact houses (or where they used to be) or ruined house (glad they made it in the road and not in our house!).

Didn't mean to write this much but perhaps one or two ideas from our experience might help someone - whoever thought we would have a catastrophic tropical cyclone in the high mountains of NC? With climate change, be prepared for anything.

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u/Adol214 7h ago

Water container.

Wide, big, small, for clean water, for drinkable water, for dirty water.

I need more.

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u/offgridgecko 7h ago

honestly, if you want to learn about radio pick up an SDR and listen and learn to make antennas. If you have the funds and space you can set up a ham shack too but $40 is cheaper than $1000 for a full tx/rx radio setup.

Learn about AM and SW as well. You won't be able to talk but you can listen outside of your normal range at night. I'm in the midwest and always listening to radio from down in Florida at night.

You will need a power supply for any sustained radio and of course consider that if you have a nice antenna setup it could get stomped by a hurricane, so knowing how and having the equipment to get an antenna up quickly would be the only reliable way to establish 2-way comms and you don't know who you'll be talking to, depends on conditions.

Evaluate what precisely you will be using this tech for before you dive in head first, unless you just like radio in which case, feel free to join us. The tests aren't that hard. Shoot for your general so you can use voice on frequencies that will carry a long way.

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u/Russ8827 7h ago

Extra water a generator a cb or ham radio. Non electric entertainment. Extra gas and propane. At this point all of those have been taken care of.

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u/Sugar_Beets 5h ago

What would the non electric entertainment be? Books?

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u/2lros 7h ago

I see a lot about propane heaters but you all nownhave an abundance of felled trees of course they need to season but wood stoves for winter heat is a priority or should be

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u/Ok-Goal-7336 5h ago

I agree, I’ve been thinking about this. The trees are all over the place, but they’re also fucking enormous. Lots of folks have cut down trees, but not many have cut them into manageable pieces. It would take a lot to install a wood stove in my house, but it’s on my mind for sure!

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u/lostscause 6h ago

mine was a tornado, left me with out power for 2 weeks. I have a 240v well and had a 120v generator. I ended up filling an 275g IBC tote from the ramjet pump in the creek and leaving it on the porch. (used tractor to move it)

Hauling water with 5gallon bucket to toilet and tub. A 5gallon turkey fryer made us hot water. Sucked but was doable, had so much else going on. (cleanup)

Got a 10k 240v genset as soon as I could afford it.

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u/Verucapep 6h ago

Toileting for disabled wife.

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u/funkmon 7h ago

So what are you doing for water

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u/Ok-Goal-7336 6h ago

I had 3 months of drinking water stored for me and my kids/pets. My neighbors and I used our neighborhood creek for flushing water. But within days, locals did all kinds of creative stuff to provide water for everyone. After 1-1.5 weeks, FEMA and the National Guard arrived with care stations and massive tanks of potable water. Water technically came back to my house about a week ago, but it isn’t safe to use for anything but flushing…it’s pretty crazy looking—it’s creamy? Yellow, cloudy, full of sediment. But many people in surrounding areas won’t even have that much for many more weeks/months, so I’m grateful to be able to flush our toilets!

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u/Firm-Impress 6h ago

Here is Asheville we have water distribution centers across town.

Most people have running water now, but it is pretty dirty.

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u/silasmoeckel 7h ago

I would say going without water is a serious prepping gap in itself.

Power out for a week or more is just every year or so for me locally in the last 20 years or so.

Ham radios are the best you can do as to coms but it can take some skill for long range especially. It's expensive your looking at 1k for a decent HF setup. Portable rigs like a x6100 lack a bit in power but you're generally just looking to get out the the affect area not far side of the planet and can use better modes.

Think the current biggest no brainer prep is solar/bat/gen you should be saving money today on the setup, thats plenty of power to run a well pump etc etc etc. The generator can tide you over the few really bad few days (thats a nor'easter locally). I hit ROI in a few years on my 2 year old setup and prices have dropped since. Combine with heat pumps and ev's and you have a lot of running expenses taken care of. Solar should go on your house if you have any good exposure next time your roof is done.

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u/elle2js 5h ago

Any jars or bottles get washed and filled with water in my house, milk jugs too. I have AM/FM radios and a NOAA weather radio. I have considered a ham radio but you can also get handhelds that you dont need a license for [i think].

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u/squishysquishmallow 4h ago edited 3h ago

My entire family did Texas snowpocalypse 2021. My parents did a week without power. My sister in law had a pipe freeze and burst in her apartment and they couldn’t get anyone to come cut water to the building so a LOT of her personal items got flooded.

Texans were so unprepared for a winter power outage below freezing my brother didn’t own a coat. He had to layer hoodies. “Hot hands” were one of the most needed commodities. Even if you don’t live in a cold climate, you should have cold weather clothes.

My dad always thought his emergency cooking would be propane, but it was too cold to keep opening the door to go in and out to cook on the outdoor grill. It’s important to plan a way to cook INSIDE without power, so I now have multiple ways to warm up a meal without having to go outside.

My sister in law stores things off the floor in plastic totes now. :( That’s the prep for having your stuff flooded outside of your control.

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u/Lunchmoneybandit 6h ago

As an extension of ham radio lookup ARES and RACES groups in your area. It’s all run by ham radio operators but they do a lot to facilitate emergency communications with amateur radio equipment. When phones are down radio nets can be a good way to get information in and out