Hurricane Sandy: The Ultimate Survival Study Guide

We should all stayed glued to the news and watch and learn from the victims of Sandy over on the East Coast.

After just three days, they're already out of food, opening fire hydrants to access clean water, armed and dangerous looters on the lose, no power and it's freezing out, Gas stations running out of gas, 3-5 hours to get in or out of the city.

The point being that this is an Ultimate Study Guide that we should be learning from because when the SHTF, it will be like how it is over there now, but it will be that way in all the cities.

I'm in the mid-west, however from what I learned, I'm going to be getting myself a small wood burning stove for heat, a DIY rocket stove for efficient cooking, various food staples with long term storage, water jugs and various filters, guns & ammo, batteries, hand crank radio, some battery powered led's and small solar arrays, lots of base layers and warm clothes, and the list goes on and on ...all things I've learned from watching the Sandy after effects.

Wood stoves are an excellent survival heating source because you can use them to heat as well as use them as a cooking surface. There are some very inexpensive barrel stove kits available through places like tractor supply for those that are on a tight budget. It isn't something you would want in your living room by any means (unless rugged is your look) but it is a good source of heat and serves as a good cook top too.

Stove Kit

If I might make an observation... Some of the people we see on the news digging through dumpsters and foraging for food may have been well prepared but living on the ground floor or, prepared but in a way that this sure didn't anticipate.

For instance... A wood stove is outstanding if you're in a rural area or in an urban area with open/no regulations on such things. In Kansas City, St. Louis or Memphis....such a thing may not be as possible or even realistic. I can't help also note the obvious quandary about a wood stove in an epic flood situation.

For those not in Rural areas or others where that is not realistic, I have another suggestion for the Title idea. Buy 12v. Buy everything...12v. My advice comes from most of my life being in a truck and 24/7 living wherever it parked that night, whether services existed on an Exit Ramp or wide spot 100 miles from a town or the best Truckstop in America (Little America, Wyoming. )

On 100% 12v power, I had a compressor driven fridge, Microwave, toaster oven, DVD/TV Combination, Sandwich maker, Coffee maker, mapping system and laptop/tablet power, among other things. 12v is available in every vehicle in the nation and portable with a dolly for people of almost any physical shape to remove a battery and use it alone. Solar trickle charges for slow charging..or more powerful solar chargers will keep them juiced and running indefinitely if someone has them in sequence of use vs. charge to rotate them (and the fridge is pushing it without an idling engine to charge a bit every few hours)

Just my two cents when shelter in place may not be available with all the pre-planned options, if at all.

reply to post by Wrabbit2000


Don't forget the power inverter to convert that 12v to 110v.

I was ready for the last storm we got hit by (or so I thought) until I saw my 3 cords of wood floating away in the flood waters. All wood I had cut with hand tools from the previous storm. Whoops!
We have to be careful where and how we store things we might need in an emergency.
This will be a real test of our emergency response plans - how long will it take to get roads and harbors cleared, power turned back on, gas leaks fixed, food, gas and medical supplies brought where needed.
It shouldn't be the epic failure that Katrina was but will still far short of the best results possible.

I do think that there is a level of personal responsibility necessary to survive natural disasters.

You should develop a list that anticipates the most likely type of disaster that could hit your area. My area has earthquakes and I can also have localized flooding.

Unless my house gets destroyed, I'd be in pretty good shape.

reply to post by Asktheanimals


I'm glad you mentioned that. I had considered mentioning it but thought better of it on my 12v post for one reason. What happens when the inverter breaks or you simply blow the last fuse you don't have a replacement for on that single piece of equipment? Then everything you have which depended on the 12v to 110v conversion to operate is as dead as everything else.

Naturally I had an inverter on the truck given everything else I was using....but I'll also say the fridge and microwave were true 12v supply with internal inverters. (20amp cigarette lighter plugs at one per item ran them) The inverter I had was a basic 150w to fill the gap for odds and ends I needed to plug in like a laptop charger when I didn't wanna mess with the 12v cord and an external dvd player i favored to the combo unit.

* For those who aren't into trucks, RV, boats and the like... an inverter is a (now) cheap piece of equipment that plugs into a 12v cigarette lighter plug for the small ones ..or wires directly to any 12v battery/continuous power source. On the other side of the box are anywhere from 1 to a half dozen 110v power plugs.

Truck stop versions run 90 watts for laptops and Iphones to 3,500 watt monsters. I knew drivers who had LITERALLY run their house from those during a disaster by parking their truck next to the power box and quite literally plugging their house into the inverter. Obviously....what is turned on inside has to be figured in advance and wattage loads known to get the numbers right. Hope this helps with info for survival ideas!