A Lesson In Being Prepared

Our tornado Monday

We had a tornado touch down about 5 miles north of us on Monday.  While at our home school co op day it was bandied about that we were in for some severe thunderstorms.  After co op, everyone rushed home.  We are mostly rural families, and we had farm chores to accomplish plus animals to feed.

We arrived home and immediately fed the animals, not wanting to risk feeding and putting everyone up for the evening in a downpour.  They evidently knew something was up, because everyone was back by the barn under the overhands, and they were all subdued and behaving.

We came inside early, and good thing.  We could see the storm racing across the sky, and I even pointed out to the kids "see that cloud and the way it is shaped, tornadoes come from those".  Lo, and behold it was actually a tornado.  The wind was high where we were, and the Tyvek wrap on the house was threatening to bust loose, but it held.  We could see the tornado rushing north towards the small town closest to us.  It is a horrible feeling to be so helpless.  Who to call? What to do?

The rain started, so we hunkered down in the container.  It isn't underground, but we have withstood some pretty fierce storms in it, and felt safer than in the house shell.  Our power soon went out, and PH plugged in the generator, because you know we can't miss Swamp People, or Swamp loggers, or whatever was on the television.  The kids were watching "City of Ember" on the laptop, and I was checking Facebook on my phone.  Soon the play by play of the storm unfolded via Facebook.  Those friends and family that could get on FB did so, giving the progress of the storm, and posting pictures as the tornado tore up a 10 mile swathe through our local area.

A good friend lost their house and barn, though no one was hurt.  Praise God! Over 30 homes in our area were destroyed, but no loss of life.  Amazing to me, especially in an area that isn't known for basements or storm shelters.

The tornado was an F2.  Not huge, but not small and equally as scary.  My MIL, FIL and eldest son were hunkered down in a hallway of their mobile home, listening to the tornado rip through houses and trees directly in front of them, but missing their home.

From all of this I learned that I need:

matches in a damp proof container
candles and oil lamps within easy reach (it's hard to hunt for them in the pitch black)
weather radio
more water (my ten gallons in the house wasn't enough while the power was out - we have 1100 gallons in an outside tank, but who wants to go outside during a severe storm to get more water)
a cleaner house (it is horrible stepping on Legos and plastic dinosaurs in the dark, while trying to find matches that work and an oil lamp)

The past two days the kids and I drove around to see the destruction left behind, and have taken meals to the local community center for the relief workers and storm victims.  We also took food to the local food pantry.  I don't tell you this because I want kudos, I tell you this to encourage you to do SOMETHING in a disaster.  I couldn't go out and use a chainsaw to cut debris, not with kids in tow, but I can cook.

Other than the weather, we've been busy planting.  The corn has been planted and has sprouted after 4 days.  The beans and tomatoes are thriving.

In order to inventory what we have on hand for emergencies, and what else we need, we are continuing to declutter and clean.  It's hard!  The more I declutter, the messier the place looks.  I can't wait until we are done.

A bit of positive news, we won a raffle that a relative entered our name on.  It was a $1,000 gift card to Lowe's!  How awesome is that!? They didn't have the roofing supplies we were looking for, so PH purchased the HardiPlank boards to side the front of the house.  We will do the front and South side to give the house a finished look from the road, then the roof, and then start on the inside.

My original post was going to be what I did to prep in the week since I last posted, but the power going out Monday ate that post.  So, this week I've purchased the following:

additional tooth brushes
additional toothpaste
another tooth care kit (with dental mirror, tooth scraper, and tooth pick - the kind the dentist uses with the little sharp hook on one end)
4 bottles of Ibuprofen (2 for 88c at the local grocery store)
U.S. Army Survival Kit from Barnes and Nobles for PS#2 (he wanted the whistle, compass, waist pouch and canteen - I kept the waterproof matches, emergency mylar blanket, hand warmers and the U.S. Army Survival Field Guide.)
10 gallons of gasoline for fuel storage (for generator)

Sold 3 boer bucklings (2 for cabrito, 1 for future breeding purposes) - still have 1 left to go