The 2013 Atlantic hurricane season begins on June 1 and ends on November 30. An average season sees 12 tropical storms and six hurricanes, including three major hurricanes, but as more and more people flock to the coasts to live and work, each year the number of people who are affected during the season rises dramatically. As we saw in Hurricane Sandy last year, even after the storm passes, residents can be stranded without supplies for weeks.

Forecasters at AccuWeather are able to outline the coming storm season by analyzing climatic patterns from past years. For 2013, they predict four major hurricanes, four lesser hurricanes and eight other major storms. Three of those hurricanes will hit the US and cause storm surge, wind and damage on par with what we saw in Super Storm Sandy. Although meteorologists are able to predict storms, they can’t predict the strength of the storms or when or where they’ll strike.

Critical Items: A Cautionary Tale

Those living along the East Coast have to be prepared for anything, and those of us in other geographies have to be prepared for what happens when supply chains from the East Coast are interrupted. For example, the top shipping ports in the US are located in Louisiana, Texas, New York and New Jersey, Virginia, Alabama, South Carolina, Georgia and Miami and, whether we like it or not, these ports are the gateway for the majority of the every day items that North Americans rely on. When power or supply chains to a major city or port on the East Coast or Gulf Coast is disrupted, everybody feels the effect. In fact, last year a Canadian friend of ours was on a motorcycle trip and got stranded in Arizona for a month after Hurricane Sandy because he needed a part for his motorcycle and it had to come from New Jersey. For the first week after Sandy, nobody could even get the distributor on the phone!

We’re so used to being able to order things online and get them the next day that it’s almost inconceivable that we’d have to wait weeks for anything, especially critical things like medicine, parts or essential materials. In the case of our biker buddy, the manufacturer lost their computer servers during the storm, so all distribution came to a standstill until their servers were repaired. By the time they were repaired (two weeks later) the distributor had to deal with a huge backlog of orders. Coincidentally, the distributor had also been affected by the storm and further delays were caused by their own damaged inventory, delayed shipping and extended power outages. You may be thinking it sounds nice to get stranded in Arizona for month (and we agree!), but what if the item you need is medicine, critical materials for your business or basic necessities for your family? 

Computer Servers: Your Best Friend or Worst Enemy

What we want to drive home this week is that even if everything you need is made in the United States, those things still come from manufacturers and distributors that rely heavily on computer servers. A server is the physical “box” where all the software and data that run a business lives. As important as they are, servers are actually very fragile, and more than one has been destroyed by a spilled Big Gulp.  It goes without saying they do not do well with wind, water and fire. When computer servers are damaged or destroyed, especially when the problem is widespread, it can take weeks to get them back online. When they do come back, the Small Business Association reports that about 40% of them will have lost all of their past data.

Until then, mentally go through your week and make a list of the items that keep you, your family and your business going on a daily basis. Think about what happens if you don’t have those things. In next week’s post we’ll help you get a plan in place.

Tornadoes can develop anywhere, without warning and can totally devastate everything in their path. They have been seen on every continent except Antarctica, although most occur in the United States.  

Tornados are measured on the Fujita Scale, or the F-scale, with 0 being the lowest impact and 5 being the highest. When the scale was introduced in 1971, an F6 was believed to be “inconceivable” – but if we’ve learned anything in the last few years we’ve learned that Mother Nature can do inconceivable things whenever she wants. The history of the scale is fascinating and worth a read. Also interesting is the Tornado History Project, which was created in 2005 and provides data on tornadoes from 1950 to the present; check out their maps and learn about the statistical probability of a tornado striking where you live.

Tornados don’t wait until you’re safely ensconced in a state-of-the-art safe cellar, so whether you live within the infamous Tornado Alley ora geography with a low risk of tornados, if you find yourself in the path of a tornado you’ll have to make fast decisions about how to stay safe. The time to educate yourself and your kids about tornado safety is long before the warning sirens go off.

First, be sure you have a battery or hand-crank powered NOAA Weather Radio. If a storm is approaching, watch for dark, greenish skies, hail and large, low clouds. Listen for a loud roar – most people describe the sound of a tornado like that of a freight train. When these conditions are present, it’s time to take shelter. But – what if…

• You’re in a small house, a high rise, at school, in a hospital or in a store? Go to the lowest level of the building and get to the innermost room. Look for a room with no windows or outside walls. If you can, get under a table or desk. Contrary to urban myth, you should not open windows.

• You’re outside? If you’re in an urban area, find the closest shelter. Otherwise, get into a vehicle and drive to the closest shelter. If you can’t get to shelter, stay in the car with your seatbelt on, duck down and cover your head. If you can get to a ditch that is lower than the roadway, leave the car and lie flat. A low, flat area is safer than a highway overpass. Flying debris cause the most injuries, so covering up with anything you can find is the best way to protect yourself.

• You’re on the water? If you’re on the water, you’ll want to leave the area as soon as you seen dark, low clouds developing. Tornados often follow thunderstorms, so don’t wait it out.

• You’re at work? Get to the lowest floor and the innermost room with no windows or outside walls. Bathrooms usually fit this description, so if you’re working in an unfamiliar building, look for signs that point to the facilities.  

The Best Advice? Take Shelter Early.

When it comes to tornados, the best advice is to be alert and take shelter early. If you’re caught in a tornado, get as low to the ground as you can, avoid windows as much as possible and find something with which to cover yourself. Tornado season lasts from late winter to late summer in most of North America, so now is the time to make sure your family knows what to do in various situations and you have a family emergency communication plan in place.

Class titles include:

• Intro to Hazardous Materials
• A Citizen’s Guide to Disaster Assistance
• Animals in Disasters
• Diversity Awareness
• Orientation to FEMA Logistics
• Multihazard Planning for Childcare
• Household Hazardous Materials
• Workplace Violence Awareness
• Livestock in Disasters

There are many more interesting classes available - for a complete list, click here.  And did I mention they’re online, self-paced and free? There is a final exam at the end of each one, but you’ll feel more confident in your ability to handle disasters once you’ve aced the class. If you’re considering a career change, these classes can also help you move into a career as an emergency management professional.

If you’re already working as an emergency management professional, the Professional Development Series offers seven independent study courses that teach the fundamentals of emergency management.

There are a few application guidelines – you must be a U.S. citizen although there are a limited number of international seats available for each class. Also, classes fill up so you want to note the registration deadlines.

The Emergency Management Institute also offers on-site and remote classes if you’d like to attend on-campus.

For a full course and schedule list, click here.

Most people think of “pickles” as pickled cucumbers and only as a garnish. Did you know you can pickle a wide variety of fruits and vegetables? Pickles of one kind or another have been made for more than 4000 years and are so popular in the United States that at one time 40% of the pickle production was earmarked for soldiers in the field. 

Pickling is great way to preserve food because you create an edible, anti-microbial liquid. It seems that nobody has ever come across a pickle gone bad but general consensus is that pickles can keep for up to 18 months.

Pickles have significant health benefits - as long as they’re made without sugar. Fermented foods are thought to be good for the digestive system and many people believe that the vinegar kills “bad” bacteria in the digestive tract and contributes to better health. Pickles are also a good source of vitamin K, the hard-to-get B vitamins, thiamine and vitamin A. But beware, pickles are made with generous amounts of salt, which can be a problem for people on sodium restricted diets.

What Can I Pickle?

Pickling is the answer to almost any abundance of fruit or vegetables:

• Beets
• Green or red tomatoes
• Carrots
• Onions
• Asparagus
• Garlic
• Zucchini
• Jalapenos
• Celery
• Okra
• Cherry Tomatoes
• Cucumbers
• Broccoli stems
• Radishes
• Melon rinds
• Grapes
  
  

Pickling Methods:

 There are two methods: chemical and fermentation pickling. The chemical process involves soaking the food in edible liquid such as brine, though technically there are other liquid “pickles” such as oil and alcohol. In fermentation pickling, the food is preserved by creating lactic acid.

How to Pickle

The chemical method is the easiest (especially now that you know how to harvest salt!).

1. Combine 3 cups of distilled white vinegar, 3 cups of water and 3 tablespoons of salt.
2. Add flavorings like Bay leaf, mustard seed, coriander, turmeric, dill, cumin, garlic, ginger or peppers. (If you add peppers or ginger, note that the longer the pickles soak, the hotter they’ll be!)
3. Gather clean glass jars.
4. Wash and cut up vegetables or fruit into bite sized pieces.
5. If you’re using beets, Brussels sprouts, carrots, ginger, green beans, okra or peppers, give them a quick dip in boiling water followed immediately by an ice bath (known as blanching).
6. Place vegetables or fruit in jars then fill with brine. Don’t screw the lids on too tight because the fermentation will create carbon dioxide and you’ll need a little room for air exchange.
7. Let the pickles sit and pickle for two to four weeks

The fermentation process is exactly the same, just eliminate the vinegar. If the food has enough moisture, the salt will draw out the excess liquid. Note if your top vegetables aren’t immersed in water they may mold. You can place a smaller glass jar filled with rocks or pie weights (called a “follower”) on top of the vegetables to keep everything submerged.

The hand tools you’ll need in a survival situation may be different than the hand tools you need to maintain your house. Everybody needs a hammer to hang pictures but most people don’t need an ax…that is, until they need one really bad.

Here are the top ten hand tools you need for survival situations:

Ax – Axes have gotten new respect since emergency preparedness organizations started encouraging homeowners in flood zones to keep an ax in their attic. Evidently, the need for a non-traditional way out the house happens more than you think it would. Axes also are needed to cut wood for fuel or building materials and can be used to cut other things like rope. A dull ax doesn’t do you any good so keep a sharpening stone with it and be sure you learn how to sharpen knives and axes now.

Shovel – Yes, even urbanites need a shovel. The first time you need it for sanitary reasons you’ll understand. Besides digging holes, you’ll need it to garden, hide valuables and dig trenches. In natural disaster situations, it’s not uncommon to have to dig through mud and debris inside dwellings.

Hammer – Hammers come in all shapes and sizes but you’ll want a 16-ounce claw hammer with a steel shaft.

Handsaw – Axes tend to splinter the wood as you chop. If you need to build a permanent or semi-permanent shelter, you’ll need more than an ax. A handsaw will allow you to shape wood – quickly - and to the requirements that fit the job.

Channel-lock wrench - This is an adjustable wrench that comes in especially handy for shutting off gas and other utilities in an emergency. Because they’re adjustable, they’re also useful for repairing almost everything.

Multi-head screwdriver - Screws hold together most of the man made objects around us. If you have a basic screwdriver with interchangeable Phillips and flat heads you’ll be ahead of the game. However, the Enderes XV-1 multi-bit screwdriver is a favorite because it has 15 heads that snap into the handle. And it’s virtually indestructible.

Hex key or Allan wrench – If it doesn’t have a flat or Phillips head, it’s likely got a hexagonal head. Sets of hex keys are small and portable so go ahead and stash a set of 24 sizes. You don’t need them in a big plastic box, go for a fold up set like this one from Tekton. 

Locking pliers – Locking pliers have adjustable jaws that lock in place via a screw on the handle. One of the best emergency-situation uses we’ve heard of for locking pliers are holding open self-locking doors in public buildings, some apartment buildings and houses. Locking pliers can also be used for forcible entries and shutting off utilities.

Knife and whetstone – Actually you made need a couple of types of knives. Be sure to have a sturdy stainless steel knife with a serrated blade. Emergency workers carry serrated blades because they quickly saw through most anything. You may need a more delicate knife for fileting fish, skinning animals and food preparation. Don’t use this one to saw through anything man made. As with an ax, now is the time to learn to sharpen your own blades. It takes a little practice and you don’t want to learn on the fly (or when the local MedCheck is defunct!) Just kidding. Not really.

Leather work gloves – Blisters happen fast and can be debilitating, especially if they get infected. Leather gloves protect your hands from injuries that could turn ugly.

If your emergency location is in your current home it’s easy to ensure you’ve got these tools handy. If you’re planning on going mobile or have a secondary emergency location, you’ll either need a second set or to plan for the space they’ll take up in your vehicle in an emergency.

 It’s rewarding to see new Prepper products continually coming on the market. Not only does it mean that more and more people are paying attention, it means that engineers are busy designing great things for us. The first product that we love is only $25 and we think everyone ought to have one. These three items are investments but they promise long-term returns.

Rain Bladder Tanks

A water storage device made our Spring must-have list: The Rain Brothers Rain Bladder Tank. These things are for serious Preppers who are getting ready for total self-reliance. Rain Bladder Tanks are made from 40 mil flexible PVC sleeved in 18 oz. reinforced PVC. There are three sizes – 800 gallon, 2300 gallon and 3100 gallon. These bladders are large, but they’re flat so they’re perfect for crawl spaces or under decks. They aren’t cheap either – they range from $1600 to $2500, but a great long-term investment. Order from Rain Brothers.

Wood Fired Canning Stove

Arguably, preserving food is an important skill for self-reliance. Canning is a great way to preserve some types of foods that you wouldn’t otherwise be able to store. However, modern canning is done on electric or gas cooktops. How would you can food if that were no longer an option? The wood burning canner and cooker is made from stainless steel, lined with fire brick and holds about 38 quart jars. There is a built-in firebox beneath so it’s entirely self-contained. You can also use this stove for cooking other food and boiling water. About $900 from Antique Stoves.

Hideaway Greenhouse

Most Preppers could benefit from an extended growing season. This hideaway greenhouse comes in a kit and is easy to assemble and it doesn’t require a foundation or concrete pad like many greenhouse kits. The “windows” are sturdy 8-mm clear Polycarbonate, and baked aluminum frame. It’s designed to be a DIY project so you won’t need special skills or tools to put it together. Greenhouses can extend your regions growing season to all year for some plants – giving you a distinct advantage for self-reliance. At around $3000 this is also an investment item, but one that is well worth it.

Salt is one of the things that made civilization possible. Sure, it makes food taste good but its real value is in it’s ability to preserve food. When you can preserve excess food, your chances for survival through a tough winter, summer drought or other disaster or emergency, go way up. Today we take salt for granted but it was hard to come by for thousands of years. Traders established “salt roads”, or well-worn trading paths through countries that didn’t have access to salt. Wars were fought over salt. People gave their lives for salt. The epic saga of salt is fascinating and we recommend Mark Kulansky’s book Salt: A History of the World.

In the right proportions, sea salt has small amounts of essential nutrients that the body needs: iodine, iron, magnesium, calcium, potassium, manganese and zinc. We all know by now that too much salt has adverse health consequences so keep that in mind as you plan your emergency food strategy.

Today, we manufacture so much salt, and so many different kinds of salt, that it’s easy to take it for granted. Now, imagine there’s no salt. Well, there is salt but it’s in the ocean. How do you get it out? For a look at the modern process, check out this on-site tour from theKitchn.

Can you harvest your own salt? Sure. And the good news is, it’s easy. The hardest part is finding clean seawater. Beware: Seawater is not the same everywhere. Ensure you’re using clean water that contains no runoff or chemicals. This eliminates public beaches and seawater from harbors or near industrial operations. Collect your water as far away from civilization as possible. You’ll get about 2 cups of salt per four gallons of water, so even though it’s a time-consuming process, the return is worth it.

Here’s what you’ll need:

Boiling method:

• Clean seawater
• A strainer, cheesecloth or cotton fabric with no soap residue
• A large kettle or pot
• Fire source

Strain the seawater through the cloth and the sieve to remove any large particles (like sand). Bring the strained water to a boil in a large pot or kettle. After the water boils for a minute, reduce the fire or heat until the water just simmers. You’ll be simmering water for a long time, so be patient. When you see salt crystals start to form in the bottom of the pot and there is just a little water left, remove the pot from the heat source. In order to not burn the salt it’s a good idea to finish evaporating the water in an oven or kiln or by letting it dry in the sun.

Or

Evaporating method:

• Clean seawater
• A strainer, cheesecloth or cotton fabric with no soap residue
• Large glass trays (like Pyrex baking dishes)

Strain the seawater through the cloth and the sieve. Pour the strained water into glass trays. (Don’t use metal or you’ll end up with bad-tasting salt and a corroded tray.) Leave the trays in the sun or by the fire and allow the water to evaporate.

Whichever method you choose, when the water is gone you’ll be left with large salt crystals. Break them up and store your salt in clean glass or ceramic containers.

For information about preserving food with salt, check out this site.  

Square foot gardening is an efficient method of growing vegetables and herbs in small, organized spaces. So-called “square foot gardens” are raised beds divided with 1”x1” wood into individual sections that are, you guessed it, a square foot each. So what’s wrong with row gardening? Mel Bartholomew, the creator of the Square Foot Gardening Method, says it’s all wrong:

“After looking at other people’s gardens, it was usually very predictable. Here’s what I found out about single row gardening: Too big an area Too much time Too much work Too much effort Too many seeds Too many weeds Too many plants Too many problems Too costly Too much harvest Too many tools IT’S JUST TOO MUCH OF EVERYTHING. People can grow 100% of the crops they used to grow in large plots in just 20% of the space. These smaller more organized gardens are easy for beginner gardeners, can be located close to the house, and are easy to protect from pests and frost.

What you can grow

Herbs and bulbs are great for square foot gardens as are beans and most vegetables. The only things that don’t work well are bulky vegetables like artichokes, ground spreaders like melons and root spreaders like blueberries. Good picks are:

Composting is more important than ever as many of us are starting with gardens in suburban neighborhoods where the fertile topsoil has been lost to construction or chemical pollution. If you’re lucky enough to have a garden outside of suburbia, composting will still increase your yields and the quality of the food you grow.

It use to be that compost was collected in heaps – big piles of smoldering organic matter in an unused corner of a barn lot or field. Composting has evolved along with the urban garden movement so now anyone, even apartment dwellers, can compost.

Composting requires four ingredients: Carbon, nitrogen, water and air. When the ingredients are balanced in a compost bucket or heap, internal temperatures can reach up to 140 degrees and create compost very quickly. Unbalanced mixtures will still heat up, but you’ll wait longer for useable compost. If your pile is outside your compost heap will attract worms and they’ll break down your mixture faster.

But first, learn what you can and can’t compost. Think of your compost as a sort of pet and be sure to only “feed” it the right things:

Add:

• Fruits
• Vegetables
• Coffee and tea grounds
• Coffee and tea filters and bags
• Egg shells
• Grass clippings
• Shredded paper and cardboard
• Dead leaves, old mulch and old topsoil
• Cow and horse manure
• Hay and straw
• Pet fur
• Nut shells
• Houseplants
• Sawdust
• Wool and wool rags

Don’t Add:

• Pet waste and cat litter
• Meat and bones
• Dairy products
• Fats, oils, grease, lard
• Coal, charcoal
• Anything treated with pesticides

Next, choose a composting receptacle. Composting receptacles come in all sizes – some even sit on the kitchen counter.

Apartment and high-rise dwellers will like the All Seasons Indoor Composter because it’s small and can stay inside. Because of its special fermentation process, there’s no odor. This 5-gallon bucket will make great compost for houseplants and indoor or patio herb gardens.

Suburban backyard dwellers will like the cedar Plow & Hearth bin or can construct their own from simple materials. Some instructions here from the University of Minnesota Extension.

Got a lot of land? Do it the old-fashioned way and make a compost heap:

• Pick a dry, cool spot
• Add materials in layers
• Water materials whenever you add to the heap and “fluff” it with a spade or pitch fork
• When adding fruit and vegetable scraps, bury them 10” below the surface
• Cover with a tarp to keep moisture in
• When the compost at the bottom is dark and rich, it’s ready to use (2 months to 2 years).

If you’ve got a backyard garden or a patio herb garden, composting is simple, inexpensive and returns big rewards for just a little recycling effort.

If you’ve never read a first-hand account of what English settlers endured in the first years in North America, you’re missing some important food for thought when it comes to prepping. If we take away all of our modern conveniences and start from scratch, we become pilgrims ourselves because we essentially would be living in a whole new world. History, after all, is the best educator. Here are a few things we can learn from the pilgrims:

A long-term survival plan should revolve around the seasons. Today we don’t change our routines much with the seasons. We may change what we wear or some of the leisure things we do, otherwise, we’re able to get pineapples in January and make ice cream in July. Pilgrims, however, spent most of every season preparing to get through the next season. Spring was for planting, Summer was for tending crops, Fall was for harvest and Winter was for catching up on what could be done inside – making and mending tools, textiles and household repairs. Read a first-hand account of what life was like as families settled any part of North America and you’ll quickly discover that basic survival took the entire day, every day. 

You need to become an expert on your region. For example, even though you can get pineapple in January (or any month for that matter), you need to step back and learn what crops and game are indigenous to your region. You need to know what can be grown and harvested when and what’s dangerous or poisonous. You need to know how to prepare soil in your geography so that it’s fertile, then you need to know how to take care of plants during the extremes of your region. Families died (and still do in developing nations) when extreme weather wipes out the crops (or livestock) they were depending on to get through the next season and they don’t have contingency crops, livestock or stored supplies. You’ll also need to learn how to manage the natural resources that are around you so they don’t deplete.

Learn to make alliances. Friendships are one thing, but alliances - mutually beneficial relationships or pacts - help both parties further their goals regardless of how they feel about each other’s principles or worldviews. In modern society we rarely have to make alliances or pacts because we can always just buy what we need (no need to trade), we can sign contracts and then we can sue people if they violate agreements. When you take away these options, the people who come out on top long-term are always the ones who are skilled at negotiating relationships and pacts based on generosity, trust, respect (as opposed to violence and threat), and fulfilling mutual needs.

Groups survive longer than individuals. It may be tempting to isolate yourself or your family in a new world order, but history shows that communities who share skills and supplies are more likely to survive than individuals. In fact, the most successful societies are the ones that encourage specialization – and it’s just common sense. When you consider the vast range of skills required to survive (farming, carpentry, animal husbandry, medicine, textiles, etc.), no one person, or one family, can master them all. 

If you’re interested in learning more about the Pilgrims and what they did to survive, here are some good historical references:

The Story of the Pilgrims by Morton Dexter

Mayflower by Nathaniel Philbrick

Bradford’s History of “Plimoth Plantation” by William Bradford