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I hope everyone in California who reads HN is prepared with emergency supplies. At the very least stock up on emergency drinking water so that you won't have to
by xenihn 9y ago
I hope everyone in California who reads HN is prepared with emergency supplies. At the very least stock up on emergency drinking water so that you won't have to go out of your way to get it if things get particularly bad. You'll have plenty of other things to worry about, so you may as well mitigate what's arguably one of the easiest and cheapest issues to prepare for now.
- beambot 9y agoI live in San Jose and have 10-20 gallons of fresh water stored in large bottles for precisely this purpose. I'm amazed at how many people give me flak about that single preparation -- too few people in this area have lived through a proper natural disaster and are woefully ill prepared.
- encoderer 9y agoHow often do you rotate the supply? I do the same.
- beambot 9y agoEvery couple of months.
- gizmodo59 9y agoThis might be of help to those who are thinking of a cost effective way to quickly store water for immediate emergencies: https://www.amazon.com/WaterBOB-Emergency-Drinking-Storage-Gallons/dp/B001AXLUX2 https://www.amazon.com/WaterBOB-Emergency-Drinking-Storage-G...
- ghaff 9y agoThat looks more designed for a hurricane's coming and I'm willing to spend $35 given the high possibility of losing water supply. In general, some big water jugs that you periodically empty and refill are probably the better bet.
- magnetic 9y agoRemember that water heaters (if not tankless) are also an important supply of (drinking) water in case of emergency.
- aidenn0 9y agoBut make sure you engage the quarter-turn valves on the input and output. If the main water source gets polluted you don't want it to contaminate your drinking water.
- magnetic 9y agoGood point - I hadn't thought of that and never read it in any safety blurb... seems to make reasonable sense though.
- gizmo686 9y agoI live in Maryland, and can't imagine getting flak for storing water. I wouldn't call them disasters, but every few years or so we get a major snow-storm that basically traps us in for a few days. I can't imagine the idea of not having supplies to last out such a semi-routine event.
- pascalxus 9y agoYeah. I don't understand why people are so opposed to being prepared. My wife got super angry at me when I suggested we stock some extra water. But don't you have to replace the water every 6 months? That's gonna be a huge chore, to do for the next 50 years. Is there an easier way?
- Baeocystin 9y agoThat's the recommended interval if you're just storing the cheap water that comes in thin bottles from the grocery store. Use a thicker food-grade plastic, glass, or stainless steel container, and the water will stay drinkable indefinitely.
- abakker 9y agobeer kegs, properly sterilized, are excellent stores of water, and remain relatively sanitized while pumping the water out. Not perfect, but good.
- ghaff 9y agoYeah, I'm not going to worry too much about how long water will stay "good" for an emergency situation. And, if you're worried about bacteria, keep a filter/UV sterilizer/iodine/etc. with the water.
- DrScump 9y agoThere are other risks of mass-produced commercial bottled water: https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2018/03/15/world/science-health-world/top-bottled-water-brands-contaminated-plastic-particles-study-finds/ https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2018/03/15/world/science-h...
- apotheothesomai 9y agoToo few? Too few in tech maybe, because more than 2/3 of tech workers moved here. Most of the natives above a certain age have a decent grasp of the dangers, but also know how remote they are. With the exception of '93-'98, I've experienced every event in the Bay Area since 1971. Many local water systems are reinforced against earthquake damage. It's really the loss of electricity and gas leaks that are the problem. That said, you should always have drinking and non-drinking water on hand that will last a few days. If you're smart, own some coolers and keep ice packs on hand to preserve your food. There are more cases than just natural disasters, when that could come in handy. Even Loma Prieta only caused loss of power and/or gas in a few select areas, mostly the areas that got wrecked, where there were bigger problems to worry about. The epicenter was West of Gilroy, but there was no significant damage South of Oakland and SF. That's 90 miles away from the epicenter. There are only a few really dangerous faults running through the area. If you're near one, you should seriously prepare and have safety plans. The East Bay from Hayward to El Cerrito or so, for instance, is really dangerous. The Greater San Jose is pretty tame. That's my take, at least.
- deleted 9y ago[deleted]
- fnord77 9y agoI plan on plundering from the preppers.
- Piskvorrr 9y agoThis sounds like the second most important worry a prepper would have: "I'm now prepped for a disaster; therefore, expect looters to come say hello." You better be bulletproof for your plan to work ;o)