De Fenestra

Over the years, regular readers will have figured out that I am licensed for concealed carry (since early 2001). I don't typically discuss the specifics of firearm selection or holster placement or tactics and decision processes in public because of the potential for misuse of that information by other parties. So this isn't going to be about those topics - not quite.

I'm also a firm believer that if you are carrying a tool to make people bleed, you should also carry the tools to stop people from bleeding - and have the skills to use them effectively. In 2011, I took the excellent three-day medical course offered by Kerry at Dark Angel Medical (when it was still Magpul Dynamic Shooter Aid). Subsequently, I spent several years going between imperfect solutions for incorporating a minimal gunshot medical kit into my concealed carry rig and hanging far too much crap off my belt. In the process, I amassed a nice collection of tourniquet carriers that will never see use again.

A little over a year ago, a thread on one of my preferred forums led me to what is, for me, the perfect answer. Tactical Medical Solutions offers an ingenious ankle wrap that holds a tourniquet, a chest seal, and a pack of hemostatic gauze (and, as this video shows, the wrap itself can be used as a pressure bandage). I am not a fan of ankle carry for a firearm but it's turned out to be amazing for ancillary equipment that needs to remain low-profile. I've worn it with everything from jeans to a suit without raising comment.

Lexington and Louisville: Winter storm warning now begins at 9:00 am today. Lexington can see freezing rain as early as 4:00 pm. We're looking at a quarter- to half-inch of ice overnight, with six or more inches of snow coming on top of it before noon tomorrow.

If you don't hear much from me for the next few days, it's probably because I'm either in the EOC or asleep.

If you've been following national (or international) news today, you may have noticed that West Virginia has had a significant chemical spill into the Elk River, which feeds the Kanawha River (which, in turn, feeds the Ohio, which feeds the Mississippi...). About 4,000 gallons of a chemical used to wash coal got loose from a storage tank. Because of local topography, most of the communities in that area are along the Elk and Kanawha - and that includes their water treatment plants. Current reports are showing 300,000 people unable to use tap water for anything but firefighting and flushing the toilets. The chemical in question can't easily be filtered, so it looks like those communities are going to have to flush the treatment plants before they can be used again. In the meantime, the WV National Guard is setting up points of distribution (PODs) - and a hell of a lot of truckloads of water are headed into the area.

Authoritative information is available on West Virginia American Water's site. That page contains a link to a FAQ PDF which includes the current list of PODs.

For those of you who know what I do - yeah, my office has been monitoring it. We're not involved in the response because West Virginia appears to have it under control with state-level resources and hasn't needed to invoke EMAC (though the presidential disaster declaration means federal funds can be allocated for the recovery). Good on WV. If this does expand, it'll likely be a public health issue rather than a HAZMAT issue.

As my three regular readers should know, this is a preparedness reminder. How much bottled water do you have on hand? The minimum recommendation is one gallon per person per day for three days - though, honestly, I'd recommend keeping at least a week available. Personal experience at the House of Cats and Dice has shown that grocery store 1-gallon jugs of spring water will survive in the garage until well past the water's "best by" dates, though the 2.5-gallon jugs tend to fracture or leak under their own weight.

Also think about everything else you use water for - particularly if you have special medical needs. Probably wouldn't hurt to have extra picnicware and paper plates available in case you can't wash the dishes. I'm going to research some options on the personal hygiene side, too, as sponge baths may not always be feasible.

Elizabeth Bear has aggregated some useful links for personal welfare checks here. If you're trying to get in touch with someone who may have been in the area, check those first.

I may post some analysis once I have some trustworthy data.

What will you eat when the power goes out?

http://www.emergencykitcookoff.org/

Parents, take note: emergency bear. It's a stuffed bear containing emergency supplies. Start your little survivor young!

(Too bad it's sold only in Japan so far. I have hopes.)

Although the San Andreas Fault and the New Madrid Seismic Zone get most of the megaquake disaster headlines in the United States, they aren't the only threats. Some of my three loyal readers may also be aware of the Cascadia subduction zone, a portion of the Ring of Fire off the coast from Oregon, Washington, British Columbia, and northern California. The geologic record indicates it's produced some rather significant quakes, most recently an estimated magnitude 9.0 on January 26, 1700. Because it's an offshore fault line, it also spawns tsunamis.

Last week, the Oregon Seismic Safety Policy Advisory Commission (that's a mouthful) released the draft version of their report on the Cascadia hazard and their recommended measures for state disaster resilience. I'm reading through the whole report because it's relevant to both my studies and my interests, but it is a monster - 319 pages. However, if you have an interest in these things, and particularly if you live in the threatened area, I strongly recommend you download the file and read the executive summary. The article that originally tipped me off to the report is here.

One item that struck me as particularly significant was the acknowledgement of individual household preparedness. For a while now, I've seen various emergency management blogs saying that FEMA's 72-hour recommendation - that you should stock supplies sufficient to get through three days before outside help arrives - is insufficient. The prepper/survivalist community has been saying that for even longer. Response efforts in major disasters over the past decade do seem to support those assertions. This report is one of the first official documents I've seen that openly acknowledges the inadequacy of a mere three days of supplies:

The old guideline of having a 72-hour emergency survival kit falls far short of the anticipated needs given the extensive impacts of a Cascadia subduction zone earthquake. Even if basic supplies could be readily and broadly dispersed, it would likely take more than three days to achieve that dispersal, and emergency supplies would still fall short of what many people need to avoid deteriorating health (for example, medications, medical equipment, and ongoing healthcare support). There is clear value in members of the public having robust emergency supplies. In many areas, subsistence levels of food and water may be available within a week, but the public should be advised that response will take much more than 72 hours, and recovery times will likely be measured in months. This is especially important in coastal communities where response times could be measured in weeks, and recovery times could be measured in years.

Of course, it's easier to recommend than to implement. Many households don't have the financial resources or storage space to set back 72 hours of essential supplies, let alone two weeks or more (this report's new recommended minimum). Of those that do, fewer will actually have the awareness and motivation to make not only the initial investment, but the more critical ongoing commitment to rotation and maintenance. It doesn't have to be done all at once, though. Incremental preps, a general awareness of the issues, and a strong mutual support network of trusted and like-minded individuals can all help offset individual disadvantages.

The biggest thing I'm taking away from this report, though, is that it's not all doomie-doom. Whether on a household, local, state, or regional level, there are a lot of measures that can be taken to mitigate any given disaster's effects and ensure individual and community resilience. That resilience is really the report's main thrust, which aligns with the "culture of resilience" model that the federal government has been trying (and, in my opinion, failing) to promote for the last couple of years. I don't think the resilience culture is implementable on a national plane. Cultural change like that has to come from lower levels, where the recommendations are more specific and relevant to the people whose mindsets need to change and where the local first responder community that will deal with the disaster is the source of the recommendations and actions. Something like this is a good first step and I'm interested - and tentatively hopeful - about Oregon's ability and willingness to work toward the goals outlined in the report.

After my last post, one commenter expressed the opinion that no one should have a "military-grade assault rifle" and went on to opine that anyone who believes otherwise is insane.

Okay. I'll lay out my insanity.

( Trimmed for those who don't care. )

LED light bulbs with onboard emergency power.

I'd love to see a decent T&E, but the raw concept is awesome.

Huh. It's a network-ready gun safe. USB, Ethernet, and power passthroughs.

This says "semi-secure location for backup network storage device" to me.