What follows below are two different Facebook posts I read this morning. They were posted in different groups. I do not know either of the authors. The difference in their experiences with Helene are striking. One is in Asheville, NC, and the other somewhere in Georgia.
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We’re in Georgia. No I'm not exaggerating about people shooting each other over gas.
We live in a small town and have not had power since Friday before the sun came up. None of our super markets or gas stations had generators so the time to get food and ice is ticking. A couple gas stations open up on the first day, they’re without power and cash only. I get the last two bags of ice and stuff as much food as we can into the freezer with the ice.
By day two everyone’s food is starting to go bad. It’s 90° out and the houses are hot and everything is defrosting. Ice in the ice machines are melting outside while the stores stay closed and locked up. No one prepared food and water beforehand and many people don’t have a way to prepare food that needs to be cooked.
Day three. One gas station in town. Everyone is in line and the estimated time to get gas is 3 hours. The closest town is 30 minutes and the closest town after that is another 30. Estimated power restore is 2-3 weeks for most of my town. My husband and I decide to risk it as we don’t have much food, ice, cash or water on hand.
We leave town with the quarter tank of gas in our car. The first gas station I get to the line is wrapped around the building and out on the main highway. We get in line. I get one car away from the pump and they run out of gas. We floor it out of there before everyone else realizes. We race to the next closest gas station, car blinking on E. The next one same thing, wrapped around the building and out onto the road. We get in line and watch as people fill 4 large containers of gas at a time praying there’s enough in the underground tanks and we make it to a pump. There is no other gas station now, we will run out of gas in a couple more minutes. I never leave my car this low it’s just how it unfolded.
We get gas and we drive a couple hours away to a less affected area. The stores are empty. The gas stations have tape around all the pumps. When we finally see the news we see all the damage to the surrounding areas and how bad things were.
The following days the news shifts from the storm to the strike on the ports and the supply chain shortage. The stores are already empty and now it’s going to get worse.
My family was in the path of hurricane Helene and our town got hit much harder than anyone predicted. We were very unprepared and it felt scary having to think about how to feed my children in an emergency.
My husband and I are talking about best non perishable food items to keep on hand and how much. Also water, drinking cooking and bathing (let’s stay we stay put and do not leave our home)
Separate from that, what to keep in the car for an emergency. Gas, food, water, blankets, clothes, flashlights? Our bug out car is probably my very small very good on gas two door hatchback with limited room. We’re talking two adults and two children.
There was a gas shortage in our town and people were slashing tires and drawing guns trying to get some.
********
I’m in Asheville, NC right now and we were devastated by the hurricane. Day 5 of no power, water, internet, or even cell service. We are cut off from the world. Here’s what has mattered so far and what hasn’t in my particular situation:
Life saver #1 = Starlink internet. All our phones say SOS. Can’t text for help. Don’t know what’s going on. I plugged in my satellite internet and have been helping the whole neighborhood call loved ones. Everyone is offering me anything from their supplies because it’s so valuable.
Life saver #2 = Solar panels and 3000w battery pack. I can run satellite internet, electric kettle to purify water, charge headlamps, electronics, instant pot for cooking, ice maker for the cooler, everything I need. I’ll won’t run out of the sun like I would propane or gas if this extends a lot longer.
Life saver #3 = Gas cans and extra gas. These are sold out everywhere and are harder to get than gas itself. When power goes out so do gas station pumps. When you have portable gas you can run a generator, evacuate, drive to where the supplies are, check on family members, etc. People are stranded and sleeping at gas stations for days in their car waiting for power to come back on so they can get home.
Life saver #4 = Knowledge on how to survive without a huge stash. Some preppers spend too much on stocking up and not enough on education. None of us knew the hurricane was going to be this bad. Some people lost their entire house including supplies. Those who know multiple ways to collect water, purify it, start a fire, find food, are the ones still alive that haven’t been rescued yet. I could go for another month if I had to with nothing but my backpack and tools.
Life saver #5 = Hand sanitizer. Sanitation is rough here and the hospitals are out of power, food, and water. People are starting to smell and after you touch something you do not want to get sick and go to the hospital because it’s bad there too. The water you do find may not be safe for hand washing without purification. I wash my hands with soap and water and then do hand sanitizer after to stay healthy.
Other things I’ve relied on:
Cash. No power means no debit cards can be used
Disposable cutlery and plates
A 4x4 truck that can drive where others can’t or help tow people to safety
Solar/battery radio
Dogs for company and to alert if someone is outside
Hasn’t mattered as much as I thought:
#1 = Guns! I haven’t even thought about needing my gun and realized I put too much on this. Strangers have come together in our area and are taking care of each other like you wouldn’t believe. Each person has a surplus of something and is missing something else. We all share while still respecting boundaries and only sharing what we choose. Again, this can depend on the area but here if you are acting paranoid/standoffish of others and open carrying a gun, the nice innocent people are going to avoid you and you will be isolated without community or resources. I’m still glad to have a gun but I wish I spent more time on other skills too instead of putting so much emphasis on shooting. (And to anyone who says, “it only takes one time and you will be glad for your aim”, you’re missing the point I’m trying to make here.)
#2 = Food. This is easy to find for me but it may be due to the part of the country I’m in. I can also fish, forage, and don’t cook much because I don’t want to waste water on dishes. I had shelf stable food prepped and lll probably end up only using 25% of it in a month. As people’s freezers start to thaw we’ve had big cookouts so it doesn’t go to waste and I’ve been full most nights.
Again, this list could be based on location, type of natural disaster, weather, etc But it’s interesting to me because I’m actually living it instead of preparing and wanted to share.
***********
We’re in Georgia. No I'm not exaggerating about people shooting each other over gas.
We live in a small town and have not had power since Friday before the sun came up. None of our super markets or gas stations had generators so the time to get food and ice is ticking. A couple gas stations open up on the first day, they’re without power and cash only. I get the last two bags of ice and stuff as much food as we can into the freezer with the ice.
By day two everyone’s food is starting to go bad. It’s 90° out and the houses are hot and everything is defrosting. Ice in the ice machines are melting outside while the stores stay closed and locked up. No one prepared food and water beforehand and many people don’t have a way to prepare food that needs to be cooked.
Day three. One gas station in town. Everyone is in line and the estimated time to get gas is 3 hours. The closest town is 30 minutes and the closest town after that is another 30. Estimated power restore is 2-3 weeks for most of my town. My husband and I decide to risk it as we don’t have much food, ice, cash or water on hand.
We leave town with the quarter tank of gas in our car. The first gas station I get to the line is wrapped around the building and out on the main highway. We get in line. I get one car away from the pump and they run out of gas. We floor it out of there before everyone else realizes. We race to the next closest gas station, car blinking on E. The next one same thing, wrapped around the building and out onto the road. We get in line and watch as people fill 4 large containers of gas at a time praying there’s enough in the underground tanks and we make it to a pump. There is no other gas station now, we will run out of gas in a couple more minutes. I never leave my car this low it’s just how it unfolded.
We get gas and we drive a couple hours away to a less affected area. The stores are empty. The gas stations have tape around all the pumps. When we finally see the news we see all the damage to the surrounding areas and how bad things were.
The following days the news shifts from the storm to the strike on the ports and the supply chain shortage. The stores are already empty and now it’s going to get worse.
My family was in the path of hurricane Helene and our town got hit much harder than anyone predicted. We were very unprepared and it felt scary having to think about how to feed my children in an emergency.
My husband and I are talking about best non perishable food items to keep on hand and how much. Also water, drinking cooking and bathing (let’s stay we stay put and do not leave our home)
Separate from that, what to keep in the car for an emergency. Gas, food, water, blankets, clothes, flashlights? Our bug out car is probably my very small very good on gas two door hatchback with limited room. We’re talking two adults and two children.
There was a gas shortage in our town and people were slashing tires and drawing guns trying to get some.
********
I’m in Asheville, NC right now and we were devastated by the hurricane. Day 5 of no power, water, internet, or even cell service. We are cut off from the world. Here’s what has mattered so far and what hasn’t in my particular situation:
Life saver #1 = Starlink internet. All our phones say SOS. Can’t text for help. Don’t know what’s going on. I plugged in my satellite internet and have been helping the whole neighborhood call loved ones. Everyone is offering me anything from their supplies because it’s so valuable.
Life saver #2 = Solar panels and 3000w battery pack. I can run satellite internet, electric kettle to purify water, charge headlamps, electronics, instant pot for cooking, ice maker for the cooler, everything I need. I’ll won’t run out of the sun like I would propane or gas if this extends a lot longer.
Life saver #3 = Gas cans and extra gas. These are sold out everywhere and are harder to get than gas itself. When power goes out so do gas station pumps. When you have portable gas you can run a generator, evacuate, drive to where the supplies are, check on family members, etc. People are stranded and sleeping at gas stations for days in their car waiting for power to come back on so they can get home.
Life saver #4 = Knowledge on how to survive without a huge stash. Some preppers spend too much on stocking up and not enough on education. None of us knew the hurricane was going to be this bad. Some people lost their entire house including supplies. Those who know multiple ways to collect water, purify it, start a fire, find food, are the ones still alive that haven’t been rescued yet. I could go for another month if I had to with nothing but my backpack and tools.
Life saver #5 = Hand sanitizer. Sanitation is rough here and the hospitals are out of power, food, and water. People are starting to smell and after you touch something you do not want to get sick and go to the hospital because it’s bad there too. The water you do find may not be safe for hand washing without purification. I wash my hands with soap and water and then do hand sanitizer after to stay healthy.
Other things I’ve relied on:
Cash. No power means no debit cards can be used
Disposable cutlery and plates
A 4x4 truck that can drive where others can’t or help tow people to safety
Solar/battery radio
Dogs for company and to alert if someone is outside
Hasn’t mattered as much as I thought:
#1 = Guns! I haven’t even thought about needing my gun and realized I put too much on this. Strangers have come together in our area and are taking care of each other like you wouldn’t believe. Each person has a surplus of something and is missing something else. We all share while still respecting boundaries and only sharing what we choose. Again, this can depend on the area but here if you are acting paranoid/standoffish of others and open carrying a gun, the nice innocent people are going to avoid you and you will be isolated without community or resources. I’m still glad to have a gun but I wish I spent more time on other skills too instead of putting so much emphasis on shooting. (And to anyone who says, “it only takes one time and you will be glad for your aim”, you’re missing the point I’m trying to make here.)
#2 = Food. This is easy to find for me but it may be due to the part of the country I’m in. I can also fish, forage, and don’t cook much because I don’t want to waste water on dishes. I had shelf stable food prepped and lll probably end up only using 25% of it in a month. As people’s freezers start to thaw we’ve had big cookouts so it doesn’t go to waste and I’ve been full most nights.
Again, this list could be based on location, type of natural disaster, weather, etc But it’s interesting to me because I’m actually living it instead of preparing and wanted to share.
