Page 99 - American Survival Guide - October 2017

IT DOESN’T MAT-
‹ One of the hazards of hurricanes is the uprooting and toppling of large trees, such as this victim of Hurricane Sandy. hotel room), a hurricane/tropical storm
‹ A recent view of Alaska’s Seward Harbor—long after it was destroyed by an earthquake and a tsunami choice but to hunker down in place.
ASG_94-101_1710_OUT.indd
TER IF YOU ARE
TRAVELING OR
ARE IN YOUR OWN
BACKYARD; YOU
MUST HAVE AN
UNDERSTANDING
OF YOUR SUR-
ROUNDINGS.
Once on the ground, my first stop is the
local grocery store, where I pick up a case
of water and some nonperishable food
(such as cereal). I will feed off this stash
while away—thereby not only saving
money, but having piece of mind knowing I
have the things I need to survive if needed.
Being prepared has saved the day more
than once. While in Florida, my wife and
I had just arrived in Orlando after leaving
Naples earlier that morning. We had been
in Naples to gather information for several
articles I was working on.
As I watched the news (safely in our
warning flashed across the screen. Naples,
which is on Florida’s western Gulf Coast,
was getting slammed, and the storm was
heading inland toward the Orlando area.
We had just missed it.
The next morning, the storm hit Orlando
hard. The minute the lights started
flickering, panic set in for the other
hotel guests. Some wanted to flee (it
was too late for that), some wanted to
head to the bar (not a good idea in that
situation), and others did not have a
clue about what to do. My wife and I just
stayed put in our room. We had food, wa-
ter and communication with the outside
world if needed. We were prepared to ride
out the storm.
While on a trip to the Hawai’ian Islands,
we experienced a more serious chal-
lenge. We were staying in Hilo, on the Big
Island, where we ran into a triple threat:
An earthquake happened off the coast
of South America, so we were under a
tsunami warning. The tsunami escape
route was up to higher ground—but the
volcanos were also active, making this
option tricky. And just for good measure, a
tropical storm was also hitting the island.
All flights off island were cancelled, and
all ships were staying put, so there was no
[ASGMAG.COM] AMERICAN SURVIVAL GUIDE 99
99 7/12/17 11:36 PM