URGENT Oklahoma storms watch & learn

[bigpaul]

(21 May 2013, 13:43)Grumpy Grandpa Wrote: Never say never BP - isn't it just a few years ago that the south coast got flattened? And I think there's worldwide evidence of weather events getting bigger, stronger and more deadly...

never heard anything about the south coast, but here in North Devon we get a lot of rain and just a bit of snow mostly ice, we seem to be getting more rain than normal or is it it just seems like it? anyway I cant even guess what the weather might be like in 10,20.30 years-so I don't try!

[NorthernRaider]

Britain gets more tornadoes than the US does per mile, but ours are usually much weaker F1s types, apart from the big hurricane of 89 ish that flattened over a million trees and spawned about 20 tornados.

[Skean Dhude]

Good luck to our cousins across the pond.

It makes you grateful how little we have to put up with in the UK. Most of our disasters are caused by our own incompetence. They have that as well as natural issues like this.

We can learn a lot from the actions and reactions over there but we must remember that our disasters encompase a small town at the worst. Theirs encompass entire counties. The prepping is different, as long as we remember that we should be OK.

[bigpaul]

I think if memory serves me right all of these UK tornadoes were up north, my point is we have a mild climate in the south west and I cant recall EVER hearing of a tornado down south, sure we have big storms but their mostly gale force, and the flooding in Boscastle was due to heavy rain being funnelled down a narrow valley straight into the town. sure we try and prep for all eventualities but I think we should keep it within context.

[Digger]

(21 May 2013, 14:03)bigpaul Wrote: I think if memory serves me right all of these UK tornadoes were up north, my point is we have a mild climate in the south west and I cant recall EVER hearing of a tornado down south, sure we have big storms but their mostly gale force, and the flooding in Boscastle was due to heavy rain being funnelled down a narrow valley straight into the town. sure we try and prep for all eventualities but I think we should keep it within context.

We've had them in the South BP

Portsmouth is the last big one that I can remember: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/2364281.stm

[bigpaul]

(21 May 2013, 15:01)Digger Wrote:

(21 May 2013, 14:03)bigpaul Wrote: I think if memory serves me right all of these UK tornadoes were up north, my point is we have a mild climate in the south west and I cant recall EVER hearing of a tornado down south, sure we have big storms but their mostly gale force, and the flooding in Boscastle was due to heavy rain being funnelled down a narrow valley straight into the town. sure we try and prep for all eventualities but I think we should keep it within context.

We've had them in the South BP

Portsmouth is the last big one that I can remember: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/2364281.stm

bit out of my area.

[Jonas]

OK, we're fine for the moment here in "Deep East Texas". This afternoon and early evening, however, may be a different story. I'm watching the weather radar like a hawk, but all the bad stuff is to the north of us. Lightening crashes are very audible in my HF SW headphones. Oklahoma amateur radio operators are on 40-meters at 7.195.00. I've been informed that the emergency nets up there have been activated. The stories I'm hearing are chilling.

The 7290 Traffic Net and the Day Time Texas Traffic Net are both trying to contact members in the Oklahoma area who haven't checked in. Frankly, we're worried. Send prayers for the folks in Moore Oklahoma, and all of us that are in danger today and tonight.

JP

[Mortblanc]

The connection between these storms and Brit prepping is the connection between survival scenarios all over the world, preparedness for disaster and living without the availability of modern conveniences.

Almost all "prepper gear" is derived from camping gear, military gear or emergency response gear. any activity in the world that hinges on, involves or changes any of those items would affect us as preppers.

It is not the event itself, it is the aftermath of the event that concerns the Brit prepper.

45 years ago I started "prepping" in response to a tornado, its devastation and my loss of power and water for 2 weeks.

If one studies the incidents involved with tornadoes in the U.S. one will find that they are very much like any civil, natural or wartime event.

1. There is the incident itself. Sudden and overwhelming and so dangerous that your life can be snuffed out in a split second.

2. Then there is the rescue phase, requiring all the first aid and triage training one could ever accumulate, as well as engineering skills, teams of rescue and cadaver dogs and response teams from miles around.

3. The attempt to just stay alive and dig through the rubble. Your life is gone, your home is gone, you vehicle is on top of a building or on its roof somewhere. YOU ARE A REFUGEE!

4. Even if your house still stands and none of your family died in the tragedy you are now faced with NO POWER, NO FOOD, NO SERVICES, NO COMMUNICATION and all the cops are down where the ruins are. The roads are blocked and curview has been declared. For all intents and purposes you are under martial law.

Phase 4 is total prepping, be it Brit prepping, U.S. prepping, French or German prepping. Until the power comes back on you are in survival mode.

Phase 4 is also where you turn your neighbors into preppers simply by assisting them in their attempts to survive, maintain some type of comfort level and protect their families. You do not have to break out your stores, show off your gear or stand in the street in front of your generator powered house shouting "Look at me!"

About 8 years ago I turned an entire neighborhood into a prepping community due to a storm. Power was off for ten days. I showed them how to patch into available battery power from their vehicles for emergencies, flush the toilets with water from their swimming pools, scattered a few cheap walkie-talkies around the group for comms (especially to the old folks that were a bit chancy). When that event ended I realized that every one of my neighbors had obtained a small generator, had stored away an extra 20# propane tank, and had put up a good supply of food.

I have found that one does not get the same response from the public when dealing with tornado preps as one gets when preparing for a doomsday event.

We tend to break our investigations down to urban or wilderness scenarios, when most of the real crisis we will encounter in life is fire, flood, and wind related with a few accidents thrown in.

The things learned from these tornadoes will be directly reflected in changes to the gear you buy next week or a year down the road.

It's all prepping.

this same line of storms is now about 30 miles out from my house, but the intensity has diminished to ust severe thunderstorms.

The power and speed of this system has been amazing! I am 1,000 miles from Moore, OK and this storm has crossed that distance in 18 hours.

[bigpaul]

pretty much agree with all the above, the reasons given are why we all are preppers. however where I think the Brits and the Americans differ is in relation to "community prepping", there are many Brit preppers who would not trust their neighbours an inch in any event or collapse, not only is this true in our wonderful multi cultural inner cities, but is also true out in the countryside, there are very few, if any, people living near me that I would trust (completely) in a total collapse, in fact there are 1 or 2 I would happily remove from the gene pool immediately post shtf.

[Highlander]

I too hope that the folks of Moore get the help they need as soon as possible

We should all pay a lot of attention to disasters, no matter what type of disaster it might be, or where in the world it happens, because its not just the hurricane, or the flood or the Earthquake that we have to give our attention to. its the way people react, what they come up with, how they deal with things, how they survive, and how help is dished out that's going to help us learn to be good preppers