How would you cope?

[jansman]

With the power going out, in the first few hours people would be complaining about online banking and facebook etc. But anywhere where the sewage system depends on pumps to get the black water where it can be processed would be in a world of trouble very quickly, and facebook would be the least of the problems.

Sewage would be the issue. Waste removal pretty much relies on pumps throughout the entire system ( it’s what my father in law used to deal with).

[Arwen Thebard]

Another good reason to be living higher up then, not just because of rising sea/river levels.

[jansman]

Another good reason to be living higher up then, not just because of rising sea/river levels.

True. And I am high up...but water to flush waste away has to be pumped UP. Now, I can flush using buckets of rainwater, as I harvest a lot. However, my idiot neighbours would , A. Not think of that, and B. Not have water storage to start with. I am sorry to call them idiots, but they are just that. I had one , a teacher! ( sorry Wife) knock on my door and ask me if I could change the wheel on his car. Last year he had a delivery of firewood that needed a chainsaw on it. He asked me. Both times I asked him what he wanted to trade- after all, time is money. Both times I didn’t do it. As the ‘Go-To-Guy’ it is a one-way street, all the time. And don’t start me on the reality-TV-Bimbo the other side!

[Yorkshire Andy]

True. And I am high up...but water to flush waste away has to be pumped UP. Now, I can flush using buckets of rainwater, as I harvest a lot. However, my idiot neighbours would , A. Not think of that, and B. Not have water storage to start with. I am sorry to call them idiots, but they are just that. I had one , a teacher! ( sorry Wife) knock on my door and ask me if I could change the wheel on his car. Last year he had a delivery of firewood that needed a chainsaw on it. He asked me. Both times I asked him what he wanted to trade- after all, time is money. Both times I didn’t do it. As the ‘Go-To-Guy’ it is a one-way street, all the time. And don’t start me on the reality-TV-Bimbo the other side!

Oh that really boils my urine, they fail to see anything wrong about been a cheeky SoanSo....

Chainsaws are not cheap to run be it Fuel, 2 stroke oil, chains bars and oil before you factor in your time and risk to limbs (used to work for a Stihl agent)

What's worse is those who promise to get you something.....

Few years back fixed a old school friends car simple 2 min job with a bit of welding wire to secure a loose heat shield to stop it rattling.....

What do we owe you "get me a beer next time you see me in weatherspoons". (I'm not greedy).

Saw her at the bar ... Dropped the subtle hint by asking how the car was ... Then the SoanSo said it's fine and walked off £2.49 of Stella and she decided to douse her bridge in petrol and set light to it metaphorically

I wont do much for anyone now bar immediate family and a few friends the other "users" have been dispatched steadily over the past 10 or so years from the real life friends list

Yet lad at work had a light out on his car I put a bulb in and to say he's always pleading poverty fetched me a 4 pack of beer to work the next day

[jansman]

I have one neighbour who I trust, and he trusts me. . Sadly, he is 87 and about knackered. We have been neighbours for 30 years, but as a village lad , I have known him my whole life. We trade plants, seeds , firewood, rabbits and pheasants. I love him to bits.

[Arwen Thebard]

How would these people cope? They won't.
It probably won't stop them coming to you for help though, some people have short memories and thick skins.

[jansman]

Thick skinned is about right Arwen. Modern Man. I have just got back from the hospital with Mrs J. Now, the breast cancer unit there is tastefully furnished and decorated and reflects the high emotional environment. They provide free tea, coffee and biscuits too. It’s funded by charity, and they ask for a donation, so I always bung a couple of quid in. Today we had Mr and Mrs Gobby and their ‘Entitlement’ issues, because the milk and biscuits had run out. The lady at the side of us was in a right state as it was ( she was about to find out how far her cancer had spread) and Dumb and Dumber are kicking off ‘cos there’s no sodding milk! Turned out they were just picking someone up too. So, I suggested to them that instead of getting a very busy ( already) nurse to run around after them, they go to the WRVS shop at the main entrance and actually BUY some milk. Nah! The reply was, “it says here it’s for free”!!!!!

Thankfully, we were called in at that point, as I could have happily chinned the git. But that one incident sums up today’s society.

[PreppingPingu]

Just wanted to know if anyone was preparing for natural disaster in an urban area? How would you deal with a heavily populated area and bugging in?

Mike

One of the things for general preparedness in an urban/populated area apart from the normal stores of tinned and dried food, water, batteries and medical supplies etc, is really good knowledge of your immediate area and the surrounding places. It's amazing how many folk just use the same routes to and from work/mates houses/shop and have no idea about the little cut throughs, quiet roads out and hidden places with in your own stomping ground. This is useful from the point of it becoming not viable to stay in your location any more for what ever reason ( flood/fire/ or the more unlikely rampaging mob,) and so needing to get out with out getting caught up in the general traffic. It's useful from an urban foraging point of view - I stumbled across a Bullace tree this Autumn down a foot path that connects where I live on the edge of town to an outlying village. There's an apple tree on the edge of some waste ground that produces apples you can cook with. Knowing what resources are on your door step from things people have dumped on disused land to where rain water collects in urban places. Also from a security angle, knowing the hidey holes that people use, be they just youngsters hanging out or street homeless. If in a bug in situation and you have to be out and about for what ever reason from the safety of your home, you are aware of the places that someone might get the drop on you so as to speak. We had an abandoned theatre in our town for years that was used by druggies, kids breaking in for something to do and for street homeless. However it was right next to a make shift car park and a walk way connecting the sports centre to the main shops. You wouldn't have known if you were being watched from inside as you walked on by. Also knowledge of your neighbours - like Jansman said, some are straight up folks and others well … It can be hard to get to know your neighbours in this day and age but it may prove useful in an emergency situation. Knowing what skills people have and learning a useful "something" yourself is invaluable. I'm not saying go all open and loud about prepping, what you'd do in an emergency etc but just in a conversational low key way, find out about those who live close to you, where applicable, forge relationships.

[General DeGaulle]

Wind knowing power lines out. Floods to a certain extent. I know year on year the climate is getting worse and worse. My biggest fear is power being out and for more then 24 hours. We are too dependant on electricity and the internet. No power, no charging of mobile phones, laptops or tablet devices. Knock on effect goes on. So being prepped for those in an urban area where I can just bunker down and not worry on having power

Oddly enough, exactly this happened in Lancaster in December 2016, Just before I moved to France. Power was out for 36 hours and as this was caused by rain and flooding, travelling on foot was the order of the day - at least for those in the low lying city centre areas. Something strange happened - I actually saw kids playing out, neighbours actually talking to each other, and a general sense of cheerful 'All in the same boat' kind of atmosphere. All too soon the power came back...