When All Hell Breaks Loose: Stuff You Need to Survive When Disaster Strikes

by Cody Lundin

  Initiate a funeral ceremony or rite-of-passage ritual to begin closure and healing for the family and all concerned.

  Ensure universal precautions against blood and body fluids at all times!

  Handy Hygiene Stuff

  Duplicates of the following supplies in your home, car, office, and bug-out pack, as per your family's needs, will make life less of a drag during emergencies.

  Cornstarch or baby powder

  Fingernail clippers and emery board

  Sanitary napkins and/or tampons

  Toothbrush and dental floss

  Insect repellent

  Toilet paper

  Two or three hand towels

  All purpose soap

  Petroleum jelly

  Small mirror

  Waterless alcohol-based hand sanitizer

  Liquid chlorine bleach

  Optional: Disposable baby diapers

  Staying as clean as possible after a disaster will help prevent the spread of disease, increase morale, and reduce stress by offering a predictable routine.

  Water-saving baths and showers can be improvised using hot-water-soaked towels and large and small spray bottles filled with warm water (sun-warmed or otherwise).

  Toothbrushes can be improvised with rags and certain plants. Toothpaste can be improvised from baking soda or salt.

  Alcohol-based, waterless hand sanitizers can be used externally to spot disinfect smelly body parts, as can other common bathroom products such as baby towelettes. Pure rubbing alcohol dries out the skin and should be used with caution.

  Ultraviolet radiation from strong sunlight can be used to clean dirty clothing, blankets, or sleeping bags.

  Although it will be emotionally and mentally challenging, you may be forced to deal with the dead body of a loved one or a stranger after a disaster.

  If authorities are unable to recover the dead body in a timely manner, document in writing everything you can about the scene including the individual's name, age, sex, time and cause of death, position found, and any other details you feel will help the authorities piece together what happened.

  Important! Dead bodies in themselves normally do not create a serious health hazard unless they died of a contagious disease such as plague or typhus. (In these cases, the disease is carried and spread by fleas, lice, rats, and mice in contact with the body.) Bodies suspected of having tuberculosis should have a piece of cloth put over their mouths and be handled in open areas with good ventilation. Dead bodies can pollute water sources due to leaking feces.

  The misconception that dead bodies spread disease takes valuable resources away from survivors. Fulfill the needs of survivors first and then deal with the bodies.

  The two main factors that cause a dead body to putrefy are heat and the amount of bacteria already present within the intestines. The second factor is the unknown variable for how quickly a body will begin to decompose. All dead bodies will become greatly disfigured when they decompose.

  Caution! When disposing of a dead body, ensure universal precaution against blood and body fluids at all times! Wear protective clothing and wash and disinfect hands, clothing, and all equipment after the fact. Body bags can be improvised from barrel liners or sheet plastic and duct tape.

  Graves should be dug according to the size of the body, at least one hundred feet away from all surface water sources and at least five feet above the water table. Reread the sanitation chapter if necessary. Upon burying the body, make sure it's covered with at least three feet of earth, mound it up, and tamp it down.

  If accidentally exposed to blood or body fluids in your eyes, mouth, mucous membranes, or into a penetrating injury or cut, wash the area profusely with disinfected water, use liberal amounts of topical disinfectants, lightly cover the area with a sterile, breathable bandage, and seek medical help for further treatment if available.

  Create a ritual or "closing ceremony" to aid in the healing process of the living.

  Have hygiene supplies on hand such as baby powder, fingernail clippers, sanitary napkins and/or tampons, toothbrushes and dental floss, insect repellent, toilet paper, towels, soap, disposable diapers, waterless hand sanitizer, and liquid chlorine bleach.

  17

  LUMINOUS and Liberating LIGHTING

  "Anthra!" [Translation: "Fire!"]

  —Quest for Fire, the movie

  Light is a form of energy, which can be emitted through a variety of processes including incandescence, fluorescence and phosphorescence, and laser generation. According to anthropologists, incandescence in the form of the element fire has been manipulated by someone or something for more than 2.5 million years. For indigenous peoples the world over, this flickering delight had limitless uses. It cooked food, disinfected water, made tools and weapons, regulated body temperature, and kept wild critters at bay. Nevertheless, one of the more profound and lasting attributes that fire could gift a growing world was the promise of light for the night. From coast to coast and culture to culture, humanity's aboriginal lighting was a simple by-product of one of nature's four sacred elements.

  All flame-type lighting devices produce gases, which when burned feed the flame. Stuff that was burned for light over the centuries was incredibly varied and included pine pitch, birch bark, and the oils and fats from a number of animals, fish, and plants.

  In Ice Age Europe nearly 40,000 years ago, the invention of stone, fat-burning lamps heralded the first effective, portable means of exploiting this aspect of fire. So profound was this shift in technology that it coincided with other remarkable changes in culture including the emergence of art, personal adornment, and complex weapons systems.

  In the 1600s, early colonial settlers in America made candles just like the Indians taught them: from sections of conifer trees (pitch wood) that were cut into segments and burned. Later on, folks wanted to burn larger and larger things for brighter light. A container was devised, called a cresset or fire basket, that was nothing more than a noncombustible containment device made from clay, stone, or metal.

  Cressets, although not designed for burning liquid fuels, were amazing as now people could light streets, the decks of boats, and more. Using the fat-lamp concept, people started making all sorts of lamps and lanterns from clay, metal, stone, shells, and glass—anything that was liquid-worthy and could thus be filled with burnable oils such as olive oil, fish oil, whale oil, or sesame oil, among others. This light source had a wick made from dried moss, plant fibers, fabric—almost anything that would conduct the fuel to the flame. The wick could be adjusted as needed for more or less light, thereby conserving precious fuel.

  Lighting technologies rapidly advanced and changed through the centuries from coal oil and camphene to kerosene and paraffin. From 1800 to 1850 alone, more than five hundred patents were granted for improvements in lighting devices.

  In the 1850s, kerosene lighting was largely replaced by natural gas, which was in turn replaced by electricity in the 1880s. As the world rockets into the twenty-first century, who knows what lighting method will replace our current standard?

  A Bump in the Night

  Within every twenty-four-hour cycle on our planet, with few exceptions, we can all count on standing in the dark for several hours. For the past few decades, however, the vast majority of towns and cities have covered up this fact with a barrage of artificial lighting. Urbania's addiction to lighting, and the ease with which this addiction can be pacified, cause many people on the grid to think about lighting only when they don't have it. Lighting has become common enough to be completely taken for granted. Entire neighborhoods, towns, and cities sprout a blinding array of 24/7 indoor and outdoor lighting, literally blotting out the nighttime sky and any hope for seeing what grandma used to call stars. Many urban areas are so well-lit that darkness, and the psychological learning that comes along with it, never happens.

  Few modern people have the psychological stamina to deal with life's burdens and fears when the lights go out. They have never trained or ev
en considered what to do when it's pitch black. This complacency has worked its way into our psyches to a point that, when the darkness finally comes due to a power outage or other means, many of us feel helpless and lost. Don't believe me? Venture into the woods with me on one of my wilderness courses where I don't allow artificial lighting of any kind. Time after time, I have witnessed countless people become hopelessly confused and humbled when darkness descends upon the camp. And the majority of these people have a good degree of outdoor experience.

  Adequate lighting not only comes in handy when trying to find the canned beans during a power outage, but it is also vital for long-term sanity. Several studies regarding the proper design and use of underground nuclear fallout shelters all came to the conclusion that people go nuts when subjected to continuous, long-term darkness. The good news is that very low levels of light, in which a simple outline of a human form is all that can be distinguished, will prevent the crazies. Total pitch blackness, the kind where you are unable to see your hand in front of your face, is the kind of darkness that's the most difficult to deal with, especially if you have other people freaking out in your proximity. While holing up underneath the petunias in the backyard is off-focus for the intention of this book, becoming familiar with the ins and outs of emergency lighting, especially during low-light winter months, is not. Luckily for us savvy survivors there are several gadgets on the market that light up the night with little effort.

  Let There Be Light! Banishing Fright from the Night

  Fantastic Flashlights

  The first flashlight was invented in the 1890s by Conrad Hubert, founder of the Eveready Battery Company. The lighting device got its name because at that time the batteries were not strong enough to power the light for a sustained amount of time, thus the user had to literally "flash light" for a moment in front of himself in order to conserve power. Early commercial flashlights started as a novelty and consisted of a small light, which was attached to a man's tie or a woman's barrette. It was necessary at the time to carry a large battery pack, which was sure to have been a buzz kill regardless of the cool gadget attraction.

  Although all households in the modern world have a flashlight or two in their midst, odds are the batteries haven't been replaced since the 1990s. Being able to see in the dark is a gift. Flashlights have saved me more than once from having to spend an unplanned night out in the wilderness, and I use them regularly at home. In fact, there's a flashlight situated at virtually every entrance to my house.

  There is little substitute for a high-quality flashlight. Even so, I have witnessed supposedly worthy lights take a dump on their owners at compromising times. There are many flashlight shapes and sizes available, although the AA-battery-size flashlights are typically cheap, compact, widely available, and have enough candlepower to get the job done for the lion's share of household chores. In addition to the AA variety, I recommend that you consider the larger C- or D-cell-size flashlights as well. Having one or two of these around the house will really light up your life; some are extremely bright for larger nighttime jobs or backyard missions where extra light is advisable. As a side note, most airborne Search and Rescue teams use night-vision equipment during their missions. Night vision makes a small AA flashlight look like a truck with its high beams on. To give your rescuers the best visibility possible, sweep the flashlight beam from side to side of where you are; don't point it at the pilot.

  Choose the most dependable, widely available, brightly colored flashlight possible or make it that way with brightly colored tape. We are a visually oriented culture so making your preparedness gear strikingly obnoxious is a bonus. My AA flashlight has duct tape wrapped around the end as a bite piece. I often hold my flashlight in my mouth thereby freeing up my hands for various tasks, and teeth and aluminum don't mix. The hundreds of uses for the extra duct tape speak for itself. At the end of my light is a lanyard that allows me to secure it to my wrist. The lanyard is necessary in situations that might physically separate me from my light such as violent storms, flooding, deep snow, or heavy brush. The flashlight I carry is widely available, cheap, has reasonably priced, easy-to-obtain spare bulbs, stores a spare bulb in its end cap, and has an adjustable beam. Flashlights are reasonably kidproof and should be high on the list for families with children.

  The Wild World of Specialty Flashlights

  I shy away from specialty flashlights if for no other reason than the spare parts and bulbs are a pain to find on a good day, let alone during the end of the world. I want to be able to replenish my stock with a minimum of hassle and most of us don't need much of an excuse to procrastinate buying, repairing, or rotating emergency supplies. Some flashlights are so powerfully bright that they could almost cause sunburn, to say nothing of what they could do to your eyesight. I do admire their brightness but that strong light comes at a price, literally and figuratively; these flashlights eat batteries like a politician hugs babies during an election year. I have no interest in paying for, storing, and feeding these types of lights for daily household use. Analyze your situation and see if one of the bright boys fits in with your survival plan.

  Lately there are some very cool LED (light-emitting diode) lights on the market that spit out a surprising amount of light for their size and have a tremendous bulb and battery life. Some flashlights that use standard bulbs can be modified to use this technology. The mini-mag brand of flashlight, in the AA battery size, has an LED addition that can be purchased from many outdoor stores. This option replaces the standard bulb with three LED bulbs that are renowned for their long life. You can also purchase an end-cap piece that allows you to push a button to turn on the flashlight instead of twisting the bulb end of the light. Gone will be the option of a focused or wide beam from the standard mini-mag bulb, and if you purchase the push-button end cap, the neat little metal loop for easily attaching a lanyard will also disappear.

  The Beautiful yet Baffling Battery: Choosing, Storing,

  and Rotating Your Batteries

  There are many types of batteries on the market although not all of the batteries listed below are used in flashlights; some are for hearing aids, pacemakers, and the like. While most are categorized as "primary cells," meaning they are one-use wonders and can't be recharged, there are many options for "secondary cells" or batteries that can be recharged. Types of batteries under the primary-cell heading include alkaline/manganese (the most common household battery type), carbon-zinc, lithium, mercuric-oxide, silver-oxide, zinc-air, and other types of button batteries. Secondary-cell choices include nickel-cadmium and small sealed lead-acid, along with a few alkaline varieties. Many of these batteries, when spent or having grown tired of several recharges, are extremely toxic. Nickel-cadmium, for example, a popular but outdated rechargeable battery (it's been replaced by nickel-metal hydride), is supposed to be disposed of at a household hazardous waste collection site. Rechargeable batteries are not on the top of our list, as much as I love them (as mentioned, my entire home runs on solar power so this book is being written with sunlight and, of course, the batteries that hold the solar power when I write at night!). Remember, the reason you are using a light is because the grid has gone down; where is the power going to come from to recharge those rechargeables? Also, nickel-cadmium and nickel-metal hydride batteries self-discharge quickly, which means they lose juice just sitting in the drawer. In fact, they lose about 25 percent of their power each month with a shelf life of two to three months: not the best choice for an emergency flashlight battery. There are batteries on the market that recharge using the sun and come with their own photovoltaic panel to harness energy from sunlight. Some flashlight bodies have a built-in photovoltaic panel and need to be simply set in direct sunlight to recharge. Depending on where you live, rechargeable batteries such as these might be a worthy investment.

  Good 01' Alkaline Batteries

  Confused about the many choices of batteries yet? I go to the discount or grocery store and buy the brand name batteries they have on t
he shelf, usually the alkaline type, which were invented more than forty years ago by a scientist named Lew Urry. More than 2 billion alkaline batteries are sold each year, dwarfing all other battery sales combined. On average, alkaline batteries have a shelf life of five to seven years. Look at the date printed on the batteries at the store and buy the ones with the latest date. After seven years, the batteries might still retain 80 percent of their juice but they won't perform as long or as well, so, in other words, use at your own risk and get used to rotating your battery stock each year. Regular alkaline batteries are available in common sizes and are used in all sorts of battery-operated devices, so rotating your stock and buying fresh ones shouldn't be a big deal; another plug for simple flashlights that use simple batteries without the bells and whistles of the specialty lights.

  Store your batteries like you should store your flashlight: at room temperature, out of direct sunlight, and in a dry area—NOT in the refrigerator. Moisture absorbed by batteries from the tuna surprise casserole can cause the battery to not work and/or drastically reduce their shelf life and performance. Keep extra batteries in their original package for storage. Contact with other metal items, including the batteries themselves, can short-circuit the battery so don't carry loose batteries in a pocket, purse, or pack. As to which brand of batteries to purchase, Consumer Reports found very little difference between brand name battery companies and their product despite the commercials. I have found that Duracell batteries seem to work and hold up better in the cold than Energizers, but to each his own. In years past alkaline batteries contained mercury, which made them bummers to dispose of. In 1996, however, Congress banned mercury from all household batteries. Now they can be safely thrown away in typical household trash when they poop out, or you can recycle them at some electronic stores such as Radio Shack.