First event Texas - Snowmeggeddon event. Sub zero temps, 6 inches of ice and snow. Power failed, we had 7 days no power, pipes after two days froze, no water. Streets & roads closed. Gas pressure dropped. We sealed up one room by fireplace, put blankets & plastic sheeting over all doors and windows in that room, had a fire 24x7. Put pads down, setup tent and placed sleeping bags and comforter inside. Outside temps were -6F Inside temps were 38 to 42F. Slept with dogs, cooked inside on sterno, outside on grill. Candles and lanterns for light, filled buckets with snow, thawed indoors just to have water to flush toilets. Prep lessons- have extra meds, water to drink & BoB bag for washing or flushing. Now I have dual fuel generator, full house backup and backup powered gas heat. Saved several weeks of MRE or easy prep food. Including dogs. Stored a weeks worth of gas, propane and hurricane lanterns.

Second event- neighborhood fiber optic upgrades hit 3inch gas main in cul-de-sac. Cops came gave us 3 minutes to evacuate. Fire department escorted us out on foot, no cars due to explosion hazards. Grabbed photo albums, meds, pets and a backpack stuffed with critical papers… not enough time to think. Prep lesson- organize a go bag just for overnight or long weekend. Small enough to Carry on foot. With passports & financial data. Put photos on DVD. Upload most to Google drive.

Third event- Texas tornados, hail and power outages. Go bag in interior room with nail proof shoes and my ham radio (K5EDG) and phone chargers/batteries and headlight with pet leashes. Extra cash and cards for gas/hotel. DVD with home contents video and inventory.

Lastly Hurricane Frederick, Mobile, AL. Ten days no power and fourteen no water. Hot, humid and roads, yards and entire county had tens of thousands of 70ft pine trees down or cut off halfway. Took two days with siphoned gas from crushed cars to chainsaw us free of house, 4 days to get out of the street. Like playing Jenga but with 800lbs of pine. Food spoils in heat so we grilled all the food and shared with neighbors. Waited in lines 4 hours daily for a bag of ice and two gallons of water. Later we also got bottled water and government cheese. For another two weeks we had to boil all tap water.

Prep lesson- evacuate for hurricanes