Tag Archives: Locusts

Jan 3 2024

UN: Natural Disasters Do Not Exist


Posted originally on Jan 3, 2024 By Martin Armstrong 

Volcano Bali Eruption

The globalists at the United Nations need the masses to believe that they are solely responsible for the changing climate. They cannot usurp power and modify our way of life if the masses don’t buy into the climate change agenda. The United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) has declared “natural disasters” to be a myth as only human intervention can cause a weather event to be disastrous.

“We often hear about ‘natural disasters’ in the news or from NGOs and international organisations [sic] (even some less-well informed UN agencies!). The truth is, there is no such thing as a natural disaster,” the United Nations boldly claimed in their recent biased assessment. The UN is attempting to make the tag #NoNaturalDisasters trend on social media.

hurricane irma sept 5 2017

Hurricanes, floods, and earthquakes are to be termed “natural hazards” that “only becomes a disaster when it impacts a community that is not adequately protected, and whose population is vulnerable as a result of poverty, exclusion or socially-disadvantage.” The globalists demand that humans take full responsibility for weather patterns. “By shrugging off a catastrophic event as a “natural disaster” one is refusing to take responsibility for the damage and destruction,” the website states. “Next time you hear that phrase – “natural disaster” – step up to the mark and correct the speaker: “There is no such thing as a natural disaster.”

Japanese Earthquakes

Unbelievable. Japan recently experienced a 7.6 magnitude earthquake that claimed the lives of 48 people. Japan is not a disadvantaged nation and they are extremely well prepared for “natural hazards.” “There is probably no people on earth other than Japanese who are so disaster-ready,” University of Tokyo professor Toshitaka Katada told The Associated Press. “This is far from over,” he added. “Having too much confidence in the power of science is very dangerous. We are dealing with nature.”

Einstein.LookDeepIntoNature

Nothing can be done when nature strikes. We can prepare to a certain degree, but there is absolutely nothing humans can do to alter the weather. Our ancient ancestors attempted to control the weather through sacrifices, dances, and other rituals. Our current society is attempting to control the weather through taxation and regulation.

Einstein once said, “Look deep into nature, and you will understand everything better.” Climate change is real, but it is not caused by humans. Climate change is a NATURAL phenomenon, and you can read more on various studies throughout this blog that explain how the weather shifts throughout time.

Nov 13 2023

Between Life and Beyond: Psychics, Mental Health, and the Human Experience


Posted originally on Rumble Ghosts and Grit With Jack Osbourne Podcast on: November 10th

Nov 6 2023

Medical Care for Migrants Crisis Rw-Posted Nov 6, 2023 By Martin Armstrong


MigrantCrisis

Over 900 thousand migrants have crossed the border legally over the last year and over 600 thousand have crossed illegally. It is estimated at about 105 million migrants to have crossed over the border in just a year according to a Biden- appointed secretary. It has been an ongoing issue of seeking shelter across the U.S while also trying to seek medical attention. According to an article in AP News, there is no system in place to keep record of migrants who seek medical attention. They rely on volunteer doctors to see them. When you have a bunch of people in these shelters, some sick and others not- it is easy to have illnesses spread, and they will spread fast. A rough estimate from Cook County of how many migrants have been treated is around 14 thousand. This is costing the clinic about $2.2 million a month. Said best by Garcia, whom works for the Migrants Clinitians Network, “You have what were essentially healthy people put in really remarkable circumstances, where they are not able to survive thoroughly and then they come across (the border) in a really compromised state.”

The way that we should be looking at this is- why open borders and not have specific plans and guidelines set in place for these migrants? I just do not understand how 1.5 million people, both legal and illegal, can come into the U.S when we can’t even get my employees in the country from Europe. Cities like Chicago are dealing with a huge surge of migrants, most of which are sleeping in tents on the streets. Mayor Brandon Johnson has said that he will be flying out to Washington to speak with the Biden Administration, seeking for them to help out more during this crisis. It is a bit crazy to realize that the Biden Administration were the ones to open up these borders yet have not administered much help for the after effects. Our government does a really good job at sticking their noses in other countries before even helping out our own country.

Oct 28 2023

Fall Recipes and Requests for Recipes!


Posted originally on the CTH on October 27, 2023 | Menagerie 

https://youtube.com/watch?v=_i9wy_bP2U8%3Ffeature%3Doembed

I am in serious sourdough bread making mode now, as I usually am in the fall and winter. The urge to get my sourdough starter going usually hits the first brisk morning in September, but it was late coming this year due to our extended Indian summer.

I am looking for good soup recipes, maybe some fall vegetable and grain bowl ideas. Please share recipes and any requests you have!

Sep 29 2023

One Year Ago, Today….


Posted originally on September 28, 2023 | Sundance 

… Hurricane Ian hit.

One year ago, right about the time I am posting this the eye was passing.  The previous 4 hours had torn the back of the roof to shreds and removed everything in the backyard.  Everything was gone.  Now it was time for the backside of the storm to take out the front side.

I made a quick trip outside in the intermediate lull, only to realize it wasn’t over.  Now it was going to get worse.  The backside brought with it a 15-foot storm surge which had begun and would last for the next five hours.  Thankfully the core structure seemed intact.

Taking a breath and realizing everyone would feed from my vibe, I said a prayer for mercy, retreated to the hunker down position and reassured.

Internally I knew a purposeful God was reminding me of my selfish insignificance.  I knew things would be different tomorrow. I was watching the physical landscape where my youth unfolded, forever changed; much of it erased completely.

The trees which once held the swings and forts for youthful triumphs, felled by nature’s fury and soon thereafter turned to mulch.  Their trunks and branches now landscape mulch for a coming McMansion; a person with no similar attachment.

And so it goes…. And so, it goes.  An apropos metaphor for life, and a not subtle reminder that we are temporarily living it.

If my younger self had known a clock was counting down, perhaps the kid would have paused under the shade of the old banyans and thanked them. Then again, it really wouldn’t be childhood if we carried such weighty concerns.  I am forever thankful I never carried that weight, and simultaneously today I cherish each breeze with a newfound appreciation for what I did not know.

It is easy to lose our sense of optimism.  Retaining a joyful perspective while everything around us seems mad isn’t easy.  However, if you accept that you can create something just a little bit better by making a choice, then you have accomplished a great deal.

If you are reading this, you likely had no idea how much your prayers and support carried me starting one year ago, tomorrow.

I am blessed and thankful.  I cherish you.

I have long felt that life is like a series of links in a chain. You might be driving down the road and you hear a song on the radio, or see a picture, and you feel a memory….

Something triggers within you that reminds of a different time and place than where you are right now.

You reflect.

The memories you consider remind you of a totally different time in your life.

Perhaps you lived in a different place.  Perhaps you were surrounded by different people. Perhaps a different job or completely different friends. You recognize those memories were constructed like frozen moments in time.  They became individual links in the chain in your life.

We never actually realize, in the immediate moment, when one link closes and another link begins. But when we look back, we can clearly see distinct points where things changed, the link closed, and a new link began.

You see, the links are only visible in reflection.

As we reflect, we find parts of the chain in our life where each link closes and connects with the other. A beginning, and an end. At the point where the links are joined, we carry parts of the previous link forward to the next.

For many people those connections are bonded by family, or very strong lifelong relationships. Connections which continue beyond our geographic moments, jobs or temporary acquaintances.

But for everyone, the primary bonding agent brought forward from one link to the next is us, our center, our values and core principles. Our beliefs.

The strength of the steel which comprises the links of our life is forged in the fire of adversity, weakness, challenge, pain, loss, and painful growth. The steel is then cooled with the tears of triumph, hurdles overcome and resolve.

The forging makes the steel stronger and able to withstand the pressures that accompany the additional length. Slowly the chain becomes wiser as it lengthens. Able to reach further, form more significant benefits and become more useful.

Hope replaces fear. Love replaces loneliness. Success replaces adversity. These are successful links began and finished while contributing to the whole.

At times we may manipulate the links with avoidance. We hide from -or choose to avoid- an issue in our effort to begin a new link before the old one was naturally, and spiritually, prepared to be closed.

Eventually, as life continues and the chain lengthens, the weak link can fracture, and we are forced to revisit/repair what we originally chose to avoid.

You see, in life we cannot control the universal laws that guide us. So, if we manipulate circumstances to avoid confronting our own weakness, we cannot fully strengthen our life of links. Eventually, the weakness of our past will impact our future.

So, what principles do we carry from link to link? What core values and beliefs stay with us throughout the journey of our lives? The answers to these questions are what makes us human spiritual beings.

We possess freewill able to make choices about what we do, and how we define our individual humanity; but can we then define ’right’ and ‘wrong’ according to our individual principles? Or are there principles that exceed our influence and definition?

Are there natural laws of right and wrong, good and bad, that cannot be subjected to the determination of man?

These are the bigger questions, perhaps the more important questions; and yet, perhaps the ones we reflect upon the least.

Consider the example of the ‘Law of the farm’ vs. the ‘Law of the School’. Natural principles vs. those made by man.

A student can skip class, take few notes, pay only half attention, then stay up all night cramming for a test and manage a decent grade. It depends on the student’s goal: grades or learning.

The student can choose to manipulate the education, by avoiding the learning and capturing the grade. This is possible in the ‘Law of the School’.

However, a farmer cannot take short cuts. A farmer cannot avoid tending to the soil, preparing the seed, fertilizing and nurturing the crop, and still gain the benefit of an abundant harvest.

The farmer must necessarily do all of the appropriate work in order to benefit from it. Such is the ‘Law of the Farm’, the natural law.

When one considers the weakness remaining within a poorly constructed and manipulated link, perhaps established by selfish choices and driven by avoidance and fear, one can be faithfully assured those who have dealt dishonestly with us will have to visit the issues of their association again.

Conversely, no amount of manipulation or avoidance on our own behalf is going to improve the frailty of any link without first resolving the lack of character which created the weakness.

So, we have choices in our lives. Decisions we each make regarding how we interact and participate in the lives and links of others, as well as how we choose to construct the links that comprise our own lives.

Do we base our sense of purpose around natural principles? Principles based on natural laws of right and wrong, good and bad, truth and lies.  Do we forge strong links by following our heart, our values?

If we can interact with others absent of a prideful self-driven agenda, or manipulative intent, we can then apply such principles and strength to our endeavors.

If we protect the integrity of the soil upon which we build the foundation of our lives, we can live without regret.

If we fertilize and cherish our crop, and the crop of our neighbor, with honesty and sincere appreciation for the souls we meet along our chosen path, we will live a life of abundance.

If we tend carefully to the consideration of everyone, yet holding true to our values and principles, we can strengthen ourselves amid the face of adversity and disenchantment.

If we do not hide from, nor ignore our individual and collective faults, we can build the chain of our life with strength, humility, and purpose.

I wish for each of you a long chain of bold, strong, beautiful links, polished with the reflective brilliance of Love..

Thank you for your fellowship!

Steadfast,

~ Sundance

[Support CTH Here]

Sep 18 2023

First Time Hearing


Armstrong Economs Blog/medicine Re-Posted Sep 17, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

https://youtube.com/watch?v=HiAc0G7CKgg%3Ffeature%3Doembed
Sep 8 2023

East Coast U.S. – Keep Eye on Hurricane Lee, Expected to Become Major Slow Moving Hurricane Today, Still a Week Away


Posted originally on the CTH on September 7, 2023 | Sundance 

Hurricane Lee is moving slowly in the southern Atlantic approaching the Leeward Islands. [NHC DATA HERE] Residents on the Southeast coast of the USA should monitor. Lee is expected to become a major hurricane later tonight as it moves toward the west-northwest over the next few days.

Hurricane Lee is still a long distance from presenting any immediate risk, but prudent checks and evaluations of your situation should take place.  Keep an eye on the National Hurricane Center for updates.  The storm is not anticipated to be a major focus until mid-week next week.

At 1100 AM AST (1500 UTC), the center of Hurricane Lee was located near latitude 16.4 North, longitude 50.0 West. Lee is moving toward the west-northwest near 15 mph (24 km/h), and this motion is expected to continue through Friday. A slower motion toward the west-northwest is forecast over the weekend. On the forecast track,the core of Lee will move north of the northern Leeward islands during the next few days. (link)

Obviously, this is currently a long way from the eastern U.S.  However, coastal residents should keep an eye on Lee and evaluate their pre-existing preparedness plans.

In my last set of proactive suggestions, {GO DEEP HERE} I focused first and foremost on something few discuss, mental capability.  Due to what I witnessed in Hurricane Ian with the people of the area, I am always going to put this into the analysis now to provide consideration that few understand.  I saw Ian literally break strong people down and create a PTSD demographic I have never experienced before.

What follows below are things to consider if you are prepping for a hurricane impact and/or deciding whether to stay in your home or evacuate.  Standard hurricane preparations should always be followed.  Protect your family, secure your property and belongings, and prepare for the aftermath.

What you do before the hurricane hits is going to determine where you are in the recovery phase.

Additionally, and this should be emphasized and discussed within your family, if you cannot be self-sufficient in the aftermath – for any reason, then you should evacuate.  Self-sufficiency in this context requires being able to cope for up to several weeks:

(1) potentially without power; (2) potentially without potable running water (3) potentially without internet service; (4) potentially without communication outside the region; and (5) with limited municipal and private sector assistance.   If you decide you cannot deal with these outcomes, you should evacuate.

Additionally, as a family or individual, you should also honestly evaluate:

(1) your physical abilities; (2) your emotional and psychological ability to withstand extreme pressures; and (3) your comfort in losing daily routines, familiar schedules and often overlooked things you might take for granted.

Post hurricane recovery is fraught with stress, frustration and unforeseeable challenges.  {GO DEEP}

For those in the cone of uncertainty next week, remember, planning and proactive measures taken now can significantly reduce stress in the days ahead.  Plan when to make the best decision on any evacuation (if needed). For now, just keep monitoring the progress of the storm.  As a general rule: take cover from wind – but evacuate away from water.

DAY ONE (_____)

  • Determine Your Risk
  • Make a Written Plan
  • Develop and Evacuation Plan
  • Inventory hurricane/storm supplies.

DAY TWO (______)

  • Get Storm Update
  • Assemble and Purchase Hurricane Supplies
  • Contact Insurance Company – Updates
  • Secure Important Papers.
  • Strengthen and Secure Your Home
  • Make Evacuation Decision for your Family.

DAY THREE (______)

  • Get Storm Update
  • Re-Evaluate your Supplies based on storm update.
  • Finish last minute preparation.
  • Assist Your Neighbors
  • If Needed – Evacuate Your Family

Communication is important.  Update your contact list. Stay in touch with family and friends, let them know your plans. Select a single point of contact for communication from you that all others can then contact for updates if needed.  There is plenty of time to organize your important papers, insurance forms, personal papers and place them in one ‘ready-to-go’ location.

Evaluate your personal hurricane and storm supplies; update and replace anything you might have used. Assess, modify and/or update any possible evacuation plans based on your location, and/or any changes to your family status.

Check your shutters and window coverings; test your generator; re-organize and familiarize yourself with all of your supplies and hardware. Check batteries in portable tools; locate tools you might need; walk your property to consider what you may need to do based on the storms path. All decisions are yours. You are in control.

Consider travel plans based on roads and traffic density. Being proactive now helps to keep any future stress level low. You are in control. If you have pets, additional plans may be needed.

One possible proactive measure is to make a list of hotels further inland that you would consider evacuating to.  Make that list and follow updates of the storms’ progress.

Depending on information next week you might call in advance and make a reservation; you can always cancel if not needed.  It is better to have a secondary evacuation place established in advance.  Being proactive reduces stress.  Even if you wait until much later to cancel, it is better to pay a cancellation fee (usually one night charge) than to not have a plan on where to go.   Trust me, it’s worth it.

Protect your family. Make the list of possibilities in the next few days.

Look over the National Hurricane Center resources for planning assistance.

Deciding whether to evacuate:

• If you do not handle stress well, leave.

• If you cannot be self-sufficient in the aftermath, leave.

• If you choose to stay pay super close attention to the exact path of the storm.  A few miles make a massive difference when you are dealing with the possibility of encountering the eyewall of a hurricane.

This is a fury of nature, a battle where the odds are against you, that you may or may not be aware you are contemplating when you are choosing to stay or evacuate.  It’s not the hurricane per se’, it’s that much smaller killer buzzsaw – the eyewall- that you are rolling the dice, never to see.

When it comes to the eyewall, the truest measure of the “cone of uncertainty“, the difference between scared out of your mind (victim) and a fight to avoid death (survivor), is literally a matter of a few miles. And there ain’t no changing your mind once it starts.

♦ Hardening your home is a matter of careful thought and physical work.  However, every opening into your structure must be protected, leaving yourself with one small exit opportunity just in case. Hopefully you have a bolted door with no glass windows you can use as an emergency exit.  If not, select a small window and leave only enough room uncovered for you to get out in case of emergency or structural collapse.

Beyond the ordinary supplies like drinking water, batteries, flashlights, battery or hand-crank radio, generators, gasoline, etc.  Evaluate the scale of what you have against the likelihood of weeks without power or water.   A few pro tips below:

♦ Put three 30-gallon trash cans in the shower and fill them with water before the storm.  This will give you 90 gallons of water for cooking and personal hygiene.  You will also need water to manually flush your toilets.  Bottled water is great for drinking, hydrating and toothbrushing, but you will need much more potable water if the municipal supply is compromised or broken.

♦ A standard 6,500-to-8,500-watt generator will run for approximately 8 hours on five gallons of gasoline.   Do not run it all the time.  Turn it on, chill the fridge, make coffee, use the microwave or charge stuff, then turn it off.  Do this in 4-hour shifts and the fridge will be ok and your gasoline will last longer.  Gasoline is a scarce and rare commodity in the aftermath of a hurricane.  Gas stations don’t work without power.  Check the oil in the generator every few days.  Also, have a can of quick start or butane available in case the generator starts acting up.

♦ Extension cords.  If you are purchasing them buy at least one 50 to 100′ extension cord with a triple ponytail.  This way you can use one cord into a central location to charge up your electronic devices.  Establish a central recharging station for phones, pads, laptops, and rechargeable stuff.

♦ Purchase a box of “contractor garbage bags” and just keep them in the garage.  These are large, thick, industrial trash bags that fit 40-gallon drums. They can be used for trash, or even cut open for tarps in the aftermath of a storm.  These thick mil contractor bags have multiple uses following a hurricane.

♦ Do all of your laundry before the hurricane hits.  You will likely not have the ability again for a few weeks.

♦ Cook a week’s worth of meals in advance of the hurricane. Store in fridge so you can microwave for a meal.  Eating a constant diet of sandwiches gets old after the first week.  Dinty Moore canned beef stew and or Chef-boy-ardee raviolis can make a nice break…. anything, except another sandwich.

♦ Have bleach for use in disinfecting stuff before and after a hurricane.  Also have antibiotics and antiseptics for use.  Hygiene and not getting simple infections after a hurricane is critical and often forgotten.  Again, this is where the extra potable water becomes important.  Simple cuts and scrapes become big deals when clean potable water is not regularly available.  Keep your scrapes and abrasions clean and use antiseptic creams immediately.

♦ Do not forget sunscreen and things to relieve muscle aches and pains.  Hurricane recovery involves physical effort.  You will be sore and/or exposed to the elements.  Remember, it’s all about self-sufficiency because the normal services are not available.  A well-equipped first aid kit is a must have.

♦ Buy a small camping stove.  Nothing big or expensive, just something you can cook on outside in case of emergency.  It will be a luxury when you are 2+ weeks without power and all the stores and restaurants are closed for miles.

♦ Those small flashlights that you can strap around your head that take a few AAA batteries?  Yup, GOLD.  Those types of handsfree flashlights are lifesavers inside and outside when you need to see your way around.  Nighttime is especially dark without electricity in the entire town.  Doing stuff like filling a generator with gasoline in the middle of the night is much easier with one of those head strap flashlights.  Strongly advise getting a few, they’re inexpensive too.

♦ Cash.  You will need it.  Without power anything you may need to purchase will require cash, especially gasoline.  Additionally, anyone you hire to help or support your immediate efforts will need to be paid.  Cash is critical.  How much, depends on your individual situation, but your cash burn rate will likely go into the thousands in the first few days.  Also keep in mind, you may or may not be able to work and without internet access even getting funds into place could be challenging.

♦ Hardware. A box of self-tapping sheet metal screws (short and long) is important, along with a box or two of various wood screws or Tyvex screws.  A battery drill or screw gun is another necessity.  Check all of this stuff during hurricane prep.

ps. Thanks to those who have written and shared their appreciation for the planning prior to Idalia impact. We are blessed and thankful to live in a beautiful world provided by a loving God. Sit with Him, talk to Him, make time for Him. Never lose faith and heed the instinct of your prayer filled gut for your best counsel.

Aug 31 2023

The Most Deadly Storm in History


Armstrong Economics Blog/Press Re-Posted Aug 30, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

Aug 31 2023

Hurricane Idalia – I’m Supposed to be Dead – But I think I Survived


Armstrong Economics Blog/Press Re-Posted Aug 30, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

Thank you for all the emails concerned about the storm and my survivability. If I listened to the news, I surely must be dead, so I am writing this from upstairs. I hunkered down this time. I have had enough of the news for all they do is go to the worst place they can find and stay there. The last storm, I went to Orlando so I could be in the middle of it for it did not touch my house. Then, I did not know if it was safe to drive home, for the news never says anything about the places that are fine. I had to ask a worker in the hotel who said he drives to work each day, and there was no problem on I4.

Mainstream Media is just FAKE news on every subject. All they care about is ratings. They provide no actual public service. This time, I refused to leave, and everything was fine. The water barely reached my wall, and there was no flooding. I have been in far worse storms, even in New Jersey.

My home is a fortress. It is all block – not wood, I am 17 feet up not on the ground, and all the ground around my house is covered in concrete. It would be nice to have a real news agency that would tell the truth without all the hype. I could not believe a girl on Fox News standing on a road in Tampa talking about seeing the storm surge – OMG. It was, at best 3 inches on the road.

Honestly, they offer no public service whatsoever. They focus on the disaster and never tell the full story in anything.

Aug 29 2023

Idalia Now Forecast to Become Major Intensity Hurricane Approaching Florida West Coast Wednesday


Posted originally on the CTH on August 28, 2023 | Sundance 

Forecast updates provide a mix of good and bad news. [National Hurricane Center] On the good side, Idalia looks like she will be fast in forward movement as she arrives in Florida.  On the bad side of the updates Idalia will be bigger, stronger, and the faster forward movement means the hurricane will be felt further inland potentially into southern Georgia.  All advance preparations should be moved to completion within the next 48 hours.

Remember, you are in control.  There is no need for panic or dark imaginings. Calm, prudent preparations should be taken if you are in the zone of uncertainty.  Specific interests in the Tampa/St Pete region should be playing close attention.  A a lot of change in impact zone can happen quickly with these northerly moving storms. Storm surge is expected to be significant.

[National Hurricane Center] – ..”At 700 AM CDT (1200 UTC), the center of Tropical Storm Idalia was located near latitude 20.6 North, longitude 85.2 West. Idalia is moving toward the north near 8 mph (13 km/h). A northward motion is expected through tonight, followed by a faster north-northeast motion on Tuesday and Wednesday. On the forecast track, the center of Idalia is forecast to pass near or over western Cuba tonight, over the extreme southeastern Gulf of Mexico by early Tuesday, and reach the Gulf coast of Florida on Wednesday.

Maximum sustained winds are near 65 mph (100 km/h) with higher gusts. Idalia is forecast to become a hurricane later today and a dangerous major hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico by early Wednesday.”.. (more)

Idalia will come fast, now predicted to make landfall as a category 3+ hurricane.  Those in the cone of uncertainty should pay attention, and people in the Tampa and St Pete region who have really lucked out in the past 30 years, should pay very close attention.

I hope you will understand why my proactive tips, advice and planning have modified since our experience with the September 2022 Hurricane, Ian. {Go Deep} Thankfully Idalia is not expected to be anything similar to slow moving Ian.   Prior preparation advice remains solid and follows below.

In my last set of proactive suggestions, {GO DEEP HERE} I focused first and foremost on something few discuss, mental capability.  Due to what I witnessed in Hurricane Ian with the people of the area, I am always going to put this into the analysis now to provide consideration that few understand.  I saw Ian break strong people down and create a PTSD demographic I have never experienced before.

What follows below are things to consider if you are prepping for a hurricane impact and/or deciding whether to stay in your home or evacuate.  Standard hurricane preparations should always be followed.  Protect your family, secure your property and belongings, and prepare for the aftermath.

This is not a message of alarm. This is a message of prudent action that can assist your consideration, as each person evaluates their situation. What you do before the hurricane hits is going to determine where you are in the recovery phase.

Additionally, and this should be emphasized and discussed within your family, if you cannot be self-sufficient in the aftermath – for any reason, then you should evacuate.  Self-sufficiency in this context requires being able to cope for up to several weeks:

(1) potentially without power; (2) potentially without potable running water (3) potentially without internet service; (4) potentially without communication outside the region; and (5) with limited municipal and private sector assistance.   If you decide you cannot deal with these outcomes, you should evacuate.

Additionally, as a family or individual, you should also honestly evaluate:

(1) your physical abilities; (2) your emotional and psychological ability to withstand extreme pressures; and (3) your comfort in losing daily routines, familiar schedules and often overlooked things you might take for granted.

Post hurricane recovery is fraught with stress, frustration and unforeseeable challenges.  {GO DEEP}

For those in the cone of uncertainty, remember, planning and proactive measures taken now can significantly reduce stress in the days ahead.  Plan when to make the best decision on any evacuation (if needed). For now, consider Tuesday night the decision timeframe. As a general rule: take cover from wind – but evacuate away from water.

DAY ONE (Sunday)

  • Determine Your Risk
  • Make a Written Plan
  • Develop and Evacuation Plan
  • Inventory hurricane/storm supplies.

DAY TWO (Monday)

  • Get Storm Update
  • Assemble and Purchase Hurricane Supplies
  • Contact Insurance Company – Updates
  • Secure Important Papers.
  • Strengthen and Secure Your Home √
  • Make Evacuation plan for your Family.

DAY THREE (Tuesday)

  • Get Storm Update
  • Re-Evaluate your Supplies based on storm update.
  • Finish last minute preparation.
  • Assist Your Neighbors
  • If Needed – Tuesday night – Evacuate Your Family

Communication is important.  Update your contact list. Stay in touch with family and friends, let them know your plans. Select a single point of contact for communication from you that all others can then contact for updates if needed.  Today/tomorrow are good days to organize your important papers, insurance forms, personal papers and place them in one ‘ready-to-go’ location.

Evaluate your personal hurricane and storm supplies; update and replace anything you might have used. Assess, modify and/or update any possible evacuation plans based on your location, and/or any changes to your family status.

Check your shutters and window coverings; test your generator; re-organize and familiarize yourself with all of your supplies and hardware. Check batteries in portable tools; locate tools you might need; walk your property to consider what you may need to do based on the storms path. All decisions are yours. You are in control.

Consider travel plans based on roads and traffic density. Being proactive now helps to keep any future stress level low. You are in control. If you have pets, additional plans may be needed.

One possible proactive measure is to make a list of hotels further inland that you would consider evacuating to.  Make that list today and follow updates of the storms’ progress.

Depending on information later today, tomorrow you might call in advance and make a reservation; you can always cancel if not needed.  It is better to have a secondary evacuation place established in advance.  Being proactive reduces stress.  Even if you wait until much later to cancel, it is better to pay a cancellation fee (usually one night charge) than to not have a plan on where to go.   Trust me, it’s worth it.

Protect your family. Make the list of possibilities today, make the booking decision in the next 24 hrs.

Look over the National Hurricane Center resources for planning assistance.

If you do not handle stress well, leave.

If you cannot be self-sufficient in the aftermath, leave.

If you choose to stay pay super close attention to the exact path of the storm.  A few miles make a massive difference when you are dealing with the possibility of encountering the eyewall of a hurricane.

This is a fury of nature, a battle where the odds are against you, that you may or may not be aware you are contemplating when you are choosing to stay or evacuate.  It’s not the hurricane per se’, it’s that much smaller killer buzzsaw – the eyewall- that you are rolling the dice, never to see.

When it comes to the eyewall, the truest measure of the “cone of uncertainty“, the difference between scared out of your mind (victim) and a fight to avoid death (survivor), is literally a matter of a few miles. And there ain’t no changing your mind once it starts.

The worst part of the storm surge will happen immediately to the south of the arriving storm.  The onshore winds will push the water.  Fortunately, with Idalia, it will likely be only one tidal cycle in duration as the storm is moving quickly.

♦ Hardening your home is a matter of careful thought and physical work.  However, every opening into your structure must be protected, leaving yourself with one small exit opportunity just in case. Hopefully you have a bolted door with no glass windows you can use as an emergency exit.  If not, select a small window and leave only enough room uncovered for you to get out in case of emergency or structural collapse.

Beyond the ordinary supplies like drinking water, batteries, flashlights, battery or hand-crank radio, generators, gasoline, etc.  Evaluate the scale of what you have against the likelihood of weeks without power or water.   A few pro tips below:

♦ You can always tell those people who have been through direct hurricane impacts by how they park their cars. If you lose your Florida garage door, you will more than likely lose your roof.  [Example Here] That’s just the reality of having a massive opening in your structure to 150 mph winds that will lift the trusses.

If you have two vehicles, put one vehicle inside the garage with the front bumper against the door to help stop the flex (do this carefully).  Put the other vehicle outside blocking the garage door facing down the driveway or facing parallel to the garage.  The goal is to use the aero dynamics of the car to push the wind away from the door and provide protection.

Purchase a cheap car cover to protect the outside vehicle and/or use old blankets (cable ties, bungee cords) to stop the outside vehicle from getting sandblasted and destroyed.  Place double folded corrugated cardboard in front of the radiator to protect it from storm debris.  [Example: A five-inch piece of asphalt roof shingle sliced through the grill of my truck during Ian and embedded in the radiator like a razor blade. I found it when the truck overheated.]

Additionally, if you live in a flood zone, or if you are concerned about storm surge, the day before impact take your #1 car to the nearest airport or hotel with a parking garage and park in the upper levels.  Take an uber back home if you don’t have a friend or partner to help you.  This way you know you will have one workable vehicle, just in case.

♦ Throw all of your patio furniture in the swimming pool if you cannot bring it inside.  You can also use your pool water and a bucket to manually flush the toilets after the storm.  Also dump extra chlorine into the pool because if your power goes out your pump will not run.  The pool will turn into an algae filled mess quickly.

♦ Put three clean and sanitized 30-gallon trash cans in the shower and fill them with water before the storm.  This will give you 90 gallons of water for cooking and personal hygiene.  You will also need water to manually flush your toilets (if you have a swimming pool, use that water).  Bottled water is great for drinking, hydrating and toothbrushing, but you will need much more potable water if the municipal supply is compromised or broken.

♦ A standard 6,500-to-8,500-watt generator will run for approximately 8 hours on five gallons of gasoline.   Do not run it all the time.  Turn it on, chill the fridge, make coffee, use the microwave or charge stuff, then turn it off.  Do this in 4-hour shifts and the fridge will be ok and your gasoline will last longer.  Gasoline is a scarce and rare commodity in the aftermath of a hurricane.  Gas stations don’t work without power.  Check the oil in the generator every few days.  Also, have a can of quick start or butane available in case the generator starts acting up.

♦ Extension cords.  If you are purchasing them buy at least one 50 to 100′ extension cord with a triple ponytail.  This way you can use one cord into a central location to charge up your electronic devices.  Establish a central recharging station for phones, pads, laptops, and rechargeable stuff.

♦ Purchase a box of “contractor garbage bags” and just keep them in the garage.  These are large, thick, industrial trash bags that fit 40-gallon drums (Home Depot or Lowes). They can be used for trash, or even cut open for tarps in the aftermath of a storm.  These thick mil contractor bags have multiple uses following a hurricane.

♦ Do all of your laundry before the hurricane hits.  You will likely not have the ability again for a few weeks.

♦ Fill any empty freezer space with bottled water, remove some water to allow for expansion beforehand.  You can move those frozen jugs of water into the fridge to help keep temp down after storm, if no power.

♦ Cook a week’s worth of meals in advance of the hurricane. Store in fridge so you can microwave for a meal.  Eating a constant diet of sandwiches gets old after the first week.  Dinty Moore canned beef stew and or Chef-boy-ardee raviolis can make a nice break…. anything, except another sandwich.

♦ Have bleach for use in disinfecting stuff before and after a hurricane.  Also have antibiotics and antiseptics for use.  Hygiene and not getting simple infections after a hurricane is critical and often forgotten.  Again, this is where the extra potable water becomes important.  Simple cuts and scrapes become big deals when clean potable water is not regularly available.  Keep your scrapes and abrasions clean and use antiseptic creams immediately.

♦ Do not forget sunscreen and things to relieve muscle aches and pains.  Hurricane recovery involves physical effort.  You will be sore and/or exposed to the elements.  Remember, it’s all about self-sufficiency because the normal services are not available.  A well-equipped first aid kit is a must have.

♦ Buy a small camping stove.  Nothing big or expensive, just something you can cook on outside in case of emergency.  It will be a luxury when you are 2+ weeks without power and all the stores and restaurants are closed for miles.

♦ Those small flashlights that you can strap around your head that take a few AAA batteries?  Yup, GOLD.  Those types of handsfree flashlights are lifesavers inside and outside when you need to see your way around.  Nighttime is especially dark without electricity in the entire town.  Doing stuff like filling a generator with gasoline in the middle of the night is much easier with one of those head strap flashlights.  Strongly advise getting a few, they’re inexpensive too.

♦ Cash.  You will need it.  Without power anything you may need to purchase will require cash, especially gasoline.  Additionally, anyone you hire to help or support your immediate efforts will need to be paid.  Cash is critical.  How much, depends on your individual situation, but your cash burn rate will likely go into the thousands in the first few days.  Also keep in mind, you may or may not be able to work and without internet access even getting funds into place could be challenging.

♦ Hardware. A box of self-tapping sheet metal screws (short and long) is important, along with a box or two of various wood screws or Tyvex screws.  A battery drill or screw gun is another necessity.  These are for use in securing stuff now, and in temporary repairs after the damage of the storm has subsided. Check all of this stuff during hurricane prep.