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I live on O'ahu and was holding my phone when the emergency alert came in at 8:07am. I yelled "Oh my God!" and ran to show my wife the message. I've run through

I live on O'ahu and was holding my phone when the emergency alert came in at 8:07am. I yelled "Oh my God!" and ran to show my wife the message. I've run through this scenario a few times in my head before and I knew every minute was critical -- so I went into action mode immediately. I told my two kids to get dressed now because we were leaving in exactly 1 minute. The reason we were leaving is our house is single-wall wood construction with no sealed windows and no HVAC, which is pretty much the least ideal shelter possible in a nuclear fallout scenario. The four of us were in the car on the road at ~8:09 and inside the local LDS (Mormon) Church 0.9 miles away at 8:12am. The church building is the nearest concrete structure with sealed windows and interior rooms that I knew I could gain access to. Unfortunately it doesn't have a basement, but very few structures in Hawaii do. Thankfully, the doors were already open as there was a family inside doing some cleaning. We were the first to arrive and at least a dozen other families showed in the next 10 minutes. We all hunkered in the gym, some crying, some praying, most just in shock. The first glimmer of hope came when I read the first report of the it being a false alarm on Twitter at around 8:23am. The whole incident was absolutely terrifying and I'm very upset that it even happened. But, we learned some valuable lessons and I'm satisfied with how my family responded to the incident. Overall, my plan was good and was executed about as flawlessly as possible. I realize we need to add a "bug-out bag" of essential items (e.g. medications, cell phone charger, hand-crank radio) that we can grab as we head out. It most definitely helped that I had considered this scenario before and knew exactly what steps I would take. The one good takeaway is that this event has sparked many similar conversations state-wide (and beyond) of what to do in these situations. Here's hoping these plans never have to be executed again...

dmarlow 9y ago
What will you do if you can't get into your church building?
- throwawayyy9 9y ago
  Pray.
- McKayDavis 9y ago
  I had considered that too and breaking a window to gain access was an option. I'm not a member of the church, but I chose this building specifically as it was most likely to have other people seeking shelter there who also had keys to the building. Indeed, the first family to arrive after us lived a block away and I did verify they do have a key.
  - ryanSrich 9y ago
    Out of curiosity, why does being around other people matter? Wouldn't you want to find a structure that would withstand the blast/fallout?
    - baddox 9y ago
      I think the point was that other people would come there and would have keys, meaning there’s a high probability of him being let it.
    - McKayDavis 9y ago
      It doesn't, except for increasing the odds of being able to gain access. The church is simply the best structure for blast/fallout protection that is accessible from our house within the flight-time of an ICBM launched towards Hawaii. That being said, it was comforting to have other families to share concerns with.
      - ddxxdd 9y ago
        But you would be splitting limited supplies among more people, right? Was the church only meant as a shelter for the blast, and not an actual fallout shelter?
        McKayDavis 9y ago
        > But you would be splitting limited supplies among more people, right? Yes, but Mormon churches generally have well-stocked pantries they use to help local families in need. > Was the church only meant as a shelter for the blast, and not an actual fallout shelter? Both. Compared to our house, the church is a stronger building that is much more airtight (in the case of fallout). As far as actual fallout shelters, there are none -- this is simply the best option within reach.
aviv 9y ago
Definitely a good day for all the online preparedness stores.
gtcode 9y ago
808-861-6666 happened while on the north shore
- aoeusnth1 9y ago
  What happened on the North Shore?
  - deleted 9y ago
    [deleted]
- esrauch 9y ago
  What?
acqq 9y ago
> cell phone charger I don’t think it would work in the given scenario?
- woolvalley 9y ago
  Solar?
  - rasz 9y ago
    only if you have tube based cellphone
- mejari 9y ago
  There are plenty of situations where you have to deal with the reality of a nuclear blast that cell phones would still work. It's not all just ground-zero or nothing.
koheripbal 9y ago
There is a big misconception about nuclear attacks. Full scale nuclear war with a adversary like Russia is indeed an apocalypse scenario, but a single lowish yield nuclear detonation by a nation like North Korea is very very survivable, if you are prepared. I have a similar evac plan with a bug-out bag that I gave my wife to keep at her work. For nuclear attack specifically, she is instructed NOT to leave her work and hunker down in their concrete basement for two weeks. Even being much closer to an estimated ground-zero, she is far safer in their well-shielded basement than trying to get home in the open fallout zone. The bag has enough rations, batteries, water, first-aid, etc for that period. Fallout zone radiation levels take about 2 weeks to drop to safe levels, at which time she has a printed google map for her to walk the 20 miles home. My job is to grab the kids at school and hunker down in our basement where we have more exhaustive supplies, and ultimately get the hell out of town together. Fallout is the biggest killer. Using http://nuclearsecrecy.com/nukemap/ http://nuclearsecrecy.com/nukemap/, and unfortunately fallout is highly dependent on wind direction - an important unknown on that day. Given the unknowns and the likelihood that roads will be quickly impassible, it is best to prepare at home. It takes two feet of concrete or packed dirt to block radiation to a safe level, and that includes ABOVE you. Wood provides almost no protection. ...but if you do have a basement, then you can make a plan to place very heavy items (appliances & server racks) on the first floor above you and vehicles and stones/dirt/etc around that part of the house. Fallout settles on surfaces, so it's a good idea to trim bushes and trees directly around that shelter - you want the fallout to hit the ground, not settle at a higher angle above you. ...and if you're in Hawaii or other coastal area and have easy access to a boat, that might be the best option because fallout sinks and there are no traffic jams at sea.
- sammoorhouse 9y ago
  > she is instructed NOT to [...] Wait, she’s what now?
  - petropolisful 9y ago
    She's instructed NOT to do the opposite of staying put.

dmarlow 9y ago

What will you do if you can't get into your church building?

throwawayyy9 9y ago
Pray.
McKayDavis 9y ago
I had considered that too and breaking a window to gain access was an option. I'm not a member of the church, but I chose this building specifically as it was most likely to have other people seeking shelter there who also had keys to the building. Indeed, the first family to arrive after us lived a block away and I did verify they do have a key.
- ryanSrich 9y ago
  Out of curiosity, why does being around other people matter? Wouldn't you want to find a structure that would withstand the blast/fallout?
  - baddox 9y ago
    I think the point was that other people would come there and would have keys, meaning there’s a high probability of him being let it.
  - McKayDavis 9y ago
    It doesn't, except for increasing the odds of being able to gain access. The church is simply the best structure for blast/fallout protection that is accessible from our house within the flight-time of an ICBM launched towards Hawaii. That being said, it was comforting to have other families to share concerns with.
    - ddxxdd 9y ago
      But you would be splitting limited supplies among more people, right? Was the church only meant as a shelter for the blast, and not an actual fallout shelter?
      - McKayDavis 9y ago
        > But you would be splitting limited supplies among more people, right? Yes, but Mormon churches generally have well-stocked pantries they use to help local families in need. > Was the church only meant as a shelter for the blast, and not an actual fallout shelter? Both. Compared to our house, the church is a stronger building that is much more airtight (in the case of fallout). As far as actual fallout shelters, there are none -- this is simply the best option within reach.

aviv 9y ago

Definitely a good day for all the online preparedness stores.

gtcode 9y ago

808-861-6666 happened while on the north shore

aoeusnth1 9y ago
What happened on the North Shore?
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
esrauch 9y ago
What?

acqq 9y ago

> cell phone charger I don’t think it would work in the given scenario?

woolvalley 9y ago
Solar?
- rasz 9y ago
  only if you have tube based cellphone
mejari 9y ago
There are plenty of situations where you have to deal with the reality of a nuclear blast that cell phones would still work. It's not all just ground-zero or nothing.

koheripbal 9y ago

There is a big misconception about nuclear attacks. Full scale nuclear war with a adversary like Russia is indeed an apocalypse scenario, but a single lowish yield nuclear detonation by a nation like North Korea is very very survivable, if you are prepared. I have a similar evac plan with a bug-out bag that I gave my wife to keep at her work. For nuclear attack specifically, she is instructed NOT to leave her work and hunker down in their concrete basement for two weeks. Even being much closer to an estimated ground-zero, she is far safer in their well-shielded basement than trying to get home in the open fallout zone. The bag has enough rations, batteries, water, first-aid, etc for that period. Fallout zone radiation levels take about 2 weeks to drop to safe levels, at which time she has a printed google map for her to walk the 20 miles home. My job is to grab the kids at school and hunker down in our basement where we have more exhaustive supplies, and ultimately get the hell out of town together. Fallout is the biggest killer. Using http://nuclearsecrecy.com/nukemap/ http://nuclearsecrecy.com/nukemap/, and unfortunately fallout is highly dependent on wind direction - an important unknown on that day. Given the unknowns and the likelihood that roads will be quickly impassible, it is best to prepare at home. It takes two feet of concrete or packed dirt to block radiation to a safe level, and that includes ABOVE you. Wood provides almost no protection. ...but if you do have a basement, then you can make a plan to place very heavy items (appliances & server racks) on the first floor above you and vehicles and stones/dirt/etc around that part of the house. Fallout settles on surfaces, so it's a good idea to trim bushes and trees directly around that shelter - you want the fallout to hit the ground, not settle at a higher angle above you. ...and if you're in Hawaii or other coastal area and have easy access to a boat, that might be the best option because fallout sinks and there are no traffic jams at sea.

sammoorhouse 9y ago
> she is instructed NOT to [...] Wait, she’s what now?
- petropolisful 9y ago
  She's instructed NOT to do the opposite of staying put.