Helene - any lessons learned, additional prep to do?

[IAm_Not_Lost]

I’m not in any hurricane areas, but I am off grid in desert AZ, completely on solar with backup generator, and we use Starlink and it’s amazing for speeds and reliability. That alone, plus some form of minor backup power supply would be a constant backup communications for anyone.

Now with IPhones 14 and later you can also communicate via satellite with them if no other service is available.

Lastly I keep a few inexpensive Baofeng radios that I have specifically programmed to have not only common FRS, GMRS, MURS channels, but common weather and disaster channels. Obviously some of those are only to be used in emergency due to legality, but, having it all programmed and a few instruction sheets makes all the difference so you aren’t scrambling in event of emergency.

But honestly, simply having something like Starlink for your internet is a great option for backup communications, it’s as fast any internet in town (160mbps download speed for us) and has been awesome for us.

 

[fwafwow]

Lastly I keep a few inexpensive Baofeng radios that I have specifically programmed to have not only common FRS, GMRS, MURS channels, but common weather and disaster channels. Obviously some of those are only to be used in emergency due to legality, but, having it all programmed and a few instruction sheets makes all the difference so you aren’t scrambling in event of emergency.

I'd definitely like to know more about the radios you have. Maybe I'm misreading, and/or I'm uninformed, but I thought that it was difficult to have one type of radio that could operate on all of those bands/frequencies (maybe that's limited to the ability to receive and transmit). PM please if that's better.

 

[wesfromky]

I just spent an hour or so reviewing YT videos and remembering how limited HAM is - at least when no one else I care about is licensed. Sure, I could create an emergency kit with an inexpensive radio (and may still do so) for someone to use in a real emergency, but it still has limitations.

How much did you pay for your Starlink mini. I saw something like $500 plus a monthly subscription (for residential), with download speeds of slower than my cable (so I would not likely use it to replace cable, or fiber). And I think Roam was about the same up front cost, plus $150 per month. At that pricing a sat phone might be a better fallback.

As @doc holiday13 said, HAM seems like an inexpensive option to hear and communicate with first responders, especially since I spent the time to get my Tech license.

I think like $500 plus $50 a month, but starlink lets you pause your monthly service as often and long as you want. I have fiber at home, but I am going to be a lot more mobile this year, so I can work from anywhere with starlink, though I will need to bump up to the $150 a month plan.

 

[JustinNC]

We were without power for maybe 36hrs. Went 2 weeks without during Hugo in 89 and don't remember any issues or my parent's never made it out to be anything more than just an extended camping trip. Have done several multi day events without power since then.

Helene was an eye opener though. Zero worries about floods or landslides. I'm about 50ft above the high water mark of the lake (Norman in NC). If the water gets that high, I'll be more concerned about not being picked to line up 2x2 on the big boat. Not worried about a landslide.

Biggest issue is making sure I keep saw gas on hand, and wouldn't mind having a generator for running the well, or the fridge/freezer. We didn't open either during the outage, but the ice cubes in the freezer were starting to melt, but food was solid.

I usually run a bathtub or two full of water to flush the toilets before I think the power might go, but I forgot this time. I had a 5 gallon bucket of rain water on the back deck by chance, and ferried some water down to the house from my parent's when they fired up their generator for their well to take a shower and flush toilets.

That said, I'm in the process of making sure I've got a storm tote bin with batteries, LED lantern/lamps, water, campstove fuel, candles, possibly oil/lamps (dont like how sooty they are, but they put off a nice light, and no batteries to worry over), collapsible water containers, and a couple spare 'do not touch' chains for my saws, and maybe some bar oil and a couple bottles of mix oil.

I've got a lot of this stuff on hand, just not a centralized location for just-in-case. I also usually have to be out of the house and at work during weather events, and I'd like to have a place for the better half to be able to get stuff out of without having to hunt down everything. My street is also prone to having trees go down and block folks in/out. There is a way out usually via FWD. It would give me peace of mind knowing she's got what she needs should I have to stay at work, or conditions dictate I can't get back home for a day or two.

I'll likely start making sure I've got a 5 gallon can with non-ethanol on hand and rotate it out every so often in the boat. Wouldn't hurt to keep 10-20 gallons of regular on hand for the car/truck just in case something happens and gas shortage happens. Usually always have enough 50:1 in a 2.5gal can to cut a tree or 5.

A lot of this is just normal stuff I should do anyway, but to keep stuff rotated and fresh, is a lot of trouble for something that's rarely, if ever an issue in my area. I'm not in a city, but I'm 1/2mi down at the end of a dead in street, that's half a mile down a secondary road, from a primary highway, 5 miles away from a 4 lane highway one direction, 9 miles from a 4 lane highway the other direction. Trees in the road are about my only limiting factor of being able to get anywhere, and I just so happen to specialize in making them disappear in those situations.

 

[IAm_Not_Lost]

I'd definitely like to know more about the radios you have. Maybe I'm misreading, and/or I'm uninformed, but I thought that it was difficult to have one type of radio that could operate on all of those bands/frequencies (maybe that's limited to the ability to receive and transmit). PM please if that's better.

Just the Baofeng UV-82. It will work for FRS, GMRS, MURS, and NOAA weather and other national disaster channels. Obviously there are variables depending on location and what you can pick up with regard to the national disaster stuff. Its frequency range; 136-174 MHz (VHF) 400-520MHz (UHF)

Edit: I just walked outside to check, and I can also pick up occasional local sheriff dispatch and the closest fire/ems station. Not great, but in the right spot I can. They’re all mostly in the 150’s MHz