On Midrats 2 Oct 2016 - Episode 352: Building Resilience in the Face of Man Made & Natural Threats

Please join us at 5pm EDT on 2 Oct 2016 for Midrats Episode 352: Building Resilience in the Face of Man Made & Natural Threats

At the height of hurricane season, people think of the impact such storms can have on the security, economy, and even the political direction of places if hit by such huge events such as Katrina.

As we saw in the attacks in New York City in 2001, terrorists are trying to create those same effects, along with a few more. With a global economy, local events can have international impact.

How do you best to prevent, prepare for, and recover from natural events - but on the high end, terrorist attacks that go beyond explosions, but reach the next level with chemical, biological, or even nuclear weapons?

Our guest to discuss this and related concerns for the full hour will be J. Michael Barrett, Director of the Center for Homeland Security & Resilience (CHSR), and Diligent Innovations.

Mike's previous experience includes serving as the Director of Strategy for the White House Homeland Security Council, Intelligence Officer for the Office of the Secretary of Defense, and Senior Analyst for the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

A former Fulbright Scholar to Turkey, Mike has served as a Homeland Security Fellow at the Manhattan Institute, an Olin Foundation Fellow at Johns Hopkins University, and a research analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Mike received an M.A. in Strategic Studies and International Economics from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) in Washington, D.C., and an M.B.A. from the Australian School of Business in Sydney, Australia. He also was graduated cum laude with a B.A. in International Relations from the University of Pennsylvania and is an Occasional Guest Lecturer at National Defense University, Georgetown University, and Joint Special Operations University.

Join us live if you can (or pick the show up later) by clicking here. Or you can get the show later from our iTunes page here or from Stitcher here.

Getting Ready for Disasters

As hurricane season nears and we already have had a summer full of odd stormy things, time to review your disaster preparation kits - see Get Ready! Disaster Preparedness Time!

And Are You Prepared for a Hurricane? Earthquake? Flood?:

Plan for 3 to 5 days on your own. It takes that long to mobilize help.

Remember to have tools with which to dig out from under and to move things from driveways, roads and off important things.

A couple of additions: A Self-Powered AM/FM/NOAA Weather Radio with Flashlight, Solar Power and Cell Phone Charger

and a good bow saw.

Water. Water. Water. Don't forget there are probably 40 or more gallons of nice clean water in your home water heater.

EMP Again

Ships launching nuclear warhead-tipped missiles into our atmosphere and then . . . well, you won't be reading this. Or much of anything on a computer.

Of course, if we continue to develop our missile defense systems, then the threat described below is lessened, though, as the saying goes, "The bad guys only have to be lucky once."

The electromagnetic pulse threat raised again at Iran and the EMP Threat:

The radicals ruling Iran have openly talked about it as they have called for the destruction of America and a new world order that excludes America. While pursuing their nuclear bomb project, the Revolutionary Guards of Iran have successfully test-launched a ballistic missile from a ship in the Caspian Sea. Recently, they also announced that all their vessels now have been armed with long-range ballistic missiles, and that soon they will start a mission in the Atlantic Ocean that extends into the Gulf of Mexico.

The Guards have also progressed with their missile program under the guise of a space project. Soon they will launch another rocket into space, this time carrying a 330-kilogram payload, a sign that they can now deliver a nuclear warhead to any point on Earth. The Guards have openly stated that the rocket used to launch the satellite can be shot parallel to the Earth’s orbit, which would transform it into an intercontinental ballistic missile.

I've been posting intermittently about this threat since 2005, see Yet Another Threat and Iran plans to knock out U.S. with 1 nuclear bomb or even 2009's EagleSpeak: Warning about EMP since 2005.

Heck we had a Midrats show on the topic - Fearless Navy Bloggers Take to the Air: Halloween Special -Episode 43 EMP Threat: Hype or Other? 10/31/2010:

Listen to internet radio with Midrats on Blog Talk Radio

It's always a good idea to get ready with that disaster kit, with water filters, etc. Works for natural disasters, too.

Emergency Preparedness

A post that originally was put up in October 2007, now timely for blizzards, earthquakes and hurricanes (season is right around the corner). Bad things can happen - get ready for them:

Hurricane season is drawing to a close but fires and earthquakes, tornadoes, blizzards and other woes never go away, so it's never time to stop thinking about how to deal with emergencies.

The Department of Homeland Security has offered up ideas on a Basic Emergency Supply Kit:

* Water, one gallon of water per person per day for at least three days, for drinking and sanitation
* Food, at least a three-day supply of non-perishable food
* Battery-powered or hand crank radio and a NOAA Weather Radio with tone alert and extra batteries for both
* Flashlight and extra batteries
* First aid kit
* Whistle to signal for help
* Dust mask, to help filter contaminated air and plastic sheeting and duct tape to shelter-in-place
* Moist towelettes, garbage bags and plastic ties for personal sanitation
* Wrench or pliers to turn off utilities
* Can opener for food (if kit contains canned food)
* Local maps

Additional Items to Consider Adding to an Emergency Supply Kit:

* Prescription medications and glasses
* Infant formula and diapers
* Pet food and extra water for your pet
* Important family documents such as copies of insurance policies, identification and bank account records in a waterproof, portable container
* Cash or traveler's checks and change
* Emergency reference material such as a first aid book or information from www.ready.gov
* Sleeping bag or warm blanket for each person. Consider additional bedding if you live in a cold-weather climate.
* Complete change of clothing including a long sleeved shirt, long pants and sturdy shoes. Consider additional clothing if you live in a cold-weather climate.
* Household chlorine bleach and medicine dropper – When diluted nine parts water to one part bleach, bleach can be used as a disinfectant. Or in an emergency, you can use it to treat water by using 16 drops of regular household liquid bleach per gallon of water. Do not use scented, color safe or bleaches with added cleaners.
* Fire Extinguisher
* Matches in a waterproof container
* Feminine supplies and personal hygiene items
* Mess kits, paper cups, plates and plastic utensils, paper towels
* Paper and pencil
* Books, games, puzzles or other activities for children

Of course, it depends on the time you have to get ready. It was interesting to see that some of the California wildfire evacuees took tens and camping gear with them to shelters. With the newer style tents that are free standing, they provided families with a modicum of privacy at a stressful time.

Last year we gave our kids small emergency kits suitable for car or home. REI sells a nice "Survivor in a Bottle" kit for about $20. It has the virtue of being compact.


Quake Pro offers up water in a box with a 5-year shelf life here. They sell personal-sized survival packages (3 days of food and water & a space blanket) for $21. See here. Water in 4 oz pouches available here 100 pouches for $30.

Emergency Essentials sells fill-it-yourself boxed water kits (25 gallons) for about $30, as well as many other useful items.

You might want to add a folding shovel to the kit - this place sells one for about $8. Good idea for travel in snow country.

Some companies will sell you complete kits with items you might not have thought of - a 5-person kit from iPrepare.com has a lot of stuff and you can add more. The kit contains:

5 Person Kit Includes:
5 2400-Calorie Food Bars, 15 8.5 Oz. Water Boxes, 5 Solar Blanket, 1 Pair of Work Gloves, 50 Purification Water Tablets, 12 Sanitary Waste Bags, 1 Pkg. Sanitary Toilet Chemicals, 1 Box Waterproof Matches, 1 AM/FM Radio with Light & Generator, 4 12-Hour Light-sticks, 5 Dust Masks, 5 Tissue Packs, First Aid Kit, Latex Gloves, 5 Candles. Comes packed in 1 Port-A-Potty Bucket.

Runs about $160 and weighs 26 pounds.

And don't forget the radio. Information is everything in an emergency. Get a good hand crankable radio with a weather band. The Hurricnae Store.com offers up one for about $25. Amazon has a Grundig for $40:

At slightly more than a pound in weight, and with dimensions of 6.5 x 5.75 x 2.25-inches (WxHxD), the FR200 is designed to be tucked neatly into its handy nylon carrying case and can be easily stored in an emergency box, or packed neatly for a camping trip. An LED flashlight is set on the front of the radio, just to the side of the analog tuner. The flashlight is designed to help you down an unlit stairwell or enclosed hallway in a pinch, but the light is not directed or strong enough to help you much in a pitch-black forest or other open area. The radio and light can be operated simultaneously, though of course at the expense of power.

Build a couple of kits for your cars and the house and rest a little easier.

UPDATE: Leather work gloves for everyone are a good idea.

As are a long "wrecking" bar -

and a "come along puller" (more on these here).

Why the come along? To help move trees out of roads and things off other things - they take little space and can move a lot in a hurry.

Here's a video of some bright lads unloading a tool box from a pickup truck - and while I can't say all safety standards were observed, it appears that they got the job done - - though my thoughts are more horizontally oriented than the vertical seen here: