News for week of 2023-04-03

The Prepared Support - April 3, 2023

News

Make a top-level comment for a new story/topic. Discussions about the topic should be in the replies to the top-level comment. That way things stay organized and every main comment as you scroll down is a different piece of news.

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CDC warns doctors to watch for Marburg virus amid outbreaks in two African nations

https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/06/health/cdc-alert-marburg/index.html

 

Super interesting / ominous news from CA’s Central Valley, much of which (particularly in the southern half of the valley, called the San Joaquin Valley) used to be a seasonal lake. The lake is now re-forming— even before the massive, record-breaking snowpack in the Sierra has melted. The reservoirs cannot hold all of that water, and there is no real way to drain the lake, so this is going to get much worse before it gets better. The effects will likely be felt far outside California, since a lot of food is grown in this region.

• Tulare Lake Was Drained Off the Map. Nature Would Like a Word / https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/02/us/tulare-lake-california-storms.html
• The Resurrection of Tulare Lake / https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/03/us/california-tulare-lake.html

 

Ice storm in Canada leaves over a million without power in Quebec, and many more who still think prepping is distasteful:

Deadly ice storm leaves 3 dead, hundreds of thousands still without power

I’ve been on the Montreal reddit and am amazed at how many people think canned food and some AAA batteries are robust preparedness. A family member of mine was affected and she had to throw out all the perishable ingredients for a large Easter dinner. When I told her about emergency power options, she lightly dismissed it as “survivalism.” OK.

I also notice how people romanticize this stuff. People online are repeatedly lauding the efforts of power workers repairing the grid, and the “heroism” of people at coffee shops, and of course trashing politicians (the same ones that have websites advising people to prepare). In other words what they always do. Also sentimental anecdotes about pulling together and someone letting strangers charge their phones.