What happened after Katrina hit may be similar to what will happen after TEOTWAWKI. This post if very long and very useful. I have taken only a few small excerpts from it and still it is very long.
The generator made life comfortable but it burned copious amounts fuel. My 300 gallons was supposed to last 10 to 12 days but 300 gallons was only a 7 day supply. I had to drive to Baton Rouge with empty drums to buy diesel. Gasoline was in very short supply but diesel was nonexistent for civilians for about a week. I had plenty of natural gas for the grill, seafood boiler, water heater and dryer but it was useless for the generator.
I made many forays into the city with friends and family. Some were clandestine and others were overt and authorized. I passed looters actively looting stores and was shot at on at least one occasion. I will never forget one trip I made. I hired 9 off duty police officers to go with me into a flooded area. This officer was an acquaintance and a true blue cop a real Joe Friday. However, before we left he said “Now if something happens and we shoot someone, we are just going to leave him there ok? Do you understand what I am saying?” It was clear to me that things like that happened and that is what was done. Why do you think there are so many missing people whose bodies were never found? Look at the ages and sex of the missing people, most were under 35, male and lived in areas subject to the unrest.
The 3 things I remember most about the time was the oppressive heat & sun during the day and pitch black nights and the chaos and uncertainty of the whole situation.
Communications:
Text messaging worked well all through the worst of the incident. The messages were often delayed but they got through eventually. A Blackberry proved to be a valuable and useful means to communicate.
A cell phone with different area code was invaluable. I bought a prepaid cell phone in Atlanta. The Cingular system was dysfunctional, but Verison and Sprint did work. I used Cingular and Virgin Mobile which is a Sprint reseller. The cell phone with a different area code allowed you to dial out and to receive calls. Forward your key telephone numbers to this cell and you can remain in communication. The entire 504 area code was unusable for about 30 days. We forwarded our phones before we left but the entire network including forwarding went down. So all of our phones just rang or you received an out of service message which is not good for business.
CB & FMRS radios were useless in the city due to significant range limitations
CB & FMRS radios were useless in the city due to significant range limitations. Around the house a cordless phone with a paging/intercom function worked better than the FMRS radio, since it would ring when you were wanted. I would carry the cordless phone and use the intercom function.
Marine VHF was useful for local area communication though it is strictly illegal to use it for this purpose. A 12 volt VHF unit on a boat in the driveway is good for about a mile to hand held sets. Though hand held sets could get through to the base station at this distance only if you could see the other person. They could also be used in the car on the highway and were useful since the channels are not much in use inland and the squelch function is useful. Be sure to get the VHF units with the ability to use alkaline batteries.
Lighting - Darkness, Darkness and more darkness!
Post disaster, street lights will not work and the place will be incredibly dark. When there was no moon the darkness was surreal.
Park your cars so that their head lights shine on likely areas of egress to your house or the place you are visiting. Use the remote fob switch to make the head lights and back up lights go one in the event that you hear someone outside. You can also use the car panic switch to set off the horn for a distraction.
Use flood lights sparingly they attract too much attention in a dark city.
Attempt to create appearance of many more people than you have. A group of 6 to 10 is more likely to thrive than a small group. A person alone is in great danger and should consider leaving.
Keep a low profile
Be able to establish bonafides with a picture ID with your company name and address work as well as a letter on corporate letterhead, notarized and corporate seal on it.
A white pickup truck with a corporate logo and people inside dressed in PPE will be the key to transportation. Make sure it has a sign on it, magnetic signs with business name work well.
Impersonating a responder is illegal but impersonating a business is not, use the term safety guy or personnel guy. These folks are always in and out and nobody either hates them or really needs them so you will not get drafted by the locals. DoNOT I repeat do not, say you are an insurance adjuster or in the insurance business (even if you are) you will be taking your life into your own hands, seriously. They are considered equal to child molesters.
Fuel & Power:
Always have enough fuel in a vehicle that can carry your group to a safe point without refueling. Always have a plan to get you and your group out to safe place.
Spare fuel in 5 gallons can is dangerous; store it outside in a shady spot. Hide it because if you do it may get requisitioned.
Diesel was almost impossible to find initially but gas was easy to find after the 3rd week.
Consider a tri-fuel generator and hook the generator up to natural gas. Natural gas remained on in most un-flooded sections but failed in flooded areas, so do not rely solely on natural gas have the capability to run on liquid gasoline as well. However a natural gas generator would have solved my fuel problems.
Generators are noisy and will disturb you, people nearby and attract unwanted attention. Find someway to keep the sound down. If you have a portable gas operated generator retrofit a car muffler (search the internet for article) to it and build a sound box of some kind. You want the noise signature to be as quite as possible. See this link:
http://www.alpharubicon.com/altenergy/gensetquiet.htm
Ideally have a large one permanently installed with quality sound deading material around it as I did.
Alternatively:
Dig a hole and put the generator in it and cover it with plywood. Allow for drainage.
Build a sandbag berm around it cover the berm with plywood
Enclose it in a building not connected to the house, route the exhaust outside!
Keep its noise to a minimum.
Have an electrician come and put a manual disconnect switch so you can hook the generator to the house. You can do something as simple as putting in the disconnect switch and providing a 50 amp 220 volt plug so you can hook up a portable generator to the house circuits. Avoid having a stand alone generator in the back yard with extension cords. Plan ahead and do it right! Also to keep the peace with your neighbor, plan on running 1 or 2 15 amp circuits to their house(s) if they do not have a generator. That is enough to run a fridge, lights & fans. Or a fridge and a small window A/C.
Cash, Documents and Commerce:
A Good way to make a friend is cold soft drinks – trade hot for cold if you can when you are giving them away as gifts. I went through a lot of Cokes.
Image important documents on a scanner and store them on a flash drive or on line by emailing them to yourself at for instance AOL or Google.
Drivers license, passport, social security card, birth certificate, marriage certificate,
Insurance policies, vaccination/medical records for family & pets should be imaged.
Use an online bank and have multiple accounts. Keep multiple credit cards with a zero balance so that in an emergency you can at least buy gas, a hotel room and some food.
You need at least $1,000 cash on hand. More is always better but do not carry all split it up in different pockets and use credit cards wherever possible. Keep it in small bills like $5, $10 & $20 along with a credit card. Checks, travelers checks and money orders are useless don’t waste your time with them.
Looting. Looters and Requisitioning:
Police will loot. It is called requisitioning. They will take your spare gasoline, supplies, ammunition, first aid kits, ice, water, guns and even your vehicle! They are worse than looters in that they have the force of law behind them. They looted cars, booze, TV as well as necessities such as food water and clean clothes.
Avoid looting parties. They tend to be undisciplined and have numerous, armed people. If you join them, watch your back and go only with a group you know and then stick together. Take only what you need and make restitution when you can do so. Even when you need it… looting is wrong. It belongs to someone else.
The LEO & national guard will be hot, tired, scared and grumpy! Avoid them at all costs. They will be well armed, better trained and are more likely to shoot you than the looters. Always approach them slowly with your hands visible and in a non-threatening manner. Politeness (though not submission like you are guilty of something) and a smile on your face and a comment like “Boy am I glad to see you guys, thanks for the help”. If you are unsure of the situation extend your hand in a handshake. Their actions will tell volumes as to their intent. Never curse them, do offer them a cold coke or water. If you do not have a cold drink, say I would offer you guys one but I don’t have one.
The USCG were the best guys, they were most useful, professional and least dangerous (as long as you were not hostile to them) the worst were the National Guard units and local PD. They were stressed out lost their homes separated from loved ones etc. They were heavily armed and dangerous. No offense intended to any member of these units but that is my observation.
When you travel, travel in groups. No fewer than two, four in 2 vehicles are better. If you leave your vehicle(s) make sure someone or preferably 2 people stay with it (them).
See the full story here:
http://zombiehunters.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=32&t=16627
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