6 Critical Items That Have Disappeared in the Immediate Aftermath of Hurricane Harvey

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6 Critical Items That Have Disappeared in the Immediate Aftermath of Hurricane Harvey
Tess Pennington
September 1st, 2017


This article was originally published by Tess Pennington at ReadyNutrition.com 
Tess is the author of the widely popular and highly rated The Prepper’s Blueprint.
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Before something like Hurricane Harvey, who could’ve imagined the kind of destruction that would literally immobilize a major U.S. metropolitan area for what could potentially be weeks if not months? As this writing we’re 72 hours into the aftermath of this major disaster and supplies are already running low.
Amid the images of loss and destruction, hurricane survivors know they must restock provisions to prepare for another week or more of sheltering in place. Now, imagine 6.2 million people trying to stock up at the same time. Panic buying is gripping the affected area and beginning to overload local and regional communities. Ahead of the hurricane making landfall the vast majority of people simply figured that the aftermath would, at most, last a few days. No one ever contemplated that real possibility that this scenario would be the end result or believed they would have to evacuate after the storm hit.
In fact, many have evacuated the city and moved to other Texas towns and now those areas are beginning to exhaust supplies as well. In any disaster, when the needs of the people are strained, frustration can quickly descend into a breakdown. While this is something no one wants to see happen, with a disaster such as this one, it is very easy to see how it can overwhelm government emergency response plans.
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In an article explaining the breakdowns that occur after disasters, it was written, “When the needs of the population cannot be met in an allotted time frame, a phenomenon occurs and the mindset shifts in people. They begin to act without thinking and respond to changes in their environment in an emotionally based manner, thus leading to chaos, instability and a breakdown in our social paradigm.”

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This is what is to be expected when so many people are hit with a rapid, far from equilibrium event. Keeping up with the desperate and immediate demands of hundreds of thousands of people will undoubtedly be a challenge in and of itself and supply trucks can only do so much, especially with flood water still standing on highway systems. Those living in this aftermath have a long road ahead of them, and knowing which items disappear off the shelves first can help them better prepare and stay on top of their personal supplies.
Just 72 hours after this disaster, here are the five supplies that have become difficult or impossible to find.[/size][/size]

Gasoline

Concerns over closed refineries and disrupted pipelines erupted into a full-blown panic run on gasoline across Texas cities. Here’s the crazy thing, the shortages are not just happening in the greater Houston area, but two hundred miles north in Dallas, as well as in the cities of Austin and San Antonio, TX. This panic for gas is so insane that we are seeing gas lines that have been likened to the 1970’s.


While state officials are saying, “there is no need to worry,” things are getting real in Texas and whether they want to admit, the situation is beginning to get heated. So much so that reports of fist fights for fuel are popping up.

Water

Clean drinking water, the main staple in any disaster supply, is quickly being purchased faster than they can restock it. If hurricane victims do not have a high-quality water filter, they have to take their chances finding a store that has been restocked. In the flood ravaged areas, critical infrastructure has been damaged making it difficult for trucks to resupply the affected area, thus adding to the panic buying. Desperate residents do not know when this disaster area will normalize, so they want to grab supplies when they can to ensure their family has what they need.
In the city of Beaumont, things have become dire since the city shut off the municipal water supply, leaving 100,000 people with no other option but to hunt for water in surrounding areas. As well, the local hospital had to close its doors out of fear of water contamination, one of many immediate post-disaster threats we discussed in a previous article.

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CNN reports that city officials plan to establish a water distribution point on Friday.
Meanwhile, earlier Thursday, residents lined up at stores hours before they opened in hopes of getting whatever bottled water they could find.

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— Maggi Carter (@maggicarter) August 31, 2017

“It’s crazy,” said Khayvin Williams, who started waiting in line at Market Basket at 6:50 a.m. “People are freaking out.”
At a local Wal-Mart, Jeffrey Farley said the store was only allowing 20 people in at a time and was rationing water to three cases per customer. He got in line at 6:30 a.m. and waited until 8:30 to get his water.

Food Staples

The first food items that will sell out mostly consist of things that are already cooked or prepared in some way, including canned foods, frozen dishes, and bread. Fresh meat and eggs would also disappear pretty fast, despite the fact that they need to be cooked.
And that is what we are seeing now. Food staples like milk, bread, and eggs are all in high demand. Lines are forming outside of stores that are open to the public and these essential items run out fast.  In fact, grocery stores are putting limits on how much you can buy. In this report, one store manager in the area admits to the food limits. “Yeah, there’s limits,” Luis Castillo, a store employee who was working crowd control Tuesday, told BuzzFeed News. “But we already ran out of bread. There’s no more bread.” While many grocery stores and superstores like Wal-Mart and Target are opening more stores every day, at the given moment, it’s a race to resupply and stores can quickly be exhausted of food necessities.
Food staple shortages are also being reported in north Texas – 200 miles away from Houston.

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Roni Neff, a professor of Environmental Health and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University is concerned about those not able to get to the stores. “In Houston, as everywhere, the impacts are not equally felt,” she says. “People with lower incomes, people who are elderly, with disabilities, with medically necessary diets, may be particularly hit by this kind of situation, and really have quite severe food security threats to them.” (Source)
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Bleach

Most people may not have even considered this essential post-disaster item.
In the aftermath, bleach and chemical disinfectants are hard to come by. Cleaning flooded homes and questionable water sources are making this a high-demand commodity. Sanitation is one of the most important facets of staying prepared. After a hurricane hits, overloaded sewage systems will start spewing raw sewage. Diseases such as cholera, are contracted through contaminated water and food, and often occur as a result of poor hygiene and sanitation practices.
Moreover, cleaning supplies like gloves and garbage bags are also needed by many in the disaster area and those in the relief efforts have all listed cleaning supplies as a needed item.

Toilet Paper

Hurricane survivors may have grossly underestimated how much toilet paper they needed to ride out the aftermath. Toilet paper is used every day and when it runs out, things can get nasty.
On average, consumers use 8.6 sheets per trip – a total of 57 sheets per day. Multiply that by a week-long storm and a family of 5 and you run out quickly.
Due to the high need for toilet paper, it is flying off the shelves and restocking has obviously become an issue.

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Now that many disaster victims are evacuating the area, stores in north Texas are also seeing a shortage.



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Home Repair Supplies

The last thing on people’s minds was how massive the clean up from Hurricane Harvey would be. But as we have often noted, hurricanes are unpredictable in nature and this one “threw a wrench” in many preparedness plans.
While thinking about how they were going to clean up after flood waters ravaged their homes wasn’t something anyone really considered beforehand, is it now at the forefront. As a result of the extensive damage, home repair supplies are in desperate need.
Plywood, tools, wheelbarrows, large plastic containers, trash bags, buckets, generators, and other disaster necessities are being purchased. In fact, at Lowe’s, Rick Neudorff, the retailer’s emergency command center operations manager said generators were in such high demand that “some stores are practically selling generators off the back of the truck because people have been waiting in the stores for the generators to arrive.”
The reality is that the vast majority of people have about three days of food and water at home, when a prolonged disaster strikes it upends the stability of the entire system of just-in-time delivery.
This is why using a layered approach to preparedness planning that includes short-term, long-term and worst-case scenario considerations is paramount.
What Hurricane Harvey has taught us is that devastating events, while so improbable that they may happen just once in a hundred years, are still a real and present danger.


Tess Pennington is the author of The Prepper’s Blueprint, a comprehensive guide that uses real-life scenarios to help you prepare for any disaster. Because a crisis rarely stops with a triggering event the aftermath can spiral, having the capacity to cripple our normal ways of life. The well-rounded, multi-layered approach outlined in the Blueprint helps you make sense of a wide array of preparedness concepts through easily digestible action items and supply lists.
Tess is also the author of the highly rated Prepper’s Cookbook, which helps you to create a plan for stocking, organizing and maintaining a proper emergency food supply and includes over 300 recipes for nutritious, delicious, life-saving meals. 
Visit her web site at ReadyNutrition.com for an extensive compilation of free information on preparedness, homesteading, and healthy living.

http://readynutrition.com/resources/emergency-items-what-will-disappear-first_11112009/
[size=35]Emergency Items: What Will Disappear First[/size]
Tess Pennington 


Do you ever wonder if a major emergency situation occurred what would disappear first?  Due to the overwhelming nature of prepping for a emergency situation, many do not know where to even begin, let alone think of emergency situations they would need to prepare for.  Having a ready supply of food, water and batteries are a good start, but not enough.  There are many more items to have on hand besides beans, band aids and bullets.
When planning for an emergency, especially a sudden and long-term emergency, think about the worst situation imaginable.  For those that need some help – think of mass chaos of people running into grocery stores to get as much food and supplies as possible, gas lines that run out into the street, highways at a virtual stand still, banks not giving out money, looting, fires, the health of the elderly deteriorating due to not being able to get needed medicines, babies crying because that have no formula to drink.  It’s not a pretty picture when you allow yourself to imagine it.  Having supplies on hand can put a person way ahead of the game.  While many who are unprepared for such a grim reality will be battling the lines at the grocery stores, those that have prepared accordingly could be packing their items up and headed for hills before many have even attempted to.
This author came across some advice from someone who has experienced a long term emergency first hand.  This advice could help a person prepare not only for their well being, but also mentally prepare them for getting through the nightmare of a long term emergency.

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Advice From a Sarajevo War Survivor:
Experiencing horrible things that can happen in a war – death of parents and friends, hunger and malnutrition, endless freezing cold, fear, sniper attacks.
1. Stockpiling helps. But you never no how long trouble will last, so locate near renewable food sources.
2. Living near a well with a manual pump is like being in Eden.
3. After awhile, even gold can lose its luster.  But there is no luxury in war quite like toilet paper.  Its surplus value is greater than gold’s.
4. If you had to go without one utility, lose electricity – it’s the easiest to do without (unless you’re in a very nice climate with no need for heat.)
5. Canned foods are awesome, especially if their contents are tasty without heating.  One of the best things to stockpile is canned gravy – it makes a lot of the dry unappetizing things you find to eat in war somewhat edible.  Only needs enough heat to “warm”, not to cook. It’s cheap too, especially if you buy it in bulk.
6. Bring some books – escapist ones like romance or mysteries become more valuable as the war continues.  Sure, it’s great to have a lot of survival guides, but you’ll figure most of that out on your own anyway – trust me, you’ll have a lot of time on your hands.
7. The feeling that you’re human can fade pretty fast.  I can’t tell you how many people I knew who would have traded a much needed meal for just a little bit of toothpaste, rouge, soap or cologne.  Not much point in fighting if you have to lose your humanity.  These things are morale-builders like nothing else.
8. Slow burning candles and matches, matches, matches

Emergency Items That Disappear First
1. Generators (Good ones cost dearly. Gas storage, risky. Noisy…target of
thieves; maintenance etc.)
2. Water
3. Water filters and purifiers
4. Portable toilets
5. Seasoned firewood. Wood takes about 6 – 12 months to become dried, for home use.
6. Lamp oil, wicks, and lamps (First choice: Buy CLEAR oil. If scarce, stockpile
ANY!)
7. Coleman fuel (Impossible to stockpile too much)
8. Guns, ammunition, pepper spray, knives, clubs, bats or slingshots
9. Hand-can openers, hand egg beaters, whisks
10. Honey, syrups, white and brown sugar
11. Rice – beans – wheat
12. Vegetable oil (for cooking) Without it food burns/must be boiled etc.,)
13. Charcoal, lighter fluid (will become scarce suddenly)
14. Water Containers of any size. Small: HARD CLEAR PLASTIC ONLY – note – food grade if for drinking.
15. Propane cylinders (Urgent: definite shortages will occur)
16. Survival Guide book
17. Mantles: Aladdin, Coleman, etc. (without this item, longer-term lighting is
difficult.)
18. Baby supplies: diapers, formula, ointments, aspirin, etc.
19. Washboards, mop bucket with wringer (for laundry)
20. Cook stoves (propane, Coleman and kerosene)
21. Vitamins
22. Propane cylinder handle-holder (urgent: Small canister use is dangerous
without this item)
23. Feminine hygiene, hair care, skin products
24. Thermal underwear (tops and bottoms)
25. Bow saws, axes and hatchets, wedges (also, honing oil)
26. Aluminum foil regular and heavy duty (great for cooking and bartering item)
27. Gasoline containers (plastic and metal)
28. Garbage bags (impossible to have too many)
29. Toilet paper, Kleenex, paper towels
30. Milk – powdered, condensed (Shake Liquid every 3 to 4 months)
31. Garden seeds (Non-Hybrid) (A MUST)
32. Clothes pins, line, hangers (A MUST)
33. Coleman’s pump repair kit
34. Tuna fish (in oil)
35. Fire extinguishers (or large box of baking soda in every room)
36. First aid kits
37. Batteries (all sizes…buy furthest-out for expiration dates)
38. Garlic, spices, vinegar, baking supplies
39. Dog food
40. Flour, yeast, salt
41. Matches (“Strike Anywhere” preferred) Boxed, wooden matches will go first
42. Writing paper, pads, pencils, solar calculators
43. Insulated ice chests (good for keeping items from freezing in wintertime.)
44. Work boots, belts, blue jeans, durable shirts
45. Flashlights, light sticks, torches, “No. 76 Dietz” lanterns
46. Journals, diaries, scrapbooks (jot down ideas, feelings, experience;
historic times)
47. Plastic garbage cans (great for storage, water, transporting – if with
wheels)
48. Men’s Hygiene: shampoo, toothbrush, paste, mouthwash, floss, nail clippers, etc.
49. Cast iron cookware (sturdy, efficient)
50. Fishing supplies, tools
51. Mosquito coils, repellent, sprays, creams
52. Duct tape
53. Tarps, stakes, twine, nails, rope, spikes
54. Candles
55. Laundry detergent (liquid)
56. Backpacks, duffel bags
57. Garden tools, supplies
58. Scissors, fabrics, sewing supplies
59. Canned goods: fruits, veggies, soups, stews, etc.
60. Bleach (plain, not scented: 4 to 6% sodium hypochlorite)
61. Canning supplies
62. Knives, sharpening tools: files, stones, steel
63. Bicycles and parts: tires, tubes, pumps, chains, etc.
64. Sleeping bags, blankets, pillows, mats
65. Carbon monoxide alarm (battery powered)
66. Board games, cards, dice
67. d-con Rat poison, MOUSE PRUFE II, roach killer
68. Mousetraps, ant traps, cockroach magnets
69. Paper plates/cups/utensils (stock up, folks)
70. Baby wipes, oils, waterless, antibacterial soap (saves a lot of water)
71. Rain gear, rubberized boots, etc.
72. Shaving supplies (razors, creams, talc, after shave)
73. Hand pumps & siphons (for water and for fuels)
74. Soy sauce, vinegar, bullions, gravy, soup base
75. Reading glasses
76. Chocolate, cocoa, tang, punch (water enhancers)
77. “Survival-in-a-Can”
78. Woolen clothing, scarves, ear-muffs, mittens
79. Boy Scout handbook, and/or Leaders catalog
80. Roll-on window insulation kit (MANCO)
81. Graham crackers, saltines, pretzels, trail mix, jerky
82. Popcorn, peanut butter, nuts
83. Socks, underwear, t-shirts, etc. (extras)
84. Lumber (all types)
85. Wagons, carts (for transport to and from)
86. Cots, inflatable mattresses
87. Gloves for work, warming, gardening, etc.
88. Lantern hangers
89. Screen patches, glue,
90. Hardware – nails, screws, nuts and bolts
91. Teas
92. Coffee
93. Cigarettes
94. Wine, liquors (for bribes, medicinal, etc.)
95. Paraffin wax
96. Glue, nails, nuts, bolts, screws, etc.
97. Chewing gum, candies
98. Atomizers (for cooling, bathing)
99. Hats, cotton neckerchiefs, seasonal clothing needs
100. Livestock – goats, chickens, etc.
Source


Tess Pennington is the author of The Prepper’s Blueprint, a comprehensive guide that uses real-life scenarios to help you prepare for any disaster. Because a crisis rarely stops with a triggering event the aftermath can spiral, having the capacity to cripple our normal ways of life. The well-rounded, multi-layered approach outlined in the Blueprint helps you make sense of a wide array of preparedness concepts through easily digestible action items and supply lists.
Tess is also the author of the highly rated [b]Prepper’s Cookbook, which helps you to create a plan for stocking, organizing and maintaining a proper emergency food supply and includes over 300 recipes for nutritious, delicious, life-saving meals. 
Visit her web site at ReadyNutrition.com for an extensive compilation of free information on preparedness, homesteading, and healthy living.
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This information has been made available by Ready Nutrition
Originally published November 11th, 2009