Heavy Storm in Perth and some advice wanted

skippious

Member
Joined
Apr 14, 2012
Messages
97
Location
Perth
Car(s)
F250
The day before yesterday a storm with 146km gusts tortured our Baldivis village here in WA Australia, I drove 240 Km yesterday and I bet I saw hundreds of trees fallen over, it was really bad. The hood of my 73 Ford F250 got almost blown away and when I went to pick it up, a big sign came flying through the air and almost hit me. I buried it straight away so it can't fly away again, dunno who's it is yet, it is buried upside down.

Nobody had power for about 24 hrs here, and of course the collector I am, I had enough stuff. No gennie (which I wanna buy now) but:
a makita flashlight, a Makita radio, 4x 18v 3a batteries,
a hitachi flashlight with 2 batteries,
a jumpstarter with a light in it,

I charge all that stuff once a month, just in case :mrgreen:

8 of those LED push lights, with plenty of batteries,
2 normal flashlights with plenty of batteries,
plenty of candles,
Everything was really dark, nobody had decent light except me, WITH LOUD MUSIC, :lol:

Yesterday and today everybody went stocking up on food, the shops are empty now, I didn't because I always have:
enough beer and drinks and water to last for weeks,
enough canned food that is long lasting like spam, fish etc.

I cook on gas, so that's ok, and I have a BBQ with 2 full gas bottles.
Have a hot water tank, which keeps a bit warmer water stored, so I could have a shower in the morning,
plastic in case the roof gets partially blown off,

The only thing I did is fill up the car as the petrol stations were out of power aswell yesterday.

I never had this before, but this can happen more often.... Like tonight.
Tonight another storm is gonna hit us, 125km gusts is expected. 3rd in a week. Some bad stuff has already happened as there are choppers flying around over my house.

All I missed was a kettle, I had to heat water up in a pan on the gas, which doesn't go as quick.

What do you guys think I might be missing, as there must be heaps of people who are used to these calamities.
Also if you have a inverter generator, which one do you have and is it any good?

We're gonna brace here, will let you know how it went.
 
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First Aid kit and spare charged battery for the mobile phone. Backpack with a change of clothes and, if you haven't memorised them, written down numbers for immediate family/friends in the event your phone is dead and you need to call them via landline (add phone card/coins to the kit). Small radio + batteries also good. Think about what you need if you get sent to an evacuation centre. Although you can usually get a toothbrush + paste and a comb there. Pack a book or something for amusement, because sitting in one of those all night can get damn boring.

Also if you have any medications, some backup or at least know where your prescriptions are (there is usually access to the hospital pharmacy or other pharmacy in event of an emergency and they will give you a day or two of your meds to tide you over). If you have medical conditions or medication allergies, you should also make sure you are wearing your medi-alert.

Other handy things are a tarp and rope, tow rope, shovel, rake, bucket and ziplock bags in the car with pad, pencil, biro and permanent marker. Reflective vest and flares might be a bit of overkill, but can also come in handy. Walkies can also be overkill, but again can come in handy.

And good luck!
 
All of the above.

Plus McGuyver - The Complete Collection on DVD or BluRay.

EDIT: And a really smart kangaroo that can go and fetch help if all else fails.
 
First Aid kit and spare charged battery for the mobile phone. <- First aid in car, no spare battery, gotto buy one.

Backpack with a change of clothes<- good one, I didn't even consider that I might have to leave.

and, if you haven't memorised them, written down numbers for immediate family/friends in the event your phone is dead and you need to call them via landline (add phone card/coins to the kit).<- got that, our pink book and a phone booth card and a long distance card and 2 different network cellphone, Telstra and optus.

Small radio + batteries also good. Think about what you need if you get sent to an evacuation centre. Although you can usually get a toothbrush + paste and a comb there. <- Good thought, like I said, I didn't even think I had to leave the house.

Pack a book or something for amusement, because sitting in one of those all night can get damn boring. <- Ms a book, me PSP with GOW and Resistance.

Also if you have any medications, some backup or at least know where your prescriptions are (there is usually access to the hospital pharmacy or other pharmacy in event of an emergency and they will give you a day or two of your meds to tide you over). If you have medical conditions or medication allergies, you should also make sure you are wearing your medi-alert.<- Contacts and my glasses, good one! Without I'm almost blind, can't drive anymore and stuff.

Other handy things are a tarp and rope, tow rope, shovel, rake, bucket and ziplock bags in the car with pad, pencil, biro and permanent marker. Reflective vest and flares might be a bit of overkill, but can also come in handy. Walkies can also be overkill, but again can come in handy.<- I have vests and always charged walkies in the car with a toolbox and a lot of cableties, tape and a jacket. I have a heavy duty tow rope, just not in the car, same as the shovel, rake, tarp, markers, probably all except flares.

And good luck!
Thanks for that and your advice ashpet, never even occurred to me that it can get so bad I have to leave the house. It starting to get bad now, stuff is already flying around. The worst is to hit in 4 hours. Power is likely to fail again, doesn't matter as I got a new Dutch car magazine. Cheers!!
 
Check out preparation advice for people in the path of hurricanes in the US. This is a fairly common and not-dissimilar occurrence here so there are checklists of things one should have. At least you probably won't have to worry about storm-driven sea water inundating your house.

With winds of that speed and advance warning, have you boarded up or shielded your windows yet? You don't want flying glass if you can avoid it, and in extreme conditions a single broken window can render a structure uninhabitable. You will want to have provisions to do this on hand for future use, too.
 
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A chainsaw is usually a good thing to have in these situations. Fallen trees are always a problem in storms. I hope that you get through without any losses, so hang in there and good luck.
 
More info here:
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/prepare/ready.php
http://www.broward.org/HURRICANE/Pages/HurricaneKitShoppingGuide.aspx
http://www.txdps.state.tx.us/dem/ThreatAwareness/weather_aware_hurricane.htm
http://www.scdhec.gov/administration/ophp/hurricane/

Basically, you're getting the straight line wind speeds of a hurricane so most of this should apply. Hurricanes are a regular occurrence on the Gulf Coast and along the lower Eastern Seaboard of the US, so preparedness for this stuff is down to a science here - lots of good advice on those sites.

Good luck, keep your head down and stay away from the windows...
 
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An old Falcon with a giant super charger is a must. :p

Joking aside I agree with the posted advice and wish you the best.
 
Lord. Yet another thread with reasons not to live in Australia!

Good luck, skippious.

Oh, watch how you go after the storm. After the Great Storm of 1987 in the UK which tore up and snapped millions of trees, I saw more than one person park their car under trees. At least one of them fell and crushed the car underneath.
 
First Aid kit and spare charged battery for the mobile phone. <- First aid in car, no spare battery, gotto buy one.

Also a spare charger with a multi-ended adapter. You just never know.

Backpack with a change of clothes<- good one, I didn't even consider that I might have to leave.

Socks and undies. Seriously.

and, if you haven't memorised them, written down numbers for immediate family/friends in the event your phone is dead and you need to call them via landline (add phone card/coins to the kit).<- got that, our pink book and a phone booth card and a long distance card and 2 different network cellphone, Telstra and optus.

Also, depending on how much you trust your e-mail, scan in copies of all your important documents, phone numbers and such, and e-mail them to yourself. If you find yourself having lost everything (happens a lot) you can still go to any internet point and still have access to things like pics of your ID, Passport...ect. In disaster situations, these things are essential.

Small radio + batteries also good. Think about what you need if you get sent to an evacuation centre. Although you can usually get a toothbrush + paste and a comb there. <- Good thought, like I said, I didn't even think I had to leave the house.

Toilet paper and tiny bottles of shampoo. Don't get stinky! The centers are usually empties of stuff like in just the first few hours.

Pack a book or something for amusement, because sitting in one of those all night can get damn boring. <- Ms a book, me PSP with GOW and Resistance.

Pen and paper as well. :)

Also if you have any medications, some backup or at least know where your prescriptions are (there is usually access to the hospital pharmacy or other pharmacy in event of an emergency and they will give you a day or two of your meds to tide you over). If you have medical conditions or medication allergies, you should also make sure you are wearing your medi-alert.<- Contacts and my glasses, good one! Without I'm almost blind, can't drive anymore and stuff.

Here in the States, you still need a script with a refill left on it to do this. They can technically call the doctor, but in emergency situations, that ain't gonna happen.

Other handy things are a tarp and rope, tow rope, shovel, rake, bucket and ziplock bags in the car with pad, pencil, biro and permanent marker. Reflective vest and flares might be a bit of overkill, but can also come in handy. Walkies can also be overkill, but again can come in handy.<- I have vests and always charged walkies in the car with a toolbox and a lot of cableties, tape and a jacket. I have a heavy duty tow rope, just not in the car, same as the shovel, rake, tarp, markers, probably all except flares.

Duct tape, duct tape, duct tape! I agree! And some small energy rich foods as well. And twice as much water as you think you'd ever need as mentioned before.

And good luck!

And tons of this as well!
 
So skippy? You alive?
 
Wat. All you need is a towel.

".. a towel has immense psychological value. For some reason, if a strag (strag: nonhitchhiker) discovers that a hitchhiker has his towel with him, he will automatically assume that he is also in possession of a toothbrush, washcloth, soap, tin of biscuits, flask, compass, map, ball of string, gnat spray, wet-weather gear, space suit etc., etc. Furthermore, the strag will then happily lend the hitchhiker any of these or a dozen other items that the hitchhiker might have accidentally "lost.". What the strag will think is that any man that can hitch the length and breadth of the Galaxy, ruff it, slum it, struggle against terrible odds, win through and still know where his towel is, is clearly a man to be reckoned with."

:rolleyes:

Nah. What happened in the str?m?
 
The storm was not bad, the windforce almost touched the 120km, that's a big difference with 2 days before, only 30.000 houses without power, which is better that 186.000 which was 2 days ago. All is well, we only had a few short blackouts.

I gotto dig up the sign now and call those guys to pick it up and leave flowers for the missus.

Thank you guys for the advice and the well wishes. As said before, I had no idea that it can get so bad that we have to leave the house. Also as I live in an area where a lot of big bush fires happen.

I better get the F250 done so I can load a lot of stuff when sh*t really hits the fan.

Got visitors, will continue tomorrow
 
My emergency supplies in both the house and car include:
LED headlamp
8 LED flash lights
1,000,000 candle-power spot light chargeable from a car's 12V system.
2 Jerry cans of spare gasoline, plus a gallon for the lawn mower.
3 days of MRE meals for two people
3 days of emergency sea rations - super-dense emergency food that is stocked in lifeboats
3 LED camp lanterns, two of which are hand crank/solar charging.
1 tent
2 individual sleeping bags
1 double sleeping bag
1 bulk pack of AAA batteries (about 60 batteries)
1 bulk pack AA batteries
1 vehicle-mounted CB radio
1 handheld radio
2 FRS radios
First aid supplies in the house
1 small first aid kit in the sedan
2 first aid kits in the XTerra
1 Large portable air compressor, operates off a car's battery terminals.
1 small portable air compressor, operates off a 12v plug
1 battery operated air compressor, jump pack, and LED light (can probably run that little LED for days before draining)
Tow strap
Clevis (x4)
Axe (one in the X, one in the shed)
Hatchet with utility knife integrated into the handle.
Firewood.
Pry bar
Wrecking bar
Foil-packed water (plastic bottles are not an oxygen barrier and will go bad).

That's all I can remember at the moment, I'm sure I forgot something. I'm pretty well equipped.

EDIT: Firearms and ammo to make sure my gear stays mine. After watching what happened in Katrina, I consider firearms to be a vital part of any survival kit.
 
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