Calamity response & prevention (even more important)
#Sandy #Phailin #Yolanda #Haiyan
#Gorkha /Nepal earthquake
*click on labels(s) representing your current disaster type or location to get all info re that incident*
Please share the following links for us to gather info of our bothers and sisters during this time. Let's remember to pray and stay safe Bahamas 🇧🇸https://t.co/OUBxxj7Dkwhttps://t.co/lXtfd3lGv4
BP BREAKING| Please circulate this number - Send a text to 3595142. It's a rescue number for people in Grand Bahama who are trapped.... pic.twitter.com/8FJ0hek0UC
after we looked at all possible facts regarding generators which rely on the principle of the ICE (internal combustion engine), now we take a closer to batteries for use as backup power system and beyond 'first aid'.
First and foremost it has to be said that batteries, unlike generators can't produce electricity, but they simply store it. Batteries need to be charged first, have a certain capacity of storing a certain amount of electricity, usually by chemical components which react while being charged or discharged. Although not a 'battery' by the conventional definition, it's also possible to store electricity in the form of kinetic energy: use pumps to pump water from one level to a higher level (charge) and to use turbine/generator combinations to let the water flow to the lower level again (discharge). This method is usually forgotten, because it is mostly applied in large scale hydro-electrical projects, which often take years to construct and could cost billions of Dollars. The principle however to use a small local stream for electricity generation can also be used by using a small artificial pond on a hill (higher energy level) and converting it into a easily scalable energy storage system, much cheaper to build and run than relying on chemical batteries, which also take much more logistical effort to put in place for the same amount of stored energy (KW).
In principle even seawater could be used, but that requires components which can't corrode as easily and should only be considered when there's a lack of rain/stream water.
Reminder: always read the safety instructions provided by the manufacturer of your battery/ies thoroughly!
Batteries have the advantage that the can be used to transport electric energy from one place to another where it is urgently needed (the disaster zone). So they could deliver instant electricity without producing any noise or emitting any toxic fumes, but on the other hand they might be much heavier than generators and after their has to be addition equipment at place before the battery is fully discharged. Many chemical batteries don't even 'like' to get fully discharged, since it would have a negative impact on their lifespan and/or their capacity. However there are more modern, but also still more expensive, batteries on the market which can get fully discharged without being damaged.
Fully charged batteries should only be used, when the logistics is able to deliver 'chargers' before the lights go out again. Batteries are ideal for being the center of a reliable, stable and good quality power source. Good quality means that they can deliver in general very stable AC frequencies of 50/60Hz, because they don't have to care about exact RPMs like generators, but on the other hand they need so called inverters to transform their DC current(like 12V,24V,48V) into they widely used AC currents. Just like there are many different types of generators on the market which all produce e.g. 230V AC, but with very different specifications which justify the often big differences in their purchasing price. So the quality of DC to AC inverters also important to know in advance and often the cheapest products on the market aren't sufficient or even dangerous for sensitive kind of power consuming equipment like computers or medical equipment.
The chargers which have to get connected with those batteries at some point should ideally fit the disaster area's prime 'natural energy' source. So it wouldn't make much sense to install solar panels in areas where it's often very cloudy or which are very var North or South of the Equator and it doesn't make sense to install wind generators in areas where there is no wind or just just very sporadic wind. Of course generators can also be connected to larger batteries to recharge them, especially during the initial phase of disaster response when sufficient solar/wind capacity still needs some time to get installed. Even when the primary source of natural power production is fully operational, generators cd remain in place for backup purposes. There are maps available for almost every place on the globe giving often very reliable indications of what amounts of wind/solar energy is locally available. Many people know that solar power is very easily scalable from just one panel of 100+ Watts to whole fields of thousands of those panels (solar plant) with very big (e.g. 500 KW) inverters at their center. Wind energy however is not that easily scalable, although wind generators also start from 100+ Watts (think of small wind generators often used on yachts), but when hundreds of kilowatts or megawatts needed, it makes more sense to order very big (and more efficient) turbines instead of creating an array of smaller ones. In mountainous areas streams and rivers can also be used to install turbine based generators which deliver quick and often very constant power.
Depending on the type of battery used one has to make sure that the target area for their use fits in their operating specified by their manufacturer. Many, if not all, chemical batteries have a temperature range which they can function. And even when operated within those specified limits their capacity can be dependent on the operating environment. Many batteries lose significant portions of their capacity when operated in very cold environments, some can even freeze when it's too cold. On the other hand the can also overheat, especially when charged/discharged with high amounts of amps resulting in extreme cases in fires or explosions. Some batteries can also emit dangerous gas when e.g. charged. That's why older car batteries based on sulfuric acid and lead should be ventilated while being charged, because Hydrogen gas is being emitted during the chemical reaction which comes along with the charging procedure. People have to understand that charging/discharging always invokes a chemical reaction in the battery which transforms the content of the battery from one/several substance(s) into other(s). This often also involves the generation of certain amounts of heat. That's why it's essential not to to short circuit batteries, because the very high flow of electrons invokes a rapid reaction in the battery, which produces gas and/or heat which can result in a fire or even an explosion. Just think about those exploding laptop or smartphone batteries. So it is also wise to store the batteries in places which are
a.) ventilated
b.) not easily combustible
just to make sure that nothing goes terribly wrong once a major mistake happened.
Since all batteries operate on usually quite low DC voltages ranging perhaps from 12V to 24V, it's also a necessity to watch the diameters of the cables used to connect the battery (array) with other equipment. While many people are used to the 'usual' diameters of AC cables, which used voltages many times higher than those DC currents, the cables for equipment to be used with batteries must also be X times thicker (the conductor core, not the insulation!) unless people just want to operator a few LED lights with a few Watts. Rule of thumb: The lower the voltage, the thicker the cable has to be. So it's rather unwise to set up a heavy duty small electrical grid based on 12V technology. When then final AC consumption is 'just' 1000 Watts, some 100 Amps could be flowing from the battery array to the converter (assuming +- 20% loss). So when you use a conventional AC power cable used for 1000W AC (230V!) you can be sure that that thin wire which is designed for 16 Amps will get very hot or even melts and starts a fire ! So when you intend to use kilowatts of AC power, you should think in advance of using equipment which operates on 48V instead of 12V or even higher voltages when more power is needed. There's a reason why 12V is often used in cars while 24V is standard in trucks ! (cable lengths needed and power needs of electrical systems attached to battery)
It was already mentioned that short circuits kill batteries and also often result in fires, so it also makes sense to remind everyone to install circuit breakers (fuses) very near the battery. Just like in cars/trucks there are a number of different fuses installed it should be standard operating procedure to install a fuse box somewhere near the battery (array) in order to prevent mishaps which could also be very expensive even without resulting in a blaze. Batteries aren't cheap and every fuse installed which costs only a few cents could save some big bucks !
Batteries installed along with sufficient solar or wind generation power is very useful 4 enhancing resiliency of vital infrastructure like communication centers or cell towers and also for keeping gas stations operational in the aftermath of a natural disaster. As 'predicted' a loss of communication and refueling infrastructure had a significant impact on the e.g. the island of Puerto Rico. The aid effort couldn't be coordinated without communications (almost the entire island lost cell service & power during/after hurricane Maria hit the island) and since roughly half of the gas stations have been also 'knocked out' and fuel rationing was implemented, the use of fuel based generators also was difficult, if not impossible. The use of batteries is much recommended to make sure that vital infrastructure which relies on electricity keeps on working also during and after disaster strikes. Often the structural integrity of comms infrastructure, gas stations, hospitals and other important cornerstones of modern societies is intact, but the lack of AC power forces those fully intact ,or only slightly damaged structures, to shut down. Batteries can make wind/solar power usable 24/7/365 and should be installed in place at least for backup purposes.
Battery capacity can range from a few Ah (Ampere hours) to many MAh. Very small battery packs are useful 'range extenders' for individuals which use smartphones, tablets, laptops and want to extend their operating hours. Keeping the telephone or tablet 'alive' in the aftermath of a disaster can save lives. When the regular power source (provided by the AC utility company) fails it's essential to conserve as much electricity as possible, so it's a good idea to switch off all gadgets with large displays and a higher consumption in general and to use e.g. smartphones instead. When their internal batteries run out of power it's often possible to recharge them by tapping power from switched off laptops or another good idea is to have a 12V USB charging unit for car use at hand and to use the car battery as a backup power source for vital communication. If the roads are blocked or inundated, bridges destroyed and thus the car rendered useless and especially when the fuel tank is empty, it might be a good idea to disconnect the car battery in order to save power which is otherwise consumed by car electronics.
In order to be able to communicate after the AC power comes down the best idea however is to have one of those external battery packs with built-in solar power at hand. They only cost a few Dollars/Euros and can be used for indefinitely, if exposed long enough to the sun. Small and large scale solar based solutions are a bit trickier however, when used during winter in areas outside the tropics, because daytime hours are limited, weather also often rather overcast, and so the amount of sunshine to recharge the batteries might not be sufficient. In Norther Europe for example the month of December only produces 1/6th - 1/8th of solar power available during July. Near polar regions of our planet the amount of sunshine hours during winter can be just zero, so solar power generation doesn't make any sense.
The 'big ones'
Besides the small ones which are sufficient for the power use of one or several small devices like phones, tablets or laptops, there are the ones now being produced in significant number which can power an entire household. One of the more well known manufacturers is Tesla and their product called 'Powerwall'. There are also other well known manufacturers of inverters or offgrid solutions in general either selling own batteries along with their AC/DC/load&charge control hardware or whose hardware can be combined with other batteries sold separately. As of publication of this blog article the costs of the battery is still the main component of the overall purchasing price of such a unit which is necessary to meet your home's (or office's) power needs. Generating stable, reliable AC power isn't that easy and good quality solutions which are also safe(for users and grid operators/service personnel!) are still costing some money. The Powerwall product has currently some 7 kWh of usable energy which is sufficient, since most of the power generated during the day e.g. by solar panels on the roof will be consumed directly before it gets stored in the battery.
When an apartment block, or an office building needs to be powered by a combination of wind/solar electricity generation and a battery, we are talking about some hundreds of kWh or even Megawatt/hours. Those storage capacities can either be achieved by creating an array of smaller units or by using a big battery system, often also less costly than a myriad of smaller systems. One disadvantage of large systems in the event of a disaster is that they might nor be 'in stock', but most be build first according to customer's specification. They perhaps also need some special logistics, because they're large and heavy and if that would be no problem to get those 'beasts' to their destination during normal circumstances, it might be too difficult once roads are damaged or completely unusable. Many of those might even be too heavy for helicopter lift. Battery Energy Storage Systems: A Cost/Benefit analysis for a PV power station [NREL,pdf,17 pages] Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) [ABB,commercial] Products [Younicos,commercial] World's 10 Biggest Bulk-Storage Batteries [Forbes,photos]
Lifespan
As indicated earlier, some batteries may live longer than others, while some allow to be fully discharged in use, there are others which just allow to withdraw some 50% of charge. For the non-expert batteries like car (or starter) batteries and others used for backup power look similar, but they differ not only inside, but also those used for backup power or electric vehicle use are often many times as expensive as car/truck batteries. Starter batteries are mainly used for starting the engine of a car or a truck and therefore they are optimized for delivering as much amps as possible for a short time before they are recharged again by the small generator also installed somewhere under the hood. So those batteries never get even near fully discharged, but usually they only use a few Ah before the motor kicks in and they are recharged all the time as long as the motor keeps running. Those car batteries often have a problem of holding on to their stored capacity when not in use for a couple of weeks. They lose stored electrical energy even when no other power consumers are attached to them and that's another disadvantage when thinking of using them for backup power. Of course when people live through the aftermath of a major disaster they are glad to have at least some electricity stored earlier, but using much cheaper car batts for the explicit use at home as a source of backup power isn't a wise choice. According to many 'offgrid freaks' it makes sense however to use refurbished or not too old batteries intended for use in forklift trucks. You have to be familiar with the number of Charge cycles in order to know how long your battery will last. Always compare differences in purchasing costs also with the differences in those charge cycles. Often a battery that seems more expensive at first glance, could in fact be cheaper in the long run. In general if you are familiar with what's 'good' and what's 'bad' for the type of battery you use and treat them accordingly the likelihood that they last longer will increase.
Weight / power ratio
During emergencies the main priority of battery use is for home use backup power or relying on battery aided small grid solutions. So the weight / power ratio isn't that critical as in vehicle use. Size of the electricity storage solution isn't the main priority either, but on the other hand the batteries used should be easy to install, save to operate and should require just a minimum of maintenance. (When roads/ports/airports are inoperable spare parts and support personnel can't get to the battery site easily)
Battery capacity vs solar/wind production capacity
Not easy to determine, since it all depends also on local conditions for both and when the emergency power supply must take over the task of the regular power grid. The battery technology used is also important since some batteries aren't lasting long if they are discharged more than 50%. In your calculations you shouldn't allow to use all of your battery's nominal capacity. Regarding solar power in general the winter months require a solar capacity several times that what is needed during the summer time. If possible it's better to install more production capacity than needed. If the batteries are fully charged the charger units cut off the DC power and they can't get damaged. Some examples for small off-grid systems in some world regions will be added later. Some wind/solar specifics will also be added later.
transport safety
Since some airlines already experienced problems with even smaller types of Lithium based batteries installed in smartphone and laptops, but also some Boeing 777 had experienced smaller fires ignited by faulty on board Lithium batteries, some restrictions concerning air freight could apply. All acid based batteries, which are not 100% sealed also pose a danger, especially when tilted and the corrosive liquid could flow out and react with other materials (metals) nearby the battery. So they also might be subjected to restrictions imposed by the airlines. Some more research on this subject will done and results will be added later.
Where to store ?
It's recommended to place the batteries in an environment that can't incinerate, which is dry and where nothing can fall onto the batteries and short circuit or damage them. A dry place means also not only dry during the dry season, but also high enough to prevent future inundations. Especially in the tropic regions of the planet not only flooding from heavy rain downpours could result in local flooding, but in regions near ocean coasts there is also the risk of storm surge occurring during heavy storms. Setting up backup power system should also mean to think ahead of possible dangers. If you put your batteries on an elevated position make sure the construction platform is strong enough for the additional total weight of batteries,cables and additional extra equipment needed to keep the system running. In areas with strong storms or tropical cyclones make sure that the building you put your batteries in is sufficiently ventilated, but strong enough to withstand the impact of flying objects/debris picked up by high winds. Even little pieces of flying metal debris could short circuit your battery system and could cause significant damage/destruction of your battery system.
Fire risk
Since those batteries have often have very flammable and/or corrosive and/or poisonous substances inside, a physical breach of their container either by impact or fire should always be treated with caution. Make sure to protect yourself from those chemicals or byproducts which can be in the area of the batteries when they are exposed to a fire. Read before accidents happen, what to do in case of a fire and especially what fire extinguishers are appropriate and which ones you should never use, because their chemicals would react with the chemicals inside the battery.
New developments
Energy storage, and especially batteries underwent some significant progress during the last couple of years and research doesn't stop. What also matters for the breakthrough of battery storage is the broader availability of such batteries due to increased production and falling prices are also a result of that development.
The rise of electric vehicles has impacted the market for all other (ie home) storage solutions and continues to do so: Nissan launches British-made home battery to rival Tesla's Powerwall [Guardian, May 4 2017]
Redox flow batteries
Redox flow batteries are a bit different from 'usual' batteries, because they consist of two storage tanks connected by tubes and pumps. They are highly scalable and the fully charged liquid could also be pumped from e.g. a ship into the storage tank. (see: Vanadium redox battery,below)
Hydro electric power storage
If power storage is needed and some hills are nearby it might be a good idea to explore the hillside in order to determine if it is suitable for creating a pond large enough to hold sufficient amounts of water for producing the electricity needed when the primary generation source (wind/solar/generator) doesn't produce. A system consisting of two tubes with sufficient diameter for water transport uphill/downhill has to be installed. One tube connected to a pump capable to convert electricity into water pumped onto a higher (energy) level, and the other pipe which leads to a turbine connected to an AC generator. The advantage is that this solution is scalable (the bigger the pond, the larger the amount of energy stored), it's relatively cheap, reliable and easy to maintain. it's not 'rocket science' and can be installed probably without the help of experts from outside. If a disaster area has sufficient amounts of rain water or a stream nearby the water can be used to temporarily store the electrical energy in the form of kinetic energy. On a large scale those kind of storage lakes with power turbine/generator combinations are also being used to stabilize a power grid during times where large amounts of additional power has to be 'pumped' into the electrical grid in order to match demand peaks. Within a few seconds after opening the gates water flows downhill and let the turbine spin. If the storage pond or lake is large enough it can deliver power over hours. In times when there is a surplus of electricity generation (at night or on Sundays) the pumps can used to create additional power demand and to pump the water uphill again until it is needed the next time.
You will find some more info (commercial and in general) about those systems attached.
Inverters (DC>AC)
Please note: AC (100-500V) currents are potentially lethal and you should make sure that all equipment purchased is of good quality. The solutions displayed here as examples are 'state of the art', but of course there are also similar and perhaps much cheaper products on the market, which will also work, but always make sure that those are certified for electrical safety. Since wrong wiring, lack of electric expertise could also result in injuries or even death, only let qualified (&experienced) personnel install that equipment. Read instruction manuals for installation and operation thoroughly before installing those. Battery Inverters [SMA(GER/UK/USA),commercial] (range:KW-MW) Inverter/chargers [Victron(NL/UK),commercial] (range:500W-5KW)
Solar/Wind power generators
There will be an additional blog entry about those products later
Battery use during/after disasters
There are some reports regarding the use of battery storage systems already in place when a disaster struck or as response to widespread power outages in the wake of a disaster. Those buildings or parts of a power grid which did have battery backup power installed are often the only places with a reliable source of power and generators even when they are already in place sometimes have problems starting after a long time for several reasons.
Part I: The generator (disclaimer: here are just some useful general tips regarding the use of generators, always make sure to read the manual which comes with your device thoroughly. Only the manufacturer of your device can give exact instructions!)
In previous blog posts the scenarios for a power outage have been described and based on recent deaths which occurred in the aftermath of hurricane Irma in Florida it's perhaps time to look at advantages, disadvantages and also (life threatening) dangers of generator use.
Concerning the danger of carbon monoxide (henceforth called 'CO') poisoning it's perhaps best to warn people about it by using the suicide (or murder if you will) methods used in various Hollywood (and other) movies. A car in the garage, the motor running and a hose from the tale pipe leading into the car, often while the windows are taped to seal the car's interior. That dramatic scenario is perhaps as misleading as those modern age fake explosions used by skilled special effects specialist in order to make those action packed movie scenes even more dramatic. They use gasoline in addition to 'fireworks' in order to produce those great fireballs, when a car explodes or a grenade hits the ground next to a bunch of grunts.
Those cars in the movie scenes don't need 'sealing' since the carbon monoxide produced by every combustion motor (especially running on diesel !) is so poisonous because it attaches to the red blood cells in your blood stream much more easily than the oxygen you breathe. So even if the concentration of CO in the air you breathe is quite low it easily attaches to every blood cell which runs through your lungs and blocks it ! So it's sufficient to breath a low concentration of that gas over a longer period until most of your red blood cells are "blocked" and therefore incapable of transporting that life sustaining Oxygen.
This CO gas is odorless, so can't smell it just as you can't smell Oxygen, so you wouldn't even know about the concentration in the air. At this point we come to the second perhaps misleading 'Hollywood knowledge' concerning exhaust fumes. In the movie or with ancient old combustion engines you have perhaps a highly visible 'smoke' coming out of the exhaust. Modern engines however could be running so efficient, could be constructed in order to fulfill other environmental norms that the 'smoke' is much more or even completely invisible.
So when you have read the introduction you would perhaps understand why on every generator there is a caution sticker indicating that likely chance of suffocating/dying when you use that generator indoors, or even outside but in proximity of windows, doors, ventilation intakes.
So by now it's clear that you should never, ever use a generator inside your home or workplace, but that said the next problem emerges:
How to connect your electrical cables safely to the generator even during wet weather ? Another question has also to be asked then: Is my generator designed to get operated during rain showers at all ? Is it safe electrically as well as it won't corrode (rust) during being exposed to the elements ?
It would be best to have a 'checklist' at hand when going to purchase a new or a used generator and if the packaging of that machine doesn't give answers to ask the salesman or read the operating manual before you buy it.
Even when everything is OK and you have the best generator money can buy there are a few rules to know when intending to use it. Preferably test it once before you have to use your generator when you experience a power failure. By using it prior to a real emergency you will know already what to do and you don't have to do it the first time when it's perhaps completely dark. It's also good to know in principle how a generator works in order to prevent some problems with the el. consumers (like lamps, radios, TVs, home appliances, etc) you intend to use. Did you know for instance that it takes a few moments once you started the motor until the generated electricity has stabilized ? Let the engine run for a few moments until it reaches its nominal RPMs and if your generator has a voltage indicator: until the nominal AC voltage level has been reached.
1st let your generator run until power voltage and frequency have reached nominal levels (e.g. 110 V , 60Hz(USA) or 230V and 50Hz (Europe)) and then plug in the AC cables ! You also have to think about how long a tank full of gas or diesel would last until the lights go out again. Make sure that you have enough fuel at hand for a refill. Use only canisters which are approved for fuel storage. When refilling think about the operating manual again and what it says about refilling while the engine is still hot. Often manufacturers recommend to let the engine cool down before you start refilling in order to prevent spontaneous combustion outside the engine. If you don't have enough storage capacity at the place where the generator is producing electricity you also have to think about transport to the nearest gas station, canisters and also money for purchasing new fuel. During 'normal times' usually no problem at all, but what happens if there's a wide spread power outage which also affects the gas station in your neighborhood ? No gas, because the pumps at the gas station won't work without power ! When you don't have cash in your wallet ? Also bad luck, because the ATM also needs power as well as the card reader at the gas station which could accept your credit card provided there's electricity and a working online connection to your card provider.
"Right now, we only have diesel for today and tomorrow. We're already working on refueling our tanks so we can extend our power generating capability, which is at 50% right now," Cruz Vivaldi said.
Lack of power and water has severely weakened the ability to treat patients at dozens of hospitals around the island.
If your generator isn't brand new, you also have to think about its 'mileage'(cars) or operating hours. The user manual should give you some recommendations about maintenance intervals and oil check/refill.
It's like a car: when you neglect it, it might break down rather sooner than later. (and darkness and a bleak life without electricity is back)
Also think about generator downtime during maintenance, and have it checked before disaster strikes and the generator is needed most. One more thing to think about when purchasing the 'right' generator is the difference between 'consumer models' which might last only for a few hours, but are not intended for 24/7h operation. Industrial quality generators(often running on Diesel) are much more expensive than consumer models with perhaps the same nominal capacity (measured in KW)
Industrial/military quality generators could also offer better 'power quality' which means perfect frequency(50 or 60Hz) stability and the 'shape' of AC power(sinus curve) which might matter with hyper sensitive electrical gear like computers or medical equipment. They also might be the preferred choice whenever you intend to use heavy machinery (power by strong electric motors), because when you start those powerful tools they "pull" a lot more amps from your generator than its nominal capacity.
If your generator has an automatic start feature by pressing a button or turning a key, it has a little starter motor like a car which needs sufficient battery voltage (often 12V or 24V) and capacity (measured in Ah) in order to work. If you have an old, empty battery your generator won't start and you can forget about backup AC power ! So this starter battery is also better checked/maintained in times when you don't have to use your generator. You should have a voltage meter if your generator doesn't have a build-in one. If your starter battery has too low voltage of course you should either have a charger or let it charge at your garage.
The fuel
Diesel
Most diesel engines are considerably heavier than their gasoline fired counterparts. The combustion process is much more "violent" and requires a sturdier construction of the engine. Diesel engines don't need a sparking plug, since they first compress air and the heat this pressurized air produces is sufficient to ignite the fuel which is injected into combustion chamber. So in general they are more reliable than gasoline engines which often have problems related to their high voltage system used for generating the 'lightning' in the combustion chamber. Often those cables detach themselves somewhere on the way from the high voltage coil to the sparking plug. There can also be multiple issues with moisture which makes the high voltage needed "disappear" to a degree where the sparking plug can't enough voltage to ignite the fuel.
Besides reliability issues, diesel engines in general also consume less fuel for same amount of horsepower (better use:KW). Most diesel engines can in principle burn other fuels like kerosene or certain plant oils like those produced from sun flowers. Caution: can run in principle means, that the construction of the engine would allow it, but often attached devices like fuel injection systems can't handle those plant oils, because they flow less good through tiny valves than regular diesel made from refined crude oil. Such fuels may also produce some side effects like residue after combustion, which influences the operation of the engine. (very often not beneficial). Alternative fuels could require some modifications to the engine which in most cases void the guarantee which came with the purchase! Alternative fuels are just mentioned here since many of the disasters mentioned here are taking place in areas where the diesel supply might get interrupted or where e.g. palm oil is easily available. There are many other sites on the Internet where expertise regarding alternative can be found, so people interested in this subject should do additional research first. The only thing EZR can assure reader is that a Volkswagen Diesel car I once owned did run on almost pure plant oils for about 120.000 kilometers (with some minor modifications/additions)
Diesel has also an advantage concerning a safety margin when handling the fuel. It doesn't ignite as easy as gasoline, thus refilling it is not as dangerous. Almost inert plant oils are even more safe, they ignite only when they get extremely hot (in the combustion chamber).
Diesel engines however are not that easy to start. They require more battery amps to get that starter motor going. They usually run at lower RPMs than their gasoline counterparts, but therefore in general they produce more noise/vibration than the other type of motor. So shielding them might be required, especially when intending to use telephones nearby or near a hospital or nursing home.
Diesel fuel 'stinks', sticks to your fingers ('oily') and should under no circumstance be spilled, since just a few drops could contaminate large amounts of soil and/or (drinking) water. Refueling should be done carefully in order not to affect the environment.
future blog post regarding the significance of getting vital information to people in a vast disaster zone when all other forms of modern electronic communication are down.
As usual with some historic perspective on the one hand and an outlook regarding the use in future mass casualty events.
Radio is simple to use, effective way of getting instructions to those who are otherwise left clueless or, even worse, dependent on the spread of rumors in absence of real, verified and reliable information.
Unfortunately many broadcasting capabilities of stations using airwaves with very long ranges like shortwave have been reduced, because nowadays other broadcasts and Internet based transmissions of sound, video and text are more popular and (admittedly) of better quality. The only problem is what to do if these more modern forms of telecommunication fail ?
A visual severe weather warning makes sense to alert people when they just watch TV and must get the severe weather warning as soon as possible in order to get the maximum time to prepare themselves for the impact of that weather emergency. As described many times: there are dangers like earthquakes which can't be predicted when they happen and if they happen only a few seconds (up to very few minutes far away from the epicenter) forewarning time remains.
When a disaster has impacted the populated area and all those TV/radio transmitters, cell towers, satellite connections and land lines for phone or Internet have been damaged or destroyed the population has suddenly no reliable source of information. The first simple, but sufficient thing to restore is radio ! It doesn't require as much technical stuff as TV and its signal could be picked up over a much wider area than TV. Many people do have TVs, but what if they all don't have AC power ? Many people however do have portable radios which also run on batteries, many mobile phones have built-in FM receivers (many owners might not be aware of this feature) and most cars have a radio which offer at least FM reception, sometimes even AM bands and cars/trucks have fully charged 12/24V batteries which could last for days if just the radio is switched on. (of course the battery also recharges if the motor runs)
To setup a backup FM/AM transmitter doesn't require that much financial and power resources and the advantage in holiday destinations abroad is that there's no worry about all those different TV standards in all those countries. (NTSC,PAL,SECAM,DVB-T,DVB-T2,how many lines, 50 or 60Hz, etc)
FM is FM and AM is AM all over the world, just there might be some countries which have slightly different frequency bands. It's also much simpler to get a 'network' running, since only one powerful transmitter is need in order to reach possibly millions of people (in densely populated areas) instead of numerous cell towers for 3G/4G or WIFI networks. Radio has noticeably the disadvantage of offering no channel from the citizens back to sender, but in time of regional/national/international crisis it's more important to get instructions out for the population.
As currently ongoing 'crisis light' (it could have been much worse, with many more dead and wounded) reminds us that often such simple things like where to pick up food or water at an outlet run by either military or NGO wouldn't be possible without radio instructions or printed fliers. (recently the Dutch Navy hand the latter out at Sint Maarten) Food and water distribution points are important and so are instructions for evacuation, medical tips or tips on hygiene or where wounded can be brought to in order to get proper treatment. It's hard to imagine for millennials, but for more than 50 years the world managed pretty well without Internet, apps, Youtube and all the other nice gadgets. Those gadgets are nice to have, but pretty useless when there's no Internet via 3G,4G,WIFI,Cable or DSL which can be knocked out all at once.
Radio can also be pretty upsetting for those who are used to comment on each and every message they come across. Radio is pretty simple: We (radio operators) talk, you - listen ! In an emergency that all what counts. It's like "Do this - or you might die"
Emergency broadcasts in Sint Maarten/Saint Martin (Hurricane Irma)
Puerto Rico has lost almost all (95%) communication infrastructure, and while FEMA is publishing 'rumor control' info on its webpage, it's highly unlikely that people in Puerto Rico are able to read it, since most of them currently don't have Internet access !
Even the local subsidiary of the NWS was hit hard by hurricane Maria and according to latest info available from officials, there's stil no contact with 7 areas of Puerto Rico. No power, transmission systems are down, fuels are rationed. The governor and other officials rely on local AM/FM stations to get their word out to the people. There will some updates here shortly - stay tuned.
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as described in 2015 in the aftermath of the Nepal Earthquake disaster, where the disaster affected mainly (not exclusively, because India & Tibet in a much lesser degree have also been affected) just one country - Nepal - had to cope with massive, widespread destruction of whole communities, infrastructure and a resulting massive loss of life.
In 2015 it was described what other dangers are our there waiting to happen any day in the future, since natural disaster will always happen, whether humans like it or not, whether we tend to forget previous disasters affecting mankind or not. It's as sure as every morning the sun comes up in any corner of our home planet, only the timing, the scale and the areas affected are not known today. Concerning the latter we can say that certain areas are much more prone to disasters than others since we know about the tectonics responsible for the big earthquakes and we also know the location of volcanoes and we do know that tropical cyclones happen - well in the tropical zone near the equator.
The biggest problem are not those repeating patterns of disasters,
but a nasty human habit of memory loss (it seems) and ignorance. Maybe evolution intended our human brains to better forget things in order not to get crazy or making wise decisions not to settle down on the slopes of a volcano. As maybe a wise strategy of past ages it was to simply not to worry about anything since humans couldn't do much about it anyway, we now live in the 21st century providing us for a range of tools to address the dangers we will certainly face again and again.
In 2015 it was described that the scale of a disaster could range from 1 to 5, measured in the loss of human life and the impact on affected communities. Concerning loss of life the hurricane Irma was perhaps "just" level 1, but concerning communities affected more like 2-3. Natural disasters don't care about states' borders and not about jurisdiction. They only happen and all people who happen to be in that area are affected in exactly the same way. Whether they are locals and perhaps live in more primitive buildings or tourists being accommodated in a local luxury hotel. As the tourists perhaps enjoy the better structural integrity of a modern hotel, they are also affected by non existent electricity, water, food supplies and communication in order to call for help from "the outside world" in the aftermath of a disaster event. Regarding loss of communication and experiencing a sudden,unwanted time warp into the dark ages a blogpost was recently released.
When a disaster strikes it's not the time to discuss the effects of global warming or how better prevention strategies might have prevented this or that effect of such a disastrous event. It's rather the time to plan, no ideally to execute, a 'war plan' worked out much earlier, an appropriate response to the disaster on the ground. Often assets available to civilian authorities aren't insufficient for such events or another big problem is cacophony rather than central command and authority which comes along with military leadership. One example of a sudden to the better comes to mind regarding hurricane Katrina and its aftermath in New Orleans and elsewhere in Louisiana:
The military in general and NATO alliance in particular does that kind of planning (and also rehearsing by regular maneuvers) for a living - it's their profession, and this expertise could be used also for the logistical challenge of extracting tourists from disaster areas.
Not only when there are many wounded a fast response within a few hours can make the difference between living or dying of those patients, but as we could just see in the small island communities of Sint Martin/Sint Maarten or also hundreds of years ago during the catastrophe that struck Lisboa/Lisbon(Portugal), a breakdown of civil society can rapidly bring the 'rule of thug' where only a few hours earlier the rule of law was upheld.
Hurricane Irma demonstrated what a 'trekking disaster' could do to many areas we humans call states. It started to wreak havoc in the most South-Western small Island nations and it ended in the South-Eastern part of the USA. Although the state of Florida managed to escape a massive loss of life the effects of Irma still make an unprecedented impact on the whole region:
Irma is now the worst weather-related power outage in US history, beating Sandy (8.1 million in 17 states). https://t.co/9kp17JEQkW
It happened before and it will happen again. Strong earthquakes will affect a wide area around the epicenter. Near oceans they can produce a tsunami which can affect areas thousands of kilometers away. Hurricanes/Cyclones can maintain significant strength and every landmass in their path can be reduced to rubble. So planning for such an 'wide area event' would make sense and it also would make sense to scrap the idea that NGOs can cope with the aftermath of the most violent mass casualty events which affect hundreds, if not thousands of square kilometers, maybe divided by vast oceans. Not even the Army of one states could handle the appropriated response to such an event, only the combination of resources can respond in a matter of hours.
Every time such a disaster happens there are people who get angry with 'mother nature', some loons in the USA have even used their guns to shoot Hurricane Irma. First step must be to recognize that such disasters can't be prevent, many can't even be predicted (earthquake) and also not stopped like some non experts repeatedly propose to use hydrogen bombs to destroy deadly hurricanes like Irma. Listen to hurricane experts like Ryan Maue who know how much energy those weather phenomena absorb and learn to accept those forces of nature and concentrate on limiting their impact on human society. Human complacency, ignorance and weak memory kill not the natural disaster itself. Imagine an earthquake M 8.6 happening without any housing or mountains, just people standing in an open field. They will just fall down, maybe get some bruises, but there will be almost certainly no fatalities. Simple measures could reduce the impact of a catastrophic event significantly. Could mean the difference between life and death, between an inconvenience and mass casualties.
It starts with simple things like the knowledge we all have that there vacation destinations available for mass tourism from Europe, North America, Japan and now also China which are located in danger zones prone to earthquakes and/or tropical storms. It's not important what nationality they have, how rich their home countries are because during a catastrophic event they all are in the same boat or better distributed on several boats called hotels / holiday camps or however their housing in a foreign country is called. There are sometimes hundreds of such potential death traps in such areas with each housing a few to several hundred or thousand tourists (often families with children) and there are also many locals who work for their guests. All trapped and given what happened in the recent past - many times when the local/national power grid fails communication also goes down. Either communication equipment fails "just" because of the ab absence of regular AC power, or even worse: when cell towers suffer structural damage as well and landlines, often mounted on simple wooden poles in such areas, also get permanently disrupted. If this only happens on a small scale a repair would be possible within hours, but not when whole countries or provinces are affected, since the resources in material and man power are limited. So effectively even when those hotel buildings manage to survive an earthquake or heavy wind or even inundation they are cut-off from the outside world which means their home countries, families and friends at home. Without the possibility of using communications to ask for medical care, food and water supplies, evacuation the impact on the hotel and its inhabitants at the time the disaster struck will be much more severe than with a backup emergency system which can be used within minutes the regular means of communications are rendered useless.
Both, countries that host tourists (and often depend to a high degree on tourism) and countries where the tourists come from could do a lot more to prevent such situations get out of control again. The country that hosts all those hotels/ accommodations could force them by law to have backup systems for power at least with the capacity to uphold simple communications for X number of days. The EU could for instance force tour operators to just add hotels to their holiday catalogues which have such
'emergency kits' in place. One handheld satellite phone with a certain amount (1000$ ?) of prepaid fees would be the minimum in order to be instantly able to dial the outside world and request assistance. Regular drills should be done in order to let hotel staff get a certain routine in using such equipment as well as to test the gear and the satellite connection.
Depending on the size of such housing complexes for tourists some additional requirements such as the ability to set up a high speed VSAT link or using a BGAN device for Internet based communication which could also send photos/videos to the rescue centers in order to get a better picture of the damage scale.
Tourist accommodations which will not cooperate must be banned from future bookings, or at least consumers should be able to make that informed decision themselves when a mandatory label also for security (besides the X star '*****' rating system for comfort) is required.
Something like: "This place is has certified disaster resilience" or
One star '*' for the ability to communicate after a catastrophic impact on local infrastructure
Two stars '**' for certified structural resilience against earthquakes up to magnitude XX.X, wind speeds of X00 km/h and flooding up to X meters
Three stars '***' for previous two categories & own backup power supply which can handle all the usual needs of the hotel when grid power is available (for X days)
All those relatively simple measures which even don't costs tons of money could prevent the 'usual chaos' taking place after such events. It could keep the people affected by the disaster calm as well as those family members, friends and also members of embassies and foreign ministries which frantically trying to get a clear picture of what happened and try to organize a medevac or just a regular evacuation of many people at once. Often when all the usual extraction points - ports and airports - are damaged, nor usable for many days or even be completely destroyed (during earthquakes even the runways can get severely damaged so that no flights are possible even when there's a backup flight control system in place.
Ports can get blocked by sunken vessels or cranes for unloading goods can be destroyed by high winds or piers several damaged by earthquakes and tsunamis. It's not exactly rocket science to figure out the possible structural damage to buildings and infrastructure, since there's lots of previous examples of such impacts. It would be recommended to have such worst case scenarios in mind when planning for emergency aid as well as for evacuations without relying on the usually available infrastructure. The planning should be for a wider area without airports, ports available and should consider alternative locations for maritime or airborne operations. Who prepares for such scenarios ? The military, which also have the right assets for landing operations in war zones!
Strat transport idd belangrijk maar kunnen (en doen) meer: Forward operating base, commandopost, herbevoorrading. Ondersteuning brede zin! https://t.co/6b37BBB2zx
When a damage is spread over a wide area and/or mass casualties have to be treated , fed and evacuated who else than a large military alliance than e.g. NATO can put all the necessary assets in place
(requires also strategic airlift capabilities and sometimes also aircraft carriers providing a helicopter shuttle to/from coast)
Philippines 2013
A V-22 Osprey taking part in typhoon relief efforts lands aboard the USS Ashland off the coast of the Philippines pic.twitter.com/klW8nLyuTF
in a relatively short time. It requires a close coordination between national foreign ministries with NATO as one of the few, if not the only one, entities on the planet which can handle a giant logistic challenge when one or more entry points to one country or whole region are destroyed. The alliance has a wide range of special aircrafts, Navy vessels, but also vehicles which are designed to transport troops and material to any place where it's needed. (details: see Wiki links at the bottom of this page) EZR covered many major disasters since 2011 and concludes: it's still basically left to chance(!) what exactly will happen immediately after such an event occurs. It's about jurisdictions, national responsibilities for their own citizens and a myriad of officials involved in rescue & relief, in search & rescue operations and in damage assessment. Some bureaucratic hurdles often apply that need to be lowered first before aid can enter a country. It's perhaps unbelievable, but sometimes aid deliveries get stuck on borders, because national customs insist on collecting import duties, while further inland people are dying or at least starving or are forced to live under horrible conditions (Nepal 2015). Or some developed countries offer special airlift capacities and for domestic political reasons the government of that heavily damaged country refuse helicopters from country A while offers of country B are welcomed and there's still a dramatic shortage of airlift capacity (roads and bridges destroyed, many population centers on hill where landslides blocked road access (Nepal 2015)
Irma 2017:
France and the Netherlands are continuing to evacuate people from Saint-Martin island, including EU citizens, but the process is long. Several Member States (CZ, BE, RO, DE, MT, PG, ES, SE, HU, DK) reported having citizens (five to ten) still facing a very difficult situation on Saint-Martin island and British Virgin Islands.
Germany requested support through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism to send a consular assistance team to Florida for the benefit of German and EU citizens. In addition, Portugal confirmed that it will charter a plane to Guadeloupe on 13 September to repatriate its citizens (seats are available for other EU nationals).
Unnecessary delays happen, multiple states increase their foreign office activities and try to charter aircraft or arrange other means of transport for their citizens. So as it happened many times in such disaster areas when some lucky ones with the 'right' passport of country A, people who have been refused to board that same airplane will remain in miserable conditions and get angry why they couldn't be flown out as well (plus their relatives and friends back home). A myriad of phone calls, e-mails, social media messages between various parties (in a time where communication networks are down or capacity is very limited)
Our thoughts are with those affected by #HurricaneIrma. For U.S. citizens overseas needing assistance: email IrmaEmergencyUSC@state.gov.
is exchanged and many medical supplies used also for stranded tourists could have been saved or used for the local population if evacuation would have been more organized and quicker.
Some impressions of current disaster St.Martin/Maarten:
Water distributie op St Maarten. Zr Ms ZEELAND maakt uit zeewater door filtering zoet water, mariniers delen uit aan bevolking. #Irmapic.twitter.com/9mXp1QMGPF
More than 2000 US citizens have been evacuated from Saint Martin after #Irma. Grateful to our DOD colleagues for their nonstop support. https://t.co/AtsOXeJAKc
In general it would be possible to plan ahead of catastrophes, to negotiate procedures for aid deliveries and extraction of tourists in such an event, so when disaster strikes a plan for e.g. Nepal, Caribbean+USA, Philippines, India, Indian Ocean region (2004 tsunami) can be activated and at least the most ineffective bureaucratic hurdles are gone from the beginning and all alternative access routes into and out of a region can be opened immediately. NATO could have worked out a procedure with every country which want to participate in such an 'extraction program' well before the next catastrophe happens somewhere at some time in the future.
"Wb samenwerking zijn er op militair niveau intensieve contacten met Frankrijk, Duitsland, het VK en de VS over de inzet op #SXM"
Hubs with mass shelters could be planned in advance and installation of temporary housing as well as e.g. consular offices for every country involved in the program could begin immediately. The gathering point doesn't have to be on an open field, but tents or other shelters could set up in the vicinity of airports after all regular places like hotels are fully booked. Shuttle service from disaster area to airlift hub back to Northern American, European or Asian destinations after the rescued people saw the embassy staff. So this doesn't have to happen in a disaster zone and strain their scarce resources for the local population which of course also suffers and can't be flown out. An evacuation 'without questions asked' to a hub outside the disaster zone would speed up things significantly and the bidirectional traffic (evacuees:out and aid:in) will stop and would also benefit the delivery of aid to the needy.
When ya saving life ya break the rules @TSA in Katrina wanted ID's people had no ID I broke the rule flew them without ID @TomBossert45
It's either that, or there will be a certain amount of chaos every single time another calamity happens. Not all of them will be limited to less than hundred dead and a few wounded. Now is the time to think about this reoccurring pattern again and perhaps procedures will be fully worked out and ready to be activated before the next 'big one' strikes. When it strikes it's likely to hit one of the countries without an own large military force to cope with such an event, like it happened recently with one small island of Sint Martin/SintMaarten. French and Dutch troops helped to organize evacuation of tourists and bringing in the needed supplies for the local population.(see tweets with attached pictures)
Politicians have to consider that they also 'look good' when everything in the wake of such a catastrophe is well organized and voters will get the impression of governmental competence. Our armed forces' image will also profit from smoothly running evacuation operations, so everyone involved in such an operation, but most of all the victims do profit from a well organized NATO response to 'threats of nature'. If other countries besides those with NATO membership wish to join this 'global extraction and support scheme' it will also help to reduce tensions in the world in the spirit of a unified global response to threats far bigger than petty human rivalries. In the wake of epic disaster we all face in the future we are all in the same boat and the well-being of their citizens should be priority of all governments regardless of political/ideological differences.
P.S.
Regarding the aftermath of hurricane Irma and given the level of destruction as far as monitoring events from abroad allows, it can be said that evacuations are rather well organized by various governments. They're doing what they can, and fortunately there are not that many wounded like e.g. in the Nepal earthquake event where many people were buried under the rubble of buildings or have been affected by landslides. Although this time people in the affected areas have been relatively lucky a much quicker extraction (as suggest: by the superb capabilities of NATO) from the extended disaster zone is preferred.
Several neighbouring countries sent soldiers to assist in searching for bodies and rescuing people. The U.S. Army sent helicopters from Germany to rescue people from rooftops
For those still anxiously awaiting rescue, help finally arrived on Monday 2nd February. Large scale relief came with the help and support of neighbouring countries (some of which had also been affected by the flood) including Belgium, France and England who sent military personnel to assist in search and rescue operations. Canada and the US also provided much needed urgent assistance, including helicopters to aid the enormous evacuation operation that was underway.
