I like to believe that we are pretty well prepared here to face a disaster. Beyond a totally corrupt government, wildfires and earthquakes pose my family’s greatest threats. I guess one could add in blizzards if the idea of being snowed in was scary. (It sounds heavenly to me, assuming, of course that the power stays on.) In Missouri we prepared for the problems presented by ice storms, flooding, and tornados. People living in the western part of the country prepare for earthquakes, while those living on the coast prepare for hurricanes or tsunamis and residents of flyover territory deal with tornados.
And that’s how and why most of us began our preparedness journey—recognizing the threats posed by natural and manmade disasters common to our geography, climate, and specifics of our location, including hazards posed by living in close proximity to railroads or highways where toxic materials are carried. Or living close to in-laws and needing to keep the living areas spotless and fridge always clean. (Truth be told, the latter would stress me out more than prepping for earthquakes or wildfires. Why is that? My in-laws are actually very nice people.)
Anyway, believing as I do that we are living in the end times prophesied by the holy prophets and recorded in scripture, I’m coming to understand that perhaps it’s time to take our preparedness efforts to the next level, beyond the standard level of preparing for what could normally happen.
Who would have ever thought that Texans could be brought to their knees by freezing temperatures and a colossal failure of the power grid? They didn’t have proper winter clothing because they’d never needed it before.
Who would have foreseen the wildfires devastating Maui earlier this month? If I’d lived there, my focus would have been on hurricanes, volcanoes, earthquakes, and tsunamis.
And what about Hurricane Hilary hitting Mexico and California and working his/her way up a few hundred miles inland? That beast actually took down my apricot tree—it looked like someone had sawed it off at ground level—and I am over 600 miles from Los Angeles.
So now I’m thinking about other possible disasters. Could we be hit by a tornado, even though we live on the side of a mountain? Theoretically, no, but I’m glad we’ve got a basement to hunker down in. I suppose volcanos in the Sierras could reawaken and wreak a little havoc, but they shouldn’t do more than pollute the air and drop ash on us. (Maybe I should not say “shouldn’t.” The volcanos might take that as a challenge.) Clearly, hurricanes are now something to consider, though I don’t know what we could have done to prevent the apricot tree from being taken down. While I think that our chances out here of being seriously affected by a nuclear disaster are small, we’ve still made some preparations. Maybe we need to take them to a higher level. Living as we do at 6400’ above sea level and a few hundred feet above the surrounding area, I believe our chances of experiencing flooding are low. While residents of our little town could be seriously affected, we would only be unable to leave our home until creeks returned to their beds, assuming the roads weren’t washed out.
What other natural and manmade disasters should we be preparing for? High humidity and blistering heat like the South has been experiencing? The North Koreans actually pulling off a successful “test”? (I know, unlikely, but remember this is 2023 and a lot of “unlikely” things keep happening.) President Puppet appears to want mask mandates and lockdowns again for the fall.* There’s always the illegal alien invasion comprised largely of military age males. Or losing the power grid.
However, if a tsunami comes here, I’m just picking up my marbles and calling it quits.
*For those who haven’t heard, here’s a quote from an MSN article:
Just this week, an Atlanta college announced that they will reinstate mask mandates for students and faculty at their university. The Lionsgate film studio in Los Angeles has told their crews to wear masks again. The Biden administration is buying Covid equipment and hiring pandemic “safety protocol” officers. And the federal government is also sending $1.4 billion to defense contractors and pharmaceutical companies for more Covid “countermeasures” and vaccines.[1]
Also, a California hospital has reinstated mask mandates as well. They say it’s just for their staff, to protect patients, but everyone is “strongly encouraged” to wear them.[2]
[1] https://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/news/biden-s-plot-to-send-america-back-into-lockdown-must-be-stopped/ar-AA1fJBho?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=c8b63fd56cba42728d0fbc215fec98d1&ei=6
[2] https://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/news/kaiser-permanente-revises-masking-mandate-again-says-it-only-applies-to-st/
