Emergency Preparedness Session: 10.12.25

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• How ready are you?
• What emergencies are you prepared for?
• How long will your stocks last you?

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How Long Could You Survive on What’s in Your House Right Now?

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If disaster struck today:

• Power is totally out…
• All supply chains are frozen…
• And supermarket shelves are bare…

How long could you and your household really last with just what you have on hand?

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How Long Could You Survive on What’s in Your House Right Now?

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• Not what you plan to stock up on, not what you wish you had.
• But what do you have now?
• And how long will it last you (and your family)?
• For how many days, before you run out?

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The test…

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Step 1: Count Your Calories

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Food is the obvious first need.

A moderately active adult needs around 2,000 calories per day.

Kids and sedentary adults need less, but emergencies burn more energy.

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Step 1: Count Your Calories

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Action:

• Take a quick look in your pantry, fridge, and freezer.
• Count up shelf-stable calories (canned goods, pasta, rice, beans, oats, peanut butter, cooking oils, etc.).

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Reality check:

• Perishable items (milk, and milk products, fresh vegetables) may spoil within days if power is out.
• Divide your total calories by your household’s daily needs.
• That’s your food window, how many days until the cupboards are bare.

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Step 2: Water—Your Real Lifeline

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You can survive weeks without food, but only days without water.

Most people underestimate this.

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Rule of thumb: 

1 gallon per person per day (for drinking, cooking, and minimal hygiene).

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Step 2: Water—Your Real Lifeline

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Action: 

• Check your bottled water, jugs, and the size of your water heater (it’s usually 40–60 gallons and can be drained in emergencies).

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Reality check: 

• Do you have a way to filter or purify water if taps stop running?
• Your water window may be much shorter than your food window.

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Step 3: Light and Power

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After sundown, the lack of light is one of the first psychological blows.

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Action:

• Do you have flashlights, lanterns, candles, or solar lights charged and ready?
• Extra batteries?

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Bonus:

• A backup power source for phones or radios (power bank, solar charger, car adapter).

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Buyer’s Guide: Emergency Battery Pack Stations

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• When the grid goes dark, your phone, radio, or even a CPAP machine can turn from a lifeline into a useless brick.
• Having a reliable emergency battery station isn’t just about convenience, it’s about resilience.
• A well-chosen power pack can bridge the gap between total blackout and functional survival.

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In the next few slides, we break down what to look for when buying one.

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1. Know What You Need to Power

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Before you shop, make a quick list of your priorities:

• Essentials: phone, radio, flashlight batteries, GPS.
• Medical gear: CPAP, oxygen concentrators, insulin refrigeration.
• Comfort & safety: small fans, laptops, LED lights, routers.
• Heavy loads: power tools, mini-fridges, electric cooktops.

Your gear determines the battery size and type you’ll need.

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2. Key Features to Compare

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Battery Capacity (Wh / mAh)

• Think in watt-hours (Wh), not just milliamp hours (mAh).
• Rule of thumb: ~10 Wh = 1 smartphone charge.
• 300 Wh powers a laptop or CPAP overnight.
• 1000+ Wh can run appliances like a fridge for hours.

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Output Options:

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• USB-C / USB-A: for phones and tablets.
• 12V Car Port: for camping fridges, inflators.
• AC Outlets: for household devices, medical equipment.
• Look for pure sine wave inverters if running sensitive electronics.

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Recharge methods and portability:

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• Wall Outlet: fastest, but useless if the grid’s down.
• Solar Panels: slow but steady—essential for long-term outages.
• Car Charger: handy for topping up while driving.
• Hand-crank / dynamo: only on small survival units.

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Portability

• Under 5 lbs: pocket-sized or backpack units, best for bug-out bags.
• 10–20 lbs: mid-size stations, good for home and car use.
• 40+ lbs: large “solar generators,” best for base camp or home.

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3. Recommended Tiers

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4. Add-Ons & Accessories

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• Solar panels: foldable panels turn a power station into a self-sustaining generator.
• Extra cables/adapters: always have spares for USB-C, 12V, and AC cords.
• EMP protection bags (optional): for those prepping for worst-case scenarios.
• DC-DC car chargers: faster charging from your vehicle’s alternator.

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5. Survival Buying Tips

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• Don’t just buy the biggest—buy what you can recharge.
• Test it before you need it. Know how many hours it runs your gear.
• Store it at ~80% charge and top off every 3–6 months.
• If relying on it for medical gear, have at least two stations for redundancy.

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Final word:

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• In a blackout, an emergency battery station isn’t luxury, it’s security.
• Whether you just want to keep your phone alive for updates or you need to run lifesaving medical gear, there’s a station sized for your situation.
• Choose wisely, pair it with solar, and you’ll have one less thing to fear when the lights go out.

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Step 4: Heat (or Cooling)

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• Depending on where you live, temperature may be your biggest threat.
• Winter: Extra blankets, sleeping bags, safe indoor heat sources?
• Summer: Shade cloth, fans, ways to keep cool without AC?

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Step 5: Security and Stability

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Food and water matter, but so does safe keeping them.

Action:

• Do you have locks, ways to secure your home, or even just a plan if tensions rise in your neighborhood?

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Step 6: Health and Sanitation

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• Prescription meds; how many days’ supply do you have?
• First aid basics?
• A way to handle waste if toilets stop flushing?

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Putting It All Together

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Once you’ve tallied your food, water, power, and other essentials, ask yourself honestly:

• How many days could you actually last, right now, without leaving the house?
• For many people, the number is shockingly low.

But that’s not failure. It’s useful knowledge.

Survival isn’t about perfection. It’s about identifying your weak spots before they matter.

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Challenge ahead:

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Challenge for You:

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• Tonight, take 30 minutes and walk through your house with these steps in mind.
• Write down your food window, your water window, and where you’d struggle first.

Then ask yourself:

• Could I stretch my supplies with rationing?
• What’s the simplest thing I could add tomorrow that would double my survival window?

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Preparedness:

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Preparedness doesn’t happen all at once, it’s a mindset built day by day.

And the best time to start isn’t when the shelves are empty.

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Appreciations:

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The content for today’s presentation is by Craig

from the Substack channel on survival:

https://onsurvival.substack.com/p/how-long-could-you-survive-on-whats?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=56egti&triedRedirect=true

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