Preparing for El Niño

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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! 😂

Bluebelle 1963 HK?

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

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 ☹

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'.

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.

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

Oh, good idea.

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.

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!

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?

The thing most people run out of in a bad week isn't tea bags, it's knowing what's in the box. What has worked for households that keep a bit of a store: one list of what is actually in it, written once when it's packed, with the dates that matter, because the torch batteries and the tins are fine until the day you find out they weren't. The back of the cupboard door does it, a note on the phone does it, an app such as XNeuronal takes it said out loud ('emergency box: six tins, candles, batteries checked September') and tells you in March to look at the batteries again. JenniRen's point is the one to act on, though: if the surgery won't take the order more than a week before you run out and the chemist wants ten days, the reminder has to be on the box, not in the head. Count the tablets when it arrives, work out the run-out date, and set the reorder for ten days before it, every month. Then the storm can do what it likes, and the chocolate is a separate problem.

I've always got a small stock of food and water anyway, due to being out in the countryside. And my little gas camping stove is really useful. Power packs for my phone, and always keep the petrol in my car from getting too low.
That, and a little bit of cash in the house, makes me feel reasonably ready for problems.

Yes please. I very rarely buy chocolate, the last time was probably Easter but it was on offer. Only dark chocolate please 🍫

Be prepared!

I will carry on as normal and just buy my usual shopping What a great way to sell your produce make sure everyone thinks they’re not going to be able to get it, so they buy an extra portion every week Good work for our shops and supermarkets.
I have no intention of getting caught up in the scare stories I m sure we ve all been through worse
I lived in a country where at one point for a few weeks we got four hours of water every fourth day, we managed, we survived we lived. Remember the seventies when the electricity went out at certain times Can’t remember how long that lasted ? I do remember playing games in the dark with the kids but we all survived to tell the tale

If we get rations anyone want my chocolate ration as I don’t like chocolate

El Nino is a very strong wet weather system that crosses The Atlantic from South America. This year is seemingly going to be one of the worst and we will get the residual effects so that's it in a nutshell. I will not be stockpiling

I feel much better now. 🍫

Probably low blood sugar JenniWren 😏, needs must.

I just started making inroads into the chocolate stash, oh dear.