Natural Disasters - Does Anyone Else Worry?

[ElseB]

So I've been following closely the floods in Australia because I have family in the affected areas (my cousins house is unfortunately under water). I always get really anxious when I see natural disasters like this because all I can think about is, oh my god, what if that happened where I live - WHERE WOULD I FIND GLUTEN FREE FOOD?!!!! Fairly sure they wouldn't be serving it at the shelters. I live in Toronto so I think we're safe from floods (except minor basement flooding which I've already had!), but ice and snow storms, and earthquakes are a real possibility. So am I just being paranoid, or are there other people that worry about how we celiacs would cope in such a disaster?

[shopgirl]

Not really. I'm sure we'd find a way to cope. A jar of peanut butter and a spoon would get you through several days just fine.

And, for what it's worth, there aren't any major fault lines running through Toronto so you're not likely to have an earthquake of epic proportions. And I'm sure a major Canadian city is well-equipped to deal with an ice or snow storm. We had a major one here in Maine several years ago and we were back to normal within three days.

As my mom likes to say, "Don't borrow trouble."

[K8ling]

I do!! I am always wondering about that. My husband was saying we should stock a bunker LOL

[ravenwoodglass]

Being prepared is always the best way to avoid worry. Frankly I worry more about my pets than myself. I live in an area where big snow storms are not uncommon and in the fall I stock up on bottled water (I've had pipes freeze) and I always make sure there is food enough for myself and my pets for at least a week. I keep plenty of peanut butter and canned goods and I had a woodstove installed in case of loss of power. When a storm threatens I go out before it to get extra food for the pets, just in case. I don't live in an area now that floods so I don't have that concern. I think I would worry more if I did.

I hope your family is okay, the flooding in Australia is heartbreaking. Far too many lives lost. The most heartbreaking I have heard of so far is the young 13 year old who perished along with his Mom after insisting his little brother be rescued first. What a hero at such a young age. I am sure I am not the only one praying for those dealing with this tragedy and all the other tragedies going on in our world today.

[dilettantesteph]

I've been in an earthquake. The Northridge quake. We were told to stay home for a few days while they got things going again. There were some fires, and power (street lights) were out and water was out. I was glad to have bottled water, food, and a camp stove on hand so that we were fine. That is except for all the broken stuff that we had to clean up. It is a good idea to be prepared.

[Takala]

We lost power for the greater part of the week in the winter several years ago (in northern CA) after a winter wind and rainstorm which snapped off the power poles like toothpicks a few miles down the road. It also knocked out power to many of the surrounding towns. You know how they say to have a radio to listen for information ? Well, the local radio stations are all automated playlists now, and there was nothing to listen to at all re this storm once it was over. The largest city to the south was completely ignoring any news of this area being under a power outage. A lot of the rural area of the state was in the same way. It was like the Twilight Zone.

I had partially prepared, (bottled water, did a lot of baking/cooking in advance) but tried driving north 30+ miles to the next city for a few more groceries at dusk, after it ended, and got the shock of my life when I found out what a city looks like in a blackout at night with some of the streets closed due to flooding, especially when I got stuck in traffic with people waiting to cross a major river bridge. I was very familiar with the area, so told myself to keep calm and visualize, and go slowly. Once finally over, creeping along in the dark, we all saw a glow in the distance - it was the only block in the area that still had power, and it was drawing people in cars and on foot, like a candle draws bugs outside. And I was lucky in that this was a store that is really good about having some gluten free stuff. The prepared food area is feeding people like a relief zone. The stockers were working the rapidly turning over staples on the shelves with what they had, and trying to aid people. The stockers and cashiers were also questioning everybody about where they lived and was the status was, because they in turn were getting asked all this and nobody actually knew anything. This way information was being shared. All they knew was that they were the only open block with power.

I ended up taking an interesting detour on the way back. At one point I stopped and used a flashlight to read the road signs, and it's really quiet in addition to being really, really pitch dark. This whole area is protected by river levees and the last thing I wanted to do was to blunder into some surprise. Driving back down the highway, there are no lights in the distance, so I'm counting miles on the odometer to see where I am. At one point again I have to go up over the exit ramps and then down, to get around flooding.

Guess what. Your cell phone service might not be that good in that situation, either. I finally made it home.

We were lucky in that we did have already, thanks to my insistence, a generator that we ended up setting up to run some appliances during the day, like the microwave, to cook with, and the well, for house water. (we had had the electrician wire the well so it was safe to do this) We had to heat the house with the fireplace, while it kept it above freezing, and in the fifties, long term, which was not really that comfortable. I miss my old woodstove in a past house. This house might see one yet.

We kept the refrigerator's contents out in the garage, to keep cool, in an ice chest.

After that, was when I started transitioning myself more to being able to tolerate prepared foods, because at the time I was mostly on just fruits, vegetables, nuts,and meat, and I was eating very low carb. The upside of low carb is that you can fast more easily than a person who needs a higher carbohydrate diet. I told myself to figure out what I could eat that could be packed away without refrigeration and carried with us easily if we had to evacuate. (I'm already used to packing food automatically for road trips... even my spouse can do this- ) I also keep more stuff stocked in the pantry. I'm pretty sure now that if push came to shove and there was only some kind of rice, and peanut butter and some cheese - all things that are readily available - I could go for a very long time on it. I know how to make a cup of coffee with just a candle. A can of Sterno or a backpacker's stove would do the same thing.

The other thing is, it certainly trains you to pay attention to the weather - not just the forecasts, but I have a lot of the geekier weather sites bookmarked so as to watch what's going on. It's not only us humans which are affected by bad weather, we and most of our neighbors have animals we need to take care of. Their food and water has to be supplied, also.

Having a minimum of supplies around, a flashlight, a camper's lantern that runs a long time on batteries, a sleeping bag, a case of bottled water, and some non perishable food items that could take you through a week without shopping, that require minimal preparation, is not a bad idea.

[T.H.]

So am I just being paranoid, or are there other people that worry about how we celiacs would cope in such a disaster?

Really, I don't think you're paranoid. Any more than a person on oxygen who worries about their oxygen supply or a person who doesn't live near safe drinking water would worry about their water supply.

We have a condition that affects something that we need in order to live; who wouldn't be a bit concerned about ensuring that they have a supply of it in an emergency? I think sometimes people in our modern world have a hard time imagining how much can be affected. You have a flood, then yeah, if you can get out, you can go somewhere else to get gluten-free food.

You have a flu epidemic, you may not have anywhere open TO get the food at all. Or you might not not be able to leave town due to damaged roads, flooding, etc... And in that case, there may not be any safe food that you can get access to.

But I would agree with the above comments that the way to overcome it is to be prepared. We have a box that would fit into the trunk of our car that would have a week or two of the most BASIC supplies. We are still trying to fill it, though, because our diet has dropped so steadily. But we have a bag of safe grain, a gluten-free safe iron skillet that we could use over a fire or in a house. I am trying to dehydrate some fruit/veggies to stock in there, too.

The only thing is that you need to look it over every 6 months or so and see what needs to be used, and restock. I imagine some gluten-free energy bars would work, some canned juice, maybe. safe grains and beans and nuts. That sort of thing.

It might not be the tastiest, but at least you'd know you have food, in an emergency.

[kayo]

recently when that cruise lost power and everyone had to live off poptarts, crackers and milk for a few days I thought, damn, I'd be screwed in such a situation. Even worse their toilets didn't flush either . We do travel quite a bit and these sort of things cross my mind occasionally.

[mamaw]

No, you are not paranoid.... the crazy people are the ones who think nothing will ever happen & if it does someone or the gov't will take care of them... Just take a look at Haiti a year later & then decide for yourself....

Even in the US there are not enough agencies or manpower to handle a major incident... Power companies share their manpower with several states so if something happens in per say New York & then in a small town in Pa , & then in Ohio. guess where the manpower goes/?????? to the place where there is the most concentrated group of people: ie, New York... then when they have helped the major places they come to the smaller towns which by the way can take weeks if any big would happen.

Plus how do we know when a natural or man-made diaster will hit? Remember 911...

Don't be scared be PREPARED !

Now days, when small snow storm is predicted we can't even find a small bottle of milk because people who are not Prepared panic & run to the grocery & buy up everything from the store shelves. This is what I call paranoid....I'm sure everyone has experienced this.....

By being prepared you buy an extra can or two when items are on sale & start your preparedness stock. little by little you will have a nice supply of things & you haven't panicked or bought up every piece of food on the store shelf.. so someone else goes hungry for days...

Years ago when I was younger there was a truckers strike, I had a small child to feed. No food at all to buy to feed my child. From that point on I learned to be prepared for anything. In this day & age with people wanting to poision our food & water supply it is now the best time to be prepared.

Here are a few things to ponder:

Where will I find safe water

food

heat

shelter

go to the bathroom

heat food if I have any

stay warm

medicines

entertain the children

protect myself & loved ones in a natural or man-made event

A power grid for my hometown is gone

I have to laugh when people run out & buy toilet paper & foods that need cooked but have no fore thought as to how they would heat /cook the food & also if the toilet will not flush do to a water/ power outage thne where are they going to go to the bathroom.

I do help with preparedness so we are ready...flashlights, batteries, hand-cranked radio, generator to handle the whole house, medicines, pet food, people food including gluten-free , survival long term food storage,portable potty & ways to cook & survive for many months. again buying a little at a time.....

also a water supply. I don't want to ever be in a water line with people who are starving & desparate... NOT a good scenerio...

And the last thing to remember is :It is not if it will happen but when will it happen...........BE PREPARED.... food insurance is just like having homeowners insurance, car insurance, life insurance...... there is nothing worse than having a crying child wanting food or water & you as a parent not being able to give these basic things to their child. It is called responsibilty.........

blessings

mamaw

[precious831]

I think it's normal to worry. I do think of it. 2 years ago we got caught in a similar catastrophe. We had a severe ice storm that left much of the state in the dark. We had no water, heat, no electricity for a month. Thank God I was able to find a seedy hotel and we lived there for 3 weeks. My baby was only 15 months old, it was hard, really hard. We just tried to make do of what we had, thankfully the room had a small fridge and a small electric stove. I got so sick there because the room was a smoking room and I wasn't about the turn that down when there was no where else for us to go to. The temps dropped way low during that time and I'm not about to live with my baby in a house with no heat, water and electricity and couldn't even find gas to gas up the car.

Nowadays when it starts snowing heavy I start thinking that that dreadful day. Just thankful we made it because some people froze to death in their homes.

[anabananakins]

A couple of years ago my building lost power for a bit over 24 hours. Seems minor but omg I was so unprepared. I'm on the 8th floor, getting up and down fire stairs in the dark isn't easy, all my food spoiled etc. Luckily I already kept candles and we got a bit of light in from all the other buildings in the neighbourhood, but it made me think a bit more about being prepared and I now have more torches, batteries. etc.

My pantry is also pretty decently stocked, I could live a fair while on canned tuna; canned re-fried beans and stuff like that and I'm not worried about food in shelters, someone would be able to dig up something and eating gluten free is widely accepted here (australia). Water would be my biggest concern and since I can't possibly keep enough in my small apartment to last me very long, I prefer not to think about it!

[ElseB]

Not really. I'm sure we'd find a way to cope. A jar of peanut butter and a spoon would get you through several days just fine.

And, for what it's worth, there aren't any major fault lines running through Toronto so you're not likely to have an earthquake of epic proportions. And I'm sure a major Canadian city is well-equipped to deal with an ice or snow storm. We had a major one here in Maine several years ago and we were back to normal within three days.

As my mom likes to say, "Don't borrow trouble."

Believe it or not, the nuclear power plant just outside Toronto is built on a fault line!!!! And Toronto is the laughing stock of the rest of Canada since many years ago our mayor called in the army after a snow storm!