Tag Archives: urban

Be Sure You Have Alternate Routes

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Work Evacuation Plan Revisited
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Several months ago I wrote a post entitled, But I’m Working Now – Creating Your Work Evacuation Plan. As mentioned, both Sarah and I commute to Seattle for work (separately, our work schedules only overlap in the afternoons), and we only work about a mile apart. We had made a plan for how we would meet up with each other in the event of a disaster.

So if we’re both there [in Seattle], she would come up the hill to where I work. My workplace is more secure, further from the water, and away from the downtown congested high-rise area. In case I have to leave work also, we’ve discussed what street she would walk up and what side of the street she would be on.

Recently we had to revisit, and revise, that plan.

So the ‘great work-evacuation plan’ that Sarah and I had come up with failed to take into account that minor detail. And just to clarify, it would be incredibly difficult–if not impossible–to cross the freeway without the overpass bridges; it’s too far down and up vertical cement surfaces. Back to the drawing board…

There are several roads that travel across the freeway going from downtown to Capitol Hill; our primary choice was Pike St. and our alternate was Pine St. (parallel streets). So recently I walked both roads with our plan in mind. Pike St. appears to be a very secure overpass–the convention center is literally built over the freeway there–it is a short bridge, and it is supported as well as possible; Pike St. will still be our primary route. When I looked at Pine St., I found that it is the longest overpass in the area with another street that intersects it right above the freeway; we felt that would be a poor route with a much higher probability of failing. We looked further and determined Seneca St., a few blocks south, is well supported and another short overpass bridge and chose to make that our secondary route. Our third choice is 8th Ave., a tunnel that runs underneath the convention center, then over the freeway. Once across the freeway, we’d attempt to make it back to Pike St. to continue to one of the predetermined meeting points.

I realize this is a lot of detail for anyone not in our situation and makes little sense to anyone not familiar with Seattle. But the point is: Determine your routes of evacuation and make a solid plan, then double and triple check your plan for flaws. Start by mapping it out, then make sure you drive (or walk) your evacuation routes both to familiarize yourself with them and to look for potential problem areas. When you develop your evacuation plan choose three routes, and have three potential meeting points. If you ever need to put your evacuation plan into action, especially if that plan is required to allow you to meet up with your family members, it needs to work.

(Wednesday: Momma Bear)

The City Cousin: Making A Plan

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Contributed by Shawn (aka The City Cousin)
(Shawn is writing a series of posts about prepping in an urban environment.)
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If your car’s tank is almost always near empty, or you are constantly running out of toilet paper, shampoo, milk, etc. then you are not a natural prepper! Fret not, few of us are. As with many skills and mind sets, most have to be learned. Here are some experiences that motivated me, and a system I’ve developed to become better prepared.

I was living in Seattle, in 2001, during the Nisqually earthquake (a 6.8 quake that lasted 45 long seconds). After the initial quake ended, I immediately called my parents to let them know I was okay. Then, I knew we still had electricity because the TV was  on; I checked that I had running water and then filled the bathtub; I checked my apartment and then the building for damage; I moved my truck out of the garage, under my building, and parked it where nothing would fall on it if there were more quakes. All good initial reactions to an earthquake, but how did I plan afterward to be better prepared for the next time? What had I learned? To be honest I didn’t do anything. I felt good, and rather smug, about my actions and resourcefulness after the Nisqually quake. But, I wasn’t really prepared for what COULD HAVE happened.

It wasn’t until I saw the pictures of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, in 2005, that I recognized I have to be prepared for a big disaster and for at least the ‘FEMA suggested’ 72 hours. And, after seeing how FEMA and the military responded in New Orleans–a city that is located much closer to government resources than Seattle–I decided I needed to be personally prepared to handle things for a minimum of five to seven days before outside help will likely arrive to the city.

So my project management experience kicked in and I developed a chart to help guide a household discussion to prepare for likely perils. I again focused on my journalism questions of Who, What, Where, When, and How.

Prepare Short Term (72 hours) Medium Term (6 Months) Long Term (over 6 Months)
Who You, your immediate family, significant others. Condo/homeowners association, neighbors. Neighborhood (consider becoming an advocate for your local government.)
What Select the perils that might affect you: earthquake, flood, tornado, etc. After prioritizing the perils you want to address, prepare for the first one. Then expand to cover the remaining perils. Review what you’re preparing for, have things changed?
Where Preparing your home and/or car(s).  Consider alternative locations. Determine meeting points in case you and your family are separated. You might focus on your home first for the initial 72+ hours then on your car or alternative locations. Develop alternative location(s).
When Set a start date and end date for each Term’s goals.  Costs and preparation for longer term goals can be researched and set. More expensive items can be budgeted for and a priority list  can be developed for when to get them. Set up an annual/regular review to make sure everything is current in your preparations, i.e. check batteries, rotate food and water.
How Research! Read, take classes, use the internet.  For this section one of my favorite online resources is 72hours.org. How also plays into when depending on cost and time needed to prep. Continue learning. Stay informed. Network with others. Review new information.

This is a great exercise for a household of any size to get organized and take the first steps, or for reviewing what you’ve done, or confirming you’re on the right road with your preparations. This discussion will help everyone have input and feel involved (the “buy- in” to the project), and tasks can be assigned based on age and experience. Make lists and write down your goals; studies have shown, when we write things down we are more likely to remember and act on them. Once we have a plan in place, and we know which road we’re taking, we can get prepared.

Next month: I will discuss what I have in my apartment to prepare for the perils I have identified, some of the resources I’ve tapped, and how and where you can store things with limited space.

The City Cousin’s Bio
I come by prepping by growing up watching the example my father set; he was always prepared for whatever situation would arise. Now, as a single man living and working in Seattle, I have opted to live near downtown in a small apartment. For me this is a comfortable space; trying to be “green” it has reduced my use of resources from electricity to gas for my truck. With limited space, I have reviewed what I can reasonably be prepared for in my urban environment.

(Friday: Momma Bear’s April Preps)

The City Cousin: A Different Perspective On Prepping

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“Yes, Preppers Should Have Insurance Policies.”

Contributed by Shawn (aka The City Cousin)
(Shawn will be writing a series of posts about prepping in an urban environment.)

I’ve had a varied background, career wise, over the past forty years. My first job, after graduating from college, was as a Welfare Fraud Investigator for the State of Utah. This hadn’t been my plan. Initially I was in a prelaw program via a political science major, then two quarters before graduation, I changed my major to Spanish as I was offered a Teaching Fellowship in the Language Department. My goal was to attend grad school and become a Spanish professor. Unfortunately, this is when quotas were first being developed for racial and gender balance in organizations. I saw the handwriting on the wall (not being a Latino or a woman) that future job prospects in that field would be minimal, so I started interviewing for any job. Which brought me to two conclusions that I’ve found to be true: first, if you don’t know where you’re going, it doesn’t matter which road you take; and second, journalism classes do pay off.

In the interview for the welfare investigator position I was asked what I felt was needed to prepare a good investigation summary. I flipped through my ‘mental rolodex’ (for those of you under 30, a rolodex is a round file that we used for phone numbers, addresses, etc. Google it and you will be amused at that technology) and came up with those questions any article should answer: Who, What, Where, When and How. I got the job.

When I started thinking about getting more prepared, I began with a list of perils and what I needed to do to prepare for them. Then I applied my questions: Who, What, Where, When and How. Living in Seattle we have some unique perils, as well the perils we all face.

Peril is an insurance term which describes those events or risks a policy covers (yep, I worked for an insurance company along the way as well). I believe, since fortunately most perils are not catastrophic in nature, all preppers should begin with good insurance coverage. I realize this is a different approach to prepping. But a homeowners/renters policy provides (prepares) us with coverage for the perils of fire, theft, wind damage, lightning strikes, etc. It has liability coverage, which covers you in the event someone is injured on your premises, or sues you for libel/slander. There is also coverage for ‘loss of use of premises’, which covers temporary housing and living expenses. As a prepper, take the time and make sure you understand what your insurance policy covers, as the perils and benefits depend on your state, your insurance company, and policy type. Earthquake and earth slides tend to be coverage you have to add to your standard policy. Flood insurance is purchased through the federal government. Insurance works as a tool to manage risks by transferring to the insurance company coverage for a loss; your deductible is the risk you are willing to cover in a loss (the higher the deductible the more of the risk you assume).

Prepping is another form of insurance, and perils is another word for disasters. So what are the perils I have defined and, other than having adequate insurance, what have I done to prepare for them? Living alone, in a 500 square foot one bedroom apartment, it can be an interesting process. Next month I will share with you what I have come up with and the resources I’ve used. With preparation we define the road we are taking and we know where we are going.

The City Cousin’s Bio
I come by prepping by growing up watching the example my father set; he was always prepared for whatever situation would arise. Now, as a single man living and working in Seattle, I have opted to live near downtown in a small apartment. For me this is a comfortable space; trying to be “green” it has reduced my use of resources from electricity to gas for my truck. With limited space, I have reviewed what I can reasonably be prepared for in my urban environment.

(Friday: Momma Bear’s March Preps, instead of my weekly summary the last Friday of each month Momma Bear will sum up what she and her family did that month to prep.)

One Man’s Tool

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…could be another man’s weapon, or different kind of tool.

I was recently reading over a BOB list put together by a co-worker of Sarah’s (it was distributed for September National Preparedness Month). We preppers frequently look at others’ lists and compare them to what we have ourselves. As I read it through, I mentally checked off each item he listed thinking of the equivalent I had in my bag. At the end he mentioned that he keep all his stuff in a pack near his garage door, except his crowbar which he kept under the bed. Crowbar? I don’t have a crowbar. And under the bed? Oh, he’s keeping it there as a weapon…

The crowbar, in it’s current form, has been documented since the 1400s. Also known as a wrecking bar, pry bar, or by the British as a prisebar.

I decided a crowbar would be a good idea. So a trip to the hardware store and $15 later I had a 30 inch iron crowbar for my BOB.

Since we have to be prepared to carry our BOBs, it is helpful if the items we bring along have multiple uses. A crowbar can be used:

  • as a lever to move heavy items
  • to pry things apart
  • to open a damaged car door
  • to open a house door or window
  • to safely break glass
  • as a support anchor
  • as a leg splint
  • as a cane
  • to remove nails
  • as a hammer
  • as a pick axe
  • to break the hasp on a padlock
  • for smashing things

Or as a weapon. I’m not wanting to advocate or predict violence, but desperate times frequently bring out the very best or the very worst in people. I see the crowbar as a defensive weapon, holding it in two hands across your body with the curved portion on top in your dominate hand. It can be used to defend against other blunt weapons, punches, or to create a physical barrier. Offensively, if necessary, holding it the same way and striking with the curved portion using the straight end for a follow-up strike. I would avoid using it like a baseball bat because it’s heavy to swing around, and the momentum could throw you off-balance and out of position. Likely it’s just going to be a psychological weapon. If you’re standing there empty-handed, you look vulnerable; if you’re holding a relatively large crowbar, not so much.

Weight is it’s biggest disadvantage. Five pounds may not seem like much, until you have to carry it in hand for any distance. Strapping it to a pack is an option, but it’s not as accessible. I’d happily deal with the extra weight in an urban setting where I felt defenseless, but in a rural area–especially if I needed to walk for long–I’d likely leave it behind.

The humble crowbar, a tool of many uses – something I hadn’t thought to add to my kit, and now wouldn’t want to do without.

(Wednesday: Soap and Water)

Location, Location, Location

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five basic needs: 1) food, 2) water, 3) SHELTER, 4) security, and 5) energy

Shelter, Shelter, Shelter.

All locations are not created equal; big city, suburbs, small town, rural area. Where do you live? Your location will determine what type of disasters you are more likely to encounter, what services will be available in the aftermath, and the potential risks to your family and home during that emergency. A disaster that is catastrophic in one setting, may have very little effect in another.

Example: An apartment in a large city vs. a house in a rural community when an 8.5 earthquake strikes. City: gas, water, and electric lines break, fires start, water pressure drops, buildings partially collapse, debris falls, power is out, traffic gridlocks, the dense population panics. Rural: things fall off shelves, maybe the power goes out and you have to use your generator for a few days.

Some disasters, like the earthquake or a terrorist attack, give us no notice and all we can do is work to recover afterward. But others, like a hurricane, pandemic, or flooding give us time and the opportunity to make an informed decision.

<cue Should I Stay or Should I Go? by The Clash>

The decision: Bug in or bug out (stay or go)? If you bug in, what are your contingency plans to compensate for potential lost services: food, water, security, energy? If you choose to bug out (or have to), where are you going? What do you take if you leave? What do you leave if you, um, leave? What route are you going to take to get to your bug out location (BOL)? You also need to consider the ‘leave right now’ disaster where there are only minutes to evacuate, like a fire, or a gas leak.

With so many factors affecting this decision, how do you decide to stay or go? You analyze the situation, think about your plan, and ultimately decide: Am I most likely better off if I stay, or better off if I go?

If you choose to go, having a pre-determined plan is invaluable. Once the disaster starts, people may be scared, disoriented, separated, or hurt; it may be dark and/or cold (don’t ‘these things’ alway happen at night?), if we have a plan, we all at least know where to start. A written evacuation plan needs to include: 1) a ‘short list’ of what to grab quickly before you leave your home, 2) multiple routes to get out of your area and to your BOL(s), and 3) an extensive list of contact information for people and businesses in your life.

‘I don’t have anywhere to go,’ you say. If that’s truly the case, then you stay. But a temporary BOL may be as simple as a motel in a ‘safer’ area. Determine that area, one with several motels; make a list of their numbers in your evacuation plan. If you decide to leave, call early and get reservations. Motels frequently have generators and their own disaster plan in place.

Or, talk with a friend or family member; don’t just ask if you can go to their home, but agree to be each other’s BOL if necessary. Create a plan together. If you live in the city and they are rural consider pre-staging items in their home. But, if you’re city, why would they evacuate to you? A local emergency and they just need somewhere to stay a night or two.

We plan for the most likely disruptions first: personal injury, fire, local emergency, local weather. The catastrophic ones: major natural disaster, pandemics, terrorist attacks; if they come, will still require similar plans and preps. Developing an evacuation plan costs no money, only time – take that time now when things are calm (relatively speaking) so you can be ready when things aren’t.

(Wednesday: No, You Can’t Take It)