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  • #76
    Originally posted by wuapinmon View Post
    Surfah,

    The New Orleans Stake President sent me this in September 2008.



    Hope that helps.
    Thanks. I'll look into that.

    Originally posted by nikuman View Post
    I think you need a two tiered approach - electronic and not. What we did is assign zone captains based entirely on geography (I am one). When we have advance warning of something, the zone captain contacts his/her zone (usually only five or six families) to make sure they are informed and see what their plans are (i.e., for a hurricane, will they evacuate). Then the captain reports back to the bishopric. Same story after a disaster except the contact may have to be made by foot (our ward is small enough geographically to allow this; yours may not) or by people with 4wd. This time it's about making sure people are okay and seeing what help they need (downed trees, etc.). Separately we have a database of who has what (trucks, generators, chainsaws, survival skills, etc.) and the bishop can allocate resources immediately.

    This worked relatively well after Ike. Some hiccups, but generally it functioned the right way, and we had everybody cleaned up and bailed out within a couple of days. After that we expanded our service to people outside of the ward, and we helped out neighbors of ward members at the same time we helped out members.
    This is exactly what we formulated last night. A few bishops ago in this ward we had a geo-code list with zone leaders assigned to each area within the ward. We basically resurrected that list last night by assigning 8 zones with two zone leaders for each. Our ward is a bit difficult as it has been designated the Single Adult ward so we have singles from all over the stake in our ward but we put those people on a list for the bishops in the wards they actually live in can check on them. It's very similar to the block captain approach we had in California.

    Thanks for your input.
    "Nobody listens to Turtle."
    -Turtle
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    • #77
      Originally posted by Surfah View Post
      Thanks. I'll look into that.



      This is exactly what we formulated last night. A few bishops ago in this ward we had a geo-code list with zone leaders assigned to each area within the ward. We basically resurrected that list last night by assigning 8 zones with two zone leaders for each. Our ward is a bit difficult as it has been designated the Single Adult ward so we have singles from all over the stake in our ward but we put those people on a list for the bishops in the wards they actually live in can check on them. It's very similar to the block captain approach we had in California.

      Thanks for your input.
      We ran into the exact same problem with the Spanish branch, only in reverse. Several members lived in our ward but we didn't know who they were, so we had to do some sleuthing beforehand.

      Post-hurricane service is some of my favorite work. It's the primary reason I own a chainsaw.
      Awesomeness now has a name. Let me introduce myself.

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      • #78
        Originally posted by nikuman View Post

        Post-hurricane service is some of my favorite work.
        Amen.
        "Yeah, but never trust a Ph.D who has an MBA as well. The PhD symbolizes intelligence and discipline. The MBA symbolizes lust for power." -- Katy Lied

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        • #79
          Originally posted by nikuman View Post
          Post-hurricane service is some of my favorite work. It's the primary reason I own a chainsaw.
          Me too. I just wish there was more of it.
          Ain't it like most people, I'm no different. We love to talk on things we don't know about.

          "The only one of us who is so significant that Jeff owes us something simply because he decided to grace us with his presence is falafel." -- All-American

          GIVE 'EM HELL, BRIGHAM!

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          • #80
            Originally posted by nikuman View Post
            I was the co-architect of our ward's emergency response plan. One of the first things we learned was that anything electronic is not a good idea for communication. Thankfully we learned this before Ike.
            Other that shortwave/HAM radio, yes. Especially when the government has the "kill switch" on other forms of electric communication.

            http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/201...hone-shutdown/

            http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/201...h-legislation/

            BTW, you don't need a HAM license to own shortwave/HAM radios for receiving only. You just need a license to transmit.
            "If there is one thing I am, it's always right." -Ted Nugent.
            "I honestly believe saying someone is a smart lawyer is damning with faint praise. The smartest people become engineers and scientists." -SU.
            "Yet I still see wisdom in that which Uncle Ted posts." -creek.
            GIVE 'EM HELL, BRIGHAM!

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            • #81
              Originally posted by nikuman View Post
              Post-hurricane service is some of my favorite work. It's the primary reason I own a chainsaw.
              Yes, I find sawing up trees to be very therapeutic. I have a chainsaw and will travel. My have pieces of wood from Oklahoma, New Orleans, and Houston in my clean up collection so far.
              "If there is one thing I am, it's always right." -Ted Nugent.
              "I honestly believe saying someone is a smart lawyer is damning with faint praise. The smartest people become engineers and scientists." -SU.
              "Yet I still see wisdom in that which Uncle Ted posts." -creek.
              GIVE 'EM HELL, BRIGHAM!

              Comment


              • #82
                One of the things we learned yesterday is that even when you can't make a call on your cell phone because the lines are swamped you can still get online and post on Facebook on that same phone. There were several hours where that was true. Obviously that doesn't address a loss of power situation, but it was still a good thing to know. Gabers and I agreed that if phones fail, posting an "I'm okay" on Facebook would be the next step where possible.

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                • #83
                  Originally posted by Uncle Ted View Post
                  Yes, I find sawing up trees to be very therapeutic. I have a chainsaw and will travel. My have pieces of wood from Oklahoma, New Orleans, and Houston in my clean up collection so far.
                  You're like Tom Sizemore with his beach sand collection in Saving Private Ryan.
                  "Yeah, but never trust a Ph.D who has an MBA as well. The PhD symbolizes intelligence and discipline. The MBA symbolizes lust for power." -- Katy Lied

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                  • #84
                    Originally posted by Uncle Ted View Post
                    Yes, I find sawing up trees to be very therapeutic. I have a chainsaw and will travel. My have pieces of wood from Oklahoma, New Orleans, and Houston in my clean up collection so far.
                    The only problem (a major one) is when you get the guys who have no clue what they are doing going all macho with their chainsaws. I am
                    surprised that nobody got killed last time we were out - a few guys had no concept of safety, kickback, not dropping oak branches on people's heads, etc. They are dangerous enough if you know what you are doing.

                    Truth is that you really only need one chainsaw for every four guys. A good guy with a chainsaw can cut enough wood for three other guys to haul off without much trouble at all. But everybody wants to use the power tool.
                    Awesomeness now has a name. Let me introduce myself.

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                    • #85
                      Originally posted by UtahDan View Post
                      One of the things we learned yesterday is that even when you can't make a call on your cell phone because the lines are swamped you can still get online and post on Facebook on that same phone. There were several hours where that was true. Obviously that doesn't address a loss of power situation, but it was still a good thing to know. Gabers and I agreed that if phones fail, posting an "I'm okay" on Facebook would be the next step where possible.
                      Yep. We've been told by the local guvmint that cells will be preempted by them. But data may work. It was that way last time.
                      Awesomeness now has a name. Let me introduce myself.

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                      • #86
                        It occurs to me that communication and checking on folks is a whole different matter when you are outside of Utah - or portions of Utah.

                        Our entire ward is 16 blocks of neighborhood. That's it.

                        Our stake has a FSR radio network - including folks in the stake and 2 members of each ward - for the stake to stay in contact with wards. Of course, I don't know how many of the bishops know this...

                        Within each ward, the 6 members of the EQP and HPGL (minus secretaries) are assigned about 2 1/2 blocks each that they are responsible for checking on in case of emergency.

                        At one point some envelopes were distributed that had a red ribbon, orange ribbon, and green ribbon in them. Red meant help me right now. Orange meant I need help, but it isn't critical. Green meant I'm OK, go help someone else. We have so many apartments in our ward and smaller homes that people are moving in and out of - I would be pleased if as many as a third of our ward members could actually find their envelope.

                        That said - I've never heard much said about emergency preparedness or what anyone would do. I'm afraid that if houses are coming down, the EQP and HPGL will be worrying about their own hides and families versus chasing down one of the MANY older folks and single sisters in the ward to see if they're OK.

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                        • #87
                          Special beginning to priesthood today with a timely reminder about emergency preparedness, followed by a lengthy list of things that we should do.

                          It had zero mention of communication other than "checking on the families you hometeach."

                          It wasn't the time or the place to bring up the impracticality of driving to check on families in a ward the size of Rhode Island. I'm going to send a carefully composed email to the bishop tomorrow with some friendly suggestions. This should make me popular.
                          "Yeah, but never trust a Ph.D who has an MBA as well. The PhD symbolizes intelligence and discipline. The MBA symbolizes lust for power." -- Katy Lied

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                          • #88
                            i'm making some upgrades to our bug out bags and remembered how badass this thread is. i bought a couple of these to keep to stay in the bags (and in any shtf situation i'll obviously grab my full size multi as well):

                            [ame="http://www.amazon.com/Leatherman-830846-Skeletool-Multitool/dp/B000XU9NXW/ref=sr_1_1?s=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1320645829&sr=1-1"]Amazon.com: Leatherman 830846 Skeletool Multitool: Sports & Outdoors@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41Mtl2qB5PL.@@AMEPARAM@@41Mtl2qB5PL[/ame]

                            does anyone keep gas masks in their kit? these israeli surplus masks are cheap and look pretty effective:

                            [ame="http://www.amazon.com/Israeli-Civilian-Mask-Nato-Filter/dp/B0002XJ2OU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1320645962&sr=8-1"]Amazon.com: Israeli Civilian Gas Mask w/ Nato Filter: Sports & Outdoors@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/315N6NKNSQL.@@AMEPARAM@@315N6NKNSQL[/ame]
                            Te Occidere Possunt Sed Te Edere Non Possunt Nefas Est.

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                            • #89
                              This seems like a deal, but I don't know this brand. Can anyone tell me more?



                              $699.99 after $200 OFF
                              Champion 6,500 Rated Watts / 8,250 Starting Watts Portable Generator With Electric Remote Start
                              Battery and Remote Included
                              Item # 613063
                              "Yeah, but never trust a Ph.D who has an MBA as well. The PhD symbolizes intelligence and discipline. The MBA symbolizes lust for power." -- Katy Lied

                              Comment


                              • #90
                                Originally posted by wuapinmon View Post
                                This seems like a deal, but I don't know this brand. Can anyone tell me more?



                                $699.99 after $200 OFF
                                Champion 6,500 Rated Watts / 8,250 Starting Watts Portable Generator With Electric Remote Start
                                Battery and Remote Included
                                Item # 613063
                                Don't know anything about the brand, but do you need something that big? Are you planning on running just the essetials, or do you want something that can handle more? Also you will want to make sure that you have a place to chain it to (a tree, a shed, a cement anchor) so that someone doesn't run off with it while it is running in the back yard.
                                "Friendship is the grand fundamental principle of Mormonism" - Joseph Smith Jr.

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