les O'fieldstream WUblog

Over on aquak9's blog, she provided a great idea for preparing a 'ready-to-run-kit' for those emergencies when you only have a short time to grab the most basic valuable papers and information.

A great list and idea aquak9!

Such thinking ahead and planning is good for anyone in anyplace; even for those of us who are NOT in Hurricane Harm's Way.

We here in Hoosierville deal with the Whirleycanes most folks just call 'em tornadoes.

Now even though y'all in the hurricane zones get the 'whirleycanes' spawned from those prickley hurricanes, y'all have time to prepare. Or, well, procrastinate, whatever turns your clock, eh? But, we here in the flat-out bowling alley of whirleycanes, have but seconds - sometimes! - to grab our butts and leave for shelter of any kind. So, having a 'prepare-to-run-for-your-life-pac-kit' is a really great idea!

But what about those 'bigger items': harddrives full of data, packets of DVD's, CDs, and photos - not to mention valuable documents - legal, financial, health, etc.?

What do you do to protect them?

Something I've not 'yet' done, but know of more than one person who has, is to buy a good sized safe; yep of those big heavy steel boxes with a tumbler style combination lock - just like in a bank; dig a hole in the ground and store important items there [1].

The basic method for doing so goes something like this.

Dig a 'hole' and line it with plastic, concrete, or rocks (something that will not rot or rust). Drop the safe in BACK FIRST - so the door opens UP. Be sure to enclose your valuables in a DOUBLE WALLED PLASTIC BAG and close it.

Don't just bury the safe with dirt! Remember there are tumblers that can rust and sieze here, so you want to keep moisture out as much as possible. So, FIRST, be sure to 'waterproof' (not resist!) the lock.

Covering in hot wax (w/ a layer of plastic underneath to keep the wax out of the lock works) is one way. Another is to build a very tight seal between your lid and 'hole liner'. A good idea is to place at least a 1/2 pound bag of quality desiccant (to absorb the moisture from the air) inside the 'ground storage' unit.

Silica gel, calcium sulfate, calcium chloride, montmorillonite clay, and molecular sieves are commonly used as desiccants. The most common are Silica Gel and Calcium Chloride. Both easily found and relatively inexpensive.

Build a waterproof cover for the 'liner' with a lid of some sort, covered in heavy gauge plastic and a 'fake cover'. I know of two that have 'flower gardens under a tree' over 'em.. ". )

The 'flower gardens' can be constructed on a 'lid' made of re-rod reinforced concrete, laminated layers of plastic and galvanized metal or water-resist treated lumber. The 'underground storage cavity' (aka, 'hole') is accessed by lifting the lid. How you 'lift the lid' will depend on the material(s) used to construct the lid and the equipment you can access to remove it.

Backhoes, hydraulics, chain hoists and rollers have been used in those I've seen. This way the 'storage cavity' is not an obvious target and is -relatively - accessible.

If the same preparations are made to a cement floor INSIDE - aka, under roof - then access and dryness could be less 'regular' problems.

This is a 'bit more' than aquak9's zip-lock bag, but it also addresses how to keep larger (size and quantity) of valuables safe from destruction when Mother Nature rips at your home.

The bottom-line is, Be Prepared. Not matter how you do it, Be Prepared.

les O'fieldstream

References
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[1] Go figure, this 'idea' was issued U.S. Patents (variations on the theme) from as far back as 1887 and most recently in 1994. ". )

[2] Here's a 'visual', in principle, of what I'm talking about. So, it's not a 'new idea' by any stretch. ". )