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Unexpected Dry Run in Progress

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  • Unexpected Dry Run in Progress

    Well the weather has forced me into a dry run of my preps.

    We are having "100 year flooding" right now. We've gotten 15" of rain today (more than a years worth) which is unheard of in this area. Since this is a desert, the water does not get absorbed by soil -- we only have sand. Houses here do not have gutters on them, since it rarely rains.

    Water flowing off of the Franklin Mountains has brought down power lines. (My generator works!) The streets have turned into rivers (boy I wish I could collect that water right now!) The Rio Grande has overflowed it's banks and flowed the lower valley here (luckily I'm halfway up the mountain so that's not my immediate concern.) Interstate 10 is closed in both directions.

    We have broken out the stored water since we are unsure of how safe what is coming out of the tap is. Since we still have tap water, we can flush the toilet without difficulty.

    Battery operated lights/tv/stero work great. Oil lamps are supplementing battery lanterns. Cooking was a breeze.

    The City of El Paso has announced that bus routes are cut back since they depend on daily gasoline deliveries which they can't receive. CBS had to go off the air due to flooding in the station (just before signing off, they showed water pouring thru the window in the control room.)

    All in all life is fairly comfortable at my house. We have power, entertainment, light, hot meals, cold ice cream and comfortable temperatures. Before moving to this city, I flew out for a week and scoped out the "hazards". I was laughed at by one realtor when I refused to look at any houses in the lower valley in case the Rio Grande flooded. I inspected and rejected various neighborhoods until I found one that seemed safe from disasters. Thank goodness I did -- while I felt a little silly at the time, we're dry and comfortable compared to most in this city right now.

    A lot of folks are in shelters and were warned to bring food, water and sleeping bags since the Red Cross will only guarantee a dry, safe environment -- they do not have cots or meals and since travel is shut down, they have no way to obtain them.

    Prepping is not just for the flu!

  • #2
    Re: Unexpected Dry Run in Progress

    Kr105, sounds like you have everything well in hand. And you are so right, prepping is for everyone not just people who are aware of a potential for pandemic.
    Please do not ask me for medical advice, I am not a medical doctor.

    Avatar is a painting by Alan Pollack, titled, "Plague". I'm sure it was an accident that the plague girl happened to look almost like my twin.
    Thank you,
    Shannon Bennett

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    • #3
      Re: Unexpected Dry Run in Progress

      Congratulations on your all-hazards preparedness. I am familiar with the area.
      How is the Mexican side coping? I tried checking out the Texas Emergency Management web site but it appears to be down for now.

      You can expect a boil water notice soon and worries about water related illnesses in the days ahead. Floods take a very heavy emotional toll on those affected. In part because the damage and disruption persists for so long.
      Good luck. My prayers are with you and the community.
      CR

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      • #4
        Re: Unexpected Dry Run in Progress

        Well first let me correct one statement. According to the weather channel we received 4" of rain, but the local channel KVIA had earlier announced 15". No matter what the final total is --it's a heck of a lot of water out there and if I could figure out a way to store it, I would!!! (the prepper in me is coming out.)


        The landfill gave way here and decomposing garbage is floating thru the lower valley. Christian, Juarez is not doing well. Since you're familiar with the area, I'm just North of Redd and Restler (way up above the valley.) By walking a couple of blocks, there is an area where I can see the entire valley, including Sunland Park, NM and Juarez in the distance.) Helicopters were picking people off of roof-tops). Since I-10 as well as most local roads are closed, it's impossible to tell more than that. If you have family that you're worried about, PM me and I'll see if I can call them locally (where long distance lines were down for part of the day.) I'll be off and on the pc sporadically.

        I have to rotate things on/off the generator. I only have a small Honda EU2000 which is very quiet by the way! In the next month I'm going to purchase two more. Ultimately 2 will be linked together to give 4000 watts for the general household -- pc / lights / tv /air conditioners etc. and the single 2000 will run the fridge and freezer.

        While the generator is very expensive, it is quiet and frugal on gas, so I'm pleased with the purchase. Neighbor's generators are noisy and folks know we have one by the lights, but don't know where ours is (upstairs balcony).

        The other prep I need to expand on is water. While we have over 100 gallons in the garage, I now know that I need more. Weight and being able to move a barrel is a consideration, so I've limited our stores to 1, 2 and 3 gallon bottles (I can't lift the 5 gallon/40 lbs easily.) We have a permanent outbuilding in the backyard which was built on a concrete slab, so I'm going to expand water storage into that building. If I purchase four 3 gallon bottles a week, I can significantly expand storage by Oct.

        Other than that I have no issues. The money on preps was well spent. We are comfortable and getting thru this nicely. We'll continue to prep after this is over, both to replace what was used and to beef up supplies on hand.

        If you want to see what's going on here, our local tv station is at:



        My feeling is that this could have been much worse and it's practice for a larger disaster.

        K.

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        • #5
          Re: Unexpected Dry Run in Progress

          kr105
          Thanks for the informative post. My family no longer lives in the area, but thanks for the offer to make contact. The link to the TV station is interesting. Your description of the generators and water use are invaluable.
          Keep posting over the next few days.
          CR

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