LISTENING TO KATRINA
PAGES IN THIS BLOG ARE RATED 'R' AND DO CONTAIN PROFANITY, VULGARITY, GRAPHIC VIOLENCE, NUDITY,
SCENES OF HUMAN EMOTION, DEATH, DESTRUCTION, MAYHEM, AND VARIOUS INDESCRIBABLE HORRORS.

 PLAN - Where Y'at?

Before we get into the 1 Hour Plan, let's review.

At this point, you've got your Laptop Bag, your BOB (Bug Out Bag), a complete documentation of your entire life using a digital camera, and a plan to escape your house in 60 seconds, and a collection of people to communicate with.  Do work on that address book.  We're going to want it before much longer.

The 60 Second plan is universal.  Everyone has the potential need to evacuate their home quickly.  The rest of the plans, however, become very specific to your particular context.  Where you go when you leave the house is very specific to your circumstances.  I am not going to pretend that I know the best answer for you or your family.  I am going to tell you about my context, but there are some things in my plans that will not work for you.  There are some things in my plans that will be outright wrong for you.  My only intention is to give you a framework upon which to build your own Plan.

My context is rather simple compared to some.  I live in an area that is affected by hurricanes.  Some people will think that to be quite foolish, but no matter where you live there is always some risk.  I, personally, think that people who live in earthquake zones are nucking futs - but that's the choice they make.  A little wind and some rain seems timid compared to the ground moving...  No matter where you live, you will need to assess the various risks and plan for and around them.  I'm not worried about tsunami, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, wildfires, blizzards, and my tornado risk is very low.  I can see the hurricanes coming about five days out, and I have plenty of time to pack up and take a vacation.  The primary focus of many of my plans is to secure the house and take a vacation 300 miles from here.

My friend Peter has a similar situation, but he lives on St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands.  He lives there with his wife, dogs, and 52,000 other people who all live on an island in the middle of the ocean.  This island is 31 square miles - 13 miles long and 4 miles wide.  Along with the amazing views and perfect beaches comes the additional bonus that this island is in a hurricane corridor.  When a hurricane comes, there isn't anywhere to go.  Unless you are lucky enough to have prior airline tickets, you're pretty much stuck.  Peter's plans will primarily focus on securing his house and hoping the roof doesn't leak.  The two philosophies are very similar in some ways, and radically different in others.

Survival is not a kit.  Survival is not a plan.  Survival is a philosophy.  Lazy people do not prosper. 

It's time to start developing the philosophy and the strategy that will serve you best when you need it.

Make a short list.  Write WHERE Y'AT? at the top, and start from there.  What are the primary risks for your area?  My #1 concern is for residential fire (or other sudden destruction of the house).  That's probably universal, and we've covered that already.  My #2 concern is hurricanes.  #3 is heavy rain and flooding - which is sometimes common here even without a hurricane.  Following those three are industrial disaster, civil unrest, and terrorist attack - although I don't really think that there is very much in this area to interest terrorists.  There are a number of refineries in the area, and I live exactly a mile from the Mississippi river which carries large ships with sometimes hazardous cargo.  When I was six years old, there was a train derailment a few blocks from my childhood home, and we had to get out and spend the night at grandma's...

At this point, stick to physical disasters.  We will eventually talk about other disasters - economic, for instance - but our primary concern for the time being is preparing for physical security.  Once we have established those preparations, everything else becomes much easier. 

Shane

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