AAR: My Not-Quite-A-Bugout
I’m sure that this post will catch the ire of a few, but hopefully it will be an influence on someone who has yet to pull the trigger, so to speak. I don’t know if it will even help anyone, but in the off-chance that it does, I’ll be happy. If nothing else, here’s what not to do.
I’m not a “prepper.” At least I wasn’t. After I left the military, I began stockpiling some items: a small supply of potable water, a small supply of food, a small stock of ammunition, and various military gear that I had collected over my career. I was living in Hawai’i at the time, and after people started getting stupid over a tsunami warning, I decided that I didn’t want anything to do with it. So that’s when I started putting a few things away here and there, but that was as far as I got.
When my family and I decided that it was a good time to leave, I had to sell a lot of that stuff to cut down on stuff to ship out [at astronomical prices]. That money made it a lot easier to afford the move from HI to TX. I still don’t regret any of it.
Fast forward just over a year, and here I am in Southeast Texas. Due to a number of life circumstances, I haven’t been able to replace a lot of the things that I had to get rid of, when I left. In fact, I’ve been working so much, that I haven’t even had time to think about most of those things. And then, Harvey happened.
Having lived on the southeastern coast for most of my life, I’m not new to hurricanes. In fact, I actually remember playing in flood water from Andrew (not in FL). We’d had flooding and wind damage to our house, but nothing life threatening. We even stayed through a few mandatory evacuations.
When I first heard about Harvey and its predicted track, I barely gave it a second thought. I was expecting to lose power, but we could live with that. I was expecting to get some wind and rain, but we could live with that. I had never expected the amount of rain we received. I had never even given thought to the possibility of the public water system being damaged. Now, in the back of my mind, I’ve always wanted a well, but more so that I’m not depending on a public service; not so much so that I would have water when others wouldn’t.
Our house is right next to retention ponds on the western boundary of the city limits. Water didn’t even get close to my house—or even my street, for that matter. I thought we were doing pretty well (and we are, compared to many). At 1 am, a friend called me to tell me to make sure that we had water, because the city was losing its supply. I was not ready for that. We did have drinking water in case we lost power (we use an electrically powered filter system), but as far as water for bathing and other hygiene requirements, we were pretty dry. Having family from out of town just complicated the matter. We were very unprepared.
We have friends in central Texas who invited us to come out and stay with them until everything in our area gets closer to normal. This was not an emergency situation for us. Our lives were not in danger. The only thing being threatened was our convenience. The wife and kids (six and two) are not at all used to being without what [they think] they need, so since we weren’t in any real danger, this was a great opportunity to practice for the possible more-serious scenario. This was also a great opportunity to get the whole family more in the “better to have and not need, than to need and not have” frame of mind.
So that’s the long, boring background. The following are circumstances, a series of decisions based on those situations, and the ramifications of those decisions:
- 1. Even if we couldn’t bathe for a few days, we at least had an abundance of water right outside the house. We could go down and fill our empty jugs to use for sanitation.
- a. The fact that it is flood water made it extremely dirty (sediment and an abundance of chemicals from the surrounding areas) and possibly a carrier of disease (sewage and dead wildlife).
- b. Between ants and snakes, it was difficult to approach the water. (I mean thousands of fire ants).
- c. We were not the only ones with access to the water. While not a terribly big deal, it got me to thinking about worst-case scenarios.
- d. Takeaways:
- i. If this had been some type of true emergency, and human nature had begun to get the better of people, this would be a prime spot to find targets—or at least target houses—especially since most of the people who were going down there to get it were completely oblivious to their surroundings (e.g. ants and snakes). That became food for thought.
- ii. Always have more water than I think I’ll need.
- iii. Always have water for more than just drinking.
- iv. To be fair, I do have a personal filter and other purification methods in my bugout bag, but it was not that bad of a situation.
- 2. Our cable and internet went out on Sunday, and our phones’ data went out on Monday (thanks, Sprint). We had to rely on a family members agonizingly slow phone connection; and, due to my dropping the ball, my backup radio decided it no longer wanted to function.
- a. Trying to keep up with road closures and other weather conditions was nearly impossible.
- b. Our ability to maintain comms with friends in the community and family was drastically reduced.
- c. Takeaways:
- i. Periodically functions-check emergency equipment.
- ii. Have a method of backup comms at least between our family group.
- 3. When we finally decided to leave (reasoning in the last point), I had to sit down and map out a route. I had to find out which roads were deemed impassible, which ones were officially closed, which ones were reported to be flooded, and which ones were clear. Then we had to pack. Then we had to load. The whole operation took entirely too long for my comfort.
- a. Having been to our destination before, and due to the general ease of navigating through Texas, it was fairly easy to map out a clear-ish route.
- b. At the exact moment we decided to leave, approximately 62.36% (by my official estimation) of the population of the city decided the same thing.
- c. Our route was not direct by any stretch.
- d. Loading a vehicle is a pretty good sign that a house will be empty and ripe for burglarizing/looting.
- e. Loading a vehicle can also become a point of vulnerability if we do not pay close enough attention.
- f. The trip took twice as long as my previous one (having to factor in women and children).
- g. Takeaways:
- i. Have a physical map on standby to mark out a route based on current information to alleviate the need for a phone’s data connection.
- ii. Have a timeframe in place in which to make the decision to leave so as to not be in competition with everyone else.
- iii. Have a practiced packing and loading plan to cut down on preparation time.
- iv. Begin pre-packing at the earliest sign that evacuation might become a possibility.
- v. Watch extra carefully for anyone who might be watching while we are loading.
- vi. I have a bugout bag in my truck with enough supplies, tools, materials, and other essentials to sustain my whole family; but the rest of them should have their own to practice with for a worst-case scenario, and to carry family member-specific items they might need.
- 4. After we got on the road, I realized that we were just one household out of hundreds who decided to do the very same thing. Most everyone was in a truck of some sort, but there were some who were trying to brave the weather in cars.
- a. Approximately 20 miles outside the city limits the road was flooded, but passable with around 8”-10” water. It may have been as high as 12” in a couple spots, but only very briefly.
- b. Since that road was the only open, passable road out of the city, traffic began building before the flooded areas.
- c. Since there were some people in cars, they were driving especially slowly through the water with many of them eventually flooding out. That caused additional delay.
- d. The road was essentially reduced to two lanes with vehicles passing less than a foot apart through the water.
- e. Being stuck around a bunch of other vehicles and travelers can also make us vulnerable.
- f. After the road cleared, the traffic did as well. There were no more traffic delays the rest of the way.
- g. Takeaways:
- i. Make the decision to leave early, or wait until the rush dies down.
- ii. Create a full plan for both the early and late scenario.
- iii. Create contingencies for both plans.
- iv. Create contingencies for those contingencies.
- v. Pre-map alternate routes in the event that they are open.
- vi. Improve my truck’s fording depth.
- vii. Have extra SA of our immediate surroundings, and of the vehicles around us and their occupants.
- viii. Buy my wife a jeep.
- ix. Be thankful that I was smart enough to not buy myself a car.
- x. Don’t buy a brand-new Vette and try to drive down a flooded road (yes, he was pushing it with the door open, and water inside the interior. :()
- 5. Earlier in the week, I had decided to fill up my gas tank. It was still at about 80% when we decided to leave. I also had a full 5-gal gas jug that I use for my lawn mower in my shed. It would have added around 50 miles worth of fuel. The two of them together probably would’ve taken us all the way, but it would have been really close.
- a. Due to the difficult logistics in getting fuel into the city, there was already a shortage before we even left.
- b. Gasoline seemed to be worse than diesel, but we also saw it in short supply after we left.
- c. Around Huntsville, we began seeing stations that had gasoline as well as diesel.
- d. I was able to top up at that point, and had no difficulties completing the trip.
- e. Fueling is a time already known to be prone to crime. Fueling during any level of crisis can increase that possibility.
- f. Takeaways:
- i. Keep at least a full tank’s worth of gas at home.
- ii. Cycle fuel supply once per month to minimize degradation.
- iii. Buy better cans and mounts (Mine tipped mid-trip, and made my truck smell like a gas pump).
- iv. If station refueling is necessary, be extra cautious and situationally aware.
- v. Look into the possibility of engines with alternate fuel sources (i.e. diesel).
- vi. Ensure all systems’ PM is up to date to ensure the most efficiency.
- 6. Overall takeaways:
- a. Discuss this little adventure with my family, and speak of what could have and what could happen.
- b. Stop making excuses ($$$), and start building back up, a little at a time.
- c. Train and practice, practice and train.
- d. Continue to build a network of reliable people who are willing to be a part of our plans.
- e. Continue to be thankful that we have been so spared compared to many, and that we haven’t been in a really bad scenario.
- f. Hope for the best; plan for the worst.
There are a lot of things that I should have known, and a lot of things that I should have remembered. It’s a fairly mild reminder for me. There are also things that I would never have even thought to consider. This situation definitely gave me renewed purpose in taking the best care of my family that I can; and it gave me a fresh perspective and COA in order to carry it out.
