TACDA Emergency Food and Water

7/25/2019 TACDA Emergency Food and Water

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September / October 2005

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Greetings to all:

First, I would like to take a moment tothank our current members for theiron-going support and to welcome allof our new members. We are excitedand honored that you have chosen to join us in our mission:

The American Civil Defense

Association provides information,

tools and resources that empower American Citizens with a com-

prehensive understanding of reason-

able preparedness strategies andtechniques; promoting a self-reliant,

pro-active approach to protecting

themselves, their families and theircommunities in the event of Nuclear,

Biological, Chemical or other man- made and natural disasters.

As in the past, our TACDA Board and

staff continue to execute this missionand are committed to provide evengreater member benefits over thenext few months. While there areseveral new member programs beingexplored, our online TACDA Academy is in Beta testing andseveral courses will be available formember review and comment by theend of November. The TACDAChapter committee is actively movingforward in establishing formaloperating guidelines to be used inlaunching the approximately thirtyTACDA Chapters, in queue, around

the United States, by year’s end. Weare very grateful for the praise we’vereceived about our re-vampedJournal of Civil Defense and it’s more“solutions” oriented approach todisaster preparedness. It’s been achallenge but we are on the righttrack and look forward to finalizing

our format and schedule shortly. Weencourage you to consider sharingTACDA and it’s valuable mission withothers whom you care about. Givingthe gift of a TACDA Membership is agreat way to teach basic pre-paredness principles that empowerand strongly increase the likelihood ofsurvival.

This issue of the JCD addressesemergency food and water supplies.This is a topic near and dear to myheart. There are only a handful ofcritical things humans truly need tosurvive: some type of shelter, cleanbreathable air, clean drinkable water,non-contaminated food, and a senseof hope and love.

Everyone is aware, at some level, ofthese needs. Usually, when I’mlecturing on Civil Defense, numerousquestions come up regarding“priorities” and “scarcity of re-sources,” (usually time and money).Some people are genuinely

impoverished and it is difficult to evenfathom the idea of creating astockpile of food and bottled water.Some are just too busy to even give itany attention at all. Sadly, othersbelieve that, when push comes toshove, the (the government) will bethere to supply whatever they need. All of these people have not trulytaken the time to STOP (Study,Think, Observe and Prepare).

Many experts recommend having two

years worth of food per person instorage. Many of us on a fixed or

limited income would see this asimpossible. It would be easy to say“Why bother?” But… just imaginewhat would happen if you set abudget, a firm amount of money thayou would invest each and everyweek ($1, $5, $20 or whatever youcould afford) towards building an

emergency stockpile of food andwater?

I know of a family who was down ontheir luck several years ago. Whenthey reached the point when theyweren’t worried about being evictedthey made it a top priority to build upsome food storage in the event theirsituation worsened. They workedeveryday to earn just an extra $5 aday for this purpose. Within fortydays, they had enough emergencyfood to feed each of them 2000

calories a day for one month. Theynow have a family of six, rotate anduse their food storage and continueto invest just $25.00 per monthbuilding towards a one-year supply.

What are you able to do?

One can of stew or chili each timeyou go to the store, a bag of rice owheat each month. In a pinchanything is better than nothing. Don’be overwhelmed. Do what you can

Talk about and set a workablebudget. This money isn’t beingthrown away; it’s just being investedWe are optimists and strive tosurvive. Make “being prepared” oneof the top priorities in your life. Youand your family are worth it.

Best Regards,Sharon PackerTACDA President

Remember, If you are prepared, you

have no need to fear.



TACDA Journal of Civil Defense™

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Alex Coleman - TACDA Journal ofCivil Defense Editor

Dear Reader,

Once again, on behalf of TACDA, Iwould like to say thank you for yoursupport of our efforts and forproviding such great feedback to

help us fulfill our mission to teachand promote civil defense conceptsand solutions throughout America.

We have made, and continue tomake many improvementsthroughout The American Civil

Defense Association (TACDA) andthe Journal of Civil Defense (JCD)in an effort to MAXIMIZE

SURVIVORS and fulfill our mission.We continue to work to developTACDA and the JCD into the mostcomprehensive resource available

for nuclear, biological and chemicalthreat solutions, and will continue todo so with your help and support.

This issue of the JCD is particularlyimportant to each of us, regardless

of our knowledge (or lack ofknowledge) in disaster pre-paredness concepts, because, it

deals with two topics that areessential to life. It doesn’t reallymatter if you have the finest

sheltering solution that money canbuy, if you lack these two items.What are they?

Food and water.

Without an ample supply of food

and water to see us through anextended disaster or emergencysituation, all other efforts are

essentially futile.

Why is it so important to establishan emergency food and water

supply? What types of food shouldyou store and how would you cookif there were an extended loss of

power? How can you store enoughwater to sustain your family througha long-term disaster? These are

just a few of the important topicsthat are addressed in this issue ofthe Journal of Civil Defense. We

encourage you to spend some timein this issue and learn as much

about food and water storage aspossible. But most importantly, we

urge you to take action and preparein advance, while there is still time.To help you prioritize your pre-

paredness strategies, rememberthe following important formula:

“Maximize Survivors” = STOP(Study + Think + Observe + Prepare)

If we will follow this basicpreparedness recipe, we will be

well on our way to achieving themaximum number of survivors inthe event that disaster should

strike.

For the November / December

issue of the JCD, we have chosenthe S.T.O.P. theme of “Radiationand the Nuclear Threat”. If youhave any resources, stories, ideas

or suggestions concerning this orany other relevant topic that youfeel would be of benefit to ou

readers, we would love to hear fromyou. Please, send any feedbackcomments or article submissions to

us for review at jc [email protected] will be looking forward tohearing from you very soon.

Even if you do not feel that youhave anything to contribute towardthis upcoming issue, remember that

your input is very valuable to usSo just drop us an email letting usknow that you are in support of ou

mission. That is a tremendouscontribution within itself.

Once again, we thank you for youcontinued support and hope to hear

from you soon.

Kindest Regards, Alex Coleman, Editor

[email protected]




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FOOD & WATERBy Sharon PackerTACDA President

In this issue of the JCD, we havechosen to discuss food and waterneeds. Many people have inquired

about the types of foods that can beeaten after a nuclear event. So, inthis article, we will address some of

the “do’s” and “do not’s” of post-nuclear survival, particularly as theyrelate to food and water.

Fallout from a nuclear explosionconsists of tiny particles of dirt anddebris fused with fission products.

Alpha and Beta particles in thefallout can persist for long periodsof time and will contaminate any

food to which it comes in contact.On the other hand, gammaradiation from the fallout is not a

particle and does not contaminatefood. In fact, gamma radiation isactually used to purify food in some

cases. Our challenge will be indifferentiating between foods thatcan and cannot be cleansed ofalpha and beta particles.

Most gamma radiation will notpersist beyond two weeks after the

nuclear event. Fruits and vege-tables harvested from fallout zonesin the first month post-attack may

need to be decontaminated beforeconsuming. Decontamination canbe accomplished by washing

exposed parts, removing outer

leaves and peeling. FEMA materialhas stated that most vegetables

and fruits that can be washed andpealed, can safely be eaten. If thenuclear event were to occur at

harvest time, you could still harvestsmooth, hard skinned vegetablesand fruits such as apples, potatoes,

carrots, squashes, and any otherfruits and vegetables you couldboth wash and peal. You shouldnot harvest ‘fuzzy’ fruits such as

raspberries, strawberries orpeaches. Cauliflower and broccolishould not be eaten from the

garden because of the unevennature of their outer layers.

People in areas of low fallout

accumulation may be able to plantcrops the next season. Small plotsof land could be scraped of the

upper few inches of contaminatedsoil and planted. The contaminated

soil containing the fallout should bemoved away from the garden area.

It seems unlikely that there wouldbe any large farming activities forsome time. People may have

opportunity to cover small gardenplots with plastic before falloutarrives, generally in low fallout

areas that have received no blast.

Storage of large rolls of plasticwould be advantageous.

Some plants requiring calcium(such as broccoli and cauliflower)

will take up radioactive strontium 90because of its chemical similaritiesto calcium. If we eat the food

containing the radioactive stron-tium, the strontium will be depositedin our bones. Liming of acid soiwill reduce this uptake. If possible

in areas of significant falloudeposition, you should plant foodswith low calcium content such as

potatoes, grains, beans, applestomatoes, peppers, sweet corn,

squash and cucumbers.

Storage of non-hybrid seeds isextremely important. Hybrid seeds

will not reproduce quality fruitSeeds last several years if stored

covered in airtight containers in acool, dry area. Farming implements

should also be stored in a safeplace and protected from blast.

The prudent will store at least aone-year supply of basic foodsSee our basic list of food storage

items in the centerfold of this journal.



TACDA Journal of Civi l Defense™

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Before opening canned foods, thecan should be wiped or washed if

contamination is suspected. Meatsand dairy products that arewrapped or are kept within closed

showcases or refrigerators shouldremain free from contamination.Refrigerated foods should be eaten

first, then food from the freezer as itthaws, and then canned and non-contaminated packaged foods.

Crops, which are in the early stagesof growth in heavy fallout areas, willabsorb radioactive materials

through their leaves or roots andwould be difficult to decontaminate.

If possible, animals should be put

under cover before fallout arrivesand should not be fed contaminatedfood and/or water. Animals can be

slaughtered for food, if they do notappear to be sick. The bones andorgans, however, should be

removed and disposed of beforecooking the meat. The animal may

have been foraging on plants andgrasses contaminated with

Strontium-90. Since Strontium-90looks chemically much like calcium,the bone cannot differentiate

between Strontium and Calcium,and will absorb the Strontium intothe bone. If we cook the meat with

the bones, the Strontium from the

bones will then be absorbed intoour bones.

Eggs from poultry can be eaten.Fish from streams and lakes, such

as trout and perch can be eaten.Bottom feeders such as carp andcatfish should not be consumed

because their food sources wouldbe contaminated by radioactiveparticles.

Thyroid Blocking Agents (TBA)tablets should be started as soonafter the nuclear attack as possible.

Consult your physician NOW, forproper dosages for you and for

each member of your family.

People with thyroid problems maynot be able to take TBA, thereforemake sure your physician is aware

of any thyroid irregularities you mayhave. The thyroid is always‘looking’ for iodine and cannot

distinguish between pure iodineand the radioactive isotope. TBA

fills the thyroid with healthy iodineand prevents the uptake of

radioactive form of the isotope.The thyroid will only accept iodinein certain forms. TBA is formulated

with potassium and the properisotope of iodine. Do not takeiodine internally in any other form.

TBA is a medicine and can causecertain side effects. TBA should

only be taken in the event of anuclear disaster.

Well water will likely not beavailable during a power failure

Hand pumps which will pump fromas deep as 200 feet are availablethrough many Amish catalogs

Emergency water filtration anddecontamination methods arediscussed in a different area of thisissue of the journal. Be creative

Drinkable water can be found inmany unexpected places, such ashot water heaters, toilets tanks (no

the bowl), etc.

A deficiency of vitamin C could

cause symptoms of scurvy within 4to 6 weeks. Store a year’s supplyof vitamin C as well as other multi-vitamins and minerals. A good

expedient way to provide vitamin Cis through consumption of sproutedseeds or beans. Instructions are

given in the book entitled, “NuclearWar Survival Skills” , which isavailable through the TACDA

Store at www.tacda.org.

We cannot overly express theimportance of a year’s supply of

food. Many disasters, both naturaand man-made, likely will cause a

shortage of food or even famineEven the most God-fearing peoplewill often reconsider and/or lose al

moral values when their childrenare starving. As always, weencourage you to be prudent and

alert. Don’t forget…Study, ThinkObserve and Prepare.




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A Winter To Remember

Prudence was a friendly squirrel;kind, good-hearted and generous.She loved her family very much, andthey loved her too. They always hadlots of fun working and playingtogether.

Prudence decided that she betterstart gathering her winter supply offood, as all of the signs were pointingto an early, and extra cold Winter thisyear. Her Father had taught her topay close attention to the weather,and showed her how to tell if Winterwould be early or late, and if it wouldbe colder than usual.

She tried to tell all of her friends thatthey should get ready too, but theydid not want to hear it. After all,

"winter isn't coming early this year,and we have plenty of time to gatherfood! Let's play!” they would say.They were more interested in playinggames and having a good time thanthey were in going out and gatheringfood and supplies for Winter. Afterall, winter preparation was not theiridea of fun.

Well, Prudence went ahead andbegan her preparations for winter.She gathered enough nuts andacorns to feed her entire familythroughout the winter. Her familyhelped her gather supplies. They allworked together and got the jobdone. Since they worked together,they were able to gather all of thefood they would need in just a fewdays. After everything was properlystored away, they had plenty of timeto go outside and play with the rest of

their friends and enjoy the rest of Autumn.

Well, before they knew what washappening, Winter was here. Thesnow came early that year, just asPrudence had said it would. All ofher friends began to head home to

safety, but they soon rememberedthat they had not gathered any foodfor the winter. They so wished thatthey had listened to Prudence whilethere was still time.

Now they would have to go out intothe horrible cold and try to findenough food to last them and theirfamilies through the Winter. It wouldbe very, very hard and extremelydangerous. Whatever food was leftout there would soon be covered overand hidden by the snow until Spring.

Since Prudence and her family tookcare of the important things ahead oftime, they were warm and had fullbellies all winter long. And, becausePrudence and her family had

gathered a good bit of extra food, justin case, they were able to share alittle with each of their friends, whowere very grateful. All of her friendsmade a promise that they would paymore attention to what washappening around them and that theywould certainly be prepared for nextWinter.

Like Prudence and her family:* We should take time to learn aboutthe different emergencies that couldhappen in our home, ouneighborhood, our school, andanywhere else that we often go.

* We should think about these

different emergencies and talk abouwhat we would do if somethinghappened. Where would we go?Who would we call? What would weeat and drink? How would we cookour food and brush our teeth?

* We should always be alert andwatch and listen very closely to thingsgoing on around us. This is calledbeing aware of our surroundingsWhen Prudence realized that Wintewould be coming early, she was ableto prepare before it arrived and had

plenty of time to spare.

* We should prepare for emergenciesbefore they happen. We shouldmake a list of some of the things thawe might need if the electricity wenout for a few days, if we got snowedin and couldn't leave our home for awhile, or if any of the otheremergencies that we thought of andtalked about actually happened.

Discussion Points:

1. What are some things that couldhappen that would force us to have tostay at home for several days, oeven weeks?

2. What are some ways that we canbe more aware of our surroundingsand what should we do if we sensethat something is wrong?

3. What types of things should westore at our home that would help usbe more comfortable if we had to stay

in doors for several days, maybeeven without electricity to cook, watchTV, play video games, or even turnon a light?

4. What are some ways that we canhelp other people realize that theyshould prepare for emergenciesbefore-hand, instead of waiting untiit is too late?




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EMERGENCY SANITATION

Todd, a TACDA member, recentlyasked the President of TACDA,Sharon Packer, about propersanitation during an emergencysituation. Sharon replied with the

following:

During times of emergency, whennormal sanitation methods of food,

water, garbage, trash, and sewagemay be disrupted, it is critical thatrules and procedures be

established and followed, in orderto safe-guard proper health. If theyare not, disastrous results may be

experienced.

Disposal of Garbage and

Rubbish:

Garbage may sour, decompose,breed bacteria, and/or attract

insects and small animals, --rubbish (trash) will not. Garbage, orany mixed refuse containing

garbage, must be carefully storedand handled if odor and insectnuisances are to be prevented.

Garbage should be kept separatefrom trash.

Garbage should be drained beforebeing placed in storage containers.If liquids are strained away,garbage may be stored for a longer

period of time without developingan unpleasant odor. After wrappingin double thicknesses of newspaper

place in a container with a tightfitting lid.

Garbage should never be dumped

on the ground because it will attractrats, skunks and other scavengers.If collection by authorities is not

possible garbage may be buried ina hole deep enough to cover it withat least 18 to 24 inches of dirt,

which will prevent insect breedingand discourage animals fromdigging it up.

Trash and rubbish may be burnedin open yard areas or left at dumpsestablished by local authorities.

Cans should be flattened andbottles should be broken to reducetheir bulk

Chemical Toilets:

Proper management of toilet

facilities during times of emergencymay have a greater affect on yourhealth than any other single

element of sanitation. Bacterialinfections such as typhoid anddysentery can be just as

devastating as the disaster thatcaused the emergency.

A temporary toilet can be madefrom a water tight container with a

snug-fitting lid or cover (5 gallonplastic buckets work great).

Line it with a garbage can liner or

leaf bag.

Mix one cup of liquid chlorinebleach to one half gallon of wate

(one to ten ratio), or mix laundrydetergent or other disinfectant withone half gallon of water and pour

the mixture into the temporarytoilet. Do not use dry or powderedbleach as it is caustic.

Every time the chemical toilet isused sprinkle on a little more

pinesol, chlorine, bleach, bakingsoda, alcohol, laundry detergent

ammonia, insecticide or otherdisinfectant to keep down odors

and germs. Replace the lid tightlyafter each use.

When the container is one third toone half full, tie the garbage bagliner shut and empty it into a larger

covered container (such as a 20 o30 gallon trash can). Put anotheliner inside the bucket, can, or other

temporary toilet and continue touse.

Never deposit human waste or

garbage on the open ground. If youhave no other alternative fodisposal, it is safe to bury waste in

trenches deep enough that thewaste is covered with 24-30 inchesof dirt.
















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With Barbara Salsbury

Know-How is necessary beforethe Crisis Occurs.

Having a shelf of resource books

and manuals that you can lightlyreview annually is a smart idea. Butemphasis must be placed on the

principle of “being prepared.” Theinformation between the covers of abook is essentially useless if you do

not have the confidence orunderstanding of how to apply it.Having several cookbooks on theshelf will not make you a skilled

cook. Likewise, having a book onhow to survive a disaster will notkeep you safe and warm if you

don’t know the skills or have thesupplies before the disaster occurs.It’s too late for preparation once the

need arrives. Here are a few ideasto help you on your way.

Make Sure the “ Stuff” In YourCupboards Can Be Made Edible –Or It Won’t Do Anyone Any Good

Oftentimes people will stock up onbasic staple foods like grains and

legumes because these foods canbe stored without constant attention

for extended periods of time.Usually these people hope thatcircumstances will never get so bad

that they’ll actually have to eatthem. This is a shame. Not evenstaple foods will last forever. They

need to be rotated and replaced, just like any other food (even if itisn’t quite as often.) The best way

to do this is by using them.

It does very little good to have

shelves full of good-for-you foods ifyou have no idea how to prepare

them so that you and the membersof your household will eat them. It’s

not only discouraging, it’s a waste

of your hard earned money. Aworthwhile goal is to make the“stuff” in your cupboard edible. This

is especially true for different anddifficult situations such as theaftermath of disasters. There is

security in knowing that what youfix will be eaten and enjoyed. Andin the middle of a massive poweroutage is not a good time to figure

it’s time to get out the beans.

However, there are a few ideas to

start with now. Adding a few simplecomplementary foods likepackaged seasonings, sauces and

fixings to your basics can give newlife to foods that you may havenever considered in an everydayperspective. In case of a long-term

aftermath of a disaster, where youmust rely on these basic staples asyour sole food supply, these

complementary foods will make thebasics palatable. In an everydaysituation, seasonings, spices and

sauces can bring basic staples outof the deep recesses of thebasement or closet and make them

a useful and desirable part of yourregular menus. These added items

will greatly expand the recipepotential of staple foods.




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Plan to take the time to take a tourof your supermarket with pre-

paredness in mind. Have in mindthe staples that you already have

stored or are planning to store,such as rice (lots of varietiesavailable), barley, wheat, pasta,

lentils, split peas and so on. Jotdown a list of these items on asheet of paper to take to the store

with you, with space to make notes.Then choose a variety of seasoningpackets, sauce packets or a good

supply of your favorite, most usedseasonings or other “convenience

type foods” to make simple mealsfrom just one or two ingredients that

you already have. (Keep in mind, ifyou are dealing with a long termpower outage situation, your

makeshift meals most likely will notcontain meat, unless you alreadyhave a supply of canned meat.)

Spread the search over severalpaydays to make sure you have a

sufficient variety and amount of“additives”. After all, how in the

world can you make a batch of ricetaste like spaghetti unless you haveoregano and basil, let alone garlic

salt? These kinds of simple itemscan truly make the differencebetween getting through rough

times and having edible foods, orsurviving by having nothing to eatexcept boiled grains. Yes, you can

survive or exist on boiled grains,but why plan on that when, if you

prepare ahead of time, you canmake a difference!

A gallon jar or Rubbermaid-typestorage container will hold a good-

sized variety of packets in thecupboard. The protection of a solidcontainer will allow for a longer

shelf-life than just setting thepackets or packages in the

cupboard where bugs, rodents andmoisture usually cause rapid

deterioration.

Look at your regular recipe book

with “staple cooking” in mind. Youcan substitute almost any grain foregular rice in any recipe

Experiment a little and you’ll findhow easy it is to use your grainsand other staple foods on a regularbasis, so that when hard times do

come it won’t be a disaster to try toeat the stuff.

Storage life of dry milk

Dry milk is an economical item to

keep on the pantry shelf, as well asan essential cooking ingredient –especially in Power Outage

Cooking. How in the world can youmake good tasting hot chocolate iyou don’t have dry milk when the

fridge isn’t working and the real milkis gone?

Dry milk/Instant non-fat milk in asealed, airtight container will keepanywhere from 18 months to twoyears. After that the milk will ge

stale, but because the fat isremoved, it usually doesn’t gorancid, and it still safe to comsume

Aged dry milk - as in times ancientthe kind that has been stored as aninheritance for your grandchildren -

takes on a beige brown cast andhas a distinctively musky smellDepending on the age and appear-

ance of the milk, it can usually be




18 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

used in recipes and mixes without aproblem, even if you don’t want tomix and drink it as straight milk. Itmay eventually reach the pointwhere the flavor is so strong that itoverpowers any other flavor in arecipe. Dry milk kept in cardboardpackaging deteriorates much more

rapidly than when stored in anairtight container. In fact it becomesso hard you can use it for buildingblocks and won’t have to worrywhether or not you will like theflavor.

Just for your information, instant drymilk is made from regular non-fatdry milk. Often it costs twice asmuch for half the volume, just forthe convenience of instant. Thereare also several milk alternatives,based on whey, that are nowavailable are not a straight acrosssubstitute for dry milk. Whey is abuy-product of milk and issignificantly less nutritious thanregular dry milk. I’ll discuss thesewhey based milk alternatives inmore detail in a future column.

Getting Water Out of a Water

Barrel.

Water storage is an important partof any emergency preparednessprogram. And if you are con-sidering “cooking with staple foods”or in fact cooking anything, you’dbetter have more than survivalrations of water on hand.

Rather than using dozens of two-liter pop bottles or even 5-gallon jugs, you can purchase 15, 35 or 55gallon water barrels in which tokeep your water. (Five-gallon jugs

are a good alternative, however,this article is going to talk about thebarrels.) The fifteen-gallon sizedbarrels are great for apartments orsmall areas. One or two can bestashed in tight or small areaswhere the larger ones might not fit,such as under a stairwell. Waterbarrels are compact andconvenient, that is until it comes

time to actually using the water.Then you may have a problemunless you’ve planned ahead.

A full 55-gallon barrel will weighseveral hundred pounds. That istoo heavy to realistically tip evenslightly to access the water. Even a15 gallon barrel is heavy when it isfull and impractical to attempt to tipevery time you need to get thewater out. Your best bet is to go toa local hardware store, a well-equipped supermarket, or acompany that sells the waterbarrels (check the yellow pages)and ask for a siphon hose. They

should cost $10 to $15 apiece.Most water barrels are created witha fitting on the top to attach asiphon hose to, as well as the plugthat opens to allow air flow so thatyou can get the water out. Makesure that the type of siphon hosethat you purchase has a small handpump built in and is designedspecifically for using with waterbarrels or similar containers. Thenyou just pump away and out comesexactly as much water as you want.

It is not difficult to use (even I canmake it work.)

A decidedly second best solution isto use a rubber tube to siphon thewater out of barrel, like a thiefwould do to siphon the gas out ofyour car. Get a long flexible rubbertube (a narrow garden hose mightdo in a pinch) and stick one end

(that has been washed) well downinto the water in your barrel. Thenstart sucking on the other end othe tube like a straw. When thewater hits your mouth, quickly placethat end of the tube into a buckeon the floor. The water should starpouring out of the tube. (Make sure

the bucket is lower than the watelevel in the barrel.) It’s not nearlyas con-venient or easy as a siphonpump but it is an option if a disastershould happen today before youget a chance to buy your pump. Animportant point to remember is topay close attention to the water asit fills your container. Stop, shut offkink the hose – whatever you haveto do to stop the flow of the waterwell before the bucket is full. Therewill still be a small amount of watein the hose that will drain into thebucket. If the bucket gets too full, iwill overflow, wasting your water.

Here are a few other importantpoints to consider as you thinkabout using the water you havestored. The other item that iscritical, before you begin to siphonwater out of the barrel, is thecontainer in which to catch andcarry the water. It needs to be

small enough for you to carry whenfull, yet large enough to holdsufficient water for your needs.

Remember a five-gallon buckewhen full weighs forty pounds. Alsoremember to not get your containertoo full. As you walk the water wilslosh. If it ‘s too close to the top you




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could lose quite a bit of a preciouscommodity.

Do not worry about whether yourstored water is safe to drink or cook

with. Keep on hand a water purifiersuch as liquid household bleach. Ifthere is any question DO NOT

THROW OUT THAT WATER.Purify it in small batches at a timeas you need it.

Preparedness Pantry Mainten-ance

Ok, so you’ve been budgeting yourmoney, buying your foods to fillyour pantry or cupboard, your

emergency kits are ready andyou’ve got enough spare water tolive a year in the Mojave desert.What’s left to do? Lots! Being

prepared takes work and it’s anongoing process that never reallyends. Whether you’re a

preparedness guru or just gettingstarted, here are a few helpful hintsfor maintaining your emergency

preparedness supplies.

1. Rotate your foods. This is one of

the most important factors forkeeping food storage within your

budget. Make sure your food isn’twasted; consume and replace

items on a regular basis. Even ifyou have easy access to freshitems like milk and eggs, use dried

eggs and powdered milk in cookingto rotate them before they spoil orare wasted. Remember that all

foods, whether fresh, or the typeset aside for longer-term storage,have limits to their shelf life.

Become familiar with the lifespan ofthe items in your cupboard and use

them accordingly. It is a good ideato write the date of purchase on all

items that go onto your foodstorage shelves, and to put newitems at the back of the shelf and

move older ones up to the front toensure usage. Having a pantrydoes no good if the food is inedible.

2. Clean your storeroom or pantrycloset. Food storage gets dirty!

Dust and elements can take theirtoll on food storage items, inaddition to creating an unsanitary

environment for your family.

Besides, dust bunnies are not pets

that need a two-month supply offood. Don’t let your storage roombecome the black hole where alldirt ends up! Make sure to clean

the area regularly to make sure thatall the work and money you’ve putinto it doesn’t end up in the

garbage.

Maintenance is a vital part of the

process of preparedness. It’s notalways easy but it’s necessary toensure you the best chance atstability in any situation.

So once again the Preparednessideas are Practical. Sometimes all

we need is the encouragement tokeep going. Or maybe it’s just an

idea that you had already thoughtof, but needed reassurance that itwas okay. Winter is coming, storms

may be on their way. But if you dothe best you can, find a shelf tostock and have a good book andsome chocolate to get you through

it won’t look so dreary. Stay en-thused as you work on your ownpractical preparedness plans.




20 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Ham radio operators to therescue after Katrina

By Gary Krakow

[Editor's Note: The purpose of thiscolumn is to encourage our readersto become active in the amateur

(HAM) radio community, and tomake them aware of opportunitieswhere they can utilize their skills,

with emphasis on emergency andpost-disaster communications.Very soon, TACDA will be rolling

out its Civil Defense Amateur RadioInitiative that will provide a nationalnetwork of qualified civil defensecommunicators that can serve the

communications needs of TACDAmembers and others during andafter a wide-scale disaster. We

urge each of you with an interest inemergency communications toobtain your amateur operators

license so that you can participate

in this program. We will beproviding updates of our progress

with this program in future issues ofthe JCD, on the TACDA web siteand in special member notices.

Stay tuned.]

With telephones down and wirelessservice disrupted, at least one

group of people did manage to usetechnology to come to the rescue ofthose in need.

Often unsung, amateur radiooperators regularly assist in

emergency situations. HurricaneKatrina was no exception. In recentweeks, operators of amateur or

ham radios have been instrumentalin helping residents in the hardesthit areas, including saving stranded

flood victims in Louisiana and

Mississippi.

Public service has always been alarge part of being an amateur radio

operator. All operators, who usetwo-way radios on specialfrequencies set aside for amateur

use, must be tested and licensedby the federal government, whichthen issues them a unique call sign.

Ham operators communicate usingvoice, computers, televisions and

Morse code (the original digitalcommunication mode). Some hamsbounce their signals off the upper

regions of the atmosphere, so theycan talk with hams on the otherside of the world; others use

satellites. Many use short-range,

handheld radios that fit in their

pockets.

When disaster strikes, hamnetworks spring into action. The

Amateur Radio Emergency Service(ARES) consists of licensedamateurs who have voluntarily

registered their qualifications andequipment for communications dutyin the public service.

In this disaster, a number of hamemergency stations and networks

have been involved in providinginformation about this disaster; from

WX4NHC, the amateur radiostation at the National Hurricane

Center to the Hurricane Watch Netthe Waterway Net, Skywarn andthe Salvation Army Team

Emergency Radio Network(SATERN).



TACDA Journal of Civi l Defense™

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

On Monday, Aug. 29, a call forhelp involving a combination of celltelephone and amateur radio callsled to the rescue of 15 peoplestranded by floodwaters on the roofof a house in New Orleans. Unableto get through an overloaded 911system, one of those strandedcalled a relative in Baton Rouge.That person called another relative,who called the local American Red

Cross.

Using that Red Cross chapter’samateur radio station, Ben Joplin,WB5VST, was able to relay arequest for help on the SATERNnetwork via Russ Fillinger, W7LXR,in Oregon, and Rick Cain, W7KB, inUtah back to Louisiana, whereemergency personnel were alerted.They rescued the 15 people andgot them to a shelter.

Such rescues were repeated overand over again. Another hamoperator was part of the mix thatsame Monday when he heard overthe same Salvation Armyemergency network of a family offive trapped in an attic in DiamondHead, La. The family used a cellphone to call out. Bob Rathbone,

AG4ZG, in Tampa, says hechecked the address on a map anddetermined it was in an area struckby a storm surge.

He called the Coast Guard search-and-rescue station in Clearwater,explained the situation and relayedthe information. At this point, theCoast Guard office in New Orleanswas out of commission. An hour

later he received a return call fromthe South Haven Sheriff’sDepartment in Louisiana, whichinformed him a rescue operationwas under way.

Another search-and-rescue opera-tion involved two adults and a child

stuck on a roof. The person wasable to send a text message from acell phone to a family member inMichigan. Once again, the CoasGuard handled the call.

Relief work is not just relegated tomonitoring radios for distress calls

The organization representingamateur radio operators, The American Radio Relay League or ARRL, is now seeking emergencyvolunteers to help supplemencommunication for American RedCross feeding and shelteringoperations in Mississippi, Alabamaand the Florida Panhandle — asmany as 200 locations in all.

And, for the first time, the federagovernment will help hams helpothers. The Corporation foNational and Community Service(CNCS) will provide a $100,000grant supplement to ARRL tosupport its emergency commun-ication operators in states affectedby Hurricane Katrina. The grant wilhelp to fund what is being termed“Ham Aid,” a new program tosupport amateur radio volunteersdeployed in the field in disaster-stricken areas.

One last note for ham operators inthe stricken area: The FCC hasannounced that it’s extendingamateur license renewal deadlinesuntil October 31, 2005.

[Source: http://www.msnbc.com]







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