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!
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!
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