May 10 2011 – Month-long Floods. Mandatory Vaccinations. Ticking Time Bombs. And Stink Bugs.

Preparedness News
Greetings from Michael Knight at The Portland Preparedness Center.

Drenching Floods
Record-breaking winter snow storms, followed by record-
breaking spring rains in the Midwest and East Coast of the US
have resulted in record-breaking flooding which is so bad in
some areas that it'll be the end of the month, at least, before the
flood waters subside.

The UK Guardian reports, “Heavy winters in the upper Midwest and

an extremely wet April – with 600% more rain than normal in some
southern states – have turned 2011 into a season of floods along the
Mississippi's 2,320-mile route. In Memphis, the river ran nearly three miles wide on Monday, about six
times its usual span...”

Now let's look at how short-term thinking that is mostly focused on making or saving a dollar at any
cost can jeopardize long-term survival.
There has been a “marked increase' in floods along the Mississippi over the past 20 years, but that
hasn't stopped bad city planning that has allowed people to build malls and subdivisions on flood
plains or behind levees that were supposed to squeeze these mighty rivers into artificial channels.
Now, some of those levees are being deliberately blown apart so flood waters can inundate
hundreds of thousands of acres of cropland – which means what? That there will be no
meaningful production off that land this year.
We can't argue the fact that the weather is changing everywhere. The evidence is all around us.
But we can argue that while it is catastrophic for many, these changes are quite natural, and in many
cases very predictable. Therefore, it would behoove us to do everything we need to do – as
uncomfortable as that might be – to take responsibility for ourselves, and ensure our own survival.
Most people will ignore these suggestions until it's too late, but that includes getting out of the cities,
especially the coastal ones, and storing food as insurance against shortages and rising prices, or cutting
back on expenses like car payments or unnecessary outings to the restaurant or theater, so you have
more of your own money to divert into what you should have for your own survival.
Just do it. Otherwise you're likely to be a victim of those crop shortages, and if you’re
unfortunate enough to be caught in one of those flood zones, you'll have to contend with toxic
crud from industrial areas, maybe the loss of your property, future mosquito plagues, and, most
telling of all, uncertainty over where you're going to get clean drinking water from.
Flood Time Tips

If you must prepare to evacuate, you should do the following:

• Secure your home. If you have time, bring in outdoor furniture. Move essential items to an
upper floor.
• Turn off utilities at the main switches or valves if instructed to do so. Disconnect electrical
appliances. Do not touch electrical equipment if you are wet or standing in water.
If you have to leave your home, remember these evacuation tips:
• Do not walk through moving water. Six inches of moving water can make you fall. If you have
to walk in water, walk where the water is not moving. Use a stick to check the firmness of the
ground in front of you.
• Do not drive into flooded areas. If floodwaters rise around your car, abandon the car and move
to higher ground if you can do so safely. You and the vehicle can be quickly swept away.
Driving Flood Facts
The following are important points to remember when driving in flood conditions:
• Six inches of water will reach the bottom of most passenger cars causing loss of control and
possible stalling.
• A foot of water will float many vehicles.
• Two feet of rushing water can carry away most vehicles including sport utility vehicles (SUV’s)
and pick-ups.
After a Flood
The following are guidelines for the period following a flood:
• Listen for news reports to learn whether the community’s water supply is safe to drink.
• Avoid flood waters; water may be contaminated by oil, gasoline, or raw sewage. Water may also
be electrically charged from underground or downed power lines.
• Avoid moving water.
• Be aware of areas where flood-waters have receded. Roads may have weakened and could
collapse under the weight of a car.
• Stay away from downed power lines, and report them to the power company.
• Return home only when authorities indicate it is safe.
• Stay out of any building if it is surrounded by flood waters.
• Use extreme caution when entering buildings; there may be hidden damage, particularly in
foundations.
• Service damaged septic tanks, cesspools, pits, and leaching systems as soon as possible.
Damaged sewage systems are serious health hazards.
• Clean and disinfect everything that got wet. Mud left from floodwater can contain sewage and
chemicals.
Vaccines - Mandated
Remember the big swine flu scare?

The one that was engineered by the World Health Organization and
all its “advisers” from the big pharmaceutical companies? The one
that helped them sell billions of dollars worth of mercury-laced
vaccines that have terrible side-effects (which all our health
departments naturally deny).

California is now on the mandatory vaccination band wagon, demanding that from July 1 kids in the 7th
to 12th grade must show proof that they've had a booster shot against pertussis, which is whooping
cough to you and me.

While it is said that “deeply held beliefs” (presumably religious) are grounds for refusing the shot, the
state expects up to three million kids will need to be vaccinated.

Frankly, what we'd like to see, in order to settle the argument over whether vaccination is good or bad,
is a long-term study of all vaccinations coupled with legitimate records of what sort of follow-on
effects might occur. These could include autism, Downs syndrome and even post-vaccination deaths
within a few days – not to mention the effects on pregnant women and their unborn children.

Unfortunately, the majority of people accept the media blitzes that quote officials who spout the
same old line that vaccinations are “good for your health” or “essential to control this or that”
without doing their own research and deciding for themselves whether these shots are worth the
risk. They'd even find out that bugs and viruses evolve faster than the drugs that are supposed to
eliminate them. Which is why we stock many natural remedies and medical kits as survival essentials.

Japan – Nuclear Time Bomb

Here's why we say Japan is a nuclear time bomb.

For starters, that could've been said, and should've

been said, loud and clear, well before the rush to use
nuclear energy to supply that country, or any country,
with electricity.

Not only is nuclear fuel and its residue radioactive for

thousands of years, regardless of how it is contained,
but as has been seen at Three Mile Island, Chernobyl,
and now at the Fukushima Daichi plant in Japan,
none of these structures is immune to natural forces –
or internal “accidents” that were unforeseen by the
very people who sold us the idea that nuclear power
is both clean and safe. BULL....
The crippled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant in
Okumamachi, Fukushima prefecture, northern Japan is seen in
this March 24, 2011 aerial photo taken by small unmanned drone
and released by AIR PHOTO SERVICE. UPI/Air Photo Service
Co. Ltd.
Unless those reactors at Fukushima somehow sink 20,000 feet into the ocean, they'll go on leaking into
the sea and destroying all marine life in the vicinity. And what happens as the ocean currents pick up
that stuff and circulate here there and everywhere – not to mention the airborne radioactivity that has
displaced hundreds of people from their homes, perhaps forever?

But that's not all.

There's another nuclear plant in Japan that the Opposition Party and a leading scientist are
referring to as “the world's most dangerous nuclear power plant.”

“Situated on the Pacific coast in Omaezaki, about 112 miles southwest of Tokyo, Hamaoka is in an area
where a magnitude-8 earthquake is strongly projected to hit” (and) “the ground on which it sits could
rise 10-20 feet if struck by an earthquake.”

It would take no more than half a day for radiation to reach Tokyo – and if the disaster
was severe enough, how long to reach the United States? (Remember – we have radiation
monitors here, so we'll keep you informed immediately if we notice any real changes).
Meantime – you should seriously consider buying Survivadine.

Footnote: Within minutes of writing about the Hamaoka

nuclear power plant, we learned that the operators intend to
shut it down “until it can be better defended against the type
of massive tsunami that in March triggered the worst atomic
crisis in 25 years.”

Unfortunately, there are plenty of similar plants in the

United States, including Diablo Canyon in California
(image above) and if there is an earthquake there any
time soon, everything we have said will still apply – but
MUCH too close to home.

Readers Write

Stink Bugs
Could you address how to protect your crops from the brown stink bug found in the Eastern regions?
thanks,
Carrie
Sure Carrie. Penn State University tells us that “The brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB),
an insect not previously seen on our continent, was apparently accidentally introduced into
eastern Pennsylvania. It was first collected in September of 1998 in Allentown, but
probably arrived several years earlier. As of September 2010, Halyomorpha halys has been
recorded in 37 counties, although it is probable that they are in all counties.”
Not being a fan of poisonous sprays, we'd suggest one solution might be as follows (from a
gardening discussion group we came across):-

“After struggling with these infuriating reticulated brown stink bugs that we've been getting here in
Montgomery County PA for the last few years, I think I finally found the best answer for dealing with
them. No matter what I do, a couple still manage to find their way into the house every week and I've
been grabbing them with a tissue and flushing them away, but that always seemed so wasteful.

“ Recently, my friend was telling me about her daughter's Venus Flytrap and I thought about how I
hadn't seen one of these plants since I was a kid and I wondered how I had never owned one of these
oddballs. About a month ago, my local Giant supermarket had some on sale in the plant department so I
couldn't resist. As I worried about the plant because I don't get a lot of flies and it wasn't getting a lot of
"protein", it suddenly occurred to me that I had the perfect solution. I've started dropping the stink bugs
into the container and it's working out beautifully. The plant came in a plastic sleeve with a cap so if the
stink bug doesn't immediately hit an open pod that slaps shut on it, it can't escape forever. No mess, no
fuss, and it's very quiet. If you have kids, I'm sure they'd get a kick out of it. I kind of like the idea of
the plant eating the bugs for a change... “

So there you have it Carrie. That's one way to deal with Stink Bugs in Pennsylvania. But can you
give us any leads on how to deal with the ones in Washington? (Tongue in cheek, of course)
.

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