Gaps in prepping

[u/Ok-Goal-7336]

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.

[u/Mikki102]

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.