New Year's Goals

I thought I would share some of the top goals for preppers for the New Year.  Life has been a bit hectic for me lately, but I have started a few blogs, as you can probably see from my sidebar, and one of my goals is to write everyday on at least one of them.  As I look to the new year, and my prepping, I have some goals that I have set, and I am still in the planning of how to make them happen.  I have listed the top New Year's goals in general, on A List or Two blog, and here are the top Prepper Goals that I could find.  Hope you can set one or two that maybe you haven't already accomplished, and have great success this year in getting your family more prepared for whatever may come your way!

• Get water storage
• Set up a weekly preparedness buying plan - you could read further on this blog because I have that all right here for you
• Set up a monthly preparedness plan - one month heating, one water, one shelter, etc
• Food storage
• Including family and friends
• 72 hr emergency kits
• Organize storage room - this is one of my big ones!
• Gardening
• Making home made items - like cheese
• Learning a new skill
• Beginning - make a plan to get prepared
• Learning to can
• Install a wood burning stove - also one of my goals
• Learn some self defense
• Purchase a generator - learn how to use it
• Go camping more - to practice skills
• Get physically fit - to endure more
• Make a bug out plan
• Practice more with preparedness tools
• Put together a preparedness binder of info and personal info
• Plant some fruit trees
• Raise chickens or goats
• Set up a bug out location
• Alternate forms of medication
• Take a first aid class
• Purchase some good tools
• Get it all organized

 Well there you have some great goal ideas for the coming year!  I will try to be much more faithful at keeping this blog full of information for you all, and myself as I work on my own goals.  Good luck with the New Year 2014 and may you NOT have to use all of the preparedness tools and supplies that you have worked so hard to get!

Ants and Grasshoppers

Have you ever seen the movie, ANTZ? I recently watched it and was kind of amazed at the parallel that I drew relating the ants and the grasshoppers to the world we live in today!

In this movie the ants are really hard workers and work all season long in order to lay up food for the winter months ahead when they can stay underground until spring again. The grasshoppers on the other hand, don't think they need to do anything to prepare for the winter months ahead, because they just take what they want from the ants and don't give any thought to the hard work that the ants have put into preparing enough for their own colonies to survive.

I have heard of the analogy of the ants and the grasshoppers, but didn't really relate too much to it until I really started thinking about this particular movie.

We live in a world that is full of people who are saying, why worry about setting aside a reserve of food or supplies? There will always be food available, and even if there isn't some day, we will just take it from those who have put some away.

I hear these kinds of things all of the time. People are always telling me that they feel like they don't need to worry, after all what could bring down the food chain enough that there would not be food available? We live in a thriving country, with a great economy, why worry? I kind of get to the point of feeling that if they don't want to listen to me, then I don't have time to waste on them! I know that this isn't the way we should feel, however, that is the way I feel.

Another way people (grasshoppers) respond is to tell me over and over that I am just someone that thrives off of fear and wants to make others feel that way too. Not so! We are told over and over in the scriptures that if we are prepared we shall not fear! Then we are also told in the scripture that we should watch for the signs of the times and be prepared, lest we be caught unawares, like in the parable of the Ten Virgins. Five were waiting and watching, prepared with oil in their lamps, and five procrastinated the preparations, and were caught unawares, and then when the bridegroom came, they were not permitted into the wedding, because they were not prepared.

So who are we? Are we the ants or the grasshoppers? Are we the five prepared or the five procrastinators, who think that at the last minute we will be able to run out and gather our emergency preparedness supplies, and food storage supplies?

The grasshoppers mock the ants for being such hard workers and putting up so much food. The five prepared virgins were mocked and laughed at by the five foolish, because they were prepared. But then in the end, the five foolish wanted the five prepared to share, and they could not, or they would not have been allowed in either.

We can choose to listen to those who procrastinate, we can choose to listen to those who mock or think others silly for preparing, or being “alarmists”. But reality is, in the end, we will be the ones who are sitting “comfortable” in a manner of speaking. They will be the ones who are coming to us asking for help. We just need to trust in our inner self. Listen to what we know is right. And act – work as hard and as quickly as we can to lay up enough stores, for the day will soon come that we will need those stores – if we don't already.

Don't succumb to the pressure of the grasshoppers. We are tiny ants in this big wide world of grasshoppers, but we will come out the winners in the end. So put a smile on your face, and keep moving forward. Push on, and get prepared, and then we have no need to fear.

Disasters and Why We Should Prepare!

Watch for part two coming this week to tell us what we should prepare!

I put together this video on why we should prepare,  the world is kind of a crazy place and this only summarizes a small part of it!

Pandemics

I have been thinking a bit on pandemics again. I know that the “Swine Flu” pandemic we experienced a couple of years ago, turned out to be not too bad. It received much hype and media coverage. Many people scoffed at the governments for making such a big deal out of “nothing”, so to speak. I watched many who took it very seriously and took the opportunity to get a bit more prepared with their pandemic preparations. There was such a controversy over the difference of opinions in whether or not to get vaccinated. It was a bit of a crazy time.

I personally took the opportunity to get more prepared with my preparations that involved anything to do with pandemics. I took the opportunity to learn more about vaccinations and how viruses spread. It was a great learning experience, and an even better trial run. That is probably the most important thing that we could have gained from it, was knowledge of just how fast a virus can travel around the world, and what we should have in our homes to be prepared for when it happens again, because it will happen again!

I would like to go over a few things today that have to do specifically with pandemics.

There are some things that you should have on hand in your homes. N95 masks are probably one of the most important things to have. However, you should be aware that they do have an expiry date. The masks themselves, don't expire, but the elastic that holds them onto your face will over time, break down and eventually it won't hold anymore.

Medical gloves are another thing that are really good to have in your supplies. They are great for dealing with sick members of the family, and also for cleaning and disinfecting in your home.

Hand sanitizer will go a long way to killing germs that always get on our hands. We should always wash with a really good soap and hot water, and then use some hand sanitizer. When we are out in the community, at school, work, or other we should always have some hand sanitizer with us. Our hands are the first place that will pick up a virus that is lingering on a door handle, counter top, or other hard surface area. If we can kill it before it reaches our mouth, nose, or eyes, we will be a great source of helping to eradicate the virus.

A few other items to have on hand would include

for cleaning, food and water to quarantine if necessary, vitamins, and medications.

A pandemic situation could usually will last for two or three months and will come in two or three waves as it travels around the world. The government is usually pretty quick with coming up with a vaccination. Here is a pretty controversial topic. Vaccinations! I personally think that there are vaccinations that are good to get, and then there are those that don't make a big enough difference, that it is worth the risk of taking them. I strongly suggest that everyone do their own research and make their own decisions. Be careful of the websites that you get your information from. Some are obviously very strongly pro or con for the vaccinations, but I suggest that you look carefully at both sides of the argument and then decide from there which vaccines you choose to get. Thank goodness it is still a choice for us. I don't know how long this will remain as a choice, but for now we do have the option.

I guess my worst fear for a pandemic is one of biological warfare, where an enemy would actually let loose a virus with the intent to spread and kill as many people as possible. It is a very real threat, one that we should all consider. Then there are also the bird flu variations that seem to be mutating on a pretty regular basis.  Point being that we shouldn't let our guard down.  I know many people who believed that the Swine Flu was just so hyped up, that I am sure when another pandemic swings around, they probably won't even pay any attention to it.  I, however, will watch and pay very careful attention because I am sure that the Swine Flu was just a practice run for us all.  What did we learn?  What did we do about it?

There are some really good sites with info on pandemics and preparations - 

This is a good site here  it give some good info.

I really like Prepared LDS Family they have some good reads.  This link takes you to their suggestions for pandemic preparedness

And finally here is a great link from Ready.gov  they have some great info and good publications that you can get to learn a bit more about what you can do to get prepared for the next one, which could be a big one.

Learn what you need to, and prepare what you should so that when, not if, the next pandemic strikes, you will be ready for it.  Don't look at the last one we had as a big hype and nothing to serious.  It was very serious, and it should have opened our eyes to just how fast our lives can be changed.  One very small virus could take down a huge portion of the world's population in a very short time. 

52 Weeks for One Year Supply

52 Weeks

One Year supply for two people

Thought some of you may want this.  I have had a few requests for it.  It is also in the Personal Preparedness Portfolio as a part of the Long Term Self Reliance Module.

Week 1

8 cans of your favorite soup

8 rolls of toilet paper

8 cans tomatoes or sauce

Week 2

8 cans of meat (tuna, salmon, chicken, etc.)

25 lbs of sugar or honey

3 boxes of saltine crackers

Week 3

8 lbs of salt

25 lbs of pasta

1 gallon of cooking oil

Week 4

2 months worth of laundry soap

8 cans fruit

extra batteries of all sizes you would need

Week 5

25 lbs of rice or other grains that you eat

8 cans of meat

3 months worth of seasonings and spices

Week 6

8 cans vegetables

Fruit drink to make 30 quarts

Beef, chicken, or other bouillon for 3 months

Week 7

25 lbs flour

8 rolls of toilet paper

any special diet foods you need – 3 months worth

Week 8

8 cans soup

dish soap for 3 months

comfort foods for 3 months – chocolate chips, etc

Week 9

25 lbs pasta

8 cans meat

8 cans tomatoes or sauce

Week 10

30 lbs beans / legumes

8 rolls toilet paper

3 months worth of seasonings

Week 11

20 lbs rolled oats

2 months of laundry soap

water purification tablets

Week 12

3 months of dish soap

fruit drink mix for 30 quarts

bandaids and bandages of all sizes and other first aid supplies

Week 13

6 months worth of vitamins

25 lbs sugar

2 gallons bleach

Week 14

shampoo and conditioner for 6 months

8 cans of meat

3 months of special dietary foods you might need

Week 15

25 lbs grains / flour

8 rolls toilet paper

fire extinguisher for home

Week 16

25 lbs rice

10 lbs powdered milk

1 gallon vinegar

Week 17

25 lbs pasta

8 cans tomatoes or sauce

1 lb each baking soda, baking powder, yeast

Week 18

2 months laundry soap

8 cans vegetables

3 months comfort foods

Week 19

8 rolls toilet paper

8 cans fruit

batteries in multiple sizes

Week 20

25 lbs flour / grains

8 cans soup

duct tape and rope of various sizes

Week 21

8 cans fruit

8 rolls toilet paper

3 months seasonings

work gloves for all members of family

Week 22

2 months laundry soap

25 lbs rolled oats

1 gallon vinegar

Week 23

30 lbs beans / legumes

5 jars peanut butter

3 months comfort foods

Week 24

20 lbs pasta

2 gallons oil or shortening

rubber gloves, garbage bags, paper towels for six months

Week 25

8 rolls toilet paper

8 cans meat

bouillon cubes / powder for 6 months

Week 26

25 lbs grains / flour

1 gallon vinegar

water purification tablets

Week 27

16 cans tomato sauce

8 rolls toilet paper

3 months of special dietary foods

Week 28

2 months laundry soap

8 lbs salt

2 gallons bleach

Week 29

3 months dish soap

25 lbs flour / grains

hand sanitizer, soap

survival knife or multi-tool

Week 30

8 cans vegetables

6 jars jam

emergency light sticks, matches, candles

Week 31

6 jars jam

16 cans / jars tomato sauce

tylenol, aspirin, other pain meds – 6 months worth

Week 32

8 cans fruit

25 lbs sugar

case to store and organize first aid supplies

Week 33

8 cans vegetables

30 lbs rice

laytex gloves, ipecac, antacids, disposable wipes

first aid book

Week 34

8 cans fruit

25 lbs flour / grains

3 months comfort foods

Week 35

8 cans tomatoes or sauce

30 lbs beans / legumes

1 gallon vinegar

Week 36

8 cans soup

25 lbs rolled oats

kleenex, bandaids, paper towels for six months

Week 37

8 cans meat

8 rolls toilet paper

bouillon cubes / powder for 3 months

Week 38

2 months laundry soap

fruit drink mix to make 30 quarts

3 months special dietary needs

Week 39

25 lbs grains / flour

8 cans fruit

batteries of all sizes

Week 40

8 cans soup

30 lbs beans / legumes

bandages and allergy medications, n95 masks

Week 41

25 lbs pasta

8 rolls toilet paper

cold and flu meds

Week 42

8 cans vegetables4

25 lbs sugar or honey

extra toothbrushes, paste, floss, for 1 year

Week 43

30 lbs rice

3 months dish soap

6 months cleaning supplies

Week 44

25 lbs flour / grains

8 cans meat

Miscellaneous toiletries for 6 months

Week 45

20 lbs pasta

8 rolls toilet paper

3 months comfort foods

Week 46

8 cans soup

10 lbs powdered milk

1 gallon vinegar

Week 47

8 rolls toilet paper

2 gallons oil

3 months seasonings

Week 48

20 lbs pasta

8 cans fruit

2 gallons bleach or bleach wipes

Week 49

6 months vitamins

fruit drink mix for 30 quarts

5 jars peanut butter

Week 50

25 lbs grains / flour

8 rolls toilet paper

8 cans tomatoes or sauce

Week 51

8 cans vegetables

8 cans soup

extra toiletries & sanitation supplies for 6 months

Week 52

25 lbs rolled oats

1 lb each baking powder, soda, yeast

5 jars peanut butter

Personal Preparedness Portfolio

Hey everyone, I have finally finished what I am calling

your

Personal Preparedness Portfolio!

 You can see what it is all about by following the link.  

It is a workbook portfolio that has literally hundreds and hundreds of hours invested into making it everything that you need to help you on your journey to becoming more self reliant in three main areas:

Emergency Preparedness

Short Term Self Reliance

Long Term Self Reliance

I am charging a small fee for the purchase of this mini course.  I really am hoping to see thousands of people become more prepared through the use of this information!  My goal is to help as many as possible, wherever in the world they are.

There are other home preparedness courses out there that cost hundreds of dollars, and I am selling this for only $25 as a download, or $50 flat rate for a mailed hard copy, only in Canada or the United States.  Anywhere else in the world will need to order the downloaded version.

Please share this with anyone that you know, who could use this information.  It will save them a lot of time and frustration trying to get themselves prepared and organized, if they will just order this guide.

Thanks for your support!!!

Davilyn

June 2013 what's been happening in the world?

Here are some things to think about.  Any one of these events is bad enough, and these kinds of things have been happening forever, but all of these, plus more, at the same time?  This is only a sampling of what is happening all over the world.  I didn't add in the mass animal deaths, or much of the political unrest or the wars, or even all of the disasters, because there just is not enough of me to go and figure it all out.  This post would be really, really long.  But I did gather a few of the events that have happened just in June - last month.

Keep in mind the ripple effects that all of these events are going to have.  Disease, no power, famine, lost lives, destroyed crops, destroyed cities, skyrocket cost of living, and so much more.  The devastation is almost too great for my mind to even understand.  

All I can say, is are we prepared for what comes our way?  Because given the stats of what is happening everyday, somewhere, it is only a matter of time before we experience something?  I know we have had some flooding here where I live, but it is nothing compared to what it could have been.  We were really blessed here in Medicine Hat.  Not so for our neighbors, just up the river, and even down from us.  They all got hit pretty hard.

Okay so now onto some of the things that have been happening for the month of June. 

Oklahoma had the two largest tornadoes on history both EF5 and the largest one was 2.5 miles wide at the base and was 300 miles / hour

2^nd rain and major blooding across entire Europe, torrential rain and many landslides

2^nd 6.3 earthquake in Taiwan – felt in Hong Kong 7000 km away

3^rd Austria has river of snow

6^th China – strong winds and rains causing massive flooding

8^th Still massive flooding in Europe – highest levels in 400 years – Germany, Poland, Slovakia, and many others

8^th America extreme flooding and rain on East coastline

9^th 5.7 mag earthquake in Australia

9^th France – rare tornado waterspout

10 tornadoes spotted on the sun

12^th across the mid west and eastern seaboard 300 storm reports, wall of wind, flash flooding, tornadoes, hail – a line of strong thunder storms – over 10,000 lightening strikes in one hour

17^th torrential rains and flooding sweeping away buildings in India

17^th 5.8 quake in Mexico City

18^th France and Spain savage storms and flooding, tornadoes, flash flooding – this years harvest in many vineyards ruined due to hail

20^th India flooding continues – at least 1000 dead – landslides have washed away roads and buildings

20^th heavy rain in Switzerland and France – strong winds and flash flooding

20^th Western U.S – dozens of wildfires burning – extreme drought

20^th Massive protests – civil unrest against government – millions of people

20^th Alberta flooding – states of emergencies in dozens of cities and towns – 6 months worth of rain in less than 2 days

20^th New Zealand – worst storms in years with 200 km / hr winds

22^nd Colorado exploding wildfires everywhere

26^th Australia rainfall tripled the average June rainfall in less than 3 days – massive flooding

26^th Supreme Court Ruling in America for gay rights – struck down the law that says marriage is between a man and a woman – all for equal rights

30^th Florida Court House monument built - an Atheist monument

30^th 20 plus million in civil unrest in Egypt – government protests

30^th Death Valley in California reaches 50 degrees Celsius or 125 degrees Fahrenheit

30^th torrential hailstorms and rain cause more massive flooding in China – one hailstorm lasted for 10 minutes

30^th more record breaking rain in Australia

Why Food Storage?

Here is an excerpt from the self reliance manual that I have been working on.  It just gives us one more reality check as to why we really should have food storage.  It also gives a reality check into one more reason why we should all be striving really hard and fast to become more self reliant.  This self reliance manual, which I am calling the Personal Preparedness Portfolio, should be available by next week sometime.  It is in the 1st draft editing phase right now.   

Why Food Storage?

It's time that we open our eyes a little to the infrastructure of our food distribution system. We have thousands of growers and suppliers, that work together with thousands of distributors, and send food to literally millions of retailers, who in turn sell the food to billions of consumers. Now this system seems to work quite smoothly, but what if one day, some small part of it crashed? Do you think it would affect you, as one of the billions of consumers? Let's take a look at just what could happen.

We have all heard that any one grocery store has at the most a one week supply of stock on hand. Most wouldn't last three days before they run out of food, if for some reason the truck wasn't bringing them their supplies.  I actually know people who believe that they will always be able to go to the store to get what they want. They don't think they should have to grow a garden because they can buy everything. They don't think that the weather has a factor in what they can buy at the store. 

Let's back up a bit to where the food is actually produced. Most of our food starts by being grown at some farmer's field. The farmers who grow the wheat, corn, vegetables, and all of the many other thousands of things, are greatly impacted by the weather. Drought, flooding, bug infestations, crop disease, freezing weather, and even the price of purchasing the seed, or watering the crops can all have a very serious impact on whether or not the farmers are able to produce enough food to keep the infrastructure up and functioning at maximum capacity.  We are always hearing in the news of how millions of acres are being wiped out due to flooding, fire, or drought.  We hear of devastating hard frosts that kill millions of fruit crops or vegetable crops, in places where they have never had frost before.  We hear of food shortages all over the world, where countries have stopped exporting foods like rice and some grains, because they are keeping it all to feed their own people.  We hear of hundreds and thousands of farmers who can't even get their crops planted because of bad weather, and it creates a growing season that will be too short to plant and harvest.  We hear of farmers who have just walked away from their harvest for the year, whether it is fruit, vegetables, or grain because it is too expensive to use pest control, therefore the crop rots in the field.  Farmers far and wide having their entire crops destroyed by hail. And, farmers who simply can not afford the price of the seed, pesticides, fertilizer, and fuel to plant and harvest their crops, so they fold.

Could the farmer's at the bottom of the ladder, bring down the food distribution system? Absolutely! We are on the brink of some very serious problems! 

The reality of our food distribution system, is that we rely 100% on farmer's for pretty much everything we consume, and if for any reason the common farmer isn't able to produce what we need them to produce, it could have a very real impact on our system. Whether in shortages or extreme high prices, or more likely both, it would affect us just the same.

Let's look at a few other factors that come into play.

Here is one of many headlines that show how easily and quickly our food distribution can be interrupted. This one is from the HuffPost very shortly after Hurricane Sandy.

Hurricane Sandy Disrupts Food Distribution, 'Thousands Of Trucks' In Limbo From the Huff Post

“Thousands of truckloads of food that were headed for stores in the Northeast are stuck on roadsides and in warehouses following the crippling blow Hurricane Sandy dealt to the nation's food distribution system.

Though the system is struggling in the face of uncertainty, no one who spoke to HuffPost on Tuesday was concerned about short-term food shortages or a storm-related increase in prices across the region. Still, the hurricane demonstrates just how complex and vulnerable the networks are that deliver America's food supply. “

I had mentioned earlier that if the trucks stopped bringing food to the stores, most stores would be completely out of food within one week or less. Could this really happen? What might stop the trucks from traveling down the road? 

Trucks depend on the road infrastructure, rail cars, airports, shipping ports, technology, refrigeration, warehousing, and many other things. One example: what would happen if the price of fuel were to double or triple? This would double or triple the price of the transportation costs, just for the trucks to roll down the road. You can count on the fact that this would also double or triple the end price of the goods that we purchase in the store. 

Another thing that high fuel prices could cause, is a trucker's strike. Have you ever experienced one of these? When the trucks go on strike, and they refuse to move any produce, it has a pretty huge ripple effect. Produce that usually needs refrigeration, and has a short deadline to get to where it needs to be, often sits and goes rotten. There is large amounts of waste, which of course will increase prices. Also, remember that I mention that if stores don't have their regular supplies, they will be forced to close their doors within one week. I have witnessed this personally due to a truckers strike, and within 48 hours of the announcement of the strike, all of the major grocery stores, and most of the little stores, had their shelves completely emptied and closed their doors until further notice. People panicked and bought anything and everything that might keep them going until the strike was over.

So in short, if there were a disruption in the distribution of goods, food would not get from the producer to the factories, and then from factories to stores. Items would rot, and without a doubt, in the end we the consumers, pay the higher price that would come.

The honey bee, is another factor that could have a great impact on our food system. Most of us think of these bees as a nuisance, and they are, but they are vital to our food infrastructure and they are threatened right now with becoming extinct. Bee population is dropping at a drastic rate, and it is because of a disease called Colony Collapse Disorder. This has caused the population to decrease by 2/3 of what it was 50 years ago. It is a disease that causes a colony or beehive, to suddenly collapse into chaos, and eventually they all die. After much study from scientists, they have determined that the more likely causes for this are things like mite infestations, and viruses, such as Colony Collapse Disorder . I have heard that GMO crops, or cell phones are the cause, but scientists have eliminated both of these concerns. The viruses that they have discovered that are traveling through the bee population, cause the bees to become paralyzed, or born with defects, which in turn causes their death.

So reality to us as the end consumers, bee's don't just produce honey, they are a huge part of the pollination process that takes place in the farmer's field, and in the orchards that produce our fruit. If the bees die, our crops don't produce, and we, the end consumer, don't have the produce in the stores that we are used to. The bee's are a very important part of our ecosystem, and any time we lose a species in the ecosystem, there are bound to be large ripple effects. So next time you hear about the bee population becoming close to extinction, pay a little closer attention and see what you can learn and do about it.

What about war, oil, climate change, and politics, do you think they have an impact on our food distribution system? The systems that produce the world's supply of food are very dependent on fossil fuels. Gas and oil are used in every aspect of food production, from the growing of the raw materials, transportation, processing, packaging, and delivering the end product. From the farmer's equipment, to plant and fertilize the crops, to the trains, boats, and trucks that ship it to the end consumer and everything in between, our society is so dependent on fossil fuels. This system is also the largest producer of greenhouse gases that are destroying our environment and creating such extreme weather patterns. It is kind of a crazy conundrum. We are creating the extreme weather that is causing destruction to our crops, by using fossil fuels to process the crops and bring them to us the end consumer. It is not one of those win win situations. It seems that we are caught in a viscous cycle that we had better start thinking of ways to get out of.

 

War will always have drastic ripple effects, which often are things like famine, disease, poverty, and economic challenges. Without a doubt the transportation and food distribution would be affected.  Nobody wins in a war.  We may "wahoo" that the good guys are winning a war, but really are they?  What about the devastation left behind?  If war were to come to our continent, we would not be spared the after effects of it, just like every other nation that goes through it.  And I believe it is only a matter of time until we shall see much of these challenges right here in our own free land.  We just can not continue the way we are going and not expect to see some of the unrest that is so evident in pretty much the rest of the world. 

The miracle of the food distribution system that feeds us all, is very fragile.  It wouldn't take  very much to have some pretty serious ripple effects.  And it is already taking more than it should.  It is wobbling right now, on the verge of toppling over!  

What are you doing about it?  I know that it is easy to fall into that comfortable chair in front of our television sets and forget about real world stuff.  I get that!  But let's not do that people!  Don't become idle and forget what we should be doing.  Keep focused on our priorities, which may be different for me than you.  But focus none the less.  We really don't have time to waste on things that won't bring about our temporal or spiritual well being.

 

Disaster Facts

Just thought I would share a few disaster stats with you today.  Tomorrow I will start posting some ideas for preparedness.  Perhaps a few that might get you thinking outside the box - a little extreme perhaps, and then of course the ones that should be just normal common sense to most of us, but that others perhaps don't even consider.  For now....

Here are a few disaster facts from www.dosomething.org :

• Between 2000 – 2012, natural disasters caused $1.7 trillion in damage and affected 2.9 billion people.
• Worldwide in 2011, there were 154 floods, 16 droughts, and 15 cases of extreme temperature
• 2012 marked the third consecutive year of worldwide natural disaster damage exceeding $100 billion. 2011 reached a record high of $371 billion
• 1.1 million people have been killed by natural disasters between 2000 and 2012
• Floods are the most widespread natural disaster aside from wildfires. 90 percent of all US natural disasters involve some sort of flooding
• In 2012 there were 905 natural catastrophes worldwide including severe storms, droughts, tornadoes, earthquakes, floods, hail storms, typhoons, wildfires, and hurricanes
• Nearly 50 percent of the fatalities caused by natural disasters in 2012 were due to hydrological events like flooding or mass movements

www.factmonster.com

• US has sustained 123 weather related disasters alone during 1980 – 2012 with overall costs exceeding $1 billion – 12 of these occurring in 2011 and 11 occurring in 2012

www.disasterium.com

• Floods are the number one deadly disaster in the US accounting for over 46 percent of disaster related deaths
• Up to 10,000 people die per years as a result of an earthquake

A disaster can devastate a community and the after affects can lead to drought, famine and disease. The understanding the facts about disasters can help to make sense of what is occurring.

Www.naturaldisasterfacts.net

• each year around 250,000 people die from Natural Disasters. Once a Natural Disaster is in full swing there is no stopping it.

Www.nobodyleftbehind2.org is another great website that has done research on natural disasters and man made disasters and the facts about them. Here are a few facts about the man made disasters:

“There are countless types of man-made disasters happening daily, including industrial accidents, chemical leaks, oil spills and accidental and deliberately set fires. All of these disasters affect the health and safety of workers, health care and safety personnel, and the general public and can cost millions of dollars.”

• Nationwide (US) there is a home fire death every 170 minutes
• Fires kill more Americans than all natural disasters combined.

2013 January

Here goes with January disasters and happenings around the world.  This is not a complete list, but it is what I have found thus far.

Here is one of the links that I got some of this info from  Mass Animal Deaths there are quite a few links that show this kind of info.  Kind of crazy how many are happening in the world right now.  I am working on compiling lists for each month just for 2013, of all the natural disasters that are happening.  This doesn't include the political unrest and war in most of the world, and the financial disasters happening in many parts of the world too.  Nor does it even begin to count the many smaller events that happen locally to each of us.  These are numerous.  I have had people tell me time and time again that it is just because we have media now that we know of all of these things.  And to some extent I agree that media makes these events available to us more than ever before.  However, never has there been as much unrest in the whole entire world as there is now.  The whole world is truly in "commotion". 

Disasters of all kinds January 2013

January 1^st – 150,000 lbs of fish found dead in China

2^nd – thousands of fish freeze to death in China

3^rd – hundreds of buffaloes, cows and goats dei from mysterious disease in Pakistan

3^rd – mass fish kill in Thailand

4^th – Heatwave begins in Australia temperatures in the high 40's

4^th – Several thousand dead fish in Oklahoma along lake

4^th – massive fish kill along beaches in New Zealand

4^th – hundreds of ducks suddenly die in Bali

4^th – 30 turtles washed ashore dead in India

4^th – mass fish killed in Florida

4^th – mass fish kill along beach in Kenya

4^th – thousands of dead sardines on shore in Florida

5^th – Earthquake in Alaska 7.5 mag

6^th – thousands of livestock killed by disease in kenya

7^th – 50 baby sharks found dead along beach in Fiji

8^th - record breaking heat in Australia – temps up to 54 degrees in some places

9^th – 284,000 birds killed in Mexico because of Avian flu

9^th – Rare snowstorm in Israel, with severe weather and up to 30 cm of snow in places that have never had snow

9^th – thousands of sheep and cattle killed by wild fires in Australia

9^th – 25,500 ducks and chickens dead in Indonesia

9^th – 770 geese, large number of ducks and fish killed by sewage in China

9^th – 70 red deer deaths in belarus - unexplainable

10^th – Western Australia, huge dust storm and cyclone coming

10^th – dozens of pig die from rare disease in Dominican Repulic

10^th – tonnes of fish dead on beach in Indonesia

10^th – 180,000 cattle dead due to cold weather in northern China

11^th – Southern California – heavy snowfall and winter storm, freezing of many citrus crops

11^th - thousands of dead birds washing up on Michigan's shoreline

11^th – hundreds of thousands of dead fish on Masonboro Island in America

12^th - extreme hot and cold temperatures across America

12^th – Australia still has extreme heat and over 100 fires burning out of control

15 – California coast is rising – biggest arctic ice melt in history

15 – Indiana is flooding

15^th thousands of dead fish washed up in South Carolina

15^th – 30 plus birds found dead in Louisiana

16^th – thousands of fish washed ashore in Masonboro and Rawleys Islands

16^th – 2200 chickens killed due to Avian flu in Nepal

16^th - 2000 fish found dead on shore in Nebraska

17^th - Indonesia – massive flooding

17^th – Fires continue to burn out of control in Australia

17^th – 40,000 fish washed ashore 2^nd time in one week in South Carolina

17^th – thousands of dead fish near Jatiluhur Dam in Indonesia

17^th – countless number of fish found dead on shore in Florida

18^th – more record breaking heat in Australia

18^th – millions of dead fish in Okinawa Japan

18^th – 9000 fish killed due to a viral outbreak in Scotland

18^th – 100 Bats found dead in parklands in Australia

18^th – 12 dolphins, 35 sea lions, 13 pelicans was ashore dead in Peru

18^th – thousands of dead fish on Sarasota beach in Florida

18^th - thousands of ducks die suddenly from bird flu in Indonesia

19^th – Paris, Poland, Croatia, 11 major cities – record breaking snowstorms

21^st – many tonnes of salmon killed due to new disease in Scotland

21^st – Cyclone in Australia

21^st – Freezing temperatures in London and Holland and Germany, freezing rain in Moscow

22^nd – Arctic blast hits America – 50 below – ice and snow in many states

23^rd – Cyclone in Australia creates massive flooding

23^rd - 4000 lbs of dead fish found in ponds in China

23^rd – 280 sea turtles plus lots of fish dead along shores in Costa Rica

24^th – tonnes of freshwater fish dead due to lakes drying up in Australia

24^th – thousands of dead starfish wash ashore in Lincolnshire England

25^th – millions of oysters wiped out by a virus in Australia

25^th – 15 donkeys die of mysterious disease in Chad

25^th – 40,000 fish suddenly die in China

25^th – massive snow storms across America – east coast under ice with drastic drop in temperatures

26^th – Australia still in a state of disaster with flooding

26^th – Africa – torrential rains – massive flooding along river in China

27^th – thousands of birds killed due to avian flu in Cambodia

27^th – fish and other sea creatures found dead in Malaysia

27^th – 70 horses dead from a sickness in South Africa

27^th – fish kill found along river in Philippines

28^th – still flooding in Australia – massive amounts of foam coming in from the ocean

29^th – masses of dead fish found in park ponds in Australia

29^th – dozens of dead seals found on beach in Prince Edward Island

29^th – 420,000 ducks have died from avian flu in Indonesia

29^th – 13 elephants found dead in a forest in Malaysia

30^th – large number of dead fish wash up in Queensland, Australia

30^th – fish kill caused by algae bloom in Texas

30^th - 9272 cattle died in Zimbabwe in one month

30^th – sinkhole in China swallows buildings

30^th – 6.7 earthquake in Chile

30^th – tornadoes in Georgia

31^st – hundreds of birds washing up along coast in England

31^st – hundreds of fish dead in river in Australia

31^st – thousands of fish killed by pollution in China