Japanese Earthquake/Tsunami Disaster

Once again the Earth has grumbled, and this time Japan was the recipient of its ire. If you have been paying attention for the last couple of years the Ring of Fire has been in turmoil (basically the ring of land surrounding the pacific ocean)

Hatti, Chile, Mexico, Hawaii volcano, New Zealand, Japan, Russian volcanoes same time as Japan Quake, Indonesia volcano hours after. Something big moved, and the whole planet is adjusting for it. Approximately 90 percent of the earthquakes in the world occur along the Ring of Fire. About 75 percent of the world's volcanoes lie along the Ring of Fire.

What does it mean for Preppers? Well get caught in a tsunami is bad...But that's not really helpful. Stay out of places that suffer natural disasters...Also not really helpful. (I don't know about you, but I can't think of anyplace on the planet that doesn't have some sort of natural, and often seasonal, disasters.

Japan is a good example that shows how disaster can snowball. In this case, it went Earthquake - Tsunami - Radiation Leakage.

I think a lot of what we will learn will be in the following days. You can prepare all you like, but when all of your preps for miles around are washed away, it doesn't do you and good any longer. But post disaster is when knowledge will be most valuable. Not how to survive in the wood with a knife and duct tape, but rules of sanitation. We are hearing that millions are without water in Japan. Do you know several ways to serialize, filter, and decontaminate water? Sewage gets mixed into all water systems in floods, not to mention dead bodies, toxic waste, and anything else you can think of. (See Katrina), so you better know what to do about it, or you and your children will be dying waiting for the government to save you (See Katrina again and Hatti)

Disease is also likely. (See Hatti again) severe diarrhea, cholera, typhoid. All of these and more are common in disaster areas and war zones. Mostly it occurs because of too many people living too close together, with not enough clean water available, and poor sanitation.

If you loose everything, you may have to jerry-rig a still out of wreckage you find lying around and create a method of filtering whatever water you can find. Remember, it won't be just you, there may be thousands of people right next to you in a refugee center, so make sure you share the knowledge with everyone or you may be overwhelmed with people trying to mooch off of you, and eventually, someone will take it away or destroy your work, just because you have something they don't. Admitably that is a worst case scenario, but you can see why it would be a good idea to share knowledge as best you can.

Sanitation in a disaster cannot be understated. In Hatti disease is rampant, because no one will take charge to have human waste disposed of properly, cooking of foods is not as thorough as it should be, and nothing is being cleaned. (Clothes, bodies, dishes, I would say homes, but most everyone there is still living in ruble and make shift hovels).

So in your preps, have a quality water filter, soap (bar/shampoo/laundry), toothpaste, bleach, and any other cleaning supplies you feel useful.

Create redundancy in systems of support. In other words, have a number of ways available (Especially in your head) to get something done. That way, if one method doesn't work, you can try something else. The best prep you can have, the cheapest, and the hardest to take away or loose, is knowledge and training.

Transportation is also a serious issue. With roads broken by earthquake and washed away by tsunami it become difficult if not impossible to get help into trapped people, and just as difficult for isolated groups to get out. That is why it is imperative for everyone to know how to take care of themselves and others. Imagine you were on vacation somewhere. It doesn't even have to be very far maybe just a day trip to the big City or you took the kids to an amusement park. Then something happens. Most of your preps are at home (Hopefully you have your BOB bags in your vehicle for everyone) But you can bet no one else in that park is going to be as ready as you. Are you going to let everyone there die of dehydration? No. You show a group near you how to filter and boil pond water and have them pass it on. Eventually roads will re open and "Gumit" rescue teams will be there to get everyone out. But as I've pointed out in a previous post, you will die in about three days without water, and it is your responsibility to ensure your own survival and that of your family.