Poll: Do you trust your Government when they say it's time to go.

[DieselScout]

I am really hoping we can have an intelligent debate about this topic as I wrestle with it myself from time to time.

Easy scenario, some sort of natural disaster be it a mudslide, forest fire, tsunami, flood, hurricane, tropical cyclone or tornado is headed your way. Or, you live in an area where they have detected a highly infectious strain of flu, ebola, small pox or whatever nasty infectious bug.

Some government agency, be it Federal, state, county or city, comes to your door and asks you to leave the area voluntarily for you and your families safety. You've got 15 minutes to pack and go.

Lets assume that all the people who normally reside at the residence are already home.

Do you heed their advice? Does it mean more coming from a different tier of Government i.e., you'd listen to the Fed or State, but not the local or vice-versa?

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[locobob]

In most of your scenario's I don't see where the government would have a vested interest that would be contrary to your own.... perhaps the contagious disease example would be a possible exception. Thus in most cases you are simply trusting that a particular government agency is attempting to act in a prudent manner with the information and experience they possess. I think you would be wise to follow their instructions.... unless you either know more than they do or you think they may have ulterior motives that don't align with your own best interests.

 

[NuthinFancy]

It is situation dependant. I would pay more heed to the local firefighter or cop telling me to haul *** out of there than I would a Fema agent.

 

[Redcap]

Absolutely not. I trust nothing that the government says.

 

[Cougfan2]

In the case of an infectious disease outbreak I would think they would be more likely to seal off an area and contain it until they can determine who is infected and who isn't. In that case, if I wasn't sick, I wouldn't wait for FEMA to come around, I would be getting out of Dodge.

 

[dmancornell]

As if anyone should listen to those little Mussolini's power-tripping just because they can: Video: Mayor Bloomberg: New Yorkers must evacuate 'life threatening' Hurricane Irene - Telegraph

Maybe FEMA thinks calling themselves the "federal family" will make people listen to them: Prison Planet.com » FEMA'S use of term ‘federal family' for government expands under Obama

Federal family, is that sort of like the Fritzl family?

 

[EZLivin]

Short answer: No. Experience tells me "officials," and the media, cannot be relied upon for accurate information.

Long answer: In that scenario my wife would have already been called into the hospital, and would likely have the best (accurate) information as to what is going on. Any decision would be based upon info I receive via that source.

For me the whole idea of "prepping" is to be able to weather whatever storm comes, and to do so where I live.

 

[knuckle Head]

I would have to say it would depend on the situation, I pay close attention to what is going on around me, weather, protests, sicknesses and such. I in case of a hurricane most of th time a person get at least 100 miles in land, other things, I would have to question the source

 

[DieselScout]

Short answer: No. Experience tells me "officials," and the media, cannot be relied upon for accurate information.

Long answer: In that scenario my wife would have already been called into the hospital, and would likely have the best (accurate) information as to what is going on. Any decision would be based upon info I receive via that source.

For me the whole idea of "prepping" is to be able to weather whatever storm comes, and to do so where I live.

I am in the same situation as you. With my job I am going to know more and better information then most of the people and possibly the media as well. Also, there is a good chance I will be at work, or at least requested to come in. Most of my prep has to do with Shelter in place, but it is pretty easily mobile. I understand that everything is dependent on the situation as it is progressing. I would like to think I'd be on top of things enough to be gone already, or at least have my wife out to a safe place.

Honestly earthquake and volcanoes are what I fear the most. They happen RIGHT NOW, with little or now time to ready. And it's hard to shelter in place if there is no shelter.

 

[MrNiceGuy]

IMHO, during a serious disaster, only fools stick around long enough for government intervention.

I would be gone as soon as I see the writing on the wall, be it a hurricane, disease, volcano, etc...

For most disasters, there's plenty of warning and foreshadowing.

I remember a conversation I had with someone ~4 days before Katrina. His family refused to leave because they grew up in the house that was in danger, they had been through many storms, and they didnt trust the government...

I told him to get him and his family out of there.

He said no.

I told him there's going to be massive flooding, sewage everywhere, food and water shortages.

He said that they're not going to leave their home "unprotected".

Well... His mother and sister died in the flooding. To the best of my knowledge, there is still just a pile of rubble where their house once stood, and now he lives in Montana.

I'll risk my belongings a thousand times over before I risk my life.

 

[drew]

If I'm around when the govt. starts evacuating people, I'd be scared. I would prefer to be long gone at that point. Get out early and take what you can. Don't hang around because the catastrophe and ensuing chaos are extremely dangerous. It's only possible to rebuild and start over if you're still alive.

 

[Key-Hay]

I would bug out in my 5th wheel but here in the NW, an earthquake is the most likely scenario. If we get something like what Japan got, most bridges will be down. I don't think I can get much past a mile from my house without having to cross some kind of bridge.

The better question is how do you hunker down knowing the government WON'T be coming to help for days or even weeks. Katrina showed us that.

 

[Mark W.]

Easy scenario, some sort of natural disaster be it a mudslide, forest fire, tsunami, flood, hurricane, tropical cyclone or tornado is headed your way. Or, you live in an area where they have detected a highly infectious strain of flu, ebola, small pox or whatever nasty infectious bug.

Well lets see....

mudslide No possibility based on local topography

Forest Fire Extremely small chance of this based on local vegitation and our position within a farming area and the neighborhood we live in. There would be a slim possibility that if a Neighbors house caught on fire it could spread to ours In which case the big sprinklers would be running on the roof LIKE RIGHT NOW

tsunami Not possible

flood we had the 100 year flood here in the winter of 1996 Caused by ground water as a result of slow run off from extreme rains. Water made it up to 1/2" deep in my laundry room. This is approx. 4" below my shop floor and 15" below floor level. In order for the water to raise the 4" to reach the level of the shop floor. An area approching a large portion of the Willamette Valley would have to flood. The yard in both the fornt and rear of my house has been raised 9" and a complete drainage system has been put in uder the yard to stop this from ever happening again.

During the worst flood during my life time in the Willamette Valley caused by a raise in river levels happened at Christmas in 1965 Silverton and the surrounding area was not effected and my house weathered that.


hurricane, is Atlantic Ocean so pretty sure one is not showing up in Oregon

tropical cyclone Well lets see Columbus Day Storm of 1962 is a contender for the title of most powerful extratropical cyclone recorded in the U.S. in the 20th century; with respect to wind velocity, it hit this part of Oregon with winds gusting to around 110mph. My house withstood that with minimum damage and has since been greatly improved and added onto in a way that would guarantee withstanding higher winds. Including reduced roof over hang (soffets are less then 12" now) The front porch has been completely enclosed with Lexan windows that can be quickly reiforced with OSB panels. I'm sure I will suffer some roof shingle damage in high winds. But the actual structure of the roof was completely repaired and then a full layer of Certified 1/2" and 3/4" Plywood was put on with 10d galvanized nails on 8" centers. And since the original hot tar smear roofing material was still on the roof from 1923 I know the structure can withstand Columbus day storm level winds.

flu, ebola, small pox or whatever nasty infectious bug if not currently sick with what ever then home with the doors shut is the safest possible place to be.


Volcano Well Mt St. Helens went and the worst we got was a thin layer of ash. Should Mt Hood go in a similar fashion I assume the ash would be worse no chance of flooding at this distance and topography. if Mt Jefferson went big time. There is a slight chance Silverton could receive some serious ash and maybe some minor flooding.

Dam breachIf the local Dam were to quickly fail we are approx 4 blocks above the maximum projected flood plane. And that is the yard so it would still have to raise another 6" to reach the floor of the house. Granted the Shop could flood. But just to make the additional 4 block distance would require more water then the dam normally holds back.

So I really don't see leaving. Cause short of an earthquake much stronger then the 5.6 Spring Break Quake that was centered about 12 miles from my house (during which the only damage I could find in the whole place was a vertical crack in some thick paint in the corner of two wood walls (resulting from about .060" of movement) I am not worried about how my house would handle up to about a 6.5 to 6.8 originating at the same spot (extremely unlikely)



I'm good to stay right here.

 

[Just Jim]

Do you trust your Government ?



jj

 

[twoclones]

Would I go? I didn't last time and my house survived the fire. So did my neighbor's house because I put laws sprinklers on top of his house but a few buildings within view from my place burned to the ground.

It's absolutely situation dependent. I've been surrounded by big fires {200,000 acres and more} 3 times and twice stayed put. Both of those times I had good irrigation and multiple escape routes available.

 

[hawaiian420]

I dont know if this as said already but I Hope that the people "who will know things others dont" because of their job or their wifes job would be kind enough to let us "not in the know" peolpe in on the info. It may seem standard but I kinda feel like its hard to know what to, and what not to believe these days. Theres soooooo much information out there it can be confusing on who to believe and whos talkin ish. What I cant stand are the people who dont know $hit talking like they know something. I think people have a hard time NOT TALKING. Their mouth seems stay open more than a 7-Eleven. Flappin their gums all over the place.

I do believe in the goodness of people, but they are far and few in between.

 

[Burt Gummer]

Just needed the first five words for a NO.

 

[DieselScout]

Thanks for all the answers, I guess part of being prepared is being better educated then the rest of the sheep....I mean population. I frankly hope to be long gone before the someone has to tell me to leave. I think I need to spend more time with the wife driving the back roads. I can do it blind folded, but she gets lost easily.

 

[EZLivin]

I dont know if this as said already but I Hope that the people "who will know things others dont" because of their job or their wifes job would be kind enough to let us "not in the know" peolpe in on the info.

As long as the internet is up information will get out, particularly on forums such as this. The issue is doing it tactfully so as not to compromise the first-hand sources of the information.

 

[NuthinFancy]

As long as the internet is up information will get out, particularly on forums such as this. The issue is doing it tactfully so as not to compromise the first-hand sources of the information.

The larger issue is separating the BS from the truth. Don't think for a moment that there aren't agents provocateur on all of these different fora that aren't all about spreading disinfo, if only for their personal giggles.