Preparing for El Niño

Only the affluent have funds and storage space to stockpile anything. Evidently only they will survive and goodbye to the old, the poor, the homeless.
Wow, that’s a Tory dream!

JenniRen

We don't tend to buy bottled water so I suppose a stock of that would be a good idea. Why, though, does it have a best before date on it?

Neither do I normally but I have now If I don’t use them before the date overruns I will use them to water my plants in next year’s heatwave I have also bought purify tablets.

Oh, good idea.

Am thinking of travelling to Guyana and Costa Rica in February, is there more likelihood of getting up in an extreme weather event?

Guyana February, end of rainy season so hot and humid not usually extreme weather events, malaria endemic. Costa Rica drier, hurricane season has passed usually hot but pleasant.
No travel is risk free, both look good destinations for adventure travel.

JenniRen

We don't tend to buy bottled water so I suppose a stock of that would be a good idea. Why, though, does it have a best before date on it?

Apparently the plastic 'degrades'.

yogitree

JenniRen

We don't tend to buy bottled water so I suppose a stock of that would be a good idea. Why, though, does it have a best before date on it?

Apparently the plastic 'degrades'.

Oh lovely ☹

watermeadow

Only the affluent have funds and storage space to stockpile anything. Evidently only they will survive and goodbye to the old, the poor, the homeless.
Wow, that’s a Tory dream!

Poppycock.

I know poor but imaginative people who buy a cheap can of something every week and it goes into their store under the base boards at the bottom of kitchen units

They are much more proactive than those who sit back and wait for the state to provide

Bluebelle 1963 HK?

I added a tin of soup to my shopping this morning (I normally make my own)
Next week it’ll be a tin of baked beans.
I’m on a roll! 😂

watermeadow

Only the affluent have funds and storage space to stockpile anything. Evidently only they will survive and goodbye to the old, the poor, the homeless.
Wow, that’s a Tory dream!

It doesn't cost a lot to build up supplies if you just buy something each time you shop. Then you use those supplies and replace them once you have built up your stock. We've built ours up over about 10 years. It takes a bit of imagination to store things if you haven't got garage or shed space.

The more people who sit on their hands and consider it to be someone else's problem, the more people there will be in a built up area looking for groceries, fuel, batteries, etc. if there is a major power cut or extreme weather.

Usually power cuts don't last longer than a couple of days so if you can even make sure you have food, medication, water and warmth for those few days you should be okay.

Yes, it's surprising how quickly things add up if you just get them a bit at a time. After a while, you just eat and replace them, as you always have a few days' extra food in stock.

I understand that panic buying huge quantities of scarce products is anti-social, but simply having extra food in the house is basic housekeeping. It doesn't mean living in fear of war or disaster, but it would tide the house over if everyone fell ill, or if we got blizzards that closed roads and interrupted the supply chain.

Whilst supplies are moving as expected, it wouldn't matter if we all bought 4 extra loo rolls and a tin of soup - the supermarkets just order more. It's when lots of people all need a full week's shopping because they haven't prepared that the problems start.

If you are storing tinned or dry goods remember to rotate it they don't last for ever, it's very easy to have a can or packet at the back of the cupboard thats 10 yrs old

mokryna

JenniRen

We don't tend to buy bottled water so I suppose a stock of that would be a good idea. Why, though, does it have a best before date on it?

Neither do I normally but I have now If I don’t use them before the date overruns I will use them to water my plants in next year’s heatwave I have also bought purify tablets.

If there is no piped water to drink there won't be any to wash in either. If the date on your stash of drinking water has expired, it will still be fine to wash yourself in - the plants can then have it, after you are clean.

karmalady

watermeadow

Only the affluent have funds and storage space to stockpile anything. Evidently only they will survive and goodbye to the old, the poor, the homeless.
Wow, that’s a Tory dream!

Poppycock.

I know poor but imaginative people who buy a cheap can of something every week and it goes into their store under the base boards at the bottom of kitchen units

They are much more proactive than those who sit back and wait for the state to provide

watermeadow may be referring to items like a camping stove, wind up radio etc, not the odd can of soup, these items can be a significant outlay if you’re on a tight budget.

watermeadow may be referring to items like a camping stove, wind up radio etc, not the odd can of soup, these items can be a significant outlay if you’re on a tight budget.

That's true, but that shouldn't stop people from stocking up on things like food and water. Even if that's all you do it could be enough to stop you having to go out in icy/stormy weather for a few days.

If you live in a rural area it could be miles to get to a shop. If you live in an urban area you are competing with thousands of others. Always assuming shops can open anyway without electricity. ATMs won't be working, and nether will card systems.