I'm such an idiot. Please, take my hindsight for your own future safety!

Hey don't fret, you're intent is what matters in the end and you obviously care a lot, especially to make this thread.

I wish you the best of luck.

Originally posted by FraternitasSaturni
zombieland rule number 5: No attachments...

oh wait... wrong doomsday scenario...

hahahaha
i love that film
was rule number 2 cardiovascular

I can understand your frustration. The other day a work associate asked me if I had seen the doomsday preppers. I commented that I had and I gave my opinion that Nat Geo appears to me to have a slant on things like 9/11 as well as the people making an honest effort at taking care of themselves. One thing for sure is that anyone with prepared ideas will be better off compared to someone completely defenseless. ATS is a great source for often inexpensive solutions. There is a very inexpensive way to make fresh water using a ceramic candle filter and a couple of water safe five gallon buckets. It's not very heavy when empty. The ceramic filter is the costliest part(30.00+/-). You could see this done on Youtube. Hopefully you'll be in the safe zone from the storm and you can continue your efforts to help ensure your safety. A sealed bag(s) of smoked salmon along with your other goodies might be a handy addition for a pinch. It's harder to think of all of the sudden having nothing but what you can carry available to us. Searching survival posts on ATS could provide a host of ideas for you to work with. Good luck to you and yours. If its any consolation I had a breaking and entering at my home tonight while my wife and I were at work in the ER of our local hospital. My young son was at home alone with his dogs. The criminal still got away with our (replaceable) jewelry box, but not before meeting my dogs that he had stupidly unanticipated. I live in a nice neighborhood and I have a nice home. Things happen. My son was prepared despite being scared to death. This intruder broke an expensive encasement window and entered my home while my son and the dogs were in our finished basement. It was about 2200 hours. Thanks be that he was not harmed, just shaken and stirred. Now he will be paranoid thanks to the person who only robbed my son of his safety net. However, his respect for the dogs has gone up immensely. So keep your head up and find a way to keep a positive attitude when things go not as planned or expected. Someone else at the beginning of the thread gave some great advice. Don't Panic

Your money is better off in the bank at this point.

I've been through an F5 and luckily was spared while neighboring brick homes were wiped from their concrete slabs. Automobiles were thrown five to six stories into the air and were hanging out the bank windows, teetering like some stunt on a high-action film. The streets looked like a warzone.

The torndao sliced one two story house in half, leaving the upstairs wardrobe exposed. Not a SINGLE hanging item was disturbed! The rest of the house was gone; but, the hanging clothing was never touched.

I remember another year with a "herd" of tornadoes that ripped the lady's clothing off.

My point is, tornadoes are VERY unpredictable and even illogical in some ways.

My second point is, holding onto things will not ensure their safety. A BOB would most likely be ripped from your hands. Hold onto your FAMILY instead.

All we're doing now is waiting til it starts to get dark and then we're heading to the shelter.

To the one person who claims you don't need a gun permit in the USA, you sure do in some States else you get massive felonies.
even before you buy a gun you gotta wait 3 to 7 days if i recall right to get the gun cuz they have to send in your info to get you cleared. even a private sale, they have to else they can be in huge trouble.


My State from Wiki:

Illinois
Main article: Gun laws in Illinois
Subject/Law Long Guns Handguns Relevant Statutes Notes
State permit to purchase? Yes Yes 430 ILCS 65 FOID required.
Firearm registration? No No The city of Chicago requires residents to complete a firearm safety course, receive a background check including fingerprinting, and then pay a $100 annual permit fee. Registration of any handgun will assume an additional one time fee of $15.00
"Assault weapon" law? No No
Owner license required? Yes Yes 430 ILCS 65 FOID required.
Carry permits issued? No No
State preemption of local restrictions? No No
NFA weapons restricted? Yes Yes 720 ILCS 5/24 Fully automatic firearms and short-barreled rifles and shotguns prohibited. AOW (Any Other Weapon) allowed with proper approval and tax stamp from BATF.
Peaceable journey laws? No No


en.wikipedia.org...

I wouldn't worry about being an idiot. We are all unaware of something occasionally, we're all idiots at times. If someone doesn't agree with this fact, they are being an idiot.

Calm, peace, tranquility...

Tornados are different than other disasters. One block over from a tornado the Walmart will be open. You can get anything you need.

Are you new to the area? I have lived in Tornado Alley all my life. I have been through three. You will be fine. Listen to the news stations, listen for the sirens, watch the radar. Be prepared to take cover in a basement.

After this you can start you BOB, as another post said, in tornados you may not be able to hang onto it anyway. And as another post said, you are the best weapon you have.

Make it through this and learn from it. Putting together a BOB takes time and planning and constant readjustment. I dive into my kit every few months and certainly at the change of each season. Our winter has been mild so far and I'm now gearing up for tornado season.

If you want to take the stress out of putting together a bag you can buy preassembled kits that typically have enough supplies for about three days. By then, outside help is usually accessible and the Red Cross trucks are on the scene.

Water storage is probably the most important thing to consider. Body needs water more than food. I keep one 7 gallon water container per person stored in my basement. The water is treated with activated oxygen to give it a long shelf life. I also keep single serve emergency water packs tucked into backpacks.

For additional water needs I keep a WATER BOB tucked under the bathroom sink and ready to deploy if needed. That's 100 gallons of potable right instantly.

Toilet paper. You'll thank me later.

reply to post by sarra1833


Hey,
I don't think you are an idiot-

A true idiot is someone who does not/cannot learn from their mistakes.
It sounds like you have already learned a lesson,so you are no idiot IMO.
Keep safe and fill any containers you have with water(and the bath)so at least you will have stuff to drink.

Just try to keep this in mind whenever you go off wondering what just you will need in certain situations like this.

First chill, it will do NO GOOD to go off in your imagination, you must stay in your own head at all times.

Just remember this

It takes weeks to die of starvation, days to die of dehydration, and only hours to die to the elements.
Then it still only takes a split second to die of an accident.

Take from this these ideas.

This is a time for you to take a look around, a BoB isn't going to save you anymore than what you put in it, and all in all a BoB is really your own human nature.

You will need food, yes, water, yes, light, its helpful, fire, easier to come by nowadays then most think, a flint set solves this issue, or just some dry matches/paper/etc. Most importantly you need to prepare for homelessness.

Like I said it only take hours to die to the elements, if they are that bad of course, so make sure staying warm and dry is your first priority, then everything else comes along as what is needed next

Find shelter, create fire for warmth and security, begin processing water, begin finding food.

Everything else is a luxury in a SHTF scenario. Don't strees over the wind up radio, most likely someone nearby has on anyway.

You're a human being. Ingenuity is the only tool you need for survival. Everything else is just luxury. Keep a clear head and you will pull through this. Good luck.

does anybody know the news on the tornado?, if its hit yet or not? I hope all those in the line are fine.

Don't spend money that you don't have. You are better off saving that money to get the heck out of dodge if disaster strikes. Instead take your time and accumulate the proper long lasting items so they will work when you do need them. a tornado will only destroy a limited area. Help will be nearby.

reply to post by sarra1833


Your most important survival tool is your brain.

Good luck and don't panic.

PS Fill the bath tub..

No permit needed for long guns. Mossberg 500

.

Its what I say over and over again. People are all paranoid of UN takeovers, Martial Law and a couple dozen other non events.

But the truth is......mother nature will give anybody a slap down. Don't matter who you are. The strongest military equipment we have gets blown around like crumpled paper in an F5.

The key is to go to a known safe place such as the underground shelters you mentioned and remain sober and calm. Your brain is your greatest asset. Keep it clear and working.

reply to post by sarra1833


I will cross my fingers for you and hope you and your family are going to be ok.

Its better to be the person with the smoke detector then it is to be the guy who has none and takes a handful of valiums before bed.

Proper planning prevents piss poor performance.

With all this tornado activity going on, I realized that I don't have a weather radio to warn us if a tornado is coming our way during the night. However, the local TV station in Lubbock has a free sign-up service called "Thunder Call". I signed up online and put in my home and cell phone numbers, address and county. If there is a severe weather warning (not watch), they will automatically call my home and cell 24 hours a day. It is the nighttime hours that scare me.

I suggest that everybody who lives in a tornado-prone area check their local stations to see if they have such a service. Being forewarned is forearmed. They had it in the DFW area too, and it does work.

I wouldn't have a bug-out bag for a tornado. You wouldn't know where to run if a tornado was approaching because they are so unpredictable. What I would do is stuff my pockets with my wallet (which includes vital information, a little cash and debit card), and make sure your tub is filled with water (a previous poster mentioned the big bathtub water storage bag, which is an awesome thing to have). If you survive the tornado but your house is trashed, you can get to a motel. They are localized events.

It is always a good idea to have one, but tornadoes only affect small areas, leaving other areas untouched. BOBs are typically for larger, more cataclysmic events.

See? You didn't screw up. Fill your tub with water, grab your son and vital information, and maybe a grocery bag with some bottled water, crackers, peanut butter and raisins if you have them. Then go to the nearest basement and wait it out.

Originally posted by sarra1833
Due to the massive severe serious tornadoes coming to my area later today, I'm getting a small survival bag going for my son and myself. I have wind up flashlights and extra clothing, debit card and heh a 5 dollar bill but sadly no wind up NOAA radio. I need to seriously spend the money to get a true bob (Bug out Bag) for scenarios like this. This right now is making me realize just how NOT prepared I am for a shtf scenario - which right now, all of us in the deadly dangerous zone are looking down the barrel of a loaded gun which will go off mere hours from now. I don't even have bottles to put water in for heaven's sake.

If we survive this - and I"m praying we will - I'm remedying this immediately. I do have a small first aid kit, the wind up flashlight... but we need more than that. And I've been freakin' reading survival topics on here for ages now but using the excuse 'I don't have enough money'. GOD if I woulda started spending 2 bucks here, 5 there six months ago, we'd be fine right now.

I'm shaking so hard right now, feeling like a huge failure and if anything happens, I put my kid into danger due to my irresponsible lack of preparing and 'waiting to have a couple hundred dollars to spare for a survival bag'.

If anything, take that regretted hindsight of mine and do your own BOB asap. You never know when something like this is going to hit and what it will do. I don't wish my current terror and regrets on to anyone.

Sarra, as many of the members replied already, don't panic. get a list, FIRST.. second.. get with neighbors as much as possbile to share the resources you already have now and theirs with you; neighbors need each other whether or not we believe we do, but, use caution with whom you'll be partnering up with, the more you partner with the less likely you'll have a trouble maker/ 'loose cannon' ..

Deeply appreciate the post, been working on some sort of a BOB myself and thx for the gentle reminder.

I pray you and your son find shelter under the cover of His wings & locate others to become a team of encourgers for each other. Find a basement if at all possible.

Plz report back to us so we know your ok.....ok?