Robbery/Looting post-Sandy

[Pythius]

So, folks in Long Beach have signs saying "You loot, we shoot".

There are now stories of robberies going on in Rockaway.

Once this is over, its time for everyone who owns a home, to buy a shotgun.

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[archer51]

So, folks in Long Beach have signs saying "You loot, we shoot".

There are now stories of robberies going on in Rockaway.

Once this is over, its time for everyone who owns a home, to buy a shotgun.

So if you rent, you're still left at the mercy of the BG's and a city government who doesn't care if your safe?

[Naufragia]

How are you holding up in Queens? Everything okay?

[OldVet]

Yes, you'll need it when the next "hundred-year storm" hits next year. Hindsight is sooooo accurate it's scary.

[Rawah]

Queens residents arm themselves in the post-storm blackout from looters - NY Daily News

Pythius,
Is this what your seeing? A see your in Queens...

[ANGLICO]

So, folks in Long Beach have signs saying "You loot, we shoot".

There are now stories of robberies going on in Rockaway.

Once this is over, its time for everyone who owns a home, to buy a shotgun.

Why just 'one'?

[Hopyard]

NRA-ILA | New York

There are asterisks in the "No" column which go to this phrase--* Except in New York City.

Those running out to illegally obtain shotguns or rifles for their NYC dwellings are making
a mistake.

Also please note: Hurricane Sandy drives down major crimes in New York City - but burglaries surge - NY Daily News

Surge is hardly a proper word here. Burglaries have gone up 3% as is stated in the story, from 267 to 271
over a 5 day period. The world isn't coming to an end even if you live in Coney Island.

[ccw9mm]

“It’s cold in the house, no lights on,” he said. “Everything’s closed because people were stealing from stores. There’s no food. People are cooking on top of garbage cans."

And that's how quickly it turns, with zero prep. Welcome to the real world, where many of the desperate and the predatory don't give a damn about who's impacted by their thievery, looting and depredations. All they know is: they need, now, and you've got it.

30 days of water, 30 days of a dense food (energy/nutrition bar), vitamins/meds, sufficient blankets, a small and independent source of heat (camp stove/heater/propane), candles, a bicycle, spares, wastes into a large trash can/bags until the water/services come back. Most folks should be able to survive for awhile on just that much, ignoring bills/cash in the equation. But in the city, there aren't many who do this. I'm betting a few more will, now, once this situation has passed.

[Pythius]

How are you holding up in Queens? Everything okay?

Bad flood damage on my parent's floor. Most of it will have to be replaced. Would have been REAL scary seeing the floors flooding, my parents would have had to evacuate their apartment. Still can't believe that much water got in through the closed windows and ACs.

they are staying with me till they get back heat/hot water.

[Naufragia]

Bad flood damage on my parent's floor. Most of it will have to be replaced. Would have been REAL scary seeing the floors flooding, my parents would have had to evacuate their apartment. Still can't believe that much water got in through the closed windows and ACs.

they are staying with me till they get back heat/hot water.

Sorry about the flood damage. Glad your family's okay, though. Stay safe.

[chiefjason]

The thin line that separates paranoia from preparation is usually in the form of some disaster.

Good luck and stay safe up there.

[Bark'n]

And that's how quickly it turns, with zero prep. Welcome to the real world, where many of the desperate and the predatory don't give a damn about who's impacted by their thievery, looting and depredations. All they know is: they need, now, and you've got it.

30 days of water, 30 days of a dense food (energy/nutrition bar), vitamins/meds, sufficient blankets, a small and independent source of heat (camp stove/heater/propane), candles, a bicycle, spares, wastes into a large trash can/bags until the water/services come back. Most folks should be able to survive for awhile on just that much, ignoring bills/cash in the equation. But in the city, there aren't many who do this. I'm betting a few more will, now, once this situation has passed.

Most officials say prep for at least 3 days (72 hours) of water, food, fuel, etc. But I agree with ccw9mm. For disasters such as this one, (especially if you live in a very densely populated urban hub) I think one should prep for at least one month minimum.

I think those who live in sparsely populated areas may be able to get by with less preps (although, I don't think it's wise to do so). But in rural areas with less people, it's so much easier for relief agencies to respond to and fulfill their needs.

But when the disaster affects large densely populated areas with millions of people devastated, those who can be self supportive for a month is going to be way ahead of the game. We are seeing major gaps in federal response in their response. I would venture to say, there are still pockets of people who have yet to see any kind of official relief efforts at this late date, post incident. FEMA running out of drinking water to hand out, still no gasoline in many areas is making for extreme hardship on many isolated neighborhoods.

Another important aspect is to make sure your survival preps are packaged and secured in such a way that they are protected from flood waters and storm surge (especially if you live where there are hurricane threats). It's not hard to figure out that storm surge strong enough to move houses off their foundations, can easily wash your food reserves out with the receding tide as the surge pulls back. It would really suck to spend thousands of dollars to have a months worth of food and survival supplies, only to see them washed away by massive flood currents, or spoiled by contaminated flood water. So you might reconsider just having your supplies simply stacked in a corner of your garage. You should take the time and make the effort to ensure your supplies are physically secured and protected from simply being washed away during the peak of the storm.

[chiefjason]

A few things I have been thinking about. Folks in the city proper may not have a lot of room to prep. Thinking apartments and condos here. Then there are the folks who's houses just got destroyed. There goes a lot of the preps too. Those of us with some square footage and a bit of property have an easier time of it. But that also assumes my house is and stays intact.

[ElkSniper]

I just got back from a wedding in New Jersey. None of my family has power - it's been 6 days.

One neice and her husband bought a generator after Irene and an early snow that knocked out power last year. He wired it into his house and it runs the furnace. That's a key here. The rest are cold in their homes at night. You need either a generator wired in to run the furnace or an independent heating unit that is safe to run in a house. It's hitting freezing back there this time of year.

Batteries are also needed. There were none to be found, and I brought a pile with me in my carry-on on the plane for them.

Gas is the another key. My neice and her husband have a small stash - enough to run their generator off and on for up to 2 weeks. But filling up the cars is the problem - waits up to 5 hours at some stations. Some of their friends waited 2 or 3 hours just to have the station run out before they got to the head of the line. I heard that 80% of the gas stations in North Jersay either don't have gas or don't have power to pump the gas (or both). I didn't try to take any gasoline in my carry-on. :)

My family lives in various towns across North Jersey. The damage to trees is horrendous everywhere, and with overhead power lines, well, that's why the power is out everywhere. We saw power lines on the ground all over the place - we would see 6 places with downed lines just taking the dog for a short walk in the neighborhood. Not to mention the main roads that are closed due to downed wires. It will likely take several weeks to get it all working again. I'll never believe the 72-hour myth again. You need to be self-sufficient for 3-4 weeks.

One family member is on a well, so when the power went out, so did their water. She was kicking herself for not filling up the tub before the storm. It would have been useful even if it was only used to flush the toilet.

Cash is king. No power means either no credit card machines or no internet (or both), so most establishments are running on a cash-only basis right now. Oh, and many of the ATMs either don't have power or can't connect to the bank to give out money.

All in all, an interesting few days I had back there. Made me think a little differently about the preparations I should be doing.

[ANGLICO]

I just got back from a wedding in New Jersey. None of my family has power - it's been 6 days.

One neice and her husband bought a generator after Irene and an early snow that knocked out power last year. He wired it into his house and it runs the furnace. That's a key here. The rest are cold in their homes at night. You need either a generator wired in to run the furnace or an independent heating unit that is safe to run in a house. It's hitting freezing back there this time of year.

Batteries are also needed. There were none to be found, and I brought a pile with me in my carry-on on the plane for them.

Gas is the another key. My neice and her husband have a small stash - enough to run their generator off and on for up to 2 weeks. But filling up the cars is the problem - waits up to 5 hours at some stations. Some of their friends waited 2 or 3 hours just to have the station run out before they got to the head of the line. I heard that 80% of the gas stations in North Jersay either don't have gas or don't have power to pump the gas (or both). I didn't try to take any gasoline in my carry-on. :)

My family lives in various towns across North Jersey. The damage to trees is horrendous everywhere, and with overhead power lines, well, that's why the power is out everywhere. We saw power lines on the ground all over the place - we would see 6 places with downed lines just taking the dog for a short walk in the neighborhood. Not to mention the main roads that are closed due to downed wires. It will likely take several weeks to get it all working again. I'll never believe the 72-hour myth again. You need to be self-sufficient for 3-4 weeks.

One family member is on a well, so when the power went out, so did their water. She was kicking herself for not filling up the tub before the storm. It would have been useful even if it was only used to flush the toilet.

Cash is king. No power means either no credit card machines or no internet (or both), so most establishments are running on a cash-only basis right now. Oh, and many of the ATMs either don't have power or can't connect to the bank to give out money.

All in all, an interesting few days I had back there. Made me think a little differently about the preparations I should be doing.

Thanks for the 'on the scene' report.

Yep, cash and ammo.

It will be very interesting to see if this horrible situation sways the people of NYC and NJ to start demanding better 2A rights! They would be stupid not to. FL gets hit all the time (by tropical weather events) but at least in FL, they can defend themselves.