Miscellaneous
Disaster Readiness Information
Updated 27feb10
Power outages, fires, floods,
earthquakes, wind, and storms can interrupt utilities, phones, stores,
ATMs, and travel. You can be forced to leave your home because of
flooding, sewage backflow, fire, chemical accident, or terrorist
threat. These things occur when you are least prepared.
The large disaster relief
organizations can provide basic relief for a lot of people, but need a
few days to get set up. Wise people are prepared to handle problems on
their own for 3 days to a week.
Do not buy any survival kits or
anything you are not familiar with. After the power goes out is not the
time to try something out. Do not waste your money buying "special
survival food". It will probably get old before you need it. Just keep
your regular canned goods stocked.
Notice
Copyright 2005-2010 Ken Young (http://www.DinoDudes.com). All
rights reserved.
This document may be freely redistributed for
educational purposes at no charge in unaltered form.
This information is for educational purposes only.
There is no guarantee of any kind that it is accurate, or that no harm
will come to anyone who uses it.
This information is provided on an "as is" basis with
absolutely no warranty or guarantee. The information is not necessarily
correct, complete, or suitable for any particular use. The entire risk
is with you. Should harm arise from using this information, you assume
responsibility for all damages and injuries. In no event shall the
copyright holder, or any other party, be liable for compensation or
damages arising from the use, misuse, failure to use, or inability to
use this information.
A clever water distillation system
If you have a working stove, but no
clean water, you can distill using a big pot. Fill the pot halfway with
dirty water. Put the lid on upside down, so the handle points down. Tie
a cup to the handle. Start simmering.
The steam condenses on the
upside-down lid and runs downhill to the handle. From there it drips
into the cup.
Do not let dirty water get on the
outside of the cup or it will contaminate the clean water when you pour
it out.
Alternative setup: Put a brick in the
pot and set the cup on the brick. This is a lot easier but isn't as
good because the brick displaces a lot of water, reducing your still's
capacity.
Sand filtration system for making
creekwater (mostly) safe to drink
- Start with a clean 5-10 gallon
bucket
- Punch some holes through the
bottom
- Make drip-guides: hang a string
from each hole (run between holes and tie) so the clean water will drip
straght down
- Make spill catchers: Tie rags
together and wrap around the bucket several times to stop water from
running down the outside
- Hang it waist high from a rope
- Line the bottom with a towel
- Fill with 18" or 500cm of clean
sand (better still, mix in crushed charcoal, chalk, or diatomaceous
earth)
- Top the sand with gravel
- Top the gravel with small rocks
- Put a collection container
underneath
- Pour water in carefully until
it comes out clear (don't spill any)
- Once it starts coming out clear
it is probably drinkable
- Remember that anything that
runs down the outside of the bucket will wind up in the drinking water
- For best results, put 1/2
teaspoon of bleach in each gallon of water you pour in
- If the sand moves around put
more rocks on top
Sterilizing water without boiling it
Get some clear plastic water bottles.
Peel the labels off.
Fill with clear water.
Lay the bottles on their side in the
sun all day.
The heat and UV radiation will do a
reasonable job killing most of the dangerous stuff in the water.