How I disaster prep

Typhoon Kong Rey & losing power

The last couple of days have been a doozy. Taiwan was hit by Typhoon Kong-Rey last Thursday, the largest storm to have hit the island in 1996 and suddenly, it felt like I was living inside a washing machine. Water started trickling in from the side of our windows and front porch. At one point, it started coming in through our lights (!?!), which was horrific but impressive, and tells you a thing or two about construction standards here on old houses.

The lights kept flickering on and off and we were convinced we were going to lose power. Which we did, a full day later. And water too.

It all got to be too much, so my husband, baby, and I packed up our stuff and temporarily went to stay at my parents’ house in another neighborhood. On our drive over, we marveled at toppled trees, severed electric lines, and even convenience stores that were blacked out, the latter of which is a surefire sign that things had gotten bad.

If it wasn’t for our kid, my husband and I probably could’ve toughed it out in our house even sans water and power for a couple of days. We really only left because my baby is extremely sensitive to warm temperatures, and having the AC off for more than six hours was starting to make him visibly uncomfortable.

With erratic typhoons, constant earthquakes, and a real possibility of a Chinese military blockade, Taiwan can be a uneasy place to live in. Earlier this year, my husband and I did some basic disaster prep for our little family in anticipation for the worst case scenario. We’re extremely far off from true sufficiency, but have enough supplies to comfortably last us a couple of weeks. Here’s my list and tips: