Surviving In Troubled Waters

For most people, Hurricane Harvey and the misery and damage that it has caused is a news broadcast. We look in horror at the flood waters above people’s chests , at a man trying to catch a huge fish in the waters of his living room, and at this, we laugh. However, what Hurricane Harvey should be is a wake up call to everyone in the continental U.S. and anywhere else that is hurricane prone. In fact, it is a wake up call to everyone, or it should be! Why? Because our weather patterns will be odd and much stronger from now on. A short while ago, 12 waterspouts touched down in Russia. Waterspouts are tornadoes that occur over water and are a warm weather/warm water phenomenon. The waters in and around Russia should not be that warm, and yet it happened. To have 12 in a row is even more bizarre! Harvey turned into a category 4 monster just as it made landfall, which is also somewhat odd. What is also strange but not unheard of is that a second storm, Hurricane Irma, is about to come ashore on the east coast of America, and it is predicted to be another category 4 hurricane!

It is time for everyone to become serious about being prepared, no matter where in this world you reside! There was a day when I would laugh at “preppers”, and I saw them as burly men who took survival boot camp classes and toted a huge arsenal of guns. I saw them as alarmists and crazies. Well, from now on, you can call me crazy or a “prepper”, and I will wear the title with pride! You see, it takes guts and focus to begin the preparation process. It isn’t easy and it isn’t cheap, but if you have loved ones, children and other relatives and friends, it is worth the peace of mind that this process brings. Hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, volcanoes can happen now anywhere in the world. Unfortunately, so can war. Even a house fire or a huge snow storm can qualify as a disaster, and all of these require common sense and planning to survive . Where do we begin? In my last blog, I spoke of suggested items that we need to stockpile, if we are to be prepared to shelter in place at home. If we plan to “bug out” and travel to another safer area, we need supplies that are portable and they need to be located in our home near the door , or somewhere that makes it easy to grab no matter how upset or frightened we are. We should also have some of these supplies in our cars, not only for bugging out but in case we get stuck in our vehicles in the middle of no where! Perhaps we have engine trouble and discover that our cell phone was left on the charger. It’s 1am and very cold outside. Having food, a flashlight, hand warmers and water would be a big help. Having flares and reflective triangles would also be great. A blanket would, also. I am sure that you get the idea! If we learn to think this way, to look at each possible disaster, and try to prepare for it, we become a prepper.

Before and after my show on Blog Talk Radio called “Surviving the Days Ahead”, 4pm EST, Saturday and Sunday, I watched a very good video on weather.com– The Weather Channel website. They talked about hurricanes and  gave some interesting statistics. Of the deaths from hurricanes, 49% are from the storm surge, the water that hits an area as it makes landfall. Only 10% are caused by the wind. These are direct causes. The indirect deaths are caused by heart attack-1/3rd of fatalities from hurricanes are caused by this! Over exertion, fear, excitement take their toll. Next comes car accidents, being hurt during evacuations, trees falling on people, power lines or electrocution, medical equipment failure such as respirators turning off in a power failure, fires, and falls- trying to find their way in a dark house or perhaps even in flood waters. They tell us to remember- “Hide from the wind, but Run from the water!”                                             We are advised to-

• Take care of the elderly, check on your neighbors!
• Don’t over exert
• Evacuate when you are told to do so, never refuse to leave!
• Stay off of the roads- don’t sight see
• Don’t use candles and open flames, never leave a candle unattended
• Stay away from power lines. Be very careful, especially if you are in flood waters
• I’ll add one of my own- flood waters contain every manner of filth- chemicals, animal feces, fertilizer run off and sewage if things back up. Don’t play in it, don’t swim in it,don’t get it in your face, mouth or ears! It can also have snakes trying to find higher ground, or fire ants here in the south. You might also slide into a storm drain! TV footage of Harvey showed young men doing back flips off of a highway overpass into water that was almost up to the signs over the highway below. An already overworked emergency system does not need to fish a foolish man out of the water and those men will be very lucky if they do not end up with meningitis. If you live in a flood prone area, waders may be a smart thing to have on hand.

Lastly, the folks at the Weather Channel recommended the following as a Hurricane Kit-

• Try to have prescription meds on hand
• Cash
• Weather radio- battery or crank/solar
• First aid kit- a good one
• Water
• Flashlights
• A cell phone charger for your car
• Rain poncho
• change of warm clothes , socks and shoes
• documents and important medical info. on a flash drive, or in water proof protectors with your emergency supplies

Another interesting fact- Rip Currents and Storm Surges can also happen in a large lake! That is something I never knew! Take care and God bless. Pray, all of you for those affected by Harvey and donate as much as you can! The redcross.org and other agencies have donation pages up and running.