Posted on 03/30/2011 4:27:32 PM PDT by Red in Blue PA
LOS ANGELES - The people want gas masks. Also flashlights, batteries, iodine tablets and machetes. And Ovi Lalo is their reluctant supplier.
Lalo has run California Surplus Mart in Hollywood for 34 years, and he said he always sees a bump in customers right after earthquakes and other natural disasters.
But this time, he said, customers seem more ravenous for supplies than usual.
....
"Three things are lined up. Something's going to happen," said the 35-year-old Hollywood man, who was shopping recently with his girlfriend and a neighbor. "The question is when."
Jaworski and his companions easily spent hundreds of dollars on propane stoves, knives, gas masks, first-aid kits and a portable shower, leaving the store with two duffel bags full of supplies. It was all Lalo could do to not cluck his tongue when he saw the customers walk away with gas masks.
"They're going to do whatever they feel like doing," Lalo said. "You can't tell them what to do."
He's not the only one seeing a bump in worried customers. Companies selling nuclear fallout bunkers and survival pods said they have seen an increase in inquiries after the tsunami. Home Depot is experiencing a run on supplies such as first-aid kits, batteries and masks. Online sites that sell survival kits are backed up for days.
Lalo has set up an earthquake preparedness section in the back of his store, past the ski masks, long underwear and studded belts that his Hollywood customers usually demand. He wants them to buy the pouches of water that have a shelf life of five years, the 6-inch blocks of food that contain 3,000 calories and the first-aid kits that come in red backpacks.
(Excerpt) Read more at dispatch.com ...
People are waking up. Govt will not be there for you.
My 19 year old came home today with 40 lbs of beans and 10 lbs of sugar. “I can trade the sugar”.
He’s shaming me into buying a water filter.
Buy canned goods and staples for trading material...
I remember the Los Angeles riots in 1992. I saw the Wisconsin mobs on TV. The California state and city checks will stop going out at some point soon. Things could get ugly.
Food is what we need to work on.
Currently we are sufficiently equipped to start a small war(and likely finish it too), but we haven’t yet started on the food in a big way. That’s this year’s goal.
I have been prepping since november 08. Best site for good deals I have found
www.sportsmansguide.com
Pressure canning has kept the cost of stocking up on food way down, and pressure canned meat is delicious!
Also,
thereadystore.com and beprepared.com
Hadn’t considered body armor. Something else to go on the list!!! (bah!)
Do they make it for kids too? lol
They make all sizes....even stops .44 magnum. Very expensive though as as one would expect.
But if the S ever does HTF, that will be a piece of gear you are glad to have.
A must have for those near urban areas IMO.
Scroll down here for a video on them:
Being a prepper is a process, not an event.
And the point of your post is????
No panic here we have been working on the stash for 2 years. Haven’t got the body armor yet but its on the list.
Heads up on Water filters. Big Berkey is increasing their price on their water filtration system by 25%-30% on April 14th. Order now if you want one.
Wow!
Unfortunately, I will not be able to buy a Berkey before then.
I saw a website which had information on how to build your own for around $99. Come to think of it, it may have been from Kartographer!
***I remember the Los Angeles riots in 1992. .... Things could get ugly.***
My Sister-in-law lived in Los Angeles during the Cuban Missile Crisis. She said the people absolutly went berzerk grabbing food and trying to get out of LA.
To let others know that prepping is more the running to the store and buying a crap load of stuff and thinking you are covered. It wasn’t to you directly just to newbies on the subject.
I have been devouring survival books for about two years already and learned a ton so far.
I buy the five gallon jugs from bjs for 5 dollars. Great deal. I also have a katadyn filter as well as iodine tabs in all my tshtf bags.
Free download of FM-76, the Army Field Survival manual:
http://www.ar15.com/content/manuals/FM21-76_SurvivalManual.pdf
Cody Lundin has sone great books on this subject.
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