Do you have 3 months emergency supplies & food?

[tinapbeana]

Originally Posted by disneysteve

That's what your emergency fund is for. Just one of many reasons why it is recommended that you keep an EF of 3-6 months of living expenses.

It is likely, however, that in a major disaster, payment due dates will be extended and late fees waived. Didn't that happen a lot after Katrina?

i was a trainer for a nat'l phone company at the time katrina hit, and we waived all bills and moving/reconnect charges based on zip code for 6 months.

don't know if this would happen after a pandemic just b/c it would be much harder to sort out who is & isn't affected (as opposed to a disaster which is relatively localized).

[PetMom]

But if the banks are shut down in one of more dire emergency predictions or there are runs on them should that
6 month ef be in paper and coins?

if people are that sick everywhere, you can bet I would be at home self quarantining and not venturing out to do bank business if the bank was even open.

it also depends on how quickly and virulent this avian pandemic would be,
on how it could affect the day to day running of the country.

I am just wondering why some serious cases of spinach e coli was able to be stopped by the stoppage of any spinach being sold (last week I still could not buy any) yet no one has even thought of stopping the sale of chickens with this looming in the horizon? There are other meats to eat worldwide, not as if there would not be any meat.

I am perplexed by this not being enforced.

Once it firmly mutates into human transmission obviously will be too late, but you can bet there will be people asking why chickens were not just banned for a year or so.

[boefixepa]

In the US they could do something like that, but in the poorer countries I don't think the government has the ability to do something like that....it will be interesting to see what happens with all this though.

[geojen]

The biggest problem is that there will always be a group of people who don't want to take percautions if it personally inconviences them. Would stopping the sale of chicken prevent the spread of the virus? Maybe, but too many people would whine about not being able to buy chicken.

[sarah]

The risk of acquiring bird flu from a chicken in any industrialized country is close to zero.We don't live that closely with our poultry. The risk here is that Avian Flu will mutate into an airborne strain that moves easily from human to human. Once that happens the risk is that it will spread through the global transportation net to the United States. Confirmed human to human transmission has occurred but not easy airborne transmission. Yet.

[PetMom]

Good points and precisely once airborne over here you can bet I am staying put and not going to get out.

But the Asian countries have dealt with avian flu by killing the chickens where they had a breakout. In the asian countries pigs and ducks
would easily be the substitute meat. These are the 'backyard'' meats that are cultivated by most.

There should be pressure for a temporary ban on poultry for a while (just like with the spinach situation) worldwide.

But I remember the e bola virus originated from monkeys in Africa held great fears of being transmitted worldwide and that never happened.

This avian thing sounds a bit more likely though.

[shengmei]

Yap. Every year I purchase 3 months emergency supplies and food at after Christmas 75% off sales......I have to do that since I don't get paid for the summer.

[Thrif-t]

I don't think we'd have more than 2 mos worth of canned and frozen food. But I'm wondering how long does a store boughten gallon of water last? I bought some for the Y2K and have maybe 2 or 3 gallons in my basement, you think they're still good after what almost 7 years?