Prepping for internet outage, AI disaster, cyber attacks etc

[Prepwithmum]

With all the news of AI escaping, possible Russian cyber attacks and disabling the Internet, is anyone else doing more now to prepare for near term SHTF. I don't mean all out death and destruction but the interim period where things like the banking system might fail or communication outages.

I always keep a little bit of cash at home, is anyone considering having a bigger stash? If so, how much?

How will you keep in touch with love ones if the systems go down?

I'm always stocked up with food and water, a few torches and not much else. What else should I consider?

Can anyone recommend a power station and compatible solar panel plus solar extension cable that could run a small chest freezer in a prolonged power outage, please?95L chest freezer.The solar panel(s) would need to be portable so they could be moved around easily, I've heard mixed reports about the folding ones not being very robut?

I have a jackery which will run my freezer but the solar panel takes a long time to recharge it.

I really don't think shops will refuse to sell you things if they have stock and you have cash. They'll adapt in the long term

Thank you, how long to recharge, please? I've estimated I'll need tw0 200 w panels and a 1000 w+ capacity power station(and a sine wave inverter for the compressor) so trying to decide what to do.Saying that, I grew up without a freezer and only had a fridge much later as we had a cold pantry!

Where and how can we pay by cash if power or Internet down? I don't think the sales assistant eiuld start pencilling down receipts.

You cant really says since it entirely depends on how sunny it is. Im sure their website probably has more info about average times

I’d get down to Bargain booze and buy £1k of alcohol/ fags for barter.

Just came here to say that DH was investigating the new portable solar panels which plug back into the network, but in the event of any outage the whole network shuts down and they wouldn't be any use, even temporarily.

I've met my people :)
I've got enough tinned meat, fish, soup, stew, cereal bars, tinned fruit, tinned veg & dried pasta and rice to keep 3 of us here fed for a week or more. A big stash of bottled water. Antibac hand wipes, small medicine kit, head torches, wind up radio that also charges phones (has solar power built in), batteries, candles. We have an outside cook station and (full) gas canister. A fire pit.
The only big worry I have is the poo and loo situation? I was thinking collect rainwater or waste water in buckets and fill the cistern to flush? But surely if the infrastructure has broken down won't the sewer pipe eventually get backed up??
I've lived without running water and electricity for 3 days before and it's worse than you think trying to keep the home hygienic. Not having a shower makes it worse.
We used the 'if it's yellow let it mellow' strategy but after 3 days with 3 adults using the loo it wasn't great.
If anyone has any tips I'd like to hear them?
Like, maybe lining the loo with a refuse sack and sprinkling on bleach or sawdust after use and disposing of it when it gets icky?
I've been watching Apocalypse (CH4) and they used a smelly bucket inside their building which had to be emptied outside. In a remote environment like theirs I'd think it would be better to dig a trench/pit outdoors -- like the earth toilets we had in Girl Guide camping. I don't think this would be a sanitary solution in an urban environment however.

@IdiotCat how about getting cat litter pellets and a bucket to make a compost loo?

We are lucky in that we have a septic tank so could empty a bucket directly into it if necessary.

Someone mentioned (on this thread or another) Bivvy Loo which is an absorbent powder, a small amount turns wee into a gel, apparently! Easier to dispose of, possibly.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/CarpLife-Products-Ltd-Camping-Absorbent/dp/B0BPTHNKWM

I'm not able-bodied enough to squat on a portable loo nor head off to the woods so my strategy will be putting a large plastic bowl in the toilet, and lining that with some kind of bag. Collect the solid or liquid in that and then dispose of it.

The suggestion that we might not be able to use the loo is quite disturbing. I would struggle with not being able to use a traditional loo. I am OK with a wild wee but not anything more challenging. Not sure how often I would want to wee in my garden either.

Keeping liquids and solids separate helps deal with odour issues ...

Agreed - and the government is preparing for this possibility (amongst many others) 😬

www.gov.uk/government/publications/public-health-advice-from-uk-cmos-during-a-national-power-outage/water-and-sanitation-scripts-for-broadcast-media

Emergency script

Thanks for posting. The idea that on Day 2 of an emergency we will be told to filter rain butt water through bedsheets and purify with household bleach will be so profoundly disturbing and unimaginable to a population which has in no way been adequately psychologically prepared for this kind of scenario that I dread to think of the consequences.

It also flies in the face of the last 60 years of urban planning, which has been all about higher population density per <resource of whatever kind> while making it harder for people to maintain even a modicum of self reliance in terms of water harvesting, food growing, even storage space.
The number of conversations I have had with people asserting that 'the government' or 'the council' will now magically buffer them against the consequences of this is concerning.

You’re absolutely right - people will start rioting upon being told they need to sh1t in a plastic bag.

The car litter/absorbent gel suggestions would work only if the sewage system was down for a short period (say 1-2 days). Otherwise you’re compounding the problem, by creating much greater volumes of waste with no way/nowhere to dispose of them.

Sadly, I suspect this would be the least of our problems under this scenario.
Btw, the scripts for food and extreme weather under total power outages are also available and equally distant from any expectation management issued to date:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/public-health-advice-from-uk-cmos-during-a-national-power-outage/food-and-nutrition-scripts-for-broadcast-media

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/public-health-advice-from-uk-cmos-during-a-national-power-outage/keeping-warm-or-cool-in-extreme-weather-scripts-for-broadcast-media

Modern bleach isn’t suitable for water purification, all those surfactants and scent.
I haven’t seen cheap/thin bleach anywhere in recent years.
Milton works, pool shock works, chlorine tablets are cheap but only suitable for doing large volumes ( over 8 litres) .
You would also have to somehow block up your loos or soil pipe, pumping stations would fail after a few days and sewage would back up through the pipes if people continued using their toilets. We’d be fucked because we have a main sewer running down our drive and across the garden, we’d have to open the hatch that is rusted shut, break open the pipe and shove concrete down to completely block it, otherwise we’d have sewage running down the outside wall where the soil stack is. Yes - I’ve seriously thought about all ‘what if’s’ .
I can only imagine how hideous a block of flats would be in a very short time.

Presumably this would be one scenario where the owners of septic tanks or cess pits would be at a considerable advantage.

That's awful! I guess that's one reason why people would leave their homes and go looking for somewhere else to stay, meaning more people on the streets or roaming about, and potential outbreaks of disease. Also imagine the clean up required afterwards!

I have to admit that the toilet situation isn't something I've really thought about much. As a family of 6 it would be "challenging" to put it mildly!

If you can stretch to it, get some inverters and leisure batteries. Or at the least car batteries to hook inverters up to (they'll need charging) that way you can keep fridges/freezers running for a bit in a power cut.

Cat litter and buckets / thick bags for toilet needs in the event of power cuts.

Hi all I’m new to prepping and have been watching this thread. Does anybody have any suggestions on how to heat food? Is a gas camping stove or cold food the only answer?

Is anybody else prepping who also has a baby? I have a 6 month old and am trying to think what I would need to put by for him. He is breastfed so that would help things. But currently weaning and I know it would be hard with limited food supplies. Wondering whether to buy some baby food jars as emergency back up. Also nappies, wipes, Calpol….