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Having experienced one of the worst ice storms in the North Carolina Mountain history, I was lucky I had my 72 hour emergency survival kit, although there were a few items that were missing, and some that were totally useless. On Christmas Eve 2009, 22” of snow fell on the Blue Ridge Mountains, followed by a full day of freezing rain and ice. On Christmas morning, it was 26° and the snow had turned to freezing rain, so as soon at the rain hit the ground, it froze instantly on the tree branches. This ice storm left over 1/2” of ice on all the trees, most of which had their tops removed by the heavy weight of the ice. All Christmas day and night, all I could hear was crack and the crash of branches, small trees and tree tops hitting the ground. It wasn’t very long before my power line and phone lined got snapped by a falling tree branch. I was trapped in my house for 2 days due to large trees cutting off both ends of my mountain road. I had no power for 5 days and no phone or internet for 11 days. The outside temperatures was in the single digits the following days, and thick ice coated everything, including the roads. (Top Photo: Christmas Morning Ice Storm). Oddly enough, my biggest concern was keeping my mind active. Having some books, cards or a radio will help keep you alert. This emergency survival kit is based on surviving 72 hours without power. Yes, it can happen to you! Secondary Heat Source• Propane Stove - This kept the inside house temperature at about 68° and I could heat food and water on it - a real life saver.• I’m not a big fan of electric generators unless they are the large propane or natural gas units, and have large supplies of gas on hand. Most gasoline generators can only run 6-8 hours on a tank of gasoline, before they need refilling. This requires you to store a large amount of gasoline to keep these running for many days. During the ice storm, I heard generators running the first night - I didn’t hear any running the second night. Most ran out of gas. • Wood Stove - If you have a generous supply of wood, these make a lot of sense. • Camp Stove - with 3 days of canned cooking fuel. Emergency Water Supply• You will need 1 gallon of water per person per day. Many of my 1 gallon jugs I had stored were half empty, or still leaking - with tiny pin hole leaks. I would recommend getting smaller water bottles in heavy plastic, so they don’t leak out on you.• I store larger buckets of water (old cat litter buckets) for flushing toilets with. • If you are on an electric well pump you will lose your water supply, but you probably already know that.
Emergency Lighting Power Sources• 3V Lithium 123A Batteries (photo right) have a 12 year shelf life, and are used to power the small LED Tactical flashlights. These 4” LED flashlights can run 100 hours on just 2 batteries. Have one flashlight per person. Surefire and Streamlight are the best brands - about $40 each.• 1.5V Lithium AA Batteries. These can be used to power small LED flashlights, police scanners and charge cell phones. Lithium AA batteries have a 12 year shelf life. • 12 Hour Glow Sticks were the best part of the kit. They are safe, non toxic and work almost as good as a small flashlight, plus they last all night long. They are available in white light. • The 1.5V ‘D’ Cell Batteries I had stock piled were useless when it came time to use them. They are big and bulky, have a short shelf life and they leak. All of the ‘D’ Cell Batteries barely lit up the flashlights, and some were leaking. Their shelf life is only a few years. Not recommended. Emergency Food Supplies - Remember to Rotate Your Food Once a Year• Power Bars - Protein Bars - Look for a High Protein Number• Canned Soup with Pull Top Tabs - Heat In Can • Canned Beans with Pull Top Tabs - Heat In Can • Instant Oatmeal • Instant Coffee - Creamer - Sugar • Instant Hot Chocolate • MREs - Meals Ready To Eat • Chocolate Bars - Fun Food Economic Collapse Survival Checklist
• $200 in Small Bills• Sleeping Bag • Winter Hat - Gloves - Warm Socks • Emergency Blankets • Waterproof Matches • Emergency Candles • Pen and Paper - Tape - For Leaving Notes • Hand Soap - Deodorant - Tooth Paste - Tooth Brush - Disposable Razor • Toilet Paper - Paper Towels - Wet Ones • 8-12 Hour Glow Sticks - White - Highly Recommended • Portable Police Scanner - Uniden - Runs on 2 AA Batteries • Tactical LED Flashlights - Surefire or Streamlight - Runs on two 123A batteries • Lithium 123A Batteries for Tactical Flashlights - 12 pack (photo above) • Lithium AA Batteries for Police Scanner and Cell Phone Charger - 8 pack • Alcohol Hand Sanitizers - Small Bottle of Purell • Paper Plates - Bowls - Plastic Silverware - Don’t waste water washing dishes • Camp Stove with 3 Tins of Canned Fuel • Cell Phone - Any Cell Phone can call 911 without a paid phone service • Cell Phone Charger - AA Batteries - Energizer Energi-To-Go • Small First Aid Kit - Bandaids - Pain Medicine - Sore Throat Lozenges • Duct Tape - Heavy Duty Plastic Garbage Bags - To Seal Broken Windows • Small Trash Bags • Board Games - Good Books - Something to keep your mind active • Hard Wired Telephone - One that will work without power. |
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72 Hour Survival Kits - 72 Hour Emergency Survival Kits Blue Ridge Media, PO Box 1571, Blowing Rock, NC 28605. (828) 394-4850. |
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How to Build a 72 Hour Emergency Survival Kit
