Jim,
I had the recent somewhat surreal experience of going through the Hawaiian costal evacuation during the most recent tsunami alert. It was a near-miss natural disaster scenario that unfolded in slow motion because of the distance from the Chilean earthquake and the presence of tsunami alert sensors and monitoring officials. There are a few observations that I'd like to share.

I managed to stay ahead of the Golden Horde phenomena by a few hours and it was interesting to just acknowledge some of the predictable elements: most people were not alerted to the risk of the tsunami until 0600 when the civil defense sirens went off. The gas stations and grocery stores were subsequently mobbed and quickly were depleted of supplies. For the most part people were civil with each other but there were some conflicts despite the local radio hosts admonitions to "remember people, love, love, love -- aloha". I think the conflicts were minimal because this was a "potential" disaster only. The costal highways of course were packed. Look at a map of Maui and you can see how egress from many of the more densely populated areas is limited to a single road (right on the coast).

The other folks who were up with me at 0200 beating the crowds tended to be folks with increased "situational awareness". For example, I talked with a guy that had worked for the powerplant and knew that it was in the inundation zone and was threatened. This also included the main airport and of course the harbors. He currently works for the public utility and also knew that water and sewage pumping stations would be: a) turned off in expectation of the tsunami surge and b) out of commission if the island took a big hit. In a place where everything has to be shipped from somewhere else, it didn't take much imagination to realize that 120,000 inhabitants and 60,000 tourists could be quickly SOL for services and supplies.

All of this was of course to be expected. Somewhat more subtle revelations include:

-Even if you are going to Hawaii for your 25th wedding anniversary a preparedness awareness and travel kit are in order

-Consider the potential threats in your travel destination. For example a hotel room could be selected not just for the view but with the knowledge that in a tsunami you can vertically evacuate to above the 3rd floor, trying to balance with concerns for fire, or earthquake (these are volcanic islands of course and while there we also got to experience the Vog - volcanic smog, coming from the big island).

-When we arrived we didn't "need" anything more than a compact car - but it turned out to be prudent to have rented a vehicle with extra cargo carrying capacity when suddenly I was packing cases of water and food and supplies for potential camp out for multiple days

-It reminded me that the being in a state that disallows for conceal carry and personal/ family defense is not just a quaint ideological or cultural shift, but has potential real implications

-I was lucky in that I was up late enough to get the earliest tsunami warning reports. If it weren't for the Olympic coverage on television (which I normally would not be watching), I too would had my first awareness of the situation at 0600 with the rest of the clueless. It taught me that in your travel environment, (or home for that matter) some kind of monitoring of news and or civil defense sources is a good idea.

| -One shouldn't rely on the hotel or your other hosts for timely prep or information -- they still had their maintenance folks sweeping sidewalks just off the beach as part of their tsunami prep.

-We had selected a hotel room outfitted with a kitchen and this really helped when it came to taking essentials for cooking and cleaning, (as well as self defense if you count a 10" chef's knife)

-Civil Defense plans and their orchestration with local agencies was pretty good - but: a) a lot of sirens that were supposed to did not go off, and there were "gathering points" for evacuees that had no supplies (food, water, etc) because this was not part of the plan. Obviously the civil defense planning has not yet included secure power and water supply systems either. Your travel situational awareness might also include taking in the strength and weakness of governmental agencies and infrastructure. This now goes on my travel checklist.

I feel very lucky to have been able to watch and learn from all of this without having had to experience a full blown catastrophe. The process is going to light a fire under my tail to get going with my preparedness plans and to give all of them some needed hard reflection.

Thanks for all the education I have already received from SurvivalBlog. - B.P.S.

Sir:
I thought that you and your family might be encouraged by the following: There was an extraordinary occurrence in Haiti on February 17th. Here is a blog entry with a YouTube link about a nationally declared three days of fasting and prayer in Haiti. Amazing grace.

The final sentence in the entry is the most sobering:

"The only sadness that I feel today is for our nation. While a nation that has long been under Satan's domination is turning to God with total commitment, our nation, founded on Godly values, has rejected God and is rapidly trying to forget that His name even exists. Let us pray for revival." - Sheila M.

Hi James,
Its been a while. I just spent eight days in Haiti building a radio station in Crois des Bouquets. We were working with a church and pastor I have worked with before. He had about thirty Haitian people who lost everything in his home, plus 10 Americans, three on our radio team, and an evangelistic team out of Florida.

Our team went in with tent, MREs and Mountain House food. a water filter plus all of our necessities. fortunately we didn't need our food but donated it to the house hold to aid others. We left our tents, sleeping bags, and air mattresses behind and told the Pastor to give them to people he knew who really needed it.

We got a radio message from the states inquiring about an internally displaced persons (IDP) camp who had been sent aid
by a ministry in Indiana. Apparently they had not received their aid yet. We checked and thought we had the right IDP camp. They had not had anything to eat or water in over a week.

My first thought being an old army sergeant was: "Where are the privies?" There were no sanitation pits dug, and people were relieving themselves out in the open. This was just about three miles from the airport at the river bridge. There were two large tent cities in the same location with absolutely no sanitation facilities.

I talked with the leader of one camp and ask why they had no latrines dug. They had absolutely nothing to dig a hole with. I told him that if they didn't do something immediately about the problem, that disease would go through that camp in short order, and could wipe them all out. I told him I would get a pick and some shovels. I did so the next day.

On the following day we were leaving and the camp had a team out digging privies. Praise the Lord.
James, and readers, there was at that time absolutely nothing being done about sanitation in the camps. The U.S. Army was really concerned about this issue, but their hands were tied. There were no NGOs addressing the problem either. It is a major issue with the medical people I met.

I did see about ten brand new porta Johns at the IDP camp across the street from the presidential palace. But there was no one using them. I'm sure they were put there for the news nosies, just for the cameras. I know in the next month there will be a second disaster developing, and there already is in one camp. (I got word from a person that I trust and that is in the know, that a large TB outbreak had already occurred in one of the IDP camps.

The Haiti government is very inept and un prepared for any disaster. the UN, USAID, UNICEF, Red Curse, et cetera are all just having meetings and doing very little to help the situation.

All I saw when I was there was Christian ministries getting the job done. I know the Samaritan's Purse, Operation Blessing, Friend Ships, Catholic Relief, Mennonites, Baptists, et cetera are in there getting their hands dirty and getting the job done.

I would just say in closing that the first thing after a disaster strikes, and people are having to camp out, or go into a camp is to dig a suitable latrine, and make some effort to keep clean. One of the first things that our servicemen in all of our services learn in basic training is field sanitation. If our military were turned loose to help I know full well they would go in there and help provide some form of field sanitation.

I do have to say the Christians are pulling together in Haiti, and people are turning to Christ by the thousands.
|
Blessings, - Dave M. (A Blessings For Obedience World Missionary Radio volunteer)

Mr. Rawles,

I thought I'd drop a note having been in Haiti from the day after the quake to a couple weeks ago, and having run an ongoing program there for a few years now. I wanted to comment on the issue of rioting in Haiti versus. Chile. I think the core issue was that people in each country were faced with different immediate challenges.

In Haiti, like many other developing countries lacking Chile's level of building codes and construction standards, Port Au Prince was extremely vulnerable to a quake. Because the quake hit only a few miles from Port Au Prince you had complete destruction of entire zones of the city, with entire blocks where 4/5 of the buildings just collapsed. As a result the death toll was 220,000 people.

The immediate job for a large percentage of the city became how do I dig through these buildings to rescue those 220,000 people or at least recover the bodies. The self organized work crews were pretty incredible. For much of the rest of the population the immediate task became how do I find my family and find shelter. Most of those alive were in front of completely destroyed houses (1.5 million homeless) Even when looking for a few immediate resources because so much was destroyed people were salvaging collapse sites more often than looting.

In addition the atmosphere was somber and surreal, the work crews pulling out bodies everywhere in the city and piling them, the people crying for help, the surgery taking place on the street. I would say that everybody I spoke to who emerged from that situation left with a truly profound sorrow in their hearts. Missing a day or two of food was pretty secondary for most people. Many Haitians have dealt with food insecurity and hunger before, that wasn't as much of an immediate issue. Even for aid workers it was hard to even remember to eat much less worry about it.

Outside Port Au Prince people were largely just melancholy, it is a small country, everybody had somebody who died, everything was shut down, you couldn't get money from banks or buy food in stores for a week, yet there weren't people in the streets till the very end of that, and even then it was just some organized marches in front of the banks for them to re-open. Within four days in Port Au Prince many of the aid services started emerging and food and water started to become more readily available. Within 6 days some money transfer services started opening in the rest of the country and commerce started again.

Thankfully in Chile, outside of the terrible devastation in the Tsunami zone, comparatively many of the structures in the earthquake zone stood. So the challenges faced were different. The people seen on television looting seem more concerned about scarce resources than trying to dig out their trapped friends and family out of the rubble. With a death toll under 1,000 so far the number of people who are directly missing people or who came back to find their home collapsed on their family must be much lower. Which leaves more people concerned about "Where do I get food, where do I get water" than "How do I dig these people out, dear god there are so many people dead, everywhere"

I think in the end the Chilean people will look back on this tragedy and realize how prepared they were as a nation, that they had put the standards in place to keep their buildings standing and they will take that to heart in preparing on a personal level. I am hopeful things will calm and they will find the strength to rebuild.

For the readers who want to know how to prepare for seismic situations let me offer 3 bits of gear advice, always have a full unbreakable water bottle on you, always carry a whistle, and always keep a respirator (even if just an n-95 mask in a pocket, you would not comprehend the toxic cloud that is created when a city collapses, it was like 9-11 everywhere). Beyond that if you are in a developing country in a seismic area with poor cement block construction (lots of parts of Peru, Guatemala, Thailand, Dominican Republic, India, Pakistan, etc) in older style buildings try to sleep near an exit to an open courtyard, try to stay in one story buildings, stay away from adobe. The safest bet is to try to stay in modern hotels, the big chains force proper construction techniques. If the quake hits get out and watch for falling hazards. Many prayers that the readers of this blog never have to face anything like what people are facing in Chile or Haiti. Sincerely, - Peter H.

Dear James:
I came across article today titled Food Handouts Turn Chaotic in Haitian Capitol. I find it quite amazing that still to this day and age that the government and social aid organizations are so unorganized. I think that they should use the novel One Second After [by William R. Forstchen] as a guide for food distribution. I've just finished reading that novel, and it just justifies that all preppers (including myself) are not crazy thinkers we are just making sure that we can take care of our families when something either natural or governmental disaster happens. - A Prepared Woman in the Southern Southwest.

Dear Jim,
Thank you for the blog. It has helped my family and I to be more prepared than we had ever imagined. I found this Fox News article and thought you might be interested. There are a few things here that have been discussed at length in SurvivalBlog and in your books, but it is good to look at them [actually coming to pass] in real world situations. These include: 1) The police chief can get less than half of his force out. That is probably because they are trying to fend for themselves. 2) They are asking “what is taking the foreigners so long?” Why aren’t they dependant on themselves? 3) Half of the aid coming into their country is from the US Army. If this scenario happened here, who would be bringing aid here? 4) The ones who seem to be doing the best are the ones who live in the hills and who blocked access to their area with cars. 5) Don’t count on the government. That is one young man’s take on things. 6) When the grid goes down, what happens with the criminals in the prisons? Blessings and I hope you enjoy. - Bill H.

Mr. Rawles,
My wife and I were so sorry for your loss and your family has been in our prayers. Our family believes like you that the thin veneer is very real. I thought this article proves your point about the "Golden Horde" and staying away from "Channelized Areas" (aka "Refugee Lines of Drift").

We were very fortunate to escape a "luxury community in South Texas" and return to the Northwest, purchase our retreat as well as continue our preparations. We took advantage of your "Rawles Gets You Ready" preparedness course and free book offer and have been pleasantly surprised (even though we are preppers there was still an abundance of info that we gleaned from it and it changed a little of our pantry storage process). Regards, - Mr. and Mrs. Foxtrot

Greetings Jim,
About a year ago, I submitted a piece on some lessons learned from Hurricane Iniki that struck the island of Kauai in 1992. There were three points from that article that I believe are relevant to what we see in Haiti. One is the problems encountered when rescuers attempt to squeeze a large number of aircraft into one airport. There are monumental challenges with off-loading and moving supplies and equipment in a timely and orderly manner. The second is the need for armed security at distribution points to control the crowds. Most troubling, is the ratio of relief workers to island residents. On Kauai, at the peak of the relief effort, there was one relief worker for every 10 island residents. To achieve that 1:10 ratio on Haiti would require 200,000 to 300,000 relief workers and security forces to assist and protect 2 to 3 million displaced Haitians. That kind of support is unlikely to materialize. We can expect more violence in the days ahead. - Bill in Honolulu

Mr. Rawles,
A few items from Haiti. Ham radio operators trying to help were fired upon, apparently by escaped convicts. I also read that prisoners broke from prison after the quake, stripped weapons from the guards, including assault rifles, and the descended on the rubble of the Justice Ministry to destroy all records of their prior crimes. Obviously, the prison break maps very closely to some of the scenarios you've discussed on SurvivalBlog and in your books. People who believe they do not need to be armed when facing a collapse event should read these articles more closely. Best wishes to you and your family. Keep your powder dry. I fear we're all going to need ours soon. - Dave R.

Mr. Rawles,
I've been reading your new "How to Survive the End of the World as We Know It" book. I like it. I was reminded of something I read there in the sanitation chapter about dealing with dead bodies when I saw this article from the BBC. I also found the Management of Dead Bodies Field Guide the article referenced. The manual can be downloaded. Thank you for all your work. I pray your family is doing well since your loss. God bless. - JG

Dear Jim:
The recent earthquake in Haiti is a perfect example of why disaster planning and preparations are so important. While the most technologically advanced nations on earth try and get aid to the region, they are hindered by a broken port and single poorly equipped airport. Rioting has begun and aid workers are being shot at and mobbed.

This is not a unique situation. This is a mirror for past, present and future disasters. Los Angeles riots, Hurricane Katrina, ice storms, heat waves, tidal waves, etc. all cause an immense amount of death and suffering for the first few weeks simply because folks are not prepared with the basics and the 'government' is lucky to be able to find its shoes in the dark with both hands.

Beans, Band-Aids and Bullets. Or to be more precise, water, medical supplies, fuel, shelter, and the means to defend one's family.

CNN shows the displaced under tarps on main street next to decaying bodies. A military helicopter dropping supplies was mobbed so badly that debris was being thrown up into the rotor blades. After the supplies were all gone, in a few seconds, the crowd began to fight over the empty cardboard boxes! Haitian police just opened fire on a looting mob. This is not a drill.

I have vowed not be forced into that type of situation. I have prepared my immediate family (now numbering ten! what happened?) to be able to ride out at least thirty days of hardship and could well do more if we restrict intake and no one is hurt. We will have our stores and we will be able to defend it. No Katrina/Superdome type fiasco for us thank you very much, hopefully we will hole up here at the house but if need be we can bug out to a campsite away from the maddening crowd.

I know this is preaching to the choir but Haiti is not an anomaly. It is what happens in real life when folks miss only three meals. Bless you and your staff. - Cactus Jim

Hi James,
Wanted to point out this article as an example of your prediction of the "golden hoard" coming true. I can't even imagine the carnage when 1 million people realize they have to, and can't, wait for food to grow where they are headed. I've read "Patriots" and with this many people heading into the countryside, do you seriously think holding the fort is possible? It seems the only viable option will be to bug out and keep ahead of the hoard. - Kevin in Honolulu

JWR,
Here's a story about a U.S. Compassion International worker in Haiti who was trapped by the earthquake. - Jerry

The aftermath of the recent earthquake in Haiti has underscored the fragility of modern societies. In the event of a major disaster, it doesn't take long for "the thin veneer" of civilization to be peeled back. And please keep in mind that headlines like the following are not exclusive to Third World countries: Gangs Armed With Machetes Loot Port-Au-Prince; Central Business District Resembles Hell On Earth As Bodies Pile Up And Armed Men Battle Over Food, Supplies.
Here is a key quote from another recent news story from Haiti: "Money is worth nothing right now, water is the currency," one foreign aid-worker told Reuters."

Get your beans, bullets, and Band-Aids together folks, and plenty of training to go with them!

---

Today we present another entry for Round 26 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest.

First Prize: A.) A course certificate from onPoint Tactical. This certificate will be for the prize winner's choice of three-day civilian courses. (Excluding those restricted for military or government teams.) Three day onPoint courses normally cost between $500 and $600, and B.) Two cases of Mountain House freeze dried assorted entrees, in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources. (A $392 value.) C.) A HAZARiD Decontamination Kit from Safecastle.com. (A $350 value.), and D.) A 500 round case of Fiocchi 9mm Luger, 124gr. Hornady XTP/HP ammo, courtesy of Sunflower Ammo. This is a $249 value.

Second Prize: A "grab bag" of preparedness gear and books from Jim's Amazing Secret Bunker of Redundant Redundancy (JASBORR) with a retail value of at least $350.

Third Prize: A copy of my "Rawles Gets You Ready" preparedness course, from Arbogast Publishing.

Round 26 ends on January 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that articles that relate practical "how to" skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

Jim:

While scanning through iTunes U, I found a television (or audio) series from University of California TV on disaster preparedness. They are professionally produced and contain a wealth of information about about emergency response systems are intended to work. Included here are four of the fifteen or so shows that they have put together. The ones I have included are Natural Disasters, Chemical and Biological Agents, Pandemic Influenza and Emerging Infections and Disaster Volunteerism

They go over several case studies that happened in California, but talk about organizations generally enough that it is applicable to most areas with advanced emergency response systems. At the end, I have included links to more shows in UCTV disaster preparedness series.

Here are some video links and excerpted brief summaries:

Disaster Preparedness: Natural Disasters

Transportation and care
Multiple disasters co-existing (earthquake, fire, flood)

Wild fire
-larger then expected

Family Preparedness
-Family network - getting everyone involved
-List of material that needs to be packed to go
-Long distance phones can work (call to foreign county, deliver message, foreign county calls to local number you could not reach), calling local people sometimes doesn't when the disaster is local. This would appear to be a failure of the phone system to update their routing tables dynamically.
-Define a meeting place for your family
-Stores and supplies at home
-Tent, stove, propane, water
-72 hour critical supply of food, medicine and water
-Laundry - Something I had not thought about
-Communications and information management, one of the most difficult things
-Real time information systems - where the fire is, what the evacuations plan is
-After action report - learn from what worked and what didn't
-Reverse 911 only works for land lines.
-Multiple layers of communications, multiple contacts per person
-"Alternative care sites" shelter, Fairgrounds, school gymnasiums, arenas, animal shelters
-Special needs patients, elderly, dialysis
-First day great, everyone helping one another - Day 2 short tempers - social workers and behavioral specialists needed, neighborhoods forming
-It is mentioned *many* times that people will not leave their pets behind. Include them in your preps.

Earthquake
-Single point of contact - single voice speaking for a set of resources
-If you build it, they will come. Where lights are on, people go there.
There are several phases
1. Immediate injuries - Crush injuries, Amputations, Head injuries, airway obstruction
2. Secondary illnesses - Blood pressure medication, diabetes medication, increased rate of heart attack and child birth
95% are rescued by local responders and volunteers in the first 24 hours.

Disaster Preparedness: Chemical and Biological Agents

Disaster Preparedness: Pandemic Influenza and Emerging Infections

Disaster Preparedness: Disaster Volunteerism

More Programs in Emergency Preparedness / Emergency Medicine

Regards, - Ben M.

Mr. Rawles,

I just finished reading Patriots, all I can say is thank you. A few things I'd like to add to what TiredTubes said about hurricane preparedness:

First, when my wife and I first moved to Florida we had little knowledge of hurricanes and their impact. However, due to great parents we had been brought up to always be prepared. So we read and made preparations for ourselves. We lived in an apartment at the time (now we live in a 1960 block home with hurricane panels and a new tile roof) and I asked the apartment manager about logistics of preparing the complex for storms. I could easily tell that this manager of about 200 units had never been asked this question. I asked if maintenance installed the hurricane shutters or do the residents? If the residents do where are they located? At which point in time is the decision made to batten down the hatches? Just blank stares, no answers. I should point out our plan was to protect our valuables as best we could but we would be bugging out. If you live in an apartment or condo complex get the info on the managements plan, and if they don't have one, offer to help form one it will likely come out better if you do.

Second, help other areas after a hurricane, more specifically go to areas affected, even if it requires some travel. The reason is two-fold: A) It's what a Christian, or any moral person should do if able to. B) If you have not experienced a hurricane first hand you will glean countless lessons just cleaning up in the aftermath. Soon after moving to southeast Florida for school the west coast of Florida was hit by hurricanes Charley and Frances. My wife and I both drove over to help out with our church group. Take your own gas, food, water, ice, tools especially the tire plugger and 12 VDC compressor, supplies you want to be a help, not a burden. If there is room take extra supplies and come home in an empty vehicle. With a little common sense I learned things that I'd never have thought of had I not seen the aftermath. You can develop an eye for weaknesses, something a book or web site can't provide alone. A small example is the fact that I was the only one on my street who took five minutes to dig his mailbox up out of the shallow sand and put it in the garage (what's that crazy guy doing?) but then it didn't end up as a missile like some others, when we were hit.

Third, creature comforts. When we were hit by hurricane Wilma (not necessarily high on the Affairs Hurricane scale but 3rd costliest hurricane in US history) we were prepared but lost power for 17 days. Thankfully the freezer stayed cold, the lights stayed on and the gas supply lasted. However, at the time my wife was pregnant with #1 daughter and not feeling well, what added to her discomfort was the fact that most generators cannot run a central air conditioning system and it was hot and muggy. A fan can only do so much for an expectant mother. For us relief came in the form of a friend who had a window air conditioner unit which our generator could handle. This provided a room where my wife could comfortably rest and I could have decent sleep to recover from the post-hurricane cleanup. The units are not excessively expensive and can provide a welcome relief.

Thanks again, - Steve B.

Dear Editor,
Be sure to test any UPS/generator combination before you have to rely on it. Many off-the-shelf UPS units will not accept or pass on incoming power that is not pristine in terms of frequency and voltage. Many lower end generators do not put out pristine power.

I have tested several combinations of generators up to $500 and UPS units up to $200, none would work together reliably.

Higher-end UPS units such as those for commercial data centers can usually be configured for a wider range of incoming power quality, from puritanical to promiscuous.

Bidding on eBay might land you a deal on a 2KW or greater commercial UPS that needs a new set of batteries. Batteries are not expensive, though they are almost always sealed lead-acid types that will need to be replaced every five years or so given gentle treatment.

It is no substitute for a proper battery bank and inverter. -Vlad

In September, 2008, Hurricane Ike--a Category 4 hurricane--pounded the Gulf Coast of the southern US. Some coastal communities like Crystal Beach no longer really exist. Inland, life was severely disrupted. For those of us on the South Coast hurricanes are a frequent reality. We were quite well prepared, but used the disruptions and dislocations as a test and opportunity to tune up our preparations.

1. Be ready to help others and to accept help We didn't need much during Ike, but the power went out before a neighbor finished boarding up his house. My 1 KW inverter, hooked up to his idling truck provide the juice for a Skilsaw and a few lights; allowing him to finish. Usually it is skills and not "stuff" that helps others and yourself. Besides strengthening a neighborly friendship, the number of damaged houses was probably reduced by one.

2. Keep your stuff squared away.. I repaired a few generators during and after Ike. I observed that every one suffering from lack of use; i.e. gasoline that resembled turpentine in the carburetor. People were at a complete loss to understand this. My daugher-in-law owned one of the generators that I repaired. She ignored my admonition to change the dirty oil ASAP and then once every 50 hours. Early in the next week it [ran out of oil and] threw a rod. She was in the dark for another week. Just a $2.99 quart of oil would have saved discomfort, ruined food, etc.
 
My portable genset, loaned to my daughter, was ready to go;  fresh oil, filters, valves set, exercised, load tested. It started on the first try. I came to check it and change it's oil as soon as it was safe to travel. The first thing that I did was turn it so the exhaust faced away from the house! She had placed it so that the starter rope was in a convenient spot. At least she had, like I had asked, chained and locked it to a foundation pier.

After every hurricane Darwin gets a few through accidental carbon monoxide poisoning. Don't join them. If you have a generator, get a carbon monoxide detector in case the wind changes and wafts exhaust in your windows.

Our own [permanently-installed] genset uses natural gas (a tri-fuel generator) which in the majority of cases is superior and much cheaper to operate. Over the 11 days that we didn't have power it consumed $100 worth of natural gas. I estimate that an equivalent amount of gasoline would have cost more than $300. I stopped it every 75 hours for oil and filter. If your genset doesn't have an hour meter, then add one. There are some inexpensive self contained hour meters made for lawn equipment that work very well and require no hard wiring. It's really the only practical way to keep track of operating time, without which, intelligent maintenance is impossible.

I noticed that many generators, some still in the box, on Craigslist following Hurricane Ike at bargain basement prices. I recommended to a friend he latch onto one of these and purchase a dual-fuel gasoline/natural gas carburetor] kit. Ants can profit from short-sighted grasshoppers.

It goes without saying have all your vehicles filled up and serviced so they can be depended upon with out much attention. Pay particular attention to cooling systems, oil changes, tire pressures, belts and battery terminals.

Develop a pre-event SOP: When we hear of a hurricane in the Gulf, we pick up loose items like branches that can be thrown by high winds and cause damage (aviators call this rubbish FOD), trim trees, check prescriptions, recharge everything rechargeable, treat the swimming pool with "shock" chlorine, get all the laundry and dishes done, get all the trash out for pickup, take “before” pictures, etc., etc., etc.

3. Have backups for your backups. The portable generator above was our backup to the natural gas-fueled genset. Then an inverter and ups. After that is a 100 Watt solar array I've been tinkering with to provide power for security lighting,etc.

My daughter spent up to two hours a day foraging gas, mostly waiting in lines. She found out that the problem with gasoline-fuel generators is gasoline! It's expensive, in short supply (when it is needed most), and it takes gas to go and get gas! Needless to say I rounded up the parts and the portable is now a dual fuel machine. Had it been able to use natural gas then she could have stayed home and been one less person waiting in line. And the machine still retains the capability to burn gasoline!

Since gasoline became hard to come by (it was impossible to get for a week after Rita) but diesel fuel was plentiful we did any necessary traveling in my old diesel Mercedes (which is EMP proof, BTW).

One important word on generators: Treat yours like it is the last one you'll ever get. Try and get a good one, I prefer either a Honda or Briggs Vangard engine. My Vangard portable is approx 10 years old and absolutely dependable. The difference is methodical maintenance. Keep the manuals, and read 'em ! Keep the oil changed, keep a fresh spark plug, keep spare [oil, air, and fuel] filters. Most importantly run it under load once a month. Unless it's new, pull off the cowling and clean all the dirt and dust from fins on the cylinder jug. Closely examine the starter rope, the fuel lines, et cetera. Replace 'em if they ain't perfect.

If you get a permanently installed generator carefully consider installing a manual transfer switch and other upgrades. With the exception of automatic "exercising" fully automatic generators these add a layer of complication and cost.

Don't store gasoline in the machine other than enough for one periodic test run. Develop a ritual on test runs: such as every other payday, or the last Saturday in the month, to reduce it to a ritual. I run mine monthly whilst cutting the back yard lawn. (The mower makes more noise.)

For storage between test runs: On portable gensets [with the ignition off, slowly ] pull the cord until you can feel that the engine is at the top of the compression stroke. This is where the engine feels like you are pulling it through a "detent". It puts the piston at the top of the bore and closes both valves. This protects the cylinder from moisture. If you store gasoline then use stabilizer, after six months burn it in your car and replace it. Few experiences are worse that trying to clean out a carburetor by a dim flashlight whilst being consumed alive by salt marsh mosquitoes. Trust me on this. BTW, I've had better results storing "winter" blended gas, since t has more light fractions and starts easier year round.

If you use gas cans; stick with metal, preferably safety cans. Plastics are slightly permeable and it will go bad much faster in a plastic can. On that note, [in humid climates] don’t keep spare spark plugs with the machine. This is because in outdoor storage the insulators can absorb moisture [and the metal parts can corrode]. Keep them inside or in a sealed can with some silica gel. An old one-quart paint can is ideal.

If you have a dual-fuel machine, then break the engine in on gasoline and make sure it operates properly on both fuels under load. Keep the necessary connectors for gas operation on the machine so that you don't have to go searching for that 3/8ths-inch pipe nipple with a flashlight.

Use high quality oils, and have enough. Don't forget to also store plenty of 2-stroke [fuel mixing] oil and chain oil if you intend to use a chainsaw. Maybe store some extra for your neighbors that are less prudent. I use Rotella brand synthetic oil and Wix brand filters, and have had good results with them.

Make sure you have enough oil, filters and plugs for at least two weeks (336 hours), or longer. Don't forget about your equipment after the crisis is over: There are valves to set, oil and plugs to change, etc. Even if you own two generators and have enough flashlights, automatic emergency lights, et cetera, things can, and may likely go wrong. Small children usually do not take kindly to being plunged into total darkness. Unless it is TEOTWAWKI, keep the candles in the cupboard, especially if there are small children about.

4. Double your plans for helping other people. Several relatives from coastal areas evacuated to our house (approximately 50 miles inland). I keep a 55 gallon drum of stabilized gasoline to fill up their cars to get them home. This was a lesson learned after the Rita evacuation cluster. How much food you will go through will surprise you. It finally dawned upon us that we almost always eat dinner (lunch to you Northerners) and sometimes breakfast away from home. So what we consumed whilst hunkered down seemed out of proportion.

We also sent some food home with people to hold them over. I was able to "lend" a retired neighbor enough generated power to keep his freezer, television, and fan going. He was genuinely happy. This also meant that he was one less person in line for ice, food, and so forth.

5. Keep a dial up phone line around, after 24 hours the cell phone tower generators started running out of propane, the cable modem (and the cable) went down with the power. Remember how to make that dial-up modem work.

If you're not a Ham radio operator, then find out where the local hams conduct their emergency nets, and listen on your shortwave radio (HF) or scanner (2-meter and 440 band) and you'll know a lot more that the local television news truck can find out.

If you have cable television, then keep a traditional antenna handy. If you live near a major market the local AM news station, then it is probably a good bet. Have a good UPS, plug the computer and the desk lamp into it. If you have a cordless phone, plug it into the UPS too. The UPS will take the "bumps" out of the generator's power; your computer will thank you. Make sure you test the UPS periodically by plugging in a 100 Watt lamp and pulling the plug on the UPS. I find I need to replace that UPS battery about every 2-to-3 years.

6. Plan for the guests. Have plenty of soap, have a small flashlight (preferably with rechargeable batteries) for each guest. Have things other than television to keep youngsters occupied. Try and get plenty of rest. You'll probably be plenty busy after you can poke your head out again. In this vein don't forget dishwashing supplies, laundry supplies, baby supplies, etc. If it's a predictable event such as a hurricane, have all the dishes and laundry done. before it hits.

A television in a room by itself will keep the racket contained from those who want to read, play games or just sleep. If you have the space, then a “quiet room” where  people can just rest, read, be alone, have some privacy or get a fussy to baby to sleep cuts down on contagious stress.

7. Make sure you are medically prepared. Have a rather complete first aid kit that includes a backboard and splinting materials. There will be plenty of cuts,scrapes, bruises, sunburns and sore muscles in the aftermath. Have Band-Aids, 4x4s, neosporin, peroxide etc. Have plenty of acid reducer and immodium on hand (stress and unfamiliar cooking), have at least two weeks of prescription drugs on hand [and preferably much more for any chronic health issues]. Have a good assortment of Tylenol, cold and sinus preparations, BenGay [muscle ointment], good  multivitamins, etc.

8.Be extra, extra, extra careful. You getting sick or more likely injured can really mess things up for everyone you have prepared for. Not to mention that the local fire/ambulance is probably already overtaxed. Be extremely careful handling fire and fuels. A lot of us are not entirely fluent in using chainsaws, small engines, fixing roofs, trimming trees and moving debris.[JWR Adds: safety equipment including heavy gloves, kevlar chainsaw safety chaps, and a combination safety helmet with face shield and muffs are absolute "musts"!] Don't get in a hurry unless there is a threat to life. Be hyper cautious, be very aware of your surroundings and things that can go wrong. Don’t toil alone. Make sure you have a clear path to beat a hasty retreat if things go wrong. Wear those gloves, safety glasses, boots and maybe a hard hat.

Don't overtax yourself. Getting a fallen the tree off of the roof today avails you little if it triggers a heart attack or heat stroke. Ask God's assistance and start over tomorrow.

Keep fire extinguishers near the gas generator, in the kitchen, and near the camp stove.

Avoid using candles at all costs, and absolutely prohibit smoking indoors for the duration. Have more than enough battery smoke detectors around.

9. Be ready to make temporary repairs.. The missing shingles, damaged windows, etc. Have some plywood, a few 2x4s, some Visqueen polyethylene sheeting, batting boards, duct tape, a tarp, some nails, and so forth around. If you happen to have a good cordless drill, then you'll find sheet rock and deck screws are very superior to nails. If you're squared away then you already have this stuff , but a neighbor might be in need, so buy extra.

Debris creates flat tires for quite some time after many events. Have a tire plug kit and a 12 VDC compressor in each vehicle. Repairs to structures, especially roof repairs guarantee nails in tires. Be ready for them..

Have everything rechargeable recharged. Make sure you have some traditional non-power tools, I have a handsaw that I've had for decades, a good bow saw, ax, maul, sledge and an old eggbeater style hand drill still get regular use.

10. If I had my choice of just one utility it would be running water. Fortunately where we reside is served by a well run rural utility district which has prepared well for hurricanes. Failing this, in addition to stored water I have a portable gas utility pump (Robin brand) that can pressurize our water system from our pool and has sufficient capacity for a fire line. The pool got a good jolt of shock a day before the storm hit.

11.Keep some cash money handy. For a few days [with no utility power] there were no functional ATMs, and no way to use credit or debit cards.

12. Keep a low profile. About a week after Ike a passerby indignantly asked "How'd you get your lights turned on?" This showed his ignorance on several levels. He seemed to think someone just had to flip a switch downtown and "shazam!" his lights are on. I couldn't make him understand there has to be an unbroken physical link between a power plant and consumer, this seemed to aggravate his obvious helplessness. Telling him that we had been making our own juice seemed to irritate him. I wonder who he voted for? People with this mindset (that the world owes them something) could be a genuine liability in a real catastrophe. (BTW on a news show during a piece about energy, I actually heard a lady refer to natural gas as “just another dirty fossil fuel”) and not be challenged on the facts. Little minds scare me. I think that the hyper-liberals would love to use the heavy hand of government to force the ants take care of the grasshoppers.  Keep a low profile. The best advice I ever heard on the subject (I believe it was Howard J. Ruff ) was to "keep your principles public and your actions private".

13. Keep a notebook, keep a record of what happened, but especially keep a record of preps you overlooked or screwed up, or stuff you ran out of, or skills that need to be added or honed. That's where most of the preceding information came from! Also keep tabs on what's scarce after an event. Gas was scarce, but diesel plentiful after Rita. In contrast, after Ike there was plenty of fuel, but few operating stations due to lack of power. (There was a "mandatory evacuation" during Rita which turned out to be a fatal traffic jam for a few poor souls which quickly emptied the filling station tanks.) Out our way the local Wal-Mart made a heroic effort and opened up on locally-generated power, two days after Ike. The sheriff’s department was there to “maintain order”. (Let’s just say that they actually wear brown shirts here.). This event was a lifetime opportunity to study the varied behaviors of people under stress.

There were plenty of canned goods and auto supplies. But fresh fruits and veggies were a little thin, no meat due to lack of refrigeration for a few days, batteries, Coleman fuel, trash bags, paper plates, disposable diapers, formula, and nails evaporated. The pharmacy was closed.

Even with the numerous mistakes we made, we were able to stay safe, secure and comfortable and help others while "victims" were standing or idling their car engines in lines. It was an opportunity to try things out under more or less controlled conditions. WTSHTF there will not be controlled conditions!

Background Information:

My interest in preparedness started in earnest really just a few months ago.  Before that, I had been an avid backpacker, rock climber, and other sports which require self-sufficiency and forethought.  I am also a Red Cross volunteer.  I was at hurricane Wilma, and I have done local search and rescue, amongst other things.  This February I was dispatched to the south-western region of Kentucky for the Ice Storms.  What I learned there changed me in a lot of ways.

I was aware of the pending economic collapse, but hadn't really thought of practical things to do until then.  As a pre-1840s Re-enactor, I was pretty sure I could comfortably live in a pre-industrial setting.  A little hubris, maybe, but at 23 sometimes that goes with the territory.

While we drove into Kentucky, parts of it looked like a war-zone.  Downed trees and power lines, roofs collapsed, the whole deal.  It was a long drive, and it really set in for us how serious this was.  People's lives were on the line. 

There were three FEMA gas depots throughout the State, but FEMA did next to nothing to help here.  Without electricity, the pumps at the gas station will not work.  Some place had hooked up diesel generators to power the pumps if they could, and very few business that were still open would accept anything but cash. 

When we arrived in the small town to which we had been dispatched, we found that the Red Cross volunteers at the shelter had not slept for any normal amount of time in close to 8 days.  At the height of the storms our shelter slept 150 people.

We gave the local volunteers a needed break, and worked 20-hour days.  It was rough; but anyone who has been in that situation knows it can very rewarding as well.  We served 800 hot meals a day, gave out pallets upon pallets of MREs and uncounted bottles of water.

The grid-water had been contaminated, so bottled water was really all the people could drink or wash with if they didn't have a very, very deep well, even then they were on a boil-alert.  If your house did not have a wood burning stove, then you were sleeping with us.  All together the power and gas were out, in some places, for more than 20 days.

That's the background and the quick version of events which eventually led to my interest in this area.

On to the practical details that I learned.  First and most important was this:  when the trucking lines break down, within two or perhaps three days, every store will be sold out of all dry food.  That means, that if you don't have at least two weeks worth of food stored up, you'll be visiting me at the Shelter.

We slept (at out busiest day) 150 people in the shelter. No electricity, no gas, no water.  We're talking serious survival kind of situations.  In talking with the people there, excluding the elderly, the main reason people could not stay in their homes was heat.  If you had a wood burning stove, you were basically fine.  You could get by. 

FEMA had  a recording when you called them, that gave the residents the Red Cross local number.  They did such unhelpful things as tell people we were giving our generators, gasoline, and kerosene.  Things that to my knowledge the RC has never done, and we were not doing.  FEMA had fliers telling people the could free food if they needed it.  Supposedly they actually gave out about 1000 meals, but after that they referred people to us.

Lesson learned here: Do not, under any condition, assume FEMA or any other government agency will help you.  Help yourself, and help your neighbors.

When I got back from Kentucky, I started to put the things I had seen in order.  I started to mentally make lists of the things I would need when this situation came to my neck of the woods.  I did not want to be in the shelter when (not if) something happened near me.

The main reason I saw in this specific situation was heat.  So I planned on picking up at least two working wood burners.  Then came water, then came food, and in a long-term scenario: barter.

Heat:

My house has a fireplace, and although that is not very efficient, in a pinch it would do until I can find the kind of stoves I really want.  So I moved on to next item.

Water:

Water was pretty easy.  I have a couple of streams on my property, and I can collect rain water.  Some friends and I built a gravity-fed purification system.  We modified two used beer kegs that we bought very cheap to hold water on top and bottom.  We connected them with a 4 foot long stainless steel pipe with a very fine metal mesh at the bottom and  filled with activated charcoal.  When the water is first put through a matrix of gravel and varying degrees of fine sand, then through this system, you get very, very pure water.  We believe it to be near laboratory-grade water.  In fact, this system is just a scaled up version of a purifier at out local pharmaceutical company.

The benefit of using kegs is two-fold.  First, they are readily available almost anywhere, and two they are stainless steel.  I suppose you could also pretty easily convert this into a still if you so desired, for barter or producing barter-goods.

I have been working on something called an Archimedes' Screw to help move the water.  It is basically a screw inside a cylinder.  When a mechanical force is applied to the screw to turn it, either by hand, modified bicycle, or wind turbine, the screw pulls water up the cylinder, from a low place to a high place.  This is not finished yet, so I cannot give it 100% clearance, but the theory seems sound.

Food: 

Food takes a bit longer.  I started by ordering some 6-gallon mylar bags and  a couple packages of 500cc oxygen absorbers.  I went to the local Big Box store, the kind that has a bakery inside, and asked if I could have their used 5-gallon buckets with lids.  They were happy to help; and they were free.  I cleaned them by alternating a bleach wash, a salt wash, and a vinegar with lemon juice wash.  That got all of the icing smell out of the buckets.  That step was more my OCD then a necessity, since the mylar will keep anything from being contaminated.  Although I thought this might reduce the likely hood of insects poking around my buckets...

Place a mylar bag in a 5-gallon bucket.  You want 6-gallon bags so you can press all the air, and seal the very end.  This allows you to re-use the bags several times.  Fill the bag with about 5 gallons of rice, beans, powdered milk, lentils, noodles, red winter wheat... whatever you are storing.  Seal about 9/10's of the bag with a clothes iron being sure to leave room for your O2 absorbers to fit though; I like to make a two-inch seal.  Grab the bag and lift it and shake it a bit to allow the contents to settle some, pressing the air up towards your seal. 

You'll want to do several of these at once, because as soon as you open the O2 absorbers, they start working.  I put the unused one in a zip-lock bag which I suck all the air out as I seal it.  I also put in the tester pellet that comes with the absorbers so I know if they are good or not.

So let's say you are putting up five buckets.  Each bucket gets ~2000cc worth of O2 absorbers.  If you bought 500cc packs, that would be four per bucket for a total number of 20.  Feel free to err on the side of caution here, if you are using some stored in the zip lock bags.  The extra costs of the materials is drastically outweighed by the value of the stored food.  If I have had the O2 absorbers exposed to air more than once, I toss in an extra one, more than twice, I toss in two extra, and I have never had any done more than that.

You want all your buckets prepped for final sealing before you open your O2 absorbers, for obvious reasons.  I usually ask for a hand with this next stage to allow me to move as quickly as possible with as little exposure to general environmental air for the absorbers.

So, toss in your 4 absorbers, press out as much of the air as you can, and finish off the seal.  I like to make my seals 2 inches thick, and again I use a clothes iron.  I use a large dictionary with a wooden cutting board on top to make this seal.  Snap down the lid of the bucket. 

The bucket is necessary to protect the mylar.  Although the mylar bags are strong in the sense that they can bear a lot of weight, pressure, or vacuum, they are highly susceptible to puncture.

Once all your buckets contain O2 absorbers and are sealed with lids on, take clear packing tape and put a long strip on the lid.  I write the date I packed the bucket, the approximate storage life, the contents, and the weight/volume.  I stack the buckets off the ground three-high.

Keep in mind that every dollar you spend here is worth many multiples of that in the future.  Even if we are all wrong on the possibility of Schumeresque Scenarios, think of the money you will save just because of inflation.

Now, speaking of money. If you spend $20 for 50 pounds of rice today, and three years from now, you could sell it for $100; if you did not do your storage well, you're out $100 plus the cost of storage materials, not $20.  So make sure that you do it carefully.  You can also rotate out and in new stock.

Bartering:

No one (or at least not me) has the resources/time/etc to put into long-term storage everything they need for the rest of their lives.  Eventually bullets and beans run out.  So, you will need something to trade. 

I like [non-numismatic pre-1965] junk silver, and one-ounce silver coins/bars.  In my mind, these would work for direct bartering: things like mason jars, food, animals, ammunition, whatever.  Flea markets are a great place to pick up small amounts of junk silver if your budget does not allow for larger purchases, like $500 or $1,000 face-value bags.

If we find ourselves in a prolonged period of hyperinflation like the Former Yugoslavia experienced (more on this later), then we might want to hedge our bets.  You could buy a few 10-ounce silver bars, with the intent to sell them for the hyper-inflated currency before the bottom drops out to purchase needed items.  Just a thought.

One could lay up, mason jars, paraffin, salt, sugar, alcohol, tobacco; lots of things for barter.  There is also the good old stand-by, ammunition.  My concern with ammo for barter, is that you might not know what that ammo is going to be used for, nor know for sure it will not be used against you or someone else.  I do see the incredible versatility and all the good reasons for an ammo-based barter system.  So do what you like.

The other event that really sent a lot of this home for me was a 6-week stay in Serbia.  Listening to stories about how people would smuggle in gas during the embargo, buy any solid good while the money was worth something, and generally do everything they could to survive really had an effect on me.  At the height of the crisis, they had 37% inflation per day culminating in the issue of the 500 billion Dinar note.  This was of course fifteen to twenty years ago, but the scars are still visible.  Belgrade did not demolish or clean up any of the damage done during the 1999 NATO bombing.  The Serbs see that every day. 

There is a quote I like, that many of you may know that I feel is appropriate here:

"History has shown us that government leaders often ignore the fundamental fact that people demand both dignity and freedom. Stripping motivated people of their dignity and rubbing their noses in it is a very bad idea." - John Ross, Unintended Consequences [JWR Adds: This otherwise excellent novel was marred by some vulgarity and gratuitous sex scenes. Beware!]

Back to the practicals...
People stocked up on silver, charcoal, wood burning stoves, anything that could be a store a value and increase their chances of survival.  Another interesting happening was the use of checks.  Checks in Serbia and the Former Yugoslavia are all printed with a maximum amount.  Usually 5,000 Dinars, (about $70 in today's Dinar/ Dollar exchange rate).  So, if you had a business, you are issued a certain number of checks each month.  What happened during the crisis is interesting.  The checks were spontaneously monetized. 

Here is and example of what I mean.  I write a check for 5,000 Dinars, but I don't address it to you.  You give me the goods for the check.  Then, instead of cashing the check at the bank, you give it to someone else for your needs.  This usually went on, especially in very small towns for up to four months before my account was drawn for the amount.

This also had the benefit of me being able to write a check I might not have had the money to back it right away, so it was like credit for me, and cash for you.  This doesn't happen anymore in Serbia, by the way. 

Although I imagine I'm preaching to the choir, I know from my own experiences that it's easy to get down, and disheartened.  But don't fret.  Get to work, lay in your stores, and every day do at least one practical thing that increases your and your family's chance of survival. Keep your powder dry.- KP

I was pleased to see this post over at the Mountain Steps blog: A letter to our county commissioner about emergency preparation for hyperinflation. It is commendable to make such inquiries, but it is essential to ask detailed questions. Especially when contacting elected officials, vague, general questions tend to elicit vague, general answers, and hence most likely no action will be taken.

It is also essential that you do some research first, to direct your inquiry letter or phone call to the right individuals. Flunkies don't create or change policy, they just implement it. You need to direct your letter to someone that has the authority to make policy, and has the budget to implement it. (In some cases, this will mean separate contacts to whomever controls the purse strings.)

I recommend that you ask detailed questions, such as:

Do you have a back-up generator, and how many days of fuel do you keep on hand? What is your contingency plan to implement before that fuel runs out?

Can you continue to operate without grid power? If not, then what contingency plans do you have?

Is the city's water supply gravity fed, from end to end? If not, then what contingency plans have been put in place to provide water to utility customers, in the event of a grid power interruption longer than 48 hours?

And ask:

Are electrically-pumped filters used, or traditional gravity filters?

Then, if you discover that the water system is mostly via gravity, but it uses electric pumps only for pressurized filtration, then ask: If electrically-pumped filters are used, then has a disaster contingency waiver been established with the USEPA, (for turbidity and other standards), to allow bypassing of filters in the event of a grid-down emergency situation?

Similarly detailed letters or phone inquiries should be made to your local irrigation district, your fire department, power utility, phone companies (both cellular and land line), refinery, hospital, kidney dialysis clinic, coal mine, National Guard, grocery store, et cetera.

Do not expect the grid to magically stay up and running, Assume the worst case, and plan accordingly.

OBTW, one key word to search for when estimating the resiliency of your community's infrastructure is co-generation. Find out where the co-gen plants are, and their capacity!

Several months ago, a man wrote an article for the SurvivalBlog detailing the ups and downs of being a prepper while serving on Active Duty. As a former Active Duty soldier I could appreciate what he was saying but more than anything else I found myself being thankful that I was now doing my prepping while serving in the National Guard.

Many preppers join the local volunteer fire department or rescue squad in order to learn valuable skills for free that could help in an emergency. They also do it so that they can learn skills that will help pull their communities through during tough times. I would like to propose that some of the readers who are of this mindset could gain much by joining the National Guard.

I have been in the Army seven years now. I started on Active Duty serving in Georgia, Germany, and Iraq. After three year I moved back home and joined the Guard. I am currently wrapping up a tour as the commander of a 170-soldier Military Police (MP) company. Like anything else, the Guard has its positives and negatives and I’d like to provide readers with both so that they can make an educated decision about what I think is a great opportunity. (Full disclosure: I like my job.)

First, the positives:
1. Job training. Hands down, from a survivalist mindset, this has to be the best thing that the Guard has to offer. The training for jobs in the Guard is the same as what you’d receive on Active Duty. The difference is, while it’s common for Active Duty soldiers to stay in the same carrier field for the duration of their career, Guardsmen often end up training in more than one field for a variety of reasons. I have soldiers who started out as mechanics who retrained as Military Police after a few years because there were more opportunities for career development in our MP focused unit. Likewise, in my unit we are authorized three medics up to the rank of Specialist [E4] (the fourth enlisted rank in the Army). When they decide that they want to pursue their Sergeant stripes, they will either go to another unit that has slots for a medic at the rank of Sergeant (there are two such units within 25 miles of us) or retrain as Military Police to pursue one of the many slots available in that field for the rank of Sergeant and beyond. The point is that the choice is theirs. How valuable would it be for you to train as a mechanic, infantrymen, medic, MP, or chemical specialist? It is not uncommon for some of my older soldiers to be formally schooled in up to three different Military Occupation Specialties (MOS).

2. Learn additional skills beyond your MOS. Every one of my soldiers has practiced putting in an IV, knows how and when to use a nasopharyngeal airway, and can perform a range of basic first aid tasks. Two of my soldiers have been school trained as armorers as an additional duty to their primary job. I put everyone on the range 2-3 times a year firing 9mm, 5.56mm, 7.62mm, .50 cal, 12 gauge, and 40mm. Our people know how to maintain and fire a variety of pistols, rifles, machine guns, shotguns, and other less common weapon systems. We practice navigating alone or in small groups cross country using a map and compass. We also train everyone on basic hand-to-hand combatives. Finally, our Military Police soldiers get trained on collapsible batons, OC, and soon, Tasers.

3. Continue to live where you want. One of the big complaints of preppers on Active Duty is having to move every few years. In the National Guard you choose your armory (presuming they have an open slot) and you can live anywhere that you like. In my state 90% of counties have at least one National Guard armory. As you go up in ranks you may have to go to another armory that has the slot that you want but you’re never forced to do so. If the openings don’t exist for your career track at your armory, you can always retrain into another field where the slots do exist.

4. Be a leader when trouble strikes. When society gets shaken you will likely be called upon to stabilize and sustain your city, state, or nation. Some would see this as a downside as they would prefer to hunker down when things get bad. I see it instead as a positive. Even as a mere mid level leader in the Guard I have the ability to make decisions that will help restore towns to a state of normalcy. This was proven to me when our company was charged with restoring law and order to a coastal Mississippi town in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. We fed people, stopped the looting, and gave the utility workers the support that they needed to restore basic services. Not only was it a rewarding experience, but it also pulled me into the survivalist community. I promised myself that my family would be prepared when disaster struck.

5. Local in focus, global in reach. Unlike the Reserves, National Guard soldiers serve at the direction of their state’s Governor. If this sounds odd to you, remember that before 1933 the National Guard Bureau was called the Militia Bureau. If you’re interested in helping in natural disasters, the Guard is the way to go. I’ve responded to tornados 30 miles North of my home as well as hurricanes 500 miles South. I’ve even conducted exercises in South America and Europe with the Guard. The President can always federalize a Guard unit, but at our core, we’re a state asset.

6. Learn even more skills outside the Army. The GI Bill and Tuition Assistance can help you go back to school for vocational, college, or post graduate training with little or no out of pocket expense.

7. Gain an extra paycheck. Not much more to say on this one. Live off your civilian job salary and you can just apply your Guard paycheck to paying off your house or any other debts that you have faster.

8. Gain full time employment. While the Guard is traditionally a part time force (usually one weekend a month, two weeks a year… though the War on Terror was stretched that), there are some full time jobs out there. Put in some time and prove yourself and you could serve full time from your hometown. Of particular interest to people who understand the threats that exist domestically are the Civil Support Teams (CST) that each state has that’s composed of Army and Air National Guardsmen. These are the first responders for just about everything that a terrorist might level against us here at the home front. All the soldiers in a CST serve full time and represent the best that we have for detecting and dealing with chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear threats.

9. The camaraderie of a group of like minded individuals. It’s good to know people in your community that you can count on in a pinch. Plus the Guard can be a good networking opportunity if you’re looking for employment in an emergency response field (police, fire, EMT, etc.).

And now, the negatives:
1. Overseas deployments. Sooner or later you’re probably going to go to Iraq or Afghanistan if you’re in the National Guard. If you have a family, this is definitely a negative. However, for some of you the experience that this brings would be invaluable in a survival situation. Just prepare your family to operate without you, preferably in conjunction with the support of trusted friends and neighbors. Know also that the Guard has really made headway since the wars started in providing dwell time to its soldiers. Current deployment cycles attempt to limit a unit to one deployment for every five years.

2. Some units in the Guard lack vision and don’t train hard. It pains me to say that but we must remember that the Army is a microcosm of the society it serves. Some leaders are no good and some units are lazy. My unit trains hard and the soldiers appreciate it. We take every opportunity to learn and grow. Not every unit is like that. If you join a unit that’s sub par, work to change it from the inside. If the culture of that unit is beyond your ability to fix, request transfer to another one.

3. If you’re thinking about joining the Guard now, you just missed some of the best enlistment bonuses in decades. Work closely with your local Guard recruiter (located at most Guard armories) and see if the field that you’re interested in still offers money up front to help kick your prepping into high gear. Not all the bonuses are gone but several of the bigger ones went away a few months ago.

4. Leaving your family during the height of an emergency. I alluded to earlier, but it’s worth repeating given the audience. It is all together possible that when your family needs you the most, you will get called away to help other people. This is a chance that we take along with our brethren first responders. Police, Fire Fighters, EMTs, Doctors, Nurses, and Guardsmen… if we hold to our oath then we’ve got to go where our community needs us in an emergency.

If you’re thinking about joining, grab a friend in the Guard and ask a lot of questions. It’s not a small step because it requires many years of commitment. I think it’s worth it, though. Hopefully this article has answered your questions regarding the Guard as means to serve your community and grow your personal skill set in preparation for a survival situation.

CBRNE is an acronym for Chemical-Biological-Radiological-Nuclear-Explosive events. [It is most commonly spoken "Sea-Burn"] This article gives a general guideline for responding to such incidents, geared toward the individual or small group with basic medical/trauma care abilities and little to no rescue capability. Some details about each type of event are also included. Note that I am a paramedic; my training is geared toward that venue, and this essay reflects that. However, many of the same principles are relevant to anyone forced by circumstances to respond to such incidents, not just public safety personnel.

Deliberate Attacks Versus Accidents
Most CBRNE events will be accidents or natural occurrences - chemical spills, pandemics, etc. Some, however, may be deliberate attacks. The most likely candidates are explosive devices, which are relatively cheap, do-it-yourself, low-risk endeavors. Chemical, biological, radiological and especially true nuclear attacks are expensive and high-risk. For example, creating a nuclear device requires obtaining plans, a large team of scientists in multiple specialties, esoteric materials, and so on. And that is just to build the device - a delivery system is still needed. Bringing these elements together is expensive, difficult and time-consuming, and likely to attract unwanted attention. Overall, the cost and risk-to-body-count ratio is much better with conventional arms and explosives; accordingly, these are the most likely forms of deliberate attack.

Safety
The first priority must always be making sure that you and yours do not become victims. If you become injured, you cannot help others; furthermore, you require assistance, which draws resources away from other victims. Consider the following:

Scene Safety: Look for fires, unstable structures, weapons or dangerous persons. Look up, down, and all around - remember that not all threats come from ground level. If you do not have the training or equipment to help safely, then wait for those who do. Leave the area if necessary. Do not try to provide aid in an unsafe area - move victims if necessary. In some cases, you may even have to leave them behind. Remember, you cannot help others if you become a casualty.

Contamination:
CBRNE events pose a high risk of contamination. Do not expose yourself to chemical or infectious agents or to radiation. If you do not have appropriate personal protection equipment (PPE) - do not approach the incident site. PPE is discussed in more detail later. Keep in mind the "Rule of Thumb" - get far enough away from the scene that you can completely cover it with your outstretched thumb. Remember to go uphill and upwind of the affected area.
Secondary Devices: In the case of a deliberate CBRNE attack, be aware that there could be additional threats or devices waiting for responders. While these are generally directed at police, fire, EMS or other official agencies, if you are trying to help, or have the bad luck to be at the scene, you share the danger.

Organization
In the case of CBRNE event, public safety agencies – police, fire and EMS – will have initial responsibility for scene management. Whatever you believe the long-term consequences will be, initially these agencies will be functioning. What follows is a description of their organizational model. If they are on the scene, you will be expected to function within that structure, if you are permitted to assist at all (for safety and liability reasons, you may not be). However, even if a CBRNE event occurs where public safety agencies cannot respond, the principles of this structure are still appropriate for your own use.

Overall responsibility for managing a given event will, at least initially, fall to a single person, designated as Incident Command. If the event can be managed with less than 7 or so responders, this person (and perhaps a Safety Officer) may be the only command personnel needed. However, a CBRNE event is likely to require a considerably larger response. It has been found that a single individual cannot effectively direct more than 3-7 people; 3-5 is an even better number. This is referred to as an effective span of control. Accordingly, for an event of large size, additional levels of organization will be introduced in order to maintain an appropriate span. Regional or functional divisions are used as necessary. For example, the Incident Commander may appoint a Rescue Chief, a Medical Chief, and a Fire Suppression Chief for a large-scale response. (Note that regional or functional elements and leaders are appointed by Incident Command. Some are standardized across the nation, while others will vary geographically depending on local organization, preference and tradition.) Each of these individuals will in turn direct about 3-5 subordinates. Depending on the number of responders, each of those subordinates could in turn direct a team of 3-5 responder, et cetera. The keys are that (1) each responder reports to one and only one supervisor, chief, or other leadership element; (2) each leader directs no more than 3-5 subordinates directly; and (3) overall responsibility for the scene falls to a single Incident Command. It is essential that there is no freelancing – a disorganized response can lead to inefficiency, an unsafe scene, oversights or mistakes resulting in poor outcomes, additional injuries [, needless contamination] or even deaths.

Zones
Geographically, a scene will be divided into three zones: a central hot zone, a surrounding warm zone, and a safe cold zone.
The hot zone is the immediate site of the incident, and may expand based on wind, spill or rainwater runoff, etc. Only trained responders with appropriate equipment should be in the hot zone. Depending on the incident type, this could mean fire department, HazMat or other type teams.
The warm zone surrounds the hot zone. Operating in the warm zone may also call for specialized training and equipment, but not always and not as much. Decontamination, which is discussed below, is usually performed in the warm zone.
Finally, the cold zone is the [ostensibly] safe area surrounding the warm zone. Basically this is the rest of the world. Additional resources and treatment centers will normally be located in the cold zone.

Decontamination
Decontamination will be necessary when it is likely that victims or responders have been exposed to chemicals, biological agents or radiation. The most common method of mass decon is gross decon. Essentially, victims are instructed to disrobe (it is estimated that in many cases this can remove up to 90% of contaminants) and are run through a large “shower” area, then given clean garments. On a smaller scale, you or your family members can self-decontaminate by disrobing and showering. It is recommended that garments that must normally be pulled over the head be cut off, instead. In some cases more detailed decon may need to be performed, for example a wound contaminated with radiological material. In this case, wash the specific site with soap and water, making sure not to contaminate others or other areas of the body while doing so (wear appropriate PPE). Note that victims should in most cases be decontaminated before receiving medical care or first aid. The exception is an immediate life-threatening condition, such as a severe hemorrhage, which may receive preliminary treatment prior to decon.

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
This discussion will deal with two forms of PPE: medical PPE and chemical protective gear. It is essential to wear appropriate PPE in any CBRNE event to avoid becoming contaminated or spreading contamination to others.
Medical PPE includes gloves, masks, gowns and eye protection. Follow the Universal Precautions philosophy – assume that everyone is a potential carrier of dangerous infections, and behave accordingly. Wear gloves whenever providing treatment, and change them between patients. Also be aware of the following “special” situations:

Splash protection – when “splashes” are anticipated (for example with childbirth, massive hemorrhage or vomiting) wear eye protection, a mask and a gown
Contact precautions – some infections, such as certain MRSA varieties, can be passed skin-to-skin, and call for contact precautions; wear gloves and a gown
Droplet precautions – infections spread in mucus or respiratory secretions may be transmitted over short distances by coughs and the like; wear a surgical mask when in close proximity. (The CDC says within three feet [but coughs can project droplets 10 feet or more.])
Airborne precautions – infections with airborne spread, such as tuberculosis, call for an N95 mask; ideally, the patient should be in a negative pressure room

Chemical Protective Equipment comes in four levels:
Level A calls for a Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA) and a sealed chemical protective suit. Note that no single suit type protects against all forms of exposure. Generally, Level A protection is used only by trained HazMat Technicians.
Level B calls for an SCBA and a non-encapsulated (non-sealed) chemical protective suit, such as a Tyvek suit.
Level C consists of a filter-type respirator and chemical protective clothing, gloves and boots (same as type B).
Level D includes standard work clothes – uniforms, surgical scrubs, turnout gear – which give some skin/splash protection, and no respiratory protection.

Triage
Once proper PPE is in place, the response has been organized, and the scene has been rendered safe, care for victims can begin. After safety, preventing or minimizing the loss of life is the highest priority. A CBRNE event is likely to produce a large number of victims, and could easily exceed response capabilities. When this happens, the goal must be to do the greatest good for the greatest number.
Haphazardly rendering aid to random victims will result in chaos and poor treatment priorities, which will in turn lead to unnecessary loss of life or poor outcomes for victims. It is important to apply triage procedures. “Triage” simply means “to sort,” and refers to sorting victims into groups based on severity. The first competent care-giver to arrive at the scene of a mass casualty event should begin triaging – sorting – victims. The following categories are pretty much universally recognized:

Red or Immediate – These persons have severe injuries, but are likely to be able to be saved. The are “salvageable.” Given the seriousness of their condition, they receive treatment (and transport to the hospital, if available) first.
Yellow or Delayed – These are the people with serious but not life-threatening injuries. They are the second group to receive treatment, after the Reds/Immediates.
Green or Minimal – These are folks with only minor injuries. After all the reds and yellows are taken care of, they can be taken care of.
Black or Expectant – These victims are dead or expected to die. Any victim who cannot breathe on their own should be triaged into this category. If manpower or resources are limited, they should not be expended on these victims, who will probably not survive anyway.

Once triage is completed, treatment can begin.

Treatment
Some comments specific to incident type will be included later. For now, consider the following general assessment and treatment priorities (note that this is a mere overview; detailed first aid skills should be sought elsewhere):
Mental Status – Assess whether the patient is awake, unresponsive, confused or lethargic, etc. An unresponsive patient should be considered Red/Immediate. A confused patient will probably be Yellow/Delayed, assuming no additional problems are found. Next check the ABCs:
Airway and Breathing – Check to see whether the victim is breathing. If not, open their airway by tilting the head or (if injury is suspected) by lifting the jaw forward. If the patient does not breath on their own at this point, consider them Black/Expectant. If they do, ask whether they are having difficulty breathing and listen to their breath. Difficulty breathing, rapid breathing or strange breathing sounds indicate at least a Yellow/Delayed patient. Severe or progressive difficulty breathing indicates a Red/Immediate patient.
Circulation – First, if a patient has no pulse, they are dead, and are Black/Expectant. Second, check for bleeding. If bleeding is found, it should be controlled. Place direct pressure on the site; this should control the bleeding. You may have to maintain pressure for several minutes, then place a dressing and bandage. If the bleeding does not stop, and is from an arm or leg, apply a tourniquet. In the past tourniquets were viewed with great caution, but it has been found that they can be safely used for up to several hours without long-term negative effects. At any rate, one cannot worry too much about an arm or leg when a victim – possibly a loved one – is bleeding to death. Finally, keep a bleeding patient warm (cover them with a blanket) and elevate their feet; this will help combat shock.

Those of you with CPR training will notice that I’ve omitted rescue breaths and chest compressions from this discussion. That’s because (1) in a mass casualty situation victims needing these interventions will be Black/Expectant, and will not be treated; and (2) unless high-level follow-on care – paramedic, ER and/or ICU – is available, CPR alone is unlikely to save a cardiac arrest victim. And I simply don’t have space to include such details here. I do, however, recommend that everyone seek out first aid and CPR training, at a minimum.

Finally, remember that scene safety comes before treatment. If necessary, move the victim. In general it is good to leave trauma victims in place, in case there is some spinal damage. However, when the scene is unsafe, you have to move.

Specific Incident Types

Explosives Events
Remember that explosive devices can also include some biological, chemical or radiological (“dirty bomb”) contaminant; and that there could be secondary devices waiting for responders. (Note that explosives will usually destroy any included biological or chemical material, making explosive dispersal of such agents unlikely to succeed.)
Explosives create blast-type injuries, which are classified as follows:
Primary Blast Injuries: pressure-related injuries from the blast wave, these can affect internal organs such as the intestines, lungs or inner ear without visible external injuries
Secondary Blast Injuries: these are injuries from objects (shrapnel, debris, etc.) striking the victim
Tertiary Blast Injuries: if a blast is powerful enough to throw a victim into the air, they will sustain injuries from striking the ground or other objects
Quaternary Blast Injuries: all other injuries, including burns and the like

Here are some basic treatment ideas:
Bleeding should be controlled by direct pressure and, if necessary, tourniquet.
Broken bones, sprains, etc., can be splinted
Burns should be covered with clean – preferably sterile – sheets or dressings; do not put any salves or chemicals on any but minor burns, as they will have to be washed out later – very painful for the victim
Victims with neck or back pain or tenderness, or loss of sensation or movement, should not be moved unless absolutely necessary, as they may have suffered spinal injury, which may be worsened by movement. However, this is much less likely than television and first aid instructors would have you believe.

Chemical Events
Chemical events require proper PPE; otherwise, follow the “Rule of Thumb.” Remember that wind and water run-off can spread contaminants. Also remember that chemical events may not be immediately apparent. Multiple victims with quickly-developing symptoms, as well as dead flora or fauna in the area, are the most likely signs.

A special note should be made for organophosphates. These produce a condition commonly called SLUDGE (salivation, lacrimation, urination,
diarrhea, gastrointestinal distress, and emesis), which in layman's terms is the sudden onset of soiling yourself, peeing on yourself, crying and vomiting everywhere. They merit special mention because these are the type of exposures for which Mark I kits and other atropine/2-PAM kits are indicated, as well as valium for possible seizures.

Biological Events
Biological events can be difficult to detect, and to protect against, because often there is no scene. Generally, multiple victims will present with “flu-like symptoms” or other complaints to multiple health care providers. The main signs are multiple patients with similar complaints, especially when the symptoms, the demographics, or the season are unusual. For example, large numbers of healthy young people complaining of flu symptoms in the middle of summer, clustered in certain areas, is a sign of an exposure or pandemic. Isolating the source is a matter of finding “common ground” between the victims – think of lots of people suffering from nausea, vomiting and diarrhea after eating at the same restaurant.

Speaking of flu-like symptoms, I thought it might be timely to share with you the following guidance that I’ve received from my EMS agency regarding the current “Swine flu” –

1. Suspect swine flu in a person who:
- has a cough, runny nose or sore throat; and
- has a fever more than 101.4F; and
- has been to an “endemic area” in the last 7 days
Endemic areas currently include Mexico and affected areas of the USA.
2. Distance is considered adequate protection; however, if one must approach a suspected swine flu patient, a surgical mask is recommended.
3. Only if one must be in a confined space with a suspected swine flu patient is an N95 respirator recommended.
These recommendations come from our medical director based on CDC and other agencies’ information and advice.

Victims of a biological agent (i.e., an illness) can often be treated, depending on the agent; preventing further spread within a population can usually only be accomplished by isolation or – on large scales – by quarantine.

Nuclear or Radiological Event
As noted previously, deliberate nuclear attacks are relatively unlikely, due to their expense and risk when compared with conventional methods. “Accidents” are also rare, as modern-day reactors and the like are designed with multiple redundancies and dead-man’s-switches. We are many years removed from the technologies of Chernobyl and Three Mile Island, or so experts say. Smaller radiological events are more likely. Of course the first thought in most minds is the “dirty bomb,” a conventional explosive with radioactive material.

Radioactive materials are usually divided according to the following types:

Alpha particles cannot penetrate clothing or often even skin; however, they are very dangerous if somehow introduced into the body
Beta particles can be absorbed by protective clothing
Gamma rays are stopped only by several inches of lead [or several feet of earth or concrete], and easily penetrate human beings, damaging organs along their paths.

The severity of radiation exposure will depend on time, distance and shielding – a shorter exposure, over a greater distance, with more shielding in between, will be less severe than the opposite. Radiation effects various bodily systems. Inhaled radioactive material can damage the lungs. Radiation can also produce severe burns; these will present as severe itching, but over time will reveal significant damage.
In evaluating the severity of radiation exposure, the easiest reliable measure is time to onset of vomiting. If a victim starts vomiting within one hour of exposure, their exposure is severe. Beyond two hours, exposure is probably mild to moderate.
You may find it useful to stock geiger counters, personal dosimeters, or potassium iodide (KI) for your family. Information on all of these topics is already archived on SurvivalBlog, so I will not go into them here.
Otherwise, without specialized facilities, the best you can do for a victim of radiation poisoning is to decontaminate and treat symptoms as they arise. Remember that with a sufficient dose of radiation the victim can themselves become a source of radiation, and pose a contamination risk.

Summary
In the case of a CBRNE event, essential include a scrupulous eye to safety, an organized response, careful use of personal protective equipment (PPE) and decontamination to prevent spread of contamination, triage of victims, and the best treatment available. Remember that you will probably not be able to do as much as you would like. You must do the greatest good for the greatest number. Finally, remember your priorities: after safety, preventing the loss of life comes first. Then you can worry about protecting property and/or the environment, and long-term recovery. These topics, however, are beyond the scope of this essay. I hope you find the information contained here useful in your preparations, though I hope you never have to use it in a true CBRNE event.

Cheryl wrote to mention an article that described using Vitamin D to prevent a cytokine storm The dose is 2,000 units of Vitamin D per kilogram (1 kg = 2.2046 pounds), once per day. Thus, for an average 150 lb. adult, the dose would be would be 136,060 units of Vitamin D. This is to be taken for three days. (I.U. Equivalence: 50,000 units = 1.25 mg) My Strong Proviso: The usual fat soluble vitamin (KADE) warnings apply. Don't over-do a good thing. You should discuss vitamin D testing and replacement with your physician before acting on that doctor's recommendations! Vitamin D supplement limits vary depending on body weight, diet, and exposure to the sun.

Today's flu headlines:

WHO pandemic threat level raised to 5 out of 6

New Flu Strain is a Genetic Mix

First US Swine Flu Death, Cases Now in 10 States

France urges Mexican flight ban

Cuba Halts Mexico Travel (First Country to Do So)

Pandemic Risk Grows as New Cases Emerge US cases now at 64, Mexico 152 dead, over 2,000 infected

US Flu Deaths Seem Likely as Outbreak Spreads

Scary Advertisements From 1976 Flu Outbreak Today they tell us to stay calm

Mexico City Mayor: One more death, toll stabilizing

The death toll in Mexico now at 149, and climbing, with more than 2,000 patients are hospitalized there. Containment appears unlikely. For a flu to spread this rapidly outside of the normal "cold and flu season" tells us something about its ferocity. I suspect that we will see multiple waves of infection, with the worst of them probably being next winter in the Northern Hemisphere. Mutations are impossible to predict. The only good news is that at least in the long term, viruses tend to mutate into less lethal strains. (The most lethal--a la the Marburg type hemorrhagic viruses--are so lethal that the hosts don't live long enough to pass on the viruses to others. Hence the tendency for many bugs is to become less virulent. The common cold (acute viral rhinopharyngitis), it is said, probably started out as a killer, many centuries ago.)

SurvivalBlog Editor at Large Michael Z. Williamson sent us a link to the first really practical article on using N95 masks that I've ever seen, by Tara Smith.

Mentioned a useful CDC background piece: Antiviral Drugs and Swine Influenza

Reader Matt J. in Kentucky notes: "Wal-Mart in Louisville, Kentucky is already out of N95 masks, but the hardware stores like Home Depot and Lowe's have 20-packs readily available (I bought two 20-packs at Lowe's and one 20-pack at Home Depot." OBTW, Bob at Ready Made Resources mentioned that sales have been very brisk, and they are now nearly out N95 masks, despite buying all that their wholesale suppliers had on hand. He also mentioned that their inexpensive full protective suit ensembles are going fast

Here are some of the day's flu headlines:

World closer to swine flu pandemic

Swine Flu: Five Things You Need to Know About the Outbreak Thanks to Dave (at Captain Dave's) for the link

Texas Closes More Schools as Flu Spreads

Obama: Flu Matter of Concern Not One of Alarm (yet)

Mexico City Now a Zombie City

Call Your Congressman! US Says Not Testing Travelers From Mexico

Swine Flu Hits Ernst & Young in Times Square, N.J. Department of Health Confirms Five Probable Cases

Flashback to 1994: CDC to mix avian, human flu viruses in pandemic study

Jim,
Sunday, the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that they would open up the National Stockpile of medications to provide antivirals to areas that may need them. This comment is a big clue to the real concern that this is already getting out of control. The National Stockpile is rarely tapped so this is a big event and a potential trigger for those out there who need to be aware. Luckily this year’s human flu was resistant to Tamiflu so there appears to be stock left, but this is also the end of the season so normal supplies are low. Relenza is another antiviral that is available and the swine flu is sensitive too, (at this point). Tamiflu [dosing] is weight-based for children and Relenza is not indicated for patients less than seven years old. I would suggest that anyone with significant medical conditions obtain an antiviral prescription from their friendly doctor now, and not later. Obviously large cities, especially those with international airport hubs, and those on the border, or with large migrant populations probably aren’t the best places to be right now. What triggers a bug out is individualized, but there is a definite advantage of being in a small town. But even Kansas hasn’t been spared with this one. With schools being shut down, that forces adult parents to stay home which causes shortages of employees not only at the mall, but the grocery store, the shipper, the police station, the hospital, the gas station…etc… Plan accordingly for any last minute items you need. - Mike the MD

In the past 24 hours I've received dozens of e-mails from SurvivalBlog readers about the emerging Mexican Flu. Some news stories have included cryptic comments from heath officials, implying that the mechanism of infection makes this particular virus "very difficult to contain." This leads me to conclude that those infected have a long latency period during which they are infectious, yet, they do not display frank symptoms. This does not bode well for any hopes of containing the spread of the virus.

Then we hear a CDC official stating: "The swine flu virus contains four different gene segments representing both North American swine and avian influenza, human flu and a Eurasian swine flu." That strikes we as something very peculiar.

The disease is respiratory, and has one strong similarity to the 1918 Spanish Flu: "The majority were young adults between 25 and 45 years old," said one official under the condition of anonymity. Since, young and healthy people with strong immune systems are the most likely to succumb, this might indicate that the biggest killer is a cytokine storm--a collapse caused by the human immune system's over-reaction to a pathogen.

I strongly recommend that everyone reading this take the time to re-read my background article on flu self-quarantine and other precautions: Protecting Your Family From an Influenza Pandemic. The details that I give there are quite important. Pay special attention to my discussion of the shortage of hospital ventilators. If anyone in your family is immunosuppressed, consider yourselves on alert. Make your final preparations to hunker down, immediately.

In the next few days, there is a good chance of wholesale panic, including some well-publicized "runs" --probably first for hand sanitizer and face masks, and soon after for bottled water and groceries. Plan on it.

UPDATE: The BBC News web page Mexico flu: Your experiences has some updates posted from individuals in Mexico City

To summarize, here are some key quotes from a recent article:

"This outbreak is particularly worrisome because deaths have happened in at least four different regions of Mexico, and because the victims have not been vulnerable infants and elderly.

"The most notorious flu pandemic, thought to have killed at least 40 million people worldwide in 1918-19, also first struck otherwise healthy young adults."
...
"But it may be too late to contain the outbreak, given how widespread the known cases are. If the confirmed deaths are the first signs of a pandemic, then cases are probably incubating around the world by now, said Dr. Michael Osterholm, a pandemic flu expert at the University of Minnesota.

"No vaccine specifically protects against swine flu, and it is unclear how much protection current human flu vaccines might offer."

Current statistics show a less than 10% lethality rate, but of course the first wave of flu victims are getting access to the best medical care available. If the contagion spreads, sheer numbers will quickly overwhelm hospital facilities--particularly the number of mechanical ventilators available. So the lethality rate may rise, even if there is not a viral mutation.

Here are the latest headlines on the flu, as well as some background pieces. I'll post more links, as they become available.

Swine Flu, Mexico Lung Illness Heighten Pandemic Risk

Swine flu could infect U.S. trade and travel

Mexico Races to Stop Deadly Flu Virus

Spanish Flu Survivors Remember

Some Facts About Past Flu Pandemics

WHO ready with antivirals to combat swine flu

Possible Swine Flu Outbreak at NYC Prep School

California Expects To Find More New Flu Cases

Swine Flu Jitters Sparks Sell-Off In US Hogs

Swine Flu Resources

Most Mexico fatal flu victims aged between 25-45

Swine Flu May Be Named Event of ‘International Concern’ by WHO

[A UK] County's masterplan to deal with flu pandemic

I wish to present an alternative prep situation that I have not really seen talked about on your blog and at other other sites. First a small bit of biographical background and anecdotes to explain my reasons for what I (now recently we) are doing.

Ten years ago, I retired from the military (26+ years, Life Scout (in a younger form) and an ex-scout leader (both Boy and Girl Scouts), fixed income with a part time job, never lived at one address longer than three years (requirement of military lifestyle), hobbies oriented to colonial/fur trade eras (see anecdote), recent earnest prepper (caused by that feeling in the pit of my stomach and head that things really aren't right and not going to get better). Fiscally responsible but bought the "earned your retirement" false dream long ago--that can't be changed now.

While in the military a lifestyle of semi-preparedness was necessary because of my low income. (I suffered through the Carter and Clinton administrations). We canned food from our garden wherever we were stationed to stretch the food budget and teach our children how to make their own food; we cut firewood for heat in some locales; we relied on kerosene lamp back-up lighting and camp stove cooking because of unreliable base power grids. At one base I was even visited by the Public Works officer to find out why my quarters had lights during a power outage. Imagine his surprise to find both lights and heat off the grid, plus all my neighbors and their children warm and well fed.

At times, while in the service, we qualified for assistance food and based upon those experiences have reached some unconventional decisions. Assistance food usually meant a five-pound block of USDA cheese, #10 cans of dehydrated soups or powdered eggs, surplus breads and very large containers of dried milk. When you open these it becomes a use-it-or-lose-it menu even for a family of four!

My colonial/fur trades hobbies came about with involvement in Scouting, teaching merit badges, Indian skills and camp crafts. They are both enjoyable and practical from a barter-trades aspect: hide tanning/leatherworking, moccasin and footwear making, non-manufactured clothing making (no zippers or buttons) and using trade cloth/blankets), primitive cooking and camping skills and pioneering--the art of using logs and rope to construct bridges, platforms and watch towers, cranes and jack-legs, and other basic heavy lifting rigs. I highly recommend adding Scouting handbooks and merit badge books (older printings) to family preparedness libraries. There is a wealth of information there!

Last year, while looking for our current home, I was really taken with a 1950s home that still had a primo Civil Defense specification bomb shelter in the back yard, primarily as a safe place for my reloading and weapons storage. It was the high end style that was connected to the basement of the house with a concrete tunnel, doored at both ends, and three feet underground. It was in mild disrepair: vent system damaged and entrance sealed off at the house, but repairable. We passed on that house because it was in the end too small for our needs and in a shall-we-say "unstable" neighborhood. Six months after purchasing our current home my wife, out of the blue, says that maybe we should have bought the other house! This from a woman that has made disparaging remarks when I have added to our LBE kits and checked the status of our "homeland defense" items.

She seems to have had an epiphany after our taxes were prepared when she wanted to know why we had not taken the $3,000 credit from our small investment nest egg before and I explained that we had never lost over half of it to the economy! When the "boss" changed her attitude and became interested in my "below the radar" preps, I started to include her in the decision and prioritizing of what to buy and the impacts on our limited budget.

"Below the radar" preps means passing off a purchase as some other need (diplomatic when not everyone is on board with the idea): a small generator was for our tent camper, food items were for this summer when our grandson visits or to replace things lost in a move, water jugs were because of the places where we camp, extra gas cans were for the lawn mower (a stretch but it worked), the FRS radios were an aid when we are out hiking, though there was no need to disguise the increase in reloading components when the election results were in.
All this brings me to our different style of prepping.

While I would like to be able to stock up as is generally noted and advocated, our finances and storage space do not permit the expenditure of the amounts necessary to buy in bulk. Also from my experiences in the military I don't like to place all my eggs in one basket. I will admit that while it is more expensive per unit cost, it is also more "do-able" in an on-going practical sense on a fixed income and has an unforeseen future benefit.

We make our storage food purchases with only the two of us in immediate mind, to aid in use and rotation, by buying individual serving packages for most of the items that we get: boxes of rice sealed in boil-in-bag pouches, powdered milk in boxes that have quart size servings inside, individual packages of Ramen style noodles, small cans of fruits and vegetables (the type with the pull-off lids), non-refrigerated microwave meals that serve one (these are very practical as they go in our lunches on a daily basis), individual packet boxes of instant oatmeal, and normal sizes of canned meat, chicken and fish. Some items naturally are bought in what would be normal sizes but for only the two of us they seem to last forever: Five pound bags of flour, sugar, cornmeal, coffee and pancake mixes. The primary factor in these purchases is getting the longest expiration dates that we can find. All this gets put into 22 gallon Totes that have latches for the lids but only one container of each item per Tote: a box of rice, a box of milk, salt, coffee, etc., 4 each of the fruits and vegetables (36 total), 4 rolls of toilet paper and towels, strike anywhere matches, sets of durable plastic knife, fork and spoon, zip-lock bag of 28 individual size soap, 4 empty plastic bullet boxes that hold 4 Bic style [disposable butane] lighters, 2 packets each type garden seeds. This list is not complete, but you get the idea. The content of each Tote equate to one month's food and paper needs and is movable by even our 13 year old grandson. We currently have six totes filled, after only four months of serious additions. We are trying to add one Tote a month in addition to the other things that we are getting. My part-time job provides the funds for this so what we can get depends on what else is on a priority that month. We do have an additional Tote that holds 36 MREs and is marked for priority loading. Our water is stored in the newer G.I. five-gallon plastic water cans, available at flea markets. These are stored in a dark storage room. Our small camper is always stocked and ready to go no matter what season of the year.

Now for the reasoning behind this method. If TSHTF or TEOTWAWKI occurs it may be gradual or a traumatic event requiring different tactics. If gradual and we can hunker down while finishing up necessaries, only one Tote at a time needs to be opened to augment what we have. If traumatic, anyone can carry/load the Totes into one of several available G.O.O.D. vehicles or the trailer while another watches their "six". The urgency of a bug-out may dictate how much can be loaded in the time available. The more Totes that can be grabbed, the longer we can make do but the MRE Tote and water is always loaded first. This is in addition to B.O.B.s and homeland defense items.

Now for the unforeseen future benefits that I mentioned. As you have noted several times and places, I too could not turn away others that are in need if I can help. But giving someone a #10 can of beans or soup will not really help them. A grocery bag of individual servings that they are familiar with and provide variety and full meals for one or two days plus a means to heat it will help while not depleting our stores. Secondly, if a bad guy finds a single Tote with a few of everything in it, they may assume that's all there is and not attempt to engage in a protracted search for more.

One last item that may not meet with approval but is out-of-the-box thinking in the selection of several fallback retreat sites that most others probably will not think of. If we cannot stay in the city, as small as it is, I have found a couple of locales that would prove ideal. One is a semi-restored 1870s military post. Yes, I know that I don't own it in the traditional sense though I have paid for it through my taxes, but if there is no more authority in force, it could prove useful. The fort is already set up to function without power as we are used to, just coal or wood heat and cooking (there is no electricity on site), bulletproof buildings and pre-determined fields of fire, close to a year round water source, small homes for families and barracks for singles and designed by some of the best military minds of their times. Even has a powder magazine and jail! It also has a very low visitor count. If it is occupied or contested, no problems, as there are others at regular distances closer or farther. If not, then it allows for a rally point and the expansion of a Group as others arrive that are aware of my thinking. And they are not unique to our Area of Operations (AO). I have been to some really complete ones back east, in the south, and on the west coast. Let your mind do the walking.

I didn't realize how long this became. If you find it suitable for others to see to help them achieve their goals with limited or minimal means, please feel free to chop it as necessary.

Very Respectfully of your efforts to aid others, - R.D. in Wyoming

JWR Replies: That is an interesting concept, but implementing as you describe would require a quite unique set of circumstances. Namely, it could only happen if there were a sudden an near total collapse of society, and if all law enforcement evaporated overnight. It is far more likely that we will witness a "slow slide" from recession to depression, (and then, much less likely) to collapse. For most that continuum, your actions would be seen as criminal, and you'd quickly attract the attention of government. So then you might end up behind some other very stout walls. And BTW, any of these forts that are on National Forest or National Park land are considered Federal property, so any occupation deemed "trespassing" would be a Federal offense and likely carry a much more severe penalty than trespass on state or county parklands. So it is best to make this a "very low likelihood" contingency plan.

In my estimation the only pragmatic way to occupy an old fort in the midst of a slow slide situation would be to include representatives of county, state or perhaps even Federal government as part of your planned cadre, and characterize it all as a "continuity of government" (COG) endeavor. Bureaucrats often enjoy thinking (or pretending) that they come up with original ideas. Given the promise of safety for "selected" people, this should not be too difficult to orchestrate, especially as the economy worsens and the crime rate escalates. Creating a nexus with a governmental organization could be as complex as getting qualified as an EMT, or as simple as joining a Sheriff's Posse, joining a County SAR team, or becoming a RACES-affiliated ham radio operator.

I was working in a pawnshop in Aransass Pass Texas, about 20 miles North of Corpus Christi, Texas. Two days earlier my wife and I watched the destruction of New Orleans on National Television, the news coverage was continuing around the clock as the drama unfolded.

Gasoline had shot up from $1.56 to $2.99 a gallon overnight and of course I had to fill up that morning to get to my menial low paying job. Late that afternoon a rich looking couple driving a huge brand new pickup truck, came into the pawnshop. They spoke very loudly about how their family members in New Orleans did not have electricity and were relying on them for help. How they communicated [with those in New Orleans], I did not know. The pawn shop owner had two used generators and this couple was desperate to buy them, even hundreds of miles away from Louisiana, generators had become scarce. The couple bought both of them, at an extra high price, and the owner asked how they were going to get them to New Orleans for their family members to use. “Well” said the man, “we can’t drive up there because the roads are closed, so we are going to take these to the UPS office and have them shipped to New Orleans, no matter what it costs.” No one revealed to this man the flaw in his thinking. My Wife and I had a good laugh about that when I got home that day.

September 20, 2005.
We were very concerned about Rita’s progress that night, after Katrina everyone was in near panic.

September 21, 2005
They called the evacuation that morning, we had no money and our car was hardly running, there was no way it would make it inland several hundred miles, even if we had money for gas. The storm looked like it was going to make a direct hit where we lived in Rockport, Texas 30 miles North of Corpus, and right on the coast. Our financial situation was dire, my Wife had lost her job, and after an altercation with my manager at the pawnshop, I had quit mine. We were awaiting an inheritance to come through, but it had not happened yet. The job prospects in the small tourist town, in the off season, were grim. I thought about just sitting tight, but the lives of my Wife and kids prompted me into action. With reluctance and a feeling of failure as a man, I called my Father for help.
Jobs, money and status were the code that my father lived by, even though he had never held a low wage job in his life. He agreed to help, and reservations at a hotel in Wimberly Texas were made, before the golden horde set out from Houston. We would leave in the morning in my father’s truck, heading roughly two hundred miles inland. Wimberly is located between Austin and San Antonio Texas. I spent the afternoon of that day boarding up my Father’s house in the nearly 115 degree heat and humidity. After that was accomplished my Wife and I needed to pick up a few things in town including a prescription. It was completely surreal in Rockport late that afternoon. The streets were all but abandoned, trash fluttered in the wind on the empty sidewalks, most business were already closed. The schools had closed at noon that day, and the children sent home. Even the sky had a peculiar orange brown cloud cover that was unnerving. A hand painted cardboard sign adorned the windows at Super Wal-Mart stating that the store would be closing at 6pm, less than an hour away. The parking lot contained a handful of RVs and pick-ups with travel trailers, all of them were loading up canned goods, bottled water, propane, charcoal, flashlights, batteries and ammunition. We had about $6 at the local bank, but we also had a $300 overdraft privilege, the decision was made to exercise it. The ATM machines had been limited to dispensing only $80 at a time for only 3 transactions, to keep the machines from running out of cash. The ATM’s were also adorned with crudely made cardboard signs. We took our $80 out 3 times, with a $25 overdraft charge each time, that we would owe the bank at a later date. Inside Wal-mart it looked as if the hurricane had already struck, the store was a mess, and the employees had a haggard appearance. We picked up the prescription, there were no more batteries to be had, but I needed a box of .45 ACPs.

People had paid attention to the mayhem that followed hurricane Katrina, this was evident at the ammunition counter. They were out of shotgun shells, all common rifle rounds were gone, the same held true for common pistol rounds. All they had were oddball cartridges, .357 SIG, .45 G.A.P. .17 Remington, .300 Weatherby Magnum, et cetera. Even the .22 LR were gone. There would be no .45 ACPs for me, so we headed home. We passed several gas stations, again with crude signs, stating they had only premium fuel. We got home to get ourselves and our kids ready to evacuate in the morning. The television news reported that the hurricane was gaining strength, they still had no idea where it would make landfall, and residents of Houston were “urged” to evacuate now in a few hours it would be “mandatory”. I felt it was imperative for the members of my family to be equipped with proper footwear, in case there was trouble and we wound up walking. My 11 year old fashion aware daughter proved to be a problem, all she had was girly shoes that were otherwise useless. We scrambled to find her some walking shoes, deep in the closet we found a pair. Also in the closet we located a forgotten partial box of .45ACPs, at least my magazines would all be loaded. I vowed to never be caught without essentials like walking shoes and ammo again.

We packed light, I backed up my family photos and writings onto a CD-ROM and packed it, we included socks and a change of clothes for everyone, all of our important paperwork and identification and full canteens. Into my backpack went half of our cash, one 1911 Colt .45 Automatic with five magazines on a gun belt, one large Ontario Razor sharp hunting knife, one Swiss Champ, my medications including a good supply of aspirin, salt tablets and Dramamine. One compass, a military poncho, foot powder, boonie hats and a copy of “Conan the Adventurer” By Robert E. Howard. Everyone also had high energy snacks and a poncho. As we went to bed that night the TV reported more bad news.

September, 22 2005
This would be the day that I would learn how truly fragile our complex modern society is, I would also learn that by avoiding groupthink and with a little forward planning most hazards could be easily bypassed.

After disconnecting the water, electricity and gas to our house my Dad arrived and we loaded up by 9 a.m. . As I got into the truck my Father handed me a Texas Roads map book and said, “I have picked out our own evacuation route.” he had traveled the roads of Texas his entire life and knew every back road there was. The penciled in evacuation route would prove to be our saving grace. Many lives were lost that day because people and bureaucrats could not or would not read a simple road map; instead they relied on digital gimmickry and an unswerving belief that the interstate highway system was the only roadway available to them.

Urgency bordering on panic was wafting on the air, you could feel the tension, and see the worry on other motorists faces. We headed out on the first of many Farm to Market (FM) roads crisscrossing the state. Traffic on these back roads was still heavier than I had ever seen it. Towns we went through appeared deserted until you reached gas stations that were near riot conditions many were out of gas. Luckily my father had filled up the previous night, if he hadn’t we may have very well been stranded in the choking gasping heat that day. We switched back and forth onto differing FM roads to avoid more and more traffic, every town was congested, we had long waits at every stop light and four way crossing. A three hour trip had turned to six hours and counting, we stopped at small hamburger joint for lunch, it was jam packed, as we ordered we overheard other folks talking. Rumors were flying about accidents, fires, turmoil and gridlock on Interstate 10, they still had no idea where Rita was headed. We got our order and headed back out eating in the truck, the little town was swamped with cars and people, one person was driving on the sidewalk, there were no police in sight.
Between towns on the FM roads it was easy going, but as you neared any community there was chaos, as the afternoon progressed, many a crude sign could be seen proclaiming “No more gas”, No more food”, this was repeated again and again. We were coming up on Seguin Texas when traffic came to a halt, we were about to cross over I-10 the main evacuation route out of Houston. Out of the truck window along the horizon I could make out several columns of black smoke. It took over an hour to travel the two miles to the overpass and then I saw I-10. All the lanes had been re-routed to head west only, It was like a scene from a movie, as far as I could see there were lines of cars, both to the east and the west pointed in a single direction. There was no end, none of them was moving, more columns of smoke could be seen in the distance what caused them I did not know.

Heat rippled off the metal and in automobile exhaust, the evacuees could not turn off their engines, if they did there would be no air conditioning and heat prostration would quickly find them, especially the old and the very young. Along the roads sides people could be seen walking, I guess they had abandoned their vehicles in search of a respite from the heat. A fuel truck was also traveling on the road side, it was not stopping for anyone, and a few police cruisers traveled the road sides as well, the only vehicles in motion along that nightmarish interstate.

Late in the afternoon we arrived in Wimberly and checked into the Motel, which was completely booked and we were the last people with a reservation to arrive. My father was staying with a friend in Wimberly and he left us his truck. We headed to the grocery store to lay in our supplies it was crowded but not overrun yet. We bought three days of food for a family of four and headed back to the hotel. The storms heading was still uncertain, but at last we enjoyed some peace and laughter. Later that night we decided to run back into town and get some ice cream, there was chaos in Wimberly this time. The grocery store we had been at just hours earlier was stripped bare. They had cleaning supplies and some make-up but that was about it, there was no more food of any kind to be had, no drinks, no water and no toilet paper. The streets were packed stalled cars littered the roadways and every gas station was out of fuel. We went back to the hotel, grateful that we had bought supplies earlier. We watched the TV and heard horror stories of what was going on, events that we had witnessed throughout the day. The night passed without incident.

September, 23 2005
We spent the day relaxing at the hotel late in the afternoon Hurricane Rita made her turn to the North making the previous two days an exercise in futility. She struck in the early morning hours on September, 24 between the Texas/Louisiana border, while we were safely asleep at the hotel. We went home as the storm moved inland.

Lessons Learned:
I believe that after Katrina officials overreacted to Rita in ordering the evacuation of Houston, Many died needlessly. This is a danger we still face today, not just the storms but the hysteria surrounding them.

After our experience we gave up on the coast and moved to Oklahoma, we live a hundred miles from any major city and we keep stores of food, ammo, water and medical supplies on hand in case we need them in a hurry. Never again will we be caught unprepared!

Mr. Rawles:
I, as well as possibly tens of thousands of my fellow Americans, are extremely fearful that the United States Government is slowly becoming like the former Soviet Union and that the day will come when the citizenry is in serious trouble. I continue to prepare as best I can for my family in the event it all comes crashing down but I cannot see where I will prevail long against American soldiers, police, and gangs that might try to harm me and my family. I am further afraid because I do not know Jesus Christ as my Savior and it seems that I cannot find a way in which to communicate with Him. Just know that there are those of us who look up to you for advice and comfort and please keep up the fine work that you do on our behalf. Respectfully, - John B. in Colorado

JWR Replies: The wonderful thing about Christ's love is that there is no intermediary required. He knows all of his elect by name. Salvation is yours, if you merely ask for it. Just open you heart in prayer. Ask first for His forgiveness, recognize Christ's sacrificial death and resurrection. That is salvation in a nutshell. Once saved, ask for guidance, providence, and protection.

Please don't look to me as an authority for any advice on truly big survival issues. I just know a few little nuts and bolts on preparedness. The big, substantive issues are all matters for prayer. Trust in God to put you in the right place, at the right time, with the right people. To start, I can offer a couple of pieces of encouragement, found in scripture: In the New Testament, see Philippians 4:13, and in the Old Testament, see: Psalm 91. My recommended initial reading for anyone not familiar with the Bible is the book of John. All things are possible, through Christ, who gives us strength!

James:
When it comes to real-world advice that applies to real people, Kathy Harrison's article ranks right near the top of the list. There is a sizable portion of the survival community (including my family) that believes that the community retreat model outlined in this article is, for most scenarios, the single best strategy for survival. While there are certainly some scenarios in which a remote retreat would be advantageous, those (in my opinion) are relatively few and unlikely. The community retreat strategy is one that can be used by just about anyone regardless of family or occupational requirements. It takes full advantage of the very reason that people have always congregated together. It's followers are well positioned for recovery efforts that leave out the isolated retreater, and it incorporates one of your key points - live at your retreat.
I look forward to more articles of this type by Kathy Harrison and others. - Stephen in Florida

Dear Mr. Rawles,
The recent post “The Community Retreat, by Kathy Harrison” prompted me to write with some comments about municipal retreats. Her comments are about a community retreat that is privately operated. I recently had an opportunity to see how a municipal shelter/retreat functioned. It was illuminating.

Recently we had a pretty severe ice storm here in the American Northeast. Many folks feel that it was the worst since 1987, when a storm knocked out power for two weeks. I wrote about my experiences with that storm here.

One thing about this storm that was new to me was that it was the first time my municipality had activated its Emergency Preparedness Plan (EPP).

I live next to a municipality of 1,600 people. The Village covers a little under two square miles and has 386 households.

Like most municipalities these days that receive Federal grants, the Village must meet certain eligibility conditions. One of those conditions is that there must be a municipal Emergency Preparedness Plan. This plan describes the village chain of command, who is responsible for what (fire, police, DPW, etc.), how to contact those departments/individuals and what resources they have. It also lists resources available in adjoining municipalities and what resources (fuel, water, etc.) are available within the village.

Another aspect of the EPP is that the village has to have a facility to shelter residents during an emergency. That is what I wanted to address here.

This was the first time the village had activated their shelter plan and I thought it might be useful to describe how it was supposed to go and how it actually went.

When the village wrote the EPP, the plan was that the American Legion [Hall] would be used to shelter residents. The Legion had large open spaces, a large commercial kitchen, was located on high ground and had ample parking. There were large bathrooms with many toilets and sufficient storage for reserve food and cooking items. To this end a trailer mounted military generator was permanently acquired from the Federal government and the buildings wiring slightly modified so that all one had to do was plug the generator into the building, throw a transfer switch and you were good to go. Sleeping cots were stored in the building as well as assorted small items that would allow for sheltering a large number of people. The American Red Cross would set everything up.

Like most municipalities, the village worked very hard on the EPP, sent copies to all the right people/departments, filed it with the Feds and States and then put it on a shelf and never paid attention to it until this ice storm hit. They –never- updated it. The plan was 2.5 years old.

The Legion hall is privately owned. About 8-10 months ago a decision was made by its owners to put it up for sale. When the time came to implement the EPP, the building was no longer available and a replacement had to be immediately found.

The –only- other building available was the Village Hall. It had emergency power and water and as a village owned property was immediately available. The downside was that it was considerably smaller; only about 25% of the capacity of the Legion [Hall]. The Village Hall contained both the police and fire departments so it was being used as a command & control facility. The Red Cross switched gears from Legion to Village Hall. A space was found for about 20 cots but fire and police personnel had to go through this area to meet with their commands. The radio room was right next to the sleeping area and the sandwiches and coffee for the firefighters and cops and everyone else was also in the same room. I don’t see how anyone could have slept.

While there was no disorder or major crime, the police maintained a presence in the shelter that did seem a bit ominous. People were allowed to come and go freely, but it would not have been a stretch of the imagination to foresee a time when people, once entering the shelter would not be allowed to leave. Commander Zero [, the editor of the excellent Notes From the Bunker blog] commented on the New Orleans, Louisiana authorities doing this at the Super Dome: They said that the citizens had [effectively] signed an unwritten contract with the authorities by entering the Dome and that they were being prohibited from leaving ‘for their own safety’. Commander Zero called this the "Guantanodome."

The food supplied to those people seeking shelter in the Village Hall was limited to grilled cheese sandwiches and coffee and water. There were no diapers, no provisions for pets, no toys or distractions for younger children. The bathrooms were small, each containing only two toilets. There was a single television but it’s volume was kept low so as not to interfere with radio communications.

Finally, there was no guidance or protocol from higher authorities on how long to keep the shelter open. After five days or so, staffing the shelter (all the staff were volunteers) became more difficult and a decision was made to close it down. By this time only about 10 people remained and they were directed to shelters in another town. I don’t know what became of those people when those shelters closed. I like to think that power was restored to their homes by then and they went home.

It would be very easy to say that this shows that an individual really should not rely on government in an emergency. In a large way, that’s correct. While I advocate that the goal of being prepared is to prevent having to go to this type of shelter, I do not think one should ignore the need for a municipal shelter. While I will still prepare and strive to not need to leave my home, I will work with the Village hierarchy to update and improve the plan that they have. If I know the village residents have a place to go and resources to draw upon then there will be that many fewer people out scavenging for what I have put aside for me and mine. - RMV.

Hi Jim...
It never ceases to amaze me how the majority of US survivalist wannabes adamantly contend they must live in the major cities. Fully 80% of all survivalist wannabes want to hunker down in their urban or suburban homes according to our polls.

Yet, they subscribe to and post 'survivalist' articles to survival forums like my Surviving The Day After list at Yahoo Groups], Rourke's Survival Retreat and Secure Home [list at Yahoo Groups], or Brad's HunkerDown06 [list at Yahoo Groups]. Their topics are often centered around a socialist/communist theme of a secure, remote survival retreat paid for by pooling money and resources of would be members and living a communal existence after TSHTF.

None of that is a viable plan, especially with the coming economic collapse of the USA, worldwide depression, and World War III. But, they won't even consider getting out of the cities now! It's frustrating to survivalists like me.

BTW, I am in West Texas and we are developing a problem here in such a sparsely populated area. Pecos, Texas is about 5,000 people around mile marker 40 on Interstate Highway 20. They have a 3,000 bed county-run prison that houses 3,000 Federal prisoners. Last Saturday night the prisoners rioted and burned out the R2 unit. About 45 days ago they had rioted and burned out R1 unit. My brother is a prison guard there and called during this riot to warn me the inmates were expecting help from MS13 [gang] contact/associates from Mexico.

The night before, a Hispanic youth gang called Brown Pride Gang torched six homes in and around Pecos. Two of those homes had Hispanic families asleep inside. Those responsible have been apprehended and are facing attempted homicide by arson charges. These gang "youths" were organized and incited to commit this attack by MS13 members in Pecos.

Glenn Beck was saying on Fox News that the border violence is intensifying and yet neither the Democrats or the Republicans are willing to close and regulate the border with
Mexico. And to top that off, Beck was warning that Texans will soon get fed up and take matters into their own hands, arming themselves and protecting their families and property from invasion.

This all has an effect on my personal survival plans long term of course. The lack of population, the distances involved here in the desert of West Texas, and the proximity of our paid-for mountain retreat to our paid for farm in the valley puts us in a much better prepared position than 95% of the populace. It has taken years of preparation and planning, though. And, none of it came cheap.

I am still a voice in the wilderness crying: Get out of the cities, now!

Regards, Lawrence R.
List Owner, SurvivingTheDayAfter at Yahoo Groups

Jim:

The gentleman that wrote to say that he wants to rent his property out for bugout situations should read the [first hand] observations posted on [the aftermath of Hurricane] Katrina. [This was written by someone that sheltered dozens of people]: Thoughts On Disaster Survival. Regards, - Bill N.

Jim:

On the topic of SHTF scenarios like [the Post-Rodney King Verdict riots in] Los Angeles and Hurricane Katrina, YouTube has many videos detailing this that your readers might find are worth revisiting. It's one thing to talk about it, another to actually see it all again:

Los Angeles Riots, Looting, and a Gunfight in Koreatown

LA Riots - Korean Store Owners Prepare for Showdown

Hurricane Katrina New Orleans, 08/28/2005 Massive Evacuation

Hurricane Katrina Looters, A Few of Them Were Police Officers

After Hurricane Katrina, Desperation at the Convention Center

Regards, - The Survivalist

James,
I remain very skeptical regarding the police, as representatives of the state, in "SHTF" situations. New Orleans is the most obvious example. But consider: the state disarms you, and then confiscates a portion of your wages to create a bureaucracy to protect you. When that's not enough the state "creates" crimes - whether it's the "war on drugs" or something as simple as banning cell phones in cars - in order to sustain it's bureaucracy. Like any other agency of the state, this becomes a self-perpetuating dynamic.

Secondly, agents of the state, in a true crisis situation, will have limited information. Otherwise law abiding citizens are easily painted as potential threats through the chain of command. History provides plentiful examples of what happens when those agents of the state -otherwise good people- meet up with the civilian populace during times of crisis. Clearly history is not on the side of law enforcement making sound, independent decisions in these cases. Further, as New Orleans demonstrates, law enforcement personnel can easily be deployed from their own back yard to other areas of the country where they do not have roots, family or ties to the community. There are also cultural differences (in the example of New Orleans: How Chicago police may feel about citizen-owned firearms) that amplify and exacerbate the problem.

Volumes have been written about this subject. But I would encourage anyone looking to the state for protection of their individual rights during a crisis situation to study history - and I am not speaking about ancient history or extreme examples such as Stalin or Mao. Simply study American history. - Steven

Sometimes it is not an option to relocate so you have to get prepared wherever you are located. I am located on the Gulf Coast 60 short miles from New Orleans, Louisiana. We were ground zero for Hurricane Katrina, so I have a first hand experience of what can happen I will describe some things that I did right and some things that I did wrong.

We were unable to relocate to a place like Idaho as we had elderly parents who could not and probably would not relocate to a more appropriate survival area.

My mother was born in 1930 the daughter of a sharecropper in the Louisiana delta. They lived a survivor lifestyle as a matter of everyday life. She instilled in me a fear of having absolutely nothing. Until her
death in 2007 she refused to run a dishwasher or air conditioner. She could not bring herself to waste electricity, water, or anything for that matter. She would not waste anything.

Although not as dedicated to thrift as my mother, I did inherit her fear of hunger, and vulnerability to the unexpected. She died in fear of depression era conditions returning. When she died I lost a valuable
source of survival information.

Because of my mother's influence, the day after Hurricane Katrina, we were one out of 75,000 or so who had lights and running water 36 hours after the storm. The following is what most people did wrong:

A lot of people had generators, the problem was that they only had a couple of cans of gas. So they were all without power in less than 24 hrs. All of the gas stations were disabled. No gas means no
power!

Nobody had enough food, they recommend three days, it took almost three days just to get the roads clear.

No guns! I had friends who did not "believe in guns" that ended up borrowing some weapons.

No dogs! Without dogs, you have no warning of intruders. Alarm systems don't work after the batteries are dead.

The following is what I did right:

I had a natural gas generator installed. I was up and running less than 36 hours of the storm. It was also a mistake to select natural gas as a fuel source. Upturned trees broke gas lines all over the region, it was only blind luck that left me with gas pressure. A propane system would have been better.

I had drilled a water well. I was able to provide water pressure to my house, city water was out for weeks. I tied the system back to the house by a simple water hose going from a faucet on my pump to one on the house.

I had lights and water. Here is what I did wrong:

I evacuated the elderly mothers and dogs to an area 100+ miles north. Electricity was out over the entire state, my motor home generator powered my sisters house where I left our parents and dogs. I left the dogs at my bug out location before I returned to the disaster area.

Mistake #1: I sent my dogs elsewhere.

The other thing I was unprepared for were refugees. I call them refugees because they would have gone hungry without the food in my pantry and freezers. I was totally unprepared for the 16 families looking to me for food and direction.

Some other things I did wrong:

I did not have enough food. I fed a lot of people. In a real end of life as we know it scenario, I would have been forced to choose who I would have to turn away. It's one thing to take care of people when you know help is on the way, quite another when there is no help in sight.

Weapons: I loaned my old shotguns to all the people who did not believe in the private ownership of guns. When gangs of illegal aliens and welfare recipients' were roaming the streets, the folks who didn't believe in guns didn't hesitate to request assistance.

I did not have a fuel source independent of the grid.

The following are changes that I have made:

I now have a Bluebird Bus motor home. It has a huge fuel tank that I can use to run the house if the natural gas generator quits. It’s diesel generator can put out 12 kw for a long time.

I have a much larger store of food.

I have a photovoltaically-powered water supply.

I have a bug out vehicle that has a 1,200 to 1,500 mile range. It has a propane refrigerator. It has a water
system that can provide water pressure to my house.

I have dogs. In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, thieves were cranking up lawn mowers and pushing them up next to running generators after the storm. They would then shut down the running generators and leave the running lawn mowers while they absconded with the generators. You cannot stay awake 24 hours a day. Dogs do not miss much if anything. I can’t recommend a breed of dog, but the following work for me: Miniature Schnauzers, Australian shepherds, Catahoula Curs. If you live in the south and have some land you cannot beat a Catahoula Cur. An Australian Sheppard is a close second for all climates.

I have ten acres and good soil, I am putting in a very large garden. However, I do not feel that I can overcome the huge welfare population we have here, If things get out of hand, I plan to bug out. I now have an RV that has a tremendous range. It has a propane refrigerator, and full facilities. I can literally live on the side of the road for weeks or months. It is equipped to pull a full-size 4WD with trailer. I have several bug out locations within four hours where I can evacuate to. When I leave I will have dogs, food, tools, and arms. I also have shortwave radios.

You have to develop a survival mentality, you have to add to your preparation everyday. Each trip to Wal-Mart is an opportunity to add to your supplies. The one thing I learned is that when the storm hits, its too late to think about being prepared. You have to think: if a disaster strikes, how long can you feed and protect your family? I add to my provisions every day.

Start to prepare now. Think: food, food, and more food, ammo, bandages, and unless you can go without sleep 24 hours a day don't forget the dogs!

JWR,
[In his article "The Thin Blue Line",] Deputy W. makes a very good observation about the tipping point when law enforcement retreats to protect their own families. This situation has occurred twice in recent history here in the U.S., during the Rodney King riots in Los Angeles in 1992 and most recently in New Orleans at the time of Hurricane Katrina. I lived through the riots in L.A., as well as two earthquakes and would like to share some of what I learned from this experience.

The fact I want to impress on SurvivalBlog readers is that they will most likely experience a situation like this wherever they live at some point in their life, it is almost unavoidable. Mention this experience to most people and they will think "this will never happen to me". However, human behavior really hasn't changed very much for thousands of years. If you starve people or remove the threat of arrest and incarceration, some of them will turn into animals who will stop at no evil, causing a breakdown of civil society. The saying "at any time, you are three days from anarchy" is no doubt true.
As the riots began, most people assumed the situation would remain under control in the South Central part of Los Angeles, a poor and rundown area. The story ran on the evening news and everyone went to sleep thinking it would blow over. Law enforcement (the Los Angeles Police Department - LAPD) made a number of errors in handling the situation and it rapidly spiraled out of control. By the next morning, the air was smoky and the news was filled with scenes of mobs attacking defenseless people like truck driver Reginald Denny, who was nearly beaten to death because he had the misfortune to drive his truck through the wrong neighborhood. Keep in mind, at that time LAPD was considered to be one of the best run police forces in the U.S. If the LAPD couldn't keep control, then could your local law enforcement keep control in this kind of situation?

What did it feel like to be there for "the end of the world"? Power and water still worked, and I had about a weeks worth of food on hand, so it was a comfortable, though scary "end of the world" for me -- I didn't own a gun at the time and the flimsy gate and sliding glass door at the entrance to my apartment didn't offer any protection if someone wanted to get in. Because LA is a media center, the local helicopter news coverage was quite good and people stayed glued to their televisions, just to make sure the mobs weren't heading our way. So good in fact that looters would burn down the business they finished robbing and go home to watch the fire on television. Once it became clear to the public at large that no police would be there to stop anything, it became a free-for-all. Television crews on Sunset Boulevard filmed people breaking large storefront windows, the alarm bells blaring and dozens of looters entering to help themselves to the "30 Minute 100% Off Sale". I remember quite clearly an interview with a looter who had just exited a shoe store holding up a pair of shoes for the camera and saying excitedly, "Granny, they didn't have the shoes you wanted, but I got you these in your size".

Another scene burned a memory I will never forget. Many of the businesses in these poor areas were owned by hard working Korean families. These merchants banded together and got on the roofs of their businesses with shotguns. Four days later when the smoke cleared, they were the only businesses left in town and I don't believe many of them even had to fire a shot.

I ventured out to the local grocery store after the first day -- you could hear gunshots from neighboring Venice. The parking lot at the shopping center was full of panicked people, desperately buying anything. They patiently waited in lines over ten people long -- at least people were still reasonable in this neighborhood. We traded stories with people who had just come down from Sunset Blvd., where the looting was really taking off, it was completely out of control. The shelves in this store, however were stripped clean -- it looked like a store you would see behind the Iron Curtain, people had money, but there was nothing to buy.

After this experience, I swore that I would never be unprepared -- you can't always count on someone else to look out for your interests and protect your family. - CK

Mr. Rawles,
I have been a law enforcement officer (LEO) in a small city - western New York and was raised in New York City. I believe that Deputy W. stated his facts on the nicer side. The mental state of anyone in survival mode is not a pretty thing, ff they are not prepped as most here [where I live] are. I would venture to say better than 50% of the LEOs in the nation would not go to a callout under TEOTWAWKI scenario. And how many would respond to a SHTF moment? They have to take their families as primary importance and you would not expect otherwise. The only way to avoid this is to make certain that the families were well provided for and protected, that is not done anywhere that I am aware of. So do not take the law into your own hands just to be righteous, but protect yourselves and be prepared to defend family and property, food, et cetera, if you see the legal system break down.

I was once told by a fellow LEO: "I don't need to store food, I have guns and I will feed my family" .And, yes this man was basically [otherwise] ethical and honest as are majority of LEOs in this country. I am not Christian or Jewish nor any variation of that. So my faith in your savior is not what I lean on, but my faith and my belief in my right to survive will allow me to do what I must to survive. I pray for all whom 'he' would protect and allow all to live -- if they do not threaten me and mine.

Get a firearm and practice with it, and if they will listen, train your family as you might not be there to use it. If possible, have a plan and a backup plan, and have a gun with you at all times. That plan should include a bug out bag (BOB) and it should be portable,many sites to find what should and should not be in there. Shalom, - S.S.B.

Jim,
I would like to add that during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina that the New Orleans Police Department was doing just as much looting as the Citizens and the National Guard was there to disarm the survivors. So I'm not even going to trust a LEO during the bad times ahead, they have family to feed too. What makes the matter worse is the average citizen has been conditioned to obey law enforcement.

What do you do when a LEO comes to your door and wants [to 'requisition'] your supplies? Signed, - Dan

Dear Mr. Rawles,
Regarding the recent article concerning the Thin Blue Line being the "only" thing separating honest citizens from criminal chaos: I think one of the basic suppositions is incorrect.
For the past year I have been living in two places. Approximately 3-4 days a week I live in a large Pacific Northwest City and the other 3-4 days I live on the edge of a very small town (pop. 2,000, which is my Bug Out Location) somewhere in the Inland Northwest. The police force in the large city is doing the best they can, but I am am constantly at Condition Yellow. Crime is serious and getting worse. In contrast, the small town doesn't have a single police person. There is virtually no crime. While I think a societal breakdown is more than likely in the city, given almost any excuse, I also think that almost any kind of problem in the small town will most likely bring the town to an even higher level of cooperation and care for the common welfare of the citizens.

I plan on making the small town my permanent residence as soon as possible. The ramifications for quality of life issues are vast, even if the Schumer doesn't hit the fan!
I in no way mean to take anything away from the police. They are doing the best they can, but these days they should be getting combat pay! As Dirty Harry said: "We've got our finger in the dike, and the whole dang thing is crumbling around us!" The future is not in any city. Thank you (again) for your guidance and fellowship. God bless, - E.T.

The “Thin Blue Line”. It describes something much greater than the title of a second rate movie. It describes the thin blue line of civilian law enforcement officers that is the only thing that separates America from utter chaos. It is not too difficult to imagine what would happen if that thin blue line were to disappear or become overwhelmed. A scary thought indeed, but one that you are already thinking about since you are reading SurvivalBlog.

Yet, we are alarmingly close to just such a scenario. As most readers of SurvivalBlog know, our modern Western society is extremely complex, interwoven, and most of all, vulnerable. We are facing the most serious economic situation since the Great Depression, but discussion of the current economic crisis and the innumerable other threats to our society is beyond the scope of this essay. Rather, I hope to explain to you, from a rural law enforcement officer’s perspective, what we could be in for in the event of a cataclysmic societal event.

I have been in a law enforcement career for 10 years. I have worked in a jail, I have worked road patrol, and I have been an investigator. Through my career, I have become a student of human nature. I have seen the evil that man is capable of perpetrating against his fellow man. There is one general rule to remember about all of humanity: it is at the core of our sinful nature to do that which is best for ourselves, regardless of what effect that may have on other people. We are a murderous and self seeking race, and it is my hope that you have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ to set you free from this sin.
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But facts are facts. The Bible tells us that there will be many more souls that will be lost than there will be souls that will be saved in the end times. So we must prepare ourselves spiritually and physically, with the assumption that we will soon be facing unimaginable evil, and it will be in the form of a human face. As disturbing as it may be to you, you must be prepared to do whatever it takes to defend yourself and your family. You must be willing and able to deliver a lethal recourse if it becomes absolutely necessary. I will extrapolate on those thoughts.

The average petty criminal has a simple mind set. He operates from much lower moral standard than most other people. He is concerned about only one thing: himself. He is typically lazy and self serving. He doesn’t see a reason to go to work every day. Working people are chumps to him, but he likes having them around because they earn plenty of things for him to steal. It is no coincidence that burglaries are primarily daytime affairs. He knows that most people will not be home when he chooses to burglarize. He doesn’t want to hurt anybody, but he carries a knife or a gun in case somebody tries to interfere with his plans The only thing that keeps him from being more brazen is the threat of enforcement action against him. He doesn’t really want to go to jail, because it really is an unpleasant place to be. After all, if jail were so great, why do so many criminals flee capture?

Then consider the more malicious type of criminal. He has absolutely no morals, with the exception of honor among criminals. Even that is very questionable if it comes to a point where he can save his own skin. He has been raised on violence, and it is all he knows. He has no empathy for you, your family, or for anyone else. He doesn’t care if he causes you pain, and he probably even enjoys it. He will give no more thought to killing you than you would give to killing a housefly. He sees people like you as an annoyance to be dealt with. He sees you as an inanimate object, put on this earth only to provide him with gratification. He sees you, your family, and your possessions as a means to an end to self gratification. He will do whatever he wants to do in order to be gratified, unless and until you are willing to do whatever it takes to defend yourself. Otherwise, it is very likely that you and your family will perish horribly.

You see both types of these criminals all over America. You see them in the big cities and in the small towns. The only reason they are kept in check is because we have an established system to adjudicate and punish criminals. Even that is not usually enough to keep them from committing dastardly acts. All that we can hope for as a law enforcement officer is to catch the criminal after the act punish him. Then we hope that this acts as a deterrent to future criminal acts. Honestly, I’m not sure that it does. Some men are just plain wicked and that’s the way it is.

Criminals are the minority under normal circumstances. Most citizens are decent and hard working people. But it would not take much to destabilize our society. There are a lot of threats to our way of life. Proceed with me through the following scenario. A major economic collapse occurs in America. Millions are unemployed and have no way to earn honest money. The rest of the citizenry is crippled by inflation. Through various economic events, the entire economy grinds to a halt. Trucks and trains stop moving, which means that coal is not delivered to power plants, and food is not delivered to stores.
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Things quickly grow desperate. The average family realizes all too late that they have only a few days worth of food in their cupboard, with no available means to acquire more. Hundreds of millions converge on supermarkets within a matter of a week or two, and riots and looting erupts. Martial Law is declared and the National Guard is called up, but is completely inadequate to maintain order. Not only do the aforementioned criminals become free from constraint and begin to run amok, but millions of regular people realize that the only way their kids will be fed is if they go and take supplies from someone else. Hungry people with weapons will have no reservation about doing unspeakable evil on others if it means their own family will survive a little longer. Do not doubt that the sinful nature will turn normally docile people into voracious killers. It has been written into our DNA since the Fall of man.

Now to the big point I’m making. Here’s where it gets really scary, and the vulnerability of the thin blue line becomes apparent. I am employed in a county with a population of 40,000 people. We have a city of 25,000 as a county seat. At most, the agencies in my area could muster about 50 officers. This means that there would be an 800 to 1 ratio of citizens to police officers in our area. It would be impossible to maintain order with this ratio. We would be lucky to be able to hold a few buildings, let alone provide law enforcement service to 1,000 square miles of rural area.

Now imagine this happening in every city in town in America, all at the same time. The number of law enforcement officers, National Guard, and [Reserve Component and active duty] soldiers would be wholly inadequate to even make a small dent in widespread civil disorder. There are many Friday and Saturday nights when our local law enforcement agencies have to stack service calls for two hours due to high call volume, and this is during normal times. If law enforcement agencies can’t answer calls in a timely manner during normal times, how could a reasonable person expect law enforcement to be there during a societal collapse?I also urge you to consider this. There is no way that I, even as a police officer, can abandon my God-given responsibility to care for and protect my own family. There are times when retreat is the better part of valor, and if that terrible time comes, the vast majority of officers will not be able to justify in their own minds fighting a lost cause. They will retreat and take care of their family, which is what the brotherhood of the thin blue line is all about. Don’t misunderstand. The huge majority of law enforcement officers perform a very dangerous profession honorably and to the very best of their ability. But drastic times will call for drastic measures from everyone, and the preparedness minded person can’t assume that the thin blue line will always remain intact.

Thus, it quickly becomes apparent that each citizen will be responsible for his own family’s safety and security during these perilous times. To assume that there will always be police there to protect you will most likely be fatal. Please don’t make that mistake. Do what you must do. If you own a gun, learn how to use it proficiently. Take firearms training courses, and know the laws in your area. Most importantly, be ready for the unexpected, and don’t rely upon the government to take care of you. That’s your responsibility. - Deputy W. in Missouri

Dear Mr. Rawles,
First of all, my heart goes out to all those who truly suffered with loss of life or property as a result of Hurricane Ike. I only had the minor inconvenience of being without electricity in Houston for five days. (There are still over one million in Houston and the surrounding area without power.) So I had a taste of what it is like to be off-grid and learned a few things to share with your readers. It seems a lot of people here had generators which burn lots of precious gasoline. But after a few days the gasoline runs out. We toughed it out. I did have small camping-type battery powered fans and several flashlights but can't imagine what we'd do in a situation without power for the long term. You can have only so many batteries and then what? We had water drawn in bath tub to use for flushing toilet, as water plants use electricity to pump water. Also had many frozen plastic milk jugs in freezer and big igloo to keep some things cold for a couple of days. Ice was very hard to come by. Grocery stores were closed for a couple of days and there were lines just to get into the stores when they did open. They let in a few people at a time for crowd control. I was lucky to have my nonperishable food stockpile. Remember to have extras for relatives. Gas stations were slow to reopen and had hours to wait when they did open. (Many buying gas for their generators). We had full tanks in advance of the storm. One important item we used was the car charger for the cell phone. Be sure to have one that fits your current phone model. Also, many don't realize that cordless land line phones use electricity so you need to have a standard corded phone (which I had) if you want to even find out if your land-line works. To heat water for coffee we used sterno called Canned Heat and it worked very well. I know this is merely a temporary solution to heating. I told my husband recently that I wanted to buy a camp stove and now he may agree with me. And of course no television or computer which is really tough. I used my television band radio a lot to get information.

I am now more afraid than ever of what it is going to be like if the power goes off frequently or stays off in a worse-case scenario. Luckily I didn't see civil unrest, but what if power stayed off longer? If there was any way, I would move out of the city. Since I can't leave, I will continue to prepare the best I can. Please continue to remember the trapped-in-the-city dwellers when you post ideas for survival. I think we need the most help. Thanks for all you do, - Nancy B.

Hello Jim,
This note is in reference to the letter from Melanie and Rick in Columbus about the woman who never thought of using the grill to cook. I had a similar experience with my mother-in-law. While we had power and water, she had lost hers. I offered to bring buckets of water to her house so she could manually refill the toilet tank to flush with(she has septic).
Not only did she not think of that, she couldn't understand the concept. She ended up going to a hotel for a couple of days. People like this will not last long in a prolonged crisis. Just goes to show the most critical piece of gear is your brain and knowledge. Take care, - Jeff in Ohio

Hi Jim,
I just finished reading Melanie and Rick's letter and what they faced during their 'hurricane' event in Columbus. The conditions they experienced sound very similar to what I related to you was occurring in Cincinnati a few days ago. I just wanted to make a few comments regarding the need for self-defense and owning a gun to do so. Rick was concerned about someone who was driving by coming back to 'liberate' his generator. That would concern me too, so here are a couple of my thoughts on the situation. First, it is a good idea to conceal the fact that you have power when the rest of your neighbors don't and it's pretty obvious at night. So close the blinds, black out the windows and do what you can to conceal the fact that you have power. Second, do what you can to muffle the sound of your generator with sound baffles or a soundproof enclosure. Third, "nail it down" and secure it as Rick did with chains and locks.

Now to the more important issue, protecting the generator using deadly force. A couple of years ago when concealed carry was first permitted in Ohio, I completed the required course to get my permit. While not a lawyer, I do remember the most important lesson taught regarding the law in Ohio is this; you can use a firearm to protect human life, but you may not use a firearm to protect private property. So to Rick's point, if he did have a gun and used it to protect his generator from a would be thief and actually injured or killed them during the event, he could be prosecuted should he cause injury or death to the intruder. It does go without saying however, if Rick was threatened and feared for his life or the life of someone in his family while and intruder was trying to steal the generator, he could defend his or their life with deadly force. Personally, I always feel my life is in immediate danger anytime someone invades my home, regardless of their intentions, but simply threatening someone with bodily harm using a firearm is also currently illegal and depending upon the circumstances and the court and lawyers involved, one could potentially face some time in state provided accommodations. There have been a few cases reported where people defended their property by shooting a fleeing intruder in the back while trying to escape and were found guilty of assault with a deadly weapon. For someone to be attacking you they must be facing you. However, one could certainly detain the intruder for the police if the police could be successfully contacted (communications/availability might be an issue) and would actually show up to make an arrest.

With this said, I believe everyone should own and trained to safely use a firearm(s). When the defecation impacts the rotating oscillator the laws may not change, but the circumstances will definitely change for the worst...so when you have only seconds to make that life-or-death decision you will be more likely to successfully do so while waiting for the cops are just minutes, hours or even days away!

It is essential to be prepared for the worst, but hope - and more importantly, pray for the best. - Larry in Cincinnati

Sir:
I am an ex-cop, who served in St. Tammany Parish, just above New Orleans. (On the other side of Lake Pontchartrain). I was there during [Hurricane] Katrina. Believe me when I say I have many stories to tell, and I am sure I will, eventually.

However, I have been lurking on your web site for a while, and I had to comment in a recent post.
The people in Ohio who almost had their generator stolen made me remember a looter we had in Post-Katrina St. Tammany Parish. He would bring a lawn mower in the middle of the night, turned on and throttled down, to your house. He would put it near the generator, and over the course of 10 or so minutes, throttle it up. Then he would simply turn off the generator and trundle away with it, leaving a similar noise behind. The cold air from air conditioning would last long enough for his get-away. If I remember correctly, he stole about 36 generators before being caught.
We even had a gennie stolen from the Sheriff's LEC (Law Enforcement Complex), three nights after Katrina. And one of the jail's large generators was given to the hospital when theirs died. Essentially, hide them, do not use them at night if you can avoid it, and think about putting a muffler on it to hide the sound. And buy a gun.
Any questions? Thanks, - Joshua

Jim,
With [hurricanes] Gustav and Ike paying us a visit, I thought I would send you a note regarding the importance of self reliance versus shelter life. Living in the Gulf South, hurricanes are something you have to prepare for. Government support and shelter will not be there for you in the way you might think. Your lack of supplies or resources when you most need them, depending on the emergency, could mean a thoroughly miserable experience for you and your family at best; or [something far] worse if the emergency is wider and deeper in scope. Start making your preparations now, when they’re not needed immediately and are readily available. When the time to act arrives, don’t hesitate, and you will find yourself in safer territory long before the rest of the unprepared and sometimes frantic crowd.

Hurricanes are simply a part of life in the Gulf South. Out West there are earthquakes, wildfires and even volcanic activity. Elsewhere in the US we have to prepare for tornados, blizzards, nor’easters, floods, et cetera. And these are just what nature can throw at us and often does. Barely a day goes by where we are not reading about some unfortunate people caught short in an unexpected event, and unprepared for [the] emergency. In addition, in today’s world there are legitimate man-made concerns, such as terrorist activity, industrial accidents and the threat of economic collapse as highlighted in your most entertaining and informative novel; "Patriots". In short, I don’t think anybody; anywhere is 100% immune from some sort of emergency or cataclysmic event. The time to start preparing was yesterday. The time to stop, is never. Always look to improve and renew your preparations.

Before Hurricane Katrina, I thought that I had my act together. My wife laughed at how prepared I always was. I took great pride in her labeling me as her little Boy Scout. But I soon found that I wasn’t. After the storm passed I discovered that the recoil [starter] spring on the generator was broken. (I hadn’t checked it for the last couple of years). And although I found a way around that, I only had enough gas to run it for a few days. I figured it would all be over quickly as had been the case with so many other storms that merely brushed by and brought little more than an inconvenience. My easily prepared food was also limited to a few days, maybe a week at best. Water I had enough of for a week or two. I soon realized that I was little better prepared, if at all, than anyone else on my street. Sure, I was the first one with boards on my windows, and I had a generator; but that was about it.

Taking it a step further, I had these preparations for myself. My wife and family had evacuated. In the event there was an emergency where they wouldn’t be able to evacuate, with generator power for a few days, food and water maybe the same, we would have found ourselves in dire straights all too quickly with little or no choice other than to rely on charity. If we were creative, we might have been able to stretch it out for almost two week, at best. Cleaning up after a storm and trying to put your life back together requires a lot of extra calories and is certainly not the time to scrimp together a minimal diet.

We were lucky, however, in that we had saved money for a grand family vacation the following year, so there were funds available to take care of everyone for three weeks while they were evacuated. Fortunately for me, I am a police officer, so decent hot food and support was available to me. Not to mention being able to take home a few gallons of gas each day for my generator. Had I of been Mr. John Q. Public given the same set of circumstances, I would have been in line for Red Cross meals twice a day before long, and totally without power unless I went from 8-to-12 hours per day to 2 or 3.

Again, taking it a step further, if my family needed shelter, given either a lack of funds or the opportunity to evacuate, and unable to stay in my house due to storm damage, we would have wound up in line for food and spending the night in the corridors of a local school which is used for [a public] shelter. I have worked as security at those shelters. Believe me, they are not places you want to spend time in, filled with the homeless, near homeless, mentally ill, infirm and a rough assortment of folks with near nothing to their name.

During [Hurricane] Gustav our city had several shelters, and by design, they are not comfortable. One shelter where you could bring your pet (in a crate & with food & supplies only!) had a huge generator. All of the pets enjoyed air conditioning. The people, housed in a separate area, did not. The other shelters where pets were strictly not allowed also had no air conditioning. When asking the Red Cross officials about this, they stated that their rules demanded air conditioning and 20 square feet of space per pet. For people, no air conditioning was required and only 15 square feet of space was deemed necessary. They said they didn’t want the people to be too comfortable where they wouldn’t want to leave. They achieved this goal ‘handsomely’. The walls of the school corridors were soon sweating profusely from condensation and pools of water covered the floor. Anything like sleeping bags, or bags of clothing left on the floor soon began to absorb water. Even after 24 hours, the smell began to set in. No one hung around any longer than they absolutely had to. Mission accomplished. Given different circumstances and recourses, I’m sure they would have been more accommodating, but I never want to find out first hand.

The local school board was also what I would describe as less than considerate. At the shelter I worked at, the folks from the Red Cross were told by the principal that they were limited to the hallways, cafeteria and gym; that the people requiring shelter could only be from that area – no evacuees from further afield; and that 12 hours after the storm passed, everyone had to be out. In short, evacuees found themselves in miserable conditions, and felt unwanted all round. The Lord should smile on the Red Cross volunteers who actually manned the shelter as they worked themselves silly to do all they could for the inhabitants, but try as they might, they simply could not do much to alleviate the miserable conditions. I never want to find myself there, and refuse to let my family go through anything remotely like that.

Today I am far more prepared in every respect, and continuing to improve on my preparations all around. When I first started getting truly prepared, my family thought I was a little ‘nutty’. Now, in many ways they see the need, but still see a somewhat eccentric side to me. They were all born in a time of plenty. A time where we are accustomed to having what we want and when we want it. Increasingly, the finer things in life are taken for granted and many segments of society even demand not only their necessities, but the luxuries of life to be handed to them, gratis. In time of need, the more sudden, the deeper and prolonged the emergency, the more severe their reaction to take what they don’t have and we do have, by any means necessary.

Hurricanes are relatively small emergencies. Given the scope of [hurricanes such as] Ike, Gustav, Katrina, or Andrew, for example, some may say they were anything but small. To many, they lost everything. But on the whole, hurricanes produce short lived, localized emergency conditions which the rest of the country responds to. Given a far wider reaching event, such as a [large scale] EMP attack, economic collapse, pandemic etc, the effects could be very widespread over a far longer period. It wouldn’t take long for people to realize that no one would be coming to help. The 911 telephone system wouldn’t work, or would work less effectively. Shelters, if available, would be hell, but for those of us unprepared, we would have little else to fall back on. This, in large part, is why I prepare. It is why we all should. - DZ in Louisiana

Hurricane Iniki, which struck the island of Kauai on September 11, 1992, was the third-most damaging hurricane in U.S. history and provides some valuable insights into how people react when an entire self-contained community loses most of their creature comforts. By way of background, Kauai is the fourth largest island in the Hawaiian Archipelago. It, along with a small, privately-owned island off its western coast make up the County of Kauai. The population in 1992 was about 50,000.
On September 11, 1992, Hurricane Iniki made a direct hit on the island with winds upward of 150 miles per hour. Approximately 70 percent of the buildings on Kauai were destroyed or damaged. Telecommunications and electricity were lost and not entirely restored to all areas for six months. Due to early warning and good Civil Defense planning, there were only a handful of deaths attributed to the hurricane. The hurricane missed the rest of the state except for brushing the leeward coast of Oahu.
National Guard troops from other islands were on Kauai eight hours after the hurricane had passed. Within three days, there were approximately 1,000 National Guard personnel on the island. The command and control element reported directly to the mayor of Kauai County and to the Governor. These lessons learned are from the personal recollections of a member of the command and control element.

Most striking was the number of relief agencies that arrived on-island within a week to two weeks after the storm. At one point there were 5,000 relief workers representing 80 different governmental agencies and private organizations supporting a population of 50,000. The 1:10 ratio of relief workers to residents was one reason that there was almost no looting or lawlessness in the aftermath of the storm. This ratio of 1:10 would be difficult, if not impossible, to achieve in more densely populated areas or disasters that affect larger geographical regions (as we saw following Hurricane Katrina) . In New Orleans, the military response was initially focused on rescue or recovery and not on law enforcement.

Military planning is built around “operating systems” i.e. maneuver, communications, etc. To facilitate planning, the operating systems inherent in all civilian communities were identified, assessed and tracked to determine their current status to coordinate support and to help estimate how long before each system would be brought back on-line.
These systems were:

• Water
• Food
• Communications and electricity
• Sewage treatment and waste disposal
• Traffic control and public safety
• Medical Services

Each of these operating systems presented unique challenges and insights as they relate to disaster planning.
Water - There are few private wells on the island. The County owns the water system, which consists of reservoirs in the mountains and some wells that service the drier parts of the island. The first priority for Civil Defense was to install generators at all pumping stations. In most areas water was back on-line within 3-to-4 days.
Food - MREs, supplied by the Federal government, were available within a few days after the storm. They became the main source of calories for most people. However, the novelty of eating MREs quickly wore off and distributing food became a high priority. Feeding stations serving a hot lunch were set up at various locations around the island using military cooks and idle chefs from the various resort hotels. However, headcounts changed daily and it was difficult to ensure that sufficient food was available at each location.

Communications and electricity - In 1992, there were few cellular phones. Nearly everyone relied on land lines for their telephone service. The hurricane downed perhaps a third of telephone/electrical poles on the island. Crews were flown in from as far away as the east coast and worked months to repair the damage. Replacement poles were obtained from the mainland and shipped to Kauai. Reportedly, the base yards in several western states were emptied of poles to support the recovery operation for a community of 50,000. It should be noted that Hurricane Andrew had hit Florida three week before Iniki and the two areas were competing for some high priority items like telephone poles and the, much prized, blue plastic tarps used as temporary patches for leaking roofs. There were microwave relay sites on the island to transmit communications signals from Kauai to the other islands and, then, worldwide. Some of these sites had only minor damage and were quickly repaired. Others were destroyed and replacement equipment was flown in from Oahu or the mainland. Within a week. telephone service was available to the public via mobile phone trailers that were set up around the island. However, telephone service to individual homes, like electricity, was delayed for up to six months as crews replaced downed poles.

Sewage treatment and waste disposal - Kauai is a mix of public sewer systems and [private] septic systems. FEMA provided generator support to the Kauai County sewage treatment facilities and sewage never became a major health issue. Waste disposal was more challenging. The hurricane created a lot of destruction and debris. County sanitation workers had been furloughed to take care of their families. The County landfills were initially closed. People began to dump trash along side the roads. About three weeks after the storm over 1,500 active duty soldiers were brought to the island with their equipment and went door-to-door cleaning up yards and hauling away debris. A new landfill with an expected life of ten years that had been opened shortly before the storm was completely filled within a couple of months.

Traffic control and public safety - It became apparent within the first few days that the Kauai Police Department was overwhelmed. A decision was made to free-up police officers whenever feasible to take care of their own families. Restoration of electricity to key intersection was given high priority so that traffic signals would be operational. Interestingly, there was little civilian traffic for the first week since few businesses were operating and most of the roads were blocked by downed poles. A military police unit was flown in to provide traffic control as needed. However, as conditions improved, people adapted to driving without traffic lights and were generally courteous to other drivers when arriving simultaneously at intersections. Few accidents were reported. Looting was minimal due to the large presence of the military. The Honolulu SWAT deployed to Kauai and operated at night in high priority areas such as near jewelry stores, banks, etc. Two looters were arrested within the first week following the storm. In what amounted to lighting justice, they were charged, tried and convicted, and incarcerated within a week. The case was widely publicized and served as a great deterrent. The fact that access to the island was tightly controlled for the first month also stopped any outsiders from taking advantage of the situation. The lesson learned is that highly visible military and police presence coupled with quick convictions served to keep criminal activity at a manageable level. However, the local police department, as we saw in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, is probably incapable of maintaining law and order.

Medical - All medical personal who live on Kauai were affected by the hurricane and, with the exception of emergency rooms, normal medical support ceased. State and County Civil Defense had air evacuated most expectant mothers and dialysis patients to Oahu a few hours before the hurricane struck. Interviews with doctors from the various relief organizations uncovered a pattern of medical emergencies. The first few days saw broken bones from falling off roofs, nail punctures and similar wounds. After about a week, diabetics and people on mood altering prescription drugs started to show up at the clinics looking for medication. These were followed by people who had ran out of medicine for chronic maladies like high blood pressure and epilepsy.

Drug addicts presented a special problem in that their regular supply was disrupted. No illegal drugs were getting on the island because the airfields and seaports were controlled by the military. Initially, addicts turned to known drug dealers and, if necessary, broke into the dealers’ homes looking for drugs. As a last resort, they started to appear at medical aid stations. Typically this occurred 7-10 days after the storm.

Medical challenges provide some of the most relevant lessons learned for people interested in preparing for a breakdown in local, regional or national government. As any infantryman will tell you, the welfare and location of the unit medic is always on your mind. If you don’t believe you have any skills to offer a group, you should develop your first aid and medical skills. There will always be a need for a “doc” to take care of group members. Research and build your own medical kit. Talk to emergency room workers and find out how they triage incoming patients. Research and memorize the checklists that first responders use as they assess patient needs and prioritize casualties. Research the process doctors use to diagnose patient complaints and symptoms. Medical equipment and a confident air could be your passport to safety. One of the most prized items turned out to be generators. Without the immediate influx of generators from FEMA and the military, life of Kauai after the hurricane would have been much tougher. Generators pumped water, cleaned sewage, provided electricity to medical facilities, and refrigerated perishable food that had been barged and flown to the island. In many instances, relatives of Kauai resident living on the other islands or the mainland bought generators and have them shipped to the Kauai. Military and civilian generators arriving at the port on Kauai were occasionally stolen by enterprising homeowners who simply backed their trucks up and drove off with a generator that had been off-loaded and staged for pickup by the legal owner. Apparently some local residents felt that it was worth the risk to provide refrigeration and lights to their families. The willingness to risk jail to obtain a generator can likely be traced to the desire to eat fresh food. MREs quickly lost their savor, especially for children.

Kauai residents would tell you that the most stressful time came immediately after the hurricane when all communication was lost and people were restricted to their immediate neighborhoods by the downed poles and trees. They simply did not know if they were going to get any help because they did not know whether the other islands had been hit by the storm. A communication plan that is well thought-out ahead of time would be a great psychological boost following a catastrophe. In addition to a good electronics, something as simple as a bulletin board that is updated every few hours would help the cohesiveness and bonding of the group.

Finally, I need to say something about the way people reacted and adjusted following the storm. In 1992, people in their 70s and 80s had lived through the Great Depression and World War II. They proved to be tougher than one would expect . They usually had a better attitude and often adapted better to living without television, electrical light and refrigeration than did many younger people. Military people found the duty easier than most field training exercises. Military veterans had often endured tougher times and also quickly adapted. In general, the more outdoor oriented people were, the easier their transition and recovery. Some folks could not cope with the dramatic changes in their routine and committed suicide. Others left the island; never to return.

Mr. Rawles,
As you may remember from our profile we recently moved to new residence in luxury community in South Texas because of a job loss in the Pacific Northwest. Last week my wife and I learned of the tropical wave that ultimately created this storm, immediately we stocked up on gas and purchased some cheap extra batteries. (The pantry is still full). We also threw some clothes together and pre-positioned those in the car. We withdrew some extra money and got ready to board up (Our G.O.O.D. bags were already prepped and a once over was sufficient to add to and update them).
I mention this because all the Government officials, locals and people who have lived here for quite a while were doing nothing until the 21st. (Per the evening news reporting of this.)

This storm developed rather quickly enough to catch all the local government off guard and they quickly put together some meetings, et cetera.

Afterwards they were basically notifying the public that the storm had developed too quickly for a mandatory evacuation of the scope required and you're on your own (YOYO--something I’m sure all your readers already know). In their defense it looks like at the time of this writing that the storm will hit much lower than this area maybe even Mexico. That said, I had a flashback to video from Hurricane Katrina and those school busses sitting there empty. We also watched the evening newscast at 10 PM Monday night that was live at the big grocery chain and there were people interviewed that 'thought it was a good idea to stop and get some extra food and batteries'. On another newscast one vacationer to the coastal area of South Texas from San Antonio (also considered South Texas) exclaimed 'this is exciting”.

There are no absolutes when it comes to the path prediction of hurricanes and this couple of examples are pretty much the norm around my community. This has convinced me that we were wrong in coming here and I am resolute that we will get back to the Pacific Northwest at all costs to get back to a culture of preparedness and self sufficiency. IMHO, if and when TEOTWAWKI hits only the prepared few here in South Texas will survive and those that do will most probably be swallowed up by those that stopped by the grocer for some extra batteries or the Golden Horde from Mexico (the Alamo comes to mind) and I pray for the sake of my neighbors and friends that I’m wrong.

Keep up the work. And again our prayers are with Memsahib, - Mr. Foxtrot

P.S. I've decided that I sure get my money's worth on your site which is up until today I hadn't supported (except for purchasing your books and making purchases from your advertisers), but I'm sending snail mail cash for the 10 Cent Challenge

Jim,

I'm sending a follow-up to your link on the historic flooding in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Typical issues: Roads closed or collapsed, bridges flooded or swept away, traffic jams for miles, power and gas outages, water shortages, businesses closed, forced evacuation of 20,000 people included the local jails and a hospital. Cleanup will take months, and there will be shortages of construction material. Heck, we had shortages of lumber and sheetrock in Iowa during the Florida and Louisiana hurricanes.

And what has become typical - jurisdictional disputes. Local law enforcement has its own issues, but FEMA doesn't play well with others.

Armed police and National Guardsmen stood ready to prevent you from re-entering your neighborhood and your property. First, they and the fire department will break into your home to determine if it is safe for you to enter. Then they "allow" you one trip, only to your home, and only to retrieve what you can carry on your back.

Watch the YouTube clip at the 1:58 mark. Sometimes those who "protect and serve" are not very friendly. And "contraband" items were not overlooked. It would be a kick in the teeth to return home to an arrest warrant.

What made the flood more destructive was the fact that the crest predictions were off by 10 feet and overwhelmed the levees. People who felt safe by moving their possessions to the second floor found that the unanticipated extra 10 feet of dirty river water invaded that, too. One might want to rent a storage garage (on a high hill!) when the flood warning is posted.

BTW, I received my .45 ACP Springfield XD [pistol] Saturday along with the rest of the Front Sight "Get a Gun" training and gear package. I've attended Orange Gunsite for rifle and pistol, but it's been some time. This [pair of courses at Front Sight] should be fun. Thanks for giving me the push I needed. - Redmist

James,
I got this from a friend in Indiana:
All is well at our house but the town is suffering. Here are a few comments for your edification.
- Small rivers come up fast with 10 inches of rainfall. Unknown to me, but if I had delayed another 30 minutes in going home, I would not have been with my family where I was needed.
- This was the first time other than snow events when I could not leave town. All roads underwater, including interstates and state highways.
- My Chevy 4WD pickup will go through deeper water than most cars. Don't purchase any used cars from Indiana for awhile.
- The portable generator worked great. With smart load management I could essentially run the entire house including frig, freezer, microwave, geothermal air conditioning, and lights. Total power off time was 12 hours with less that 6 hours of generator run time. Now I want to have more fuel on hand. A quieter generator would have been a plus.
- When the power went off and it was expected to be off for the duration of this emergency, we all immediately took showers to use the available hot water. Sometime later the city water pressure went way down but not completely off. Toilets remained operational.
- The hospital was flooded and will be closed for an indeterminate length of time. All patients were evacuated. Plan your medical emergencies accordingly.
- I'm in the market for a battery powered AM/FM radio with headphone jack so I can listen to local news without disturbing others during the night. Local radio seems to be the best source of information. Cable went off line. The weather band radio was useful as they routinely give river level conditions.
- The middle school and later the high school were opened for those seeking shelter. I'd rather sleep in the woods.
- My brother lives 30 miles away but works here. He was stranded and spent the night with us. He appreciated the hot shower, clean bed, dinner, etc. He's now thinking that a bug out kit would be a good thing. He would have slept in his truck rather than go to the shelter. Drinking water would have been his first issue.
- Cell phone communications stayed up but were overloaded. Too many folks use them for non-essential communications. Same for 911 calls. I don't have a good work around but will give this some thought.
- There was no car or pedestrian traffic in our subdivision during the night. I anticipate this would change if the situation had stretched for several days. With no street lights or city ambient lighting, night vision [equipment] would have been helpful.
- The headlamp on a headband really makes the odd jobs in the dark much easier to manage. LED flashlights are a good thing. Surefire [flashlight]s were kept in reserve.
The town is in clean up mode now. Thanks and Best Wishes, - Bill N.

Mr. Rawles

Hello from a long time reader. Thanks for all the info. I thought I could give everyone a heads up on what is happening in the new Wisconsin wetlands. First off it is amazing how foolish people act when a disaster strikes. There a literally hundreds of people walking around in backed up sewer water which is waist deep. Without even shoes? People think that if they drive their sports car fast enough through the water they can make it. People who live within sight of a river are on television saying how shocked they are. Didn't it ever occur to anyone that if you live within 20 feet of a body of water it might rise someday?

My house is fine, on a hill in the higher part of town. Our Bug Out Location (B.O.L.) is fine too, just called and got the"okay" word. It is nice to know which ways to take out of town in the event of a flood for next time. Make a note of this it might come in handy. People are helping each other sand bag their homes and businesses. I wonder how long people will work together if food were to not be trucked in. It was funny to watch my neighbors load groceries into their house in the pouring rain. Preps come in handy on a rainy day, literally.

There has been lots of damage around all of Wisconsin, I had to take an alternate route to work as they shutdown a few of the lower roads. Seeing the damage first hand is sad and at the same time I think is good for people because it makes them realize how quickly everything can be lost. Coming home from my in-laws' house, I had a man hole cover blow off two feet from my truck, due to the water pressure. The next day there was an article in the local paper on how one woman's SUV was totaled because she wasn't so lucky.

Now I'm just waiting wondering if I will have a job, if the d**n on Phantom Lake goes, so does the building that I work at. - Bill C. in Wisconsin

Scenario 1
You are sitting at your retreat, enjoying the scenery, when you hear on the radio that there has just been a nuclear weapon that has detonated in a contiguous State . You decide to run into your shelter. After a few days in there, you start to wonder when it might be safe to come out. You also wonder if you would have been better off evacuating and getting as far away from the radiation source as possible.

A radiation disaster is a scenario for which we must be prepared. It may be from a radiological source, such as a nuclear reactor accident, or from nuclear devices, such as a nuclear weapon.
Much of what we know about radiation exposure comes from accidents such as Chernobyl [nuclear power plant disaster] and [the bombing of] Hiroshima [and Nagasaki]. With the nuclear reactor accident in Chernobyl (1986), 70% of the contamination fell on 26% of Belarus. 400,000 people were evacuated and 50,000 km squared was restricted and removed from use. The isotopes included Cs137, Cs134, Sr90, I131, and Pu239, with an estimated 114 Million Curies entering the environment. Untoward effects from this accident included 31 initial deaths, 300 injuries and hospitalizations, 150,000 abortions, $ 3 billion spent in emergency response, $500 million spent to compensate Italian farmers, 10,000 reindeer slaughtered, and an increase in cancer (mostly thyroid cancer, many years after the incident).

It is estimated that if a large US city (population 1 million) was hit by a 10-Kiloton (KT) nuclear device, that it would produce the following casualties:

>13,000 prompt fatalities
Approximately 114,000 expectant fatalities (>830 cSv)
Approximately 90,000 requiring ICU support (530-830 cSv)
Approximately 141,000 requiring either ICU or minimum care ward (300-530 cSv)
Approximately 150,000 requiring a minimum care ward (150-300 cSv)
Approximately 159,000 requiring outpatient therapy (70-150cSv)
Approximately 128,000 requiring health monitoring (25-70cSv)
Approximately 212,000 worried [but] well (<25 cSv)

The healthcare system is not ready or able to cope with this magnitude of casualties. That brings us to: What should you do?
The mechanism of injury from a nuclear device is 3 fold: blast, heat and radiation. Assuming a 10-KT burst, people within a 0.55 km radius of the explosion fall within a “blast injury circle” and have a high immediate fatality rate. People within a 0.9 km radius of the explosion fall within a “prompt radiation circle”, and people within a 2.1 km radius fall within the “thermal circle” and suffer 2nd degree burns. If you are outside of these 3 circles, you may suffer from radiation fallout. The amount of fallout you are exposed to is determined by 3 factors: length of time exposed, distance from the original explosion, and how much shielding there is between you and the radioactive source.

To minimize radiation exposure, you will want to reduce your time exposed, increase your distance from the source and have as much shielding as possible. This can lead to a dilemma if faced with this scenario: should you evacuate your retreat (increase your distance from the source), or should you stay and go into your shelter (increase your shielding)? The answer to this question will depend on whether or not you have a shelter, how far away from the initial source you are, the strength of the nuclear device, and the weather conditions. Even if you have a shelter, you may be forced to evacuate due to your proximity to the radiation source (Remember Chernobyl where 50,000 square kilometers were deemed unusable). It can take many months and sometimes years to clean up after a Radiation Event. Most people don’t have shelters that will sustain them for that long. Unfortunately, if faced with this scenario, you will have limited time to make your decision, for if you decide to evacuate you will want to do it immediately to reduce your exposure time, and before the roads get jammed with people. Thus, it would be useful to know a few basic equations to help you make your decision.

Radiation exposure follows the inverse square law- exposure reduction is proportional to the inverse square of the distance. Radiation is measured in Gray. If the source produces 10 Gy/hour at 1 meter, the exposure will be 2.5 Gy/hour at 2 meters (10 divided by 2 squared). The worst case scenario could produce up to 50-100 Gy/hour at the site of the explosion. With this information, you can calculate your exposure based on how far away you are from the radiation source. You must also keep in mind the weather conditions. If your calculation reveals a total body dose of <0.7 Gy, the radiation effect will be minimal, and you should be safe to stay at your retreat.

Scenario 2
You decided to stay at your retreat with some type of shelter, but after 12 hours a family member starts vomiting. Should you take them to the hospital which you know will be full of victims or should you stay isolated?
The key to treating radiation victims is knowing what dose of radiation they received. All medical decisions are based on the dose estimate.
There are many ways to determine dose of exposure, most of which require a hospital visit and laboratory tests. Without access to prompt healthcare, the easiest way to determine dose is to record the time from radiation exposure until the time the victim starts vomiting. Then use the information below to estimate the dose the victim received (measured in Gray):

Time To Onset of Vomiting Post Accident/Terrorist Act

Use that number for the following interventions:
If they received a dose of < 0.7 Gy, they will not be significantly affected by the radiation and they do not need to be hospitalized.

If they received a dose of 0.7-5 Gy, their lymphocytes (cells in the blood that fight infection) will dramatically decrease. This happens within the first 1-2 days and puts them at a very high risk of infection. Their hemoglobin and red blood cells will also decrease at 30 days after exposure and they will become very anemic. With good supportive care, the blood counts will recover by 60 days post exposure. Treatment includes IV fluids, antibiotics and colony stimulating factors. These are the people who benefit the most from being admitted to the hospital because they need the colony stimulating factors (which are not able to be stored at a retreat). My advice would be to take them into the hospital. If this is not feasible, they must be quarantined for at least 60 days. If they do not get an infection, there is a good chance they will live.

If they were exposed to a dose of 6-15 Gy, the predominant effect will be on their gastrointestinal system- this means profuse, bloody diarrhea and dehydration, starting at 5-7 days post exposure. It is also often associated with severe nausea/vomiting and fever. Treatment includes specific antibiotics, GI nutrition, IV fluids and early cytokine therapy for 5 or more weeks. These people will also benefit from hospitalization if feasible. Survival is possible, but unlikely.

If they were exposed to > 15 Gy, the effect will be on their cardiovascular system and central nervous system. This leads to brain swelling and death within 2-3 days. It is associated with a 100% mortality rate and the best care would be to provide them with pastoral care and to keep them comfortable. There is nothing medically that can be done to save their life.

Scenario 3
You decide to make a trip into town to pick up some supplies. It’s around 10 a.m. and you are walking down the street. All of a sudden you hear a loud explosion and see pieces of shrapnel flying. There are casualties all around you from the scrap metal. You are thankful that none of it hit you. Then you hear someone yell “It was a Dirty Bomb!” You think to yourself, “A Dirty Bomb! What should I do?”
A “Dirty Bomb” is a radiological dispersion device which combines a conventional explosive with a radioactive material. It is not a nuclear weapon, nor a weapon of mass destruction; however, it is a weapon of mass disruption. The impact depends on the type of explosive, amount and type of radioactive material and the weather conditions.

Immediate deaths or serious injuries would likely result from the explosion itself. It is unlikely that the radioactive material would kill anyone. The radioactive material would be dispersed into the air and reduced to relatively low concentrations. Low level exposure to radioactive contamination could slightly increase your long term risk of cancer (mostly thyroid cancer). There would be significant impact by causing fear, panic and disruption. Clean up would be costly and could take many months.

Consider this example: In Goiania, Brazil, 1987, 1375 Ci of Cs-137 spread throughout a neighborhood. It was an accident (not a terrorist event), and yet it caused mass panic and fear. Ultimately, 112,000 people were screened, out of which 249 had detectable contamination. Four victims died within four weeks and 20 were hospitalized. Site remediation took months to complete (Oct 1987-March 1988). Can you imagine the impact if it had been a planned event?

Dirty bombs can expose one to radiation both externally and internally. Internal contamination can occur through inhalation (nose, mouth) or absorption (wound in the skin). The radiation is typically deposited in the thyroid, liver, lung and bone. It is not acutely life threatening.

When dealing with a victim of radiation contamination, act as if they were contaminated with raw sewage. Protect yourself with clothes, mask, and gloves and use standard medical emergency procedures (Airway/Breathing/Circulation). Decontaminate after the victim is stabilized. Removing their clothing and washing with soap and water is 95%+ effective at decontaminating. Treat with fluids, anti-emetics (anti-nausea), anti-diarrheals and pain medication.

There are also blocking and diluting agents, but these are isotope specific:
For Radioactive Iodine (I-131), use Potassium Iodide (KI) - must be given within 4 hours after the exposure, see the dosing chart below
For Strontium-85 and Strontium-90, use calcium, aluminum, barium
For Tritium, use ordinary water (force fluids for 3 days)
For the Transuramics (Plutonium, Americium, Curium, Californium), use DTPA 1 gram intravenously (must be given within 24 hours after the exposure)
For Cesium, use Prussian Blue 1 gram orally three times a day for three weeks

There are two problems with the blocking agents: First, you often don’t know what the isotope identity is until after it is too late to administer the blocking agent. There is no easy way to determine which isotopes were included in the bomb and you will need to rely on medical personnel to provide you with this information. Secondly, most of the blocking agents are not readily available. The only exception is KI, which is easily purchased through many of the SurvivalBlog advertisers. You are fortunate if you have DTPA or Prussian Blue stored away, but most people don’t.

In the absence of knowing what isotopes were in the dirty bomb, my advice would be to have as much fluid as possible (to dilute tritium). I would also take KI if you have some. If I-131 was in the bomb, the KI will protect your thyroid gland (and possible cancer later in life). It must be taken within 4 hours after the exposure. If I-131 was not in the explosive, the KI is safe with minimal side effects. If you decide to take some, use the following dosing chart:
Adults 18 and older: 130 mg of KI
Pregnant/Lactating females: 130 mg KI
Children age 3-18 years: 65 mg KI
1 month-3 years: 32 mg KI
Birth-1 month: 16 mg KI

In summary, the radiological/nuclear threat is real! Mass casualties in your area are possible, but radiation injury is treatable.

JWR Adds: Some readers might not be familiar with the term Gray--the standard unit of measurement for radiation exposure, that replaced REM (Roentgen Equivalent, Man), and RAD (Radiation Absorbed Dose). For us Bomb Shelter Era dinosaurs, conversion from Grays are as follows.

1 Gy equals 100 rad
1 mGy equals 100 mrad
1 Sv equals 100 rem
1 mSv equals 100 mrem

Stocking up on KI tablets is inexpensive, so every family should keep a supply on hand. In 1985, I was stationed in West Germany and was briefly down-wind of Chernobyl. At the time I wished that I had some KI available! Anyone that lives in an urban area should have a Nuk-Alert "key fob" radiation detector. That way you won't have to wait for word from someone else to determine whether or not a nearby bomb explosion was a dirty bomb. Nuk-Alerts are available from several SurvivalBlog advertisers.

Residents of the US state of Louisiana can purchase needed items free of sales tax as they prepare for the 2008 hurricane season.
The inaugural 2008 Hurricane Preparedness Sales Tax Holiday takes place on Saturday, May 24 and Sunday, May 25. The holiday is an annual, statewide event created by the Louisiana Legislature to assist families with the important job of protecting their lives and property in the event of a serious storm.
During the two-day holiday, tax-free purchases are allowed for the first $1,500 of the sales price on each of the following items:
• Self-powered light sources, such as flashlights and candles;
• Portable self-powered radios, two-way radios, and weather-band radios;
• Tarpaulins or other flexible waterproof sheeting;
• Ground anchor systems or tie-down kits;
• Gas or diesel fuel tanks;
• Batteries – AAA, AA, C, D, 6-volt, or 9-volt (automobile batteries and boat batteries are not eligible);
• Cellular phone batteries and chargers;
• Non-electric food storage coolers;
• Portable generators;
• Storm shutter devices – Materials and products manufactured, rated, and marketed specifically for the purposes of preventing window damage from storms (La. R.S. 47:305.58).
The 2008 Hurricane Preparedness Sales Tax holiday begins at 12:01 a.m. on Saturday, May 24, and ends at 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, May 25.
The sales tax holiday does not extend to hurricane-preparedness items or supplies purchased at any airport, public lodging establishment or hotel, convenience store, or entertainment complex.
For more information, visit the State of Louisiana web site.

JWR,
I read the link that was submitted by Craig in Odds 'n Sods. The Channel 3000 story couldn't be farther from the truth. As a local first responder, I can attest that we are getting the short end of the stick. The State Patrol didn't even acknowledge there was any problem on the interstate until hours after our crews were already on scene. They didn't even know that Dane County had set up an incident command headquarters at the Highway 51 interchange. The first semi trucks started losing traction as early as 10 a.m.that day. Near blizzard conditions had been present all the previous night. I am on Stoughton, Wisconsin EMS team, and my cousin is with the Stoughton Fire Department. My cousin and his friend, also a firefighter, responded to the command center with personally owned snowmobiles.

Shortly after these two individuals start checking the welfare of motorists, a State Patrol officer stopped them and read them the riot act for daring to drive snowmobiles on what he called "my interstate." He threatened to give both emergency responders (acting under fire command orders) citations for operating the snowmobiles on the interstate. They had been tasked by the incident commander with recon of the southbound lanes, they made it to the Rock River (where the Rock County incident command was set up), and were met by more than 30 members of the local snowmobile club. These private citizens came ready equipped with food, water and first aid. The two local firefighters were tasked by Rock Co. incident command to split up the club members into two teams and check lanes in both directions.

At no time did the local responders ever see National Guard members on snowmobiles. Nor did they ever see any on the interstate. The National Guard were handing out water and food from one truck at the Dane Co. incident command headquarters to emergency workers. The stranded motorists soon started to become covered by snow drifts. Many said that was the most scary aspect, as well as the total lack of information. Local cell towers became overloaded. Communications were accomplished by "CB relay chains".

Several diabetic motorists were assisted by snowmobilers, and one patient who was en route to the University of Wisconsin Hospital in his privately owned car was loaned a portable generator since the internal battery on the patient's medical device ran out.

The National Guard chopper was seen overhead on several occasions, but never landed as far as I know. Much later in the day, after some traffic flow began, the snowmobilers had to go back out to the interstate to wake up some of the semi truck drivers, who had been sleeping in their cabs, and whose rigs were now blocking traffic flow. All told, the firefighter/snowmobilers logged over 400 miles traversing a 25 mile stretch of I-90. - BadgerDad, EMT-IV

Different types of disasters may require a different response if a family wishes to maximize their chances for long-term survival. Therefore each family should have several different disaster plans that they could successfully implement depending on the circumstances. These plans should include:
1. Staying at your home and being able to survive for a reasonable period of time without any outside assistance, and
2. Quickly and efficiently evacuating your home and traveling to a predetermined destination.

Staying at home is probably the best overall strategy for most families in a variety of different disaster type situations. However, there are a few scenarios where your continued long-term survival may necessitate the evacuation of your home. For example, consider each of the following situations:

Fire in a city, suburb, or in the country: The only option is to leave and to leave quickly. Even if the fire doesn’t reach your home, the smoke could make it impossible to breathe. If your home does survive then the smoke from the fire will probably saturate many of your possessions and they will have to be replaced.

Flooding From Heavy Rains or Hurricanes: During severe flash flooding many homes, trees, and cars are completely swept away. If you stay, you die. In other areas only the first floor of a home may be under water. You might be safe on the second floor, or in the attic, or on your roof. In most flooding situations the water does eventually recede and you can go downstairs. However, the building foundation is now weakened, the floors are warped, the walls are cracked and peeling, and the appliances are ruined. It these cases it frequently costs less to rebuild from scratch than to repair all the damaged areas. And living in the home during the repairs is not an option because the mold and mildew that is now growing in your floors and walls will produce air-borne spores that will make you sick and gradually kill you. If this situation your only option will be to leave. (Note: If you become unexpectedly stranded in your home during a flood and you can’t evacuate, then you should quickly transfer your most important possessions to the second floor or attic to reduce the possibility of their becoming water damaged.)

Drought: The lakes dry up. The city water supply is exhausted. The city must be evacuated. You may stay if you wish but why would you want to? What type of people do you think will become your new neighbors? How will you survive when your current supply of food and water is eventually gone and the drought continues? Without rain there will be no way to replenish your water supply and no way to grow more food. Without water how will the city survive if someone’s very small cooking fire accidentally gets out of control and quickly spreads throughout a very, very dry building? In a very short period of time the entire city will be in flames. And if the city has already been evacuated then you will not receive any warning until you see the flames or smell the smoke, assuming it doesn’t happen while you are asleep.

Epidemic: Is the disease spreading by water, air, human contact, or some combination of methods? What percent of the population is dying? Staying inside your home in this situation would probably be the best solution unless the flu is being spread through the air. If that is the case and you are living in a heavily populated area then how long will it take the virus to eventually make its way into your air supply? If you had a gas mask or face filters then you might be able to escape to a remote region of a national forest where the virus will have a smaller chance of reaching and infecting you.

Martial Law: Why was it implemented? What are the restrictions? And do you really want to live in a heavily-populated area that is being policed by the military and where you could be executed by anyone in the military for any reason at any time without any type of trial?

Political or Religious Persecution: What if all registered Republicans are suddenly declared to be enemies of the state? Or all Democrats? Or all Protestants or Catholics or Muslins? Some of you may be laughing right now and saying this is impossible and it could never happen in this country. I truly hope you are right. But what if you are wrong? What if you suddenly heard on the news that you are now a member of a group of people that has been identified as being enemies of the state? What would be your plan for survival? If you remain where you currently live it would only result in your immediate arrest, trial, and either imprisonment or execution. During World War II in Germany there were millions of Jews, Christians, and several other groups of individuals who learned this lesson the hard way. And Germany is not an isolated example. This has happened many, many times in many different places in modern history.
None of these things are pleasant to think about but the above threats are real. If any one of them should occur where you now live then you may need to evacuate your home or apartment very quickly in order to have any chance for long-term survival.

How to quickly evacuate your home or apartment is not something most people take the time to think about. However, over the past few years the increasing number of families that have had to quickly evacuate their homes is extraordinary. Entire families and communities have been uprooted and moved to another area and in many cases they will never be able to return to their homes or to the life they once knew. Hurricanes, flooding, and forest fires have resulted in the loss of billions of dollars worth of possessions and have claimed an unknown number of lives. Devastating winter weather has crippled many areas and left hundreds of thousands of homes without electricity or heat in the middle of winter and forced people to seek refuge and basic survival in community shelters, schools and churches.

Flash floods and forest fires happen so quickly that people do not have the time to carefully consider what they should take with them. Later when they return and find their home and possessions reduced to cinders, or ruined from water damage, they wished they’d had more time to think about their choices before they were forced to evacuate.
Therefore, before a disaster strikes, prudent individuals will make a simple list of the most important things to salvage in the event of a disaster. Later, if a disaster should force them to evacuate their home then they can consult their list and quickly execute their plan and collect and save their most important possessions. They could salvage the things they would need to survive under difficult circumstances, and things that would make their transition to a different life style not only possible but also a little easier for their entire family.

If you survive a disaster then you can start over. If you have a plan, starting over will not be as difficult as someone who evacuates without a plan. Unfortunately some of the people who survive without a plan will eventually resort to robbing and/or killing. Predators do not discriminate and they will prey on one another as well as on the helpless. Human predators are usually a self-correcting problem during a disaster, if the disaster lasts long enough.

If you must evacuate your home you should have carefully considered ahead of time where you will go. Your destination should not be a last minute decision because your choice of a destination is as important as carefully selecting which items to take with you.

Bug-Out Destination Options
Let’s examine several different destination options. In each of the following situations you should attempt to pay your expenses using whatever credit cards you have available and save whatever cash you might have for a future emergency. If your family has more than one car then you should quickly load each vehicle to the maximum, without overloading them, and then drive out of the disaster area. Before you start you should have consulted a map and selected a minimum of two alternate routes that lead to your final destination. Then listen to your car radio as you are driving to see if there are traffic or other problems along any of your planned departure routes. The quicker that you can be underway the better your chances will be that you can get your family to safety.
Your safe destination could be any one of the following:

Family: If you have family members who live outside the impacted disaster area then they may be willing to provide you with shelter for a short period of time until the disaster has passed and you can return to your home. However most families live on a very tight budget and they will not be able to feed and clothe you for an extended period of time. It would be nice if you paid for some of the groceries while you are there, and also made a contribution to their utility bills. If it later becomes impossible for you to return to your original home then you will need to find new employment and a place to live as quickly as you can to relieve the pressure on family relationships. If your new job does not pay enough so you afford to rent a place of your own, then you should give at least half of each of your paychecks to the family you are staying with to help pay their bills. You should also remember that you are still a guest in their house, and that every member of your family needs to abide by their rules.

Friend's Home: The above comments about family also apply to very close friends. However the relationship is much weaker and friends should only be imposed upon for the absolute minimum amount of time. Even if you have discussed this situation with your friends in advance, it would still be a good idea to minimize the amount of time you stay with them.

Motel: A motel located outside the disaster area is a good option if you can afford it, and if the disaster is forecasted to be relatively short in duration. Once the disaster passes you may be able to return to your normal way of life. An Extended Stay Motel might be a better option because you can pay by the week or month and each room also has a few kitchen appliances, such as a refrigerator and a microwave. Before paying the rent always politely ask if you can see the actual room you will be renting.

Boarding House: Depending on the size of your family you may be able to rent a simple room in a boarding house on a weekly or monthly basis. You can read the “For Rent” section of the local newspaper to locate one these places and then you can call to see what their rules are. You should phone several places to find the best deal based on what your family requires.

Forest Campground or recreational vehicle (RV) Park: If the weather permits, then a campground or RV Park may be an option if you have an RV, or if you have a good tent and some camping gear. Many RV Parks have a separate campground area for tents. They also have a community shower area, one for men and one for women, and they have drinking water available near the campsite. A good tent is not an expensive investment and every family should have a tent to avoid being forced into a Government Shelter for survival. Even if you have no money you can still camp for free in most National Forests as long as you don’t stay at one of the official forest campgrounds. However, you will need to move your campsite at least once per week to a different area to comply with forest regulations. (Note: If you own an RV then it might be wise to find an RV storage site close to your planned evacuation destination. The monthly rental to store and park an RV is about the same everywhere but the advantage of parking it near your planned destination is that your RV would already there. If you have family members who live on acreage way out in the country then they may be willing to let you park your RV at their place for free.)

Government or Community Shelter: As a last resort, you may temporarily reside in a shelter. A church operated temporary disaster shelter is usually less restrictive than other types of shelters. However, before you go to the shelter it would probably be a good idea to rent a temporary storage facility and store all your equipment, supplies, and personal belongings in the storage unit. Many of these monthly storage rental units are large enough to drive a car into so you could park your extra car inside and still have room to store all your equipment and supplies. You are also allowed to put your own personal padlock on the door to your rental unit. (Note: Some storage units will not allow you to park a car inside the actual rental unit but they will rent you space inside the fenced area to park your car on a monthly basis. In this situation completely empty your car into the rental until before you park it.) If you have cash, or if you can get cash from an ATM, then you should pay the rent in cash to avoid leaving an electronic trail to the location where you are storing your remaining possessions. If possible pay the rent for a minimum of three months in advance and get a receipt. Your entire family could then get into the remaining vehicle and drive to the shelter location. Just remember that some shelters are easy to get into but almost impossible to get out of until the authorities are ready to release you. If you become a voluntary prisoner at one of these shelters you may discover that life in the shelter is unbearable and that you are not allowed to leave simply because you now realize you should have never entered the shelter. When you first enter the shelter, there is a strong likelihood that government shelter personnel will carefully search you and confiscate any weapons, knives, drugs including prescription medicines, tools, children toys, money, makeup, wallets, purses, keys, and any extra food you may be carrying with you. It is unlikely you will get all of these items back when it is time for you to leave. In some cases you will only be allowed to enter the shelter with the clothes you are wearing and a new identification card [or wrist band] issued to you at the shelter. This makes escape from the shelter less feasible because you will have surrendered all your possessions including your driver’s license, credit cards, money, and keys. This forces you to follow any rules the shelter may impose because you are now defenseless and you know you now have no other choice in the matter. Savage brute force will dominate inside these shelters and your family members will be subject to beatings, rape, and having their daily food rations forcibly confiscated by the strongest residents in the shelter. In a worst case, these evil individuals will continue to grow stronger as your family members continue to grow weaker and eventually die of disease or starvation. These are some of the reasons why a church or community volunteer shelter would be preferred to an official government shelter.

The preceding discussion has focused on: (1) the need to evacuate, and (2) several different possible destinations. It has not reviewed the most important things to take with you when you evacuate your home. Here is a link to a list of practical and useful items.

Jim,
I found the following in a letter posted on your blog: "Barring TEOTWAWKI, it seems to me that we are infinitely more likely to face moderately scary scenarios, like Hurricane Katrina and necessary urban evacuation, some urban 1970s-style civil disturbance but nothing like Mogadishu, high-intensity individual criminal acts, a low-order terrorist event nearby and the accompanying panic, or some other situation shy of the worst case scenario."

Do people realize that New Orleans wasn't far from becoming Mogadishu-like after Hurricane Katrina? Certainly if the water hadn't flooded the streets it very well could have been much worse. The flood waters actually helping the situation by restricting movement to a degree. And let's not forget we heard the approved media version of it. Who knows how many people really were killed, wounded or raped.

Certainly we want to hope and pray for the best, but it's totally unrealistic given recent examples in the United States to think that the low-lifes in society will not take advantage of any and possibly every situation. There's some good writings out regarding some of what happened in breakdowns and economic problems in other countries- i.e, Argentina, Rhodesia, etc. Here's some things to consider regarding that:

I would argue that people in third world countries are accustomed to: currency devaluation, military controls, rioting in the streets, high crime rates, food shortages, breakdown of infrastructure [such as extended power failures], et cetera.

So for the average Third World resident these things are not TEOTWAWKI. Now consider the suburbanite in the US of A:, "John Smith": John is definitely not used to seeing the value of his money vanish before his own eyes. John Smith is not used to getting mugged every day on his way home. John Smith is not used to seeing the military on his street. John Smith is not used to rioting in his city. John Smith is not used to two or three days of brown-outs or black-outs.

John Smith gets angry and extremely frustrated when someone cuts him off in traffic. John's wife Sally is irate when she loses satellite reception during Oprah and she misses the required reading section. John and Sally's kids are even worse.

And that's suburban folks, what most of us would call "middle class." We won't even bother to talk about some of the other's actions, just find the archives of Hurricane Katrina and the New Orleans Superdome and you'll figure that out. [JWR Adds: Lest anyone consider this a quasi-racist statement from R.H., bear in mind that some of the looters caught on film in New Orleans were white and hispanic. The tendency toward looting and other acts of lawlessness during disasters is tied to economics and whether or not children have a law-abiding, morally-grounded upbringing, not race.]

As survivalists, we need to be careful in our thinking. If we are not mentally prepared for the "worst case" and always assume that the guvmint will bail us out before our "three day kit" nonsense runs out, we are going to be in for a world of hurt. It took about three days for it to get really ugly in New Orleans and one could argue that had a lot to do with weather factors or it potentially would have happened sooner.

A lot of folks have "itching ears" and want to hear that they will be okay in the suburbs, that two weeks of food is enough, that they will only have to 'brandish' a firearm and won't have to actually use it, et cetera. I'd like to personally thank you and the many others on the net that don't water down the message so as to pander to "itching ears." Thank you for your commitment to reality - R.H.

Jim,
This letter is in response to your posting today regarding potential nuclear targets. Overall, a very good question by DFer, and your wise and reasonable response is much appreciated. As one of the few people on the Internet who actually discuss potential US nuclear targets, based on historical government documentation, I'm glad to see you and a few others (Shane Connor, Joel Skousen, etc.) not letting this important point of history be forgotten. It's another visit to an old post of yours in June of 2006.

Lawrence's response in that post was "old 1960s era targeting maps will still give the survivalist a good idea of where not to be when TSHTF". That still applies. Discussion on your site and many others about other places not to be (mass gatherings such as sports events, malls, national monuments and the like) is also worthy of consideration, in our current trend of monthly terror threats, such as today's announcement of Osama Bin Laden's latest video threatening Europe. (And yes, .mil is very concerned on both sides of the pond).

I have had a few "unofficial" e-mails from government contacts in the last couple of years (since 2005...most [of them] working on government contracted publications for internal use) who have asked for some of my non-public collected data information on targeting, and the short online Q&A with them has led me to believe that the pot of hot water we frogs have been living in has had the heat turned up, meaning this...new and updated lists of potential worry are prepared, and probably still being tuned and polished up, as the daily world threat thermometer rises and falls.

I seriously doubt the general public will see these lists, maps, locations, and target types for many years to come, since the external threat to US soil is still at such a ragged and ever concerned pace. It took only two years to get the National Attack Planning Base 1990 released from FEMA by the FOIA, thanks to a friend of mine who found my document wish list a few years ago. While just over 20 years old, it's still the measuring stick for any reports that follow.

FEMA 196 is still the only consumer document available directly from FEMA that ever gave fairly detailed info (to a generalized county level) of potential US targets, and since US threats have risen greatly since 9/11, it may well be the only document that FEMA, or succeeding agencies, ever produce on that subject. What we can learn from the currently available info, is why the original targets were targets, and what might make new locations future targets. It takes a bit of work on our part, but it's not any more difficult than basic

I've expanded the target list on SurvivalRing a bit with more discussion of what makes a target, and have added a comments section to the web page to answer specific questions that readers and visitors may have about the old targets, and potential new targets. SurvivalBlog readers might like to discuss our current target list, or have more info they'd like to bring to the table.

Since I'm still attending college full time, I have a lot of my site projects on the back burner, but one near the top of the list is a mashup of my blogging software, with Google Maps, extended interactive areas, and a lot deeper discussion, research, and updating on targeting, safe areas, and all the details you mention in your response (weather patterns, population demographics, etc). I'm finishing up an atmospheric science class this semester that really opened my mind to global weather patterns more than ever, and the work that Shane Connor did with Transpacific Fallout is going to be seeing an update from me in the spring.

Keep up the great work, and thanks for all you do. You're one of the most rational minds I've found on the web when it comes to the simple work of helping others understand why we need to think about dealing with whatever the future brings. - Rich Fleetwood, Founder of SurvivalRing.org

The whole South Island has been told to prepare for a massive earthquake in the near future.
This is due to the Alpine Fault Line which is where the Australasian and Pacific plates meet on the West Coast of the South Island.
The boundary between these two plates is locked and the pressure building up needs to be released.
A release of such pressure would result in an earthquake about the size of a number 8 on the Mercalli Intensity scale.
Such a earthquake would last for minutes, not seconds.

Canterbury University Associate Professor Tim Davies was quoted at a recent meeting as saying that, "The longer it goes before the next earthquake, the bigger the bang will be when the spring goes."

The shaking from the predicted earthquake would be felt all throughout New Zealand and may even be felt as far away as Sydney.
Mr. Davies also emphasized that people should have food and supplies on hand to last for up to three weeks after a quake.
Shaking damage and land instability from a quake like this would disrupt surface transport for months, tourists will be trapped, and distribution of vital supplies ( e.g. food, fuel) will be limited. Hydro stations will shut down immediately and may be slow to restart, power reticulation will be damaged. Only satellite phones will remain in use.
Landslides into lakes and fiords may cause tsunami, as may the collapse of river deltas in lakes or the sea. Queenstown, Milford and Wanaka are likely sites of tsunami damage
Tour bus operators are also urged to stock up on food and supplies for their customers who could likely be trapped for days in isolated locations.

Jim,
Popular Mechanics magazine outlines five scary Katrina-esque scenarios in various parts of our country might face in the coming years. I find it interesting that two of the five involve California and three of the five involve large bodies of water. People in the affected areas need to seriously consider moving out or having a Get Out of Dodge (G.O.O.D.) plan. Also, just because you don't think you are near any bodies of water, it does not make your home immune to floods. When checking a local university's Emergency Preparedness Plan, I found out that my neighborhood is part of a flood plain for a dam 16 miles away. Fortunately, high ground is within a five minute walk and any flooding from catastrophic failure will take [considerable time] to reach my home.

I pray that nothing horrible will happen to my loved ones, but since reading and acting on the advice of SurvivalBlog, I am more confident in my ability to protect my family. As concerned citizens, we all need to get after our local and Federal government to maintain and improve our infrastructure so we can avoid these disasters. But, like you've admonished us before, we must be prepared in case our government fails us. Because they have, and they will. - Mark D., Utah

JWR:
I was talking to a friend in North Carolina this afternoon and he was telling me about the drought conditions in the Charlotte area and he relayed to me some interesting drought news.

- The several acre sized lake on his property has dried up.
- Duke Power has issued a statement, in the local area, to expect power disruptions in the coming months due to low water levels in the reservoirs that Duke operates that is used for hydro power, cooling towers, and such.

Here is a link from the DOE about a drought's drain on power. The article is from 2002, but the conditions are worse now.


Best Regards, and I am taking advantage of your "6-Pack" sale for autographed copies of "Patriots". - Desert T

Further to my recent post about the recent flooding In the UK, things in the immediate area are pretty well back to normal now, aside from some continuing disruption to the road network due to land-slips, undermining and in some cases, bridges across water courses being washed away.
Here, we got off very lightly, compared to some. No loss of life, no injuries, very little property damage. There are many families, however, who will be counting the cost of this incident for a long time, both in terms of loss of loved ones and of property and livelihood. One’s heart goes out to them.As to how our preparations ameliorated the effects of the flooding, I must first of all say we were very lucky to have escaped. The waters found their way into areas never before affected, with properties and farmland many feet above the normal floodplain levels being covered. In one case, a farm tractor in just such a place was up to its cab-roof in floodwater.
However, we moved to this area for work purposes in 1999. Prior to the move we rented a property in the area to give us a base from which to explore and familiarise ourselves with it.
The next task was to obtain 1:50,000 Ordnance Survey maps of the entire region and work out the pros and cons of each likely area for settlement.
To the east of this region lies the flat, productive lands of the Vale of Evesham which, as beautiful and fertile as they may be, are crisscrossed with so many waterways that the map of the area appears to have varicose veins. To the west the topography changes as it moves into the mountains of Wales, an area of stunning countryside, so well beloved of tourists in the summers, but one so bleak in winter that it is used by Special Forces as a training ground. [JWR Adds: This is the "Brecon Beacons" area that many SurvivalBlog have read about in books about the SAS.]
In-between the two the land becomes one of foothills, with small peaks up to a thousand feet or so.
The area has several cities, many towns and villages, with all the concomitant amenities and services along with a good transport infrastructure. It ticked many of the boxes we had earmarked as necessities.
It also has one of the most unstable rivers in Europe running through it; the River Severn. With its source in the hills of mid-Wales, the Severn is one of many local rivers that feed from the mountains of Wales and find their way to the sea further south in England after joining with the Severn.
Coming in from the east is the River Avon, of Shakespeare and Stratford-upon-Avon fame. Another picturesque watercourse when in good humour, but truly frightening when in flood. This too joins the Severn as it moves west towards the sea.
Given all this water, the thought of joining the many flood-plain dwellers (does this name not give them a clue?) along these rivers did not have much appeal. Also not wanting to live in an urban environment, we ruled out the cities and larger towns. This led us to ‘head for the hills’ but given the additional need to be reasonably close to transport links due to work commitments, a compromise had to be reached.
We finally settled on (in?) the outskirts of a village in the foothills which had the requisite communication links and was high enough to avoid all but truly Armageddon-like flooding from the river system.
Being doomers by inclination and country folk by nature, we set about making the place as self-contained as possible given the constraints of time, money and the desire not to look out of place.
Water was a primary objective. Having invested so much time and effort trying to avoid it, we now installed a series of linked barrels to collect around 500 gallons of rainfall run-off from the various roofs. (The long term plan was to install underground storage but an impending move has forestalled this). This to be used in the summer for assisting with garden irrigation and for hygiene use should the need arise.
There is a mains supply of potable water, supplemented by bought bottled and spring water from the adjacent hills captured and stored in ex-military containers. (Again an underground cistern was planned).
When the recent floods hit, we found unprecedented amounts of rain had fallen (up to 131mm locally) in just over 24 hours and the subsequent run-off completely overwhelmed the drainage systems. It is not uncommon in these parts for the hill roads to turn into rivers after a storm, but the amount coming off the peaks was phenomenal. Due to our location on a hillside, we were in little danger of standing –floods, but fortunately had sandbagged the ventilation bricks and doorways to deal with the expected run off. Even so, the bags were in danger of being overtopped by the sheer volume of water. This caught us somewhat by surprise, never before had we needed to cover these points.
The mains water supply is electrically pumped throughout the area, so it is not unknown for it to fail when the power goes down. We had sufficient water available to deal with what was thankfully a short-term event. However, the provision of more capacity could only be a good thing especially in the event of a long term incident.Our electricity supply is mains provided, but due to local conditions is fairly unreliable, going off on average once a month. We have back-up for heating, cooking and lighting, with a variety of methods for providing for each. As well as propane heaters and cooking rings, we have wood stored and several camping style cooking sets using differing fuels. Lighting from candles, hurricane and Coleman lamps as well as the ubiquitous MagLites complete the list. Wind up radios are used to keep connected to news services.
This system works well for us in a bug-in situation, with some of the kit doubling for the bug-out bags, in which it is normally kept. It again worked this time and we are currently replenishing supplies ready for the autumn and winter weather.
We thought that given the predicted rainfall, bugging-in would be the best solution and this proved to be so. We also planned to be on site during the event as the lower surrounding area a re prone to flooding and we have been cut-off in the past. Had we been caught out of position, one or more of us would have been stranded. Cars were washed away by previously unheard of levels of rainfall and all exit routes were simply inundated. We have multiple exit routes planned and driven, but all were closed in a very short time.
Several staff members at one of our employers, who also live nearby, had to remain in the building for several days, unable to get out . Even if they could have escaped the building, they would have been unable to return to their homes due to the floodwaters.
Being aware of the potential for the area to become cut off by bad weather, we keep an above average level of consumables in. This includes foodstuffs, medications, hygiene materials etc. We keep little in freezers, having lost the contents once too often when power remained off too long. Most foods are either canned or dried and when the power does fail, we emulate the NCIS agents Jethro Gibbs and Kate Todd and eat the ice-cream before it melts!
When we could get from the property into the nearby town, we found the shelves of the shops were depleted of nearly everything. Some panic buying had apparently occurred, but this was also down to the inability to re-supply them as the entire area was cut off from road and rail links. The disturbing part about this was that this took no more than a couple of days for the shelves to empty. It seems that the ‘just-in-time’ approach also now applies to your local food store and those behind-the-shop front warehouses are no longer filled with more than a day or two’s goods.
What this would mean in a long term situation became all too obvious further down the Severn’s route as large scale efforts had to be mobilised to bring in bottled water and emergency food supplies to stranded people.

In summary, our initial site location work and subsequent ‘prepping’ served us well during this event, but if any of us had been caught out of position, or had we decided at the last minute to ‘bug-out’ as flood levels rose, we might well have found ourselves in a different situation.
No matter what precautions one takes, it is surely down to the Grace of God as to what happens and how well you fare. We are currently planning our next adventure, a move out of the UK to a small patch of land somewhere in the Mediterranean. The planning and preparation for this has been ongoing for several years. More on that in a future article. Keep safe. - Michael in England

Sir:
You might have seen the news reports about the flooding in Central England last week. We’re in amongst it, but fortunately (and thanks to forward planning) high enough to have remained dry.
The primary cause of the floods was a prolonged period of exceptionally heavy rain, up to 131mm (c.5-1/2 inches) in one day. This followed hot on the heels of a very wet summer which left the ground sodden an unable to absorb the downpour, which caused flash-flooding as it ran off.
Areas not normally flood-prone have been inundated. Rivers broke their banks and filled their flood-plains.
Now this part of the country is used to flooding, although not in the summer months, as it has two of the UK’s most unstable rivers, the Severn and the Avon, passing through it. This episode, however, has been notable for the sheer amounts and force of the of water and depths of flooding. See this link and this link for some of the BBC's coverage…

The mayhem and disruption caused has been bad enough, but it has been compounded by the behaviour of some which can only be described as moronic. Conversely, the bravery of many, both in the response services and the public, has been humbling to see.
The floods caused chaos with the transport links, with railway lines and roads under several feet of water, even the M5 and M50 motorways (our equivalent to freeways) were closed after they disappeared under anything up to a foot of floodwater. This caused huge tailbacks with several thousand people stranded for up to twenty hours in their vehicles. One woman went into labour whilst in the jam on the M5 and the emergency services were unable to reach her either by ambulance or helicopter because of the conditions. Fortunately a truck-driver stuck near to her car realised the situation and used his vehicle to force a way through the water and the traffic to tow the woman’s car to the ambulance. He then apparently had to tow the ambulance as it too had become overwhelmed by the water. They managed to get the woman to hospital in time for the child to be born in the dry.
Towns and villages have been cut off for several days with residents needing rescue by boat or helicopter as the waters rose so quickly. As is always the case, some residents opt to stay with their property and many of these had to be rescued later as levels continued to rise.
The situation has been made worse by the failure of mains services; electricity and water plant were flooded, even though they were sited above normal flood levels. A water treatment plant was overwhelmed and engineers are having to wait till flood levels drop sufficiently for them to get in and assess the damage. It is estimated that mains water will be off for at least two weeks. This has resulted in the water company having to import bottled water into the area for drinking purposes and, when the floodwaters dropped sufficiently, the placing of water bowsers to enable people to obtain clean water for sanitation. Sadly, although not surprisingly, there have been cases of people vandalising the bowsers, by breaking open the taps and even by polluting the contents. There is one confirmed case of someone urinating into a life saving tank. Looting has become a problem in areas that have been evacuated, forcing police to be diverted from rescue to deal with the crimes. There was an attempt to steal a length of temporary flood barrier, supposedly for its high scrap value. It is perhaps a pity that the thieves were thwarted in their attempt as on the other side of the barrier was several feet of floodwater.
Shops outside the affected zone have seen their entire supplies of water, milk and bread bought out by ‘enterprising’ individuals who later tried to sell them at highly inflated prices to the stranded people. Fortunately the police dealt with this unsavoury bunch and the practice has all but ceased.It is now just a week since the worst downpour, although the unseasonal rains continue to add to the misery. It took considerably less than a week, however, for the infrastructure to break down. With no water or electricity, empty shops and no means of re-supply, many people were in dire straits within a couple of days. The elderly, infirm and those with young families were, and in many cases still are, in deep trouble.
For families who could remain in their homes, or who have since returned, to areas which are still without power and mains water, basic sanitation is an increasing problem. Toilet flushing has to be rationed, clothes washing is virtually impossible and personal hygiene requires a level of thought and discipline that few are used to. One woman in her forties was seen on the television stating that she thought it appalling that the authorities had not been round to each home to ‘tell us what to do’. Personal responsibility and the thought that maybe the ‘authorities’ had other things on their mind at the time did not seem to enter her thinking.As the swollen rivers send the excess waters downstream the floods, power outages and disruption travel along with them.

There has been some respite from the rains which has allowed the levels upstream to drop, and flooding to recede, but at the time of writing (Friday 27th July) more heavy rains are forecast for Saturday night and key personnel have been placed on stand-by within the response services. Further flooding is predicted as the ground is still sodden and unable to absorb any more water. Whilst writing this first report, the post has got through and I’ve received my copy of "Patriots" from the lovely people at Amazon. The opening quotation from Gene Roddenberry makes a far better ending than any I could come up with: ‘Nuclear war is not necessary to cause a breakdown of our society……their water supply comes from hundreds of miles away and any interruption of that, or food, or power for any period of time you’re going to have riots in the streets. Our society is so fragile, so dependent on (the) interworking of things…"

Postscript:
This has been the largest real-time test of our prepping to date. We live in a fairly isolated spot and power outages are common, but this time we have been cut-off by the floodwaters and have been thrown, albeit for a short time, upon our own resources.
Our decision was to bug-in as we believed we would fare best here; the location was chosen carefully although with some compromise due to the need to be near places of employment.
That said, it seems everyone, us included, were surprised by the sheer amounts of rain – the most in living memory in the region – and just how quickly transport and communications failed. Had we bugged out in the midst of it, we would very likely been refugees ourselves. When the recovery phase is fully underway, we will re-appraise our planning and handling of the event. Remember, no plan survives first contact..Keep safe. - Michael in England

JWR Adds: I find it amazing that in the midst of this crisis, so many people are letting the copious rainwater from their roof downspouts go to waste. They just don't have the survival mindset. At the very least, they could be using rainwater for clothes washing, bathing, and toilet flushing. With a water filter, they could also use rainwater for drinking and cooking. Take a minute to read his piece, by way of SHTF Daily: Living life without any tap water Take special note of the final quote in the article: "We also have to use bottled water to flush down the toilet, which is a waste, but we don't have any choice." Common sense, it seems, is all too uncommon.

Hi Jim,
I'm a regular reader and 10 Cent Challenge contributor. I just wanted to pass on a little info that struck me as very unusual. I live in Louisiana, too close to New Orleans unfortunately. In my mailbox on Saturday, I received a 32 page publication from the Louisiana Dept of Health & Hospitals. It is titled "How You Can Be Prepared for a Flu Pandemic" Individual & Family Handbook.
What do they know that we don't? The state spent $663,594.40 publishing 1,658,986 copies of this Handbook under a grant support from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).
This is about the number of households in the state as of the 2000 Census, so I assume each household will be mailed one. I intend to wait about a week and take a poll of my fellow workers to see if anyone received and/or read the publication. My gut tells me most will simply pitch it with the junk mail and not
even read it. The book is very basic, but it does make an attempt to raise awareness and encourage preparedness and educate on a subject of which most people are ignorant. The KISS principle, I'm sure. If nothing else it could be a good tool to help persuade the "blind" to consider the value of preparation-especially skeptical spouses and close family members. Maybe you have seen this handbook or something similar. Here is a link to the publisher. (Item # ps92230)
Keep up the good work. We appreciate all that you and the family do to keep the information flowing. Thanks and God Bless, - GMac

Dear Jim and Family,
Some months ago, our president signed into law a bipartisan bill that protects Americans from gun seizure during a disaster. In theory, every emergency worker (including police and National Guard) knows they cannot take guns from citizens, period. In theory. In practice its far more likely that we can all expect: the worst case scenario. This is uncomfortable as you have no idea if the cop down the street is honest or a bully who's taking guns because he can, or because he's been ordered by by his boss, or a buddy on the force with plans. I have encountered crooked cops. They really do exist, not just in movies. They do a real disservice to honest cops and endanger lives but investigations are hampered by the code of silence and Internal Affairs can only do so much without getting murdered undercover.[JWR Adds: Thankfully, the vast majority of police are honest and trustworthy.]

I'm wondering if your encounter with the police is about to make you a victim or not leaves you with the unpleasant choice of either losing your ability to defend yourself during the most critical time or deciding to be proactive and run the risk of dying for it, or even killing an honest cop by mistake. Following Hurricane Katrina, the Federal government and National Guard behaved in a shameful manner, disarming people trying to protect themselves. The result is this law, which probably won't be followed. How would you enforce it? Take them to court? If you survive, great. But if you really needed the gun, why did you survive, weakening your own case. If you really did need it you're too dead to sue.

When the cop says give me your gun what will you do? Do you have a backup? Do you have an argument that will keep him from taking it? Does the cop know or care that taking your gun during this disaster is a Federal crime? And will he harm or imprison you for pointing it out? These are ugly questions, but you had better think long and hard what your options are and what is the appropriate response.
Best, - InyoKern

JWR Replies: You are correct that H.R.5441 has been signed into law, (becoming Public Law No: 109-295). So it would be considered an extrajurisdictional act for any officer to "temporarily or permanently seize, or authorize seizure of, any firearm the possession of which is not prohibited under Federal, State, or local law, other than for forfeiture in compliance with Federal law or as evidence in a criminal investigation" during "a declared disaster." By now, all sworn officers at all levels should have been briefed on this law, and its existence has surely been added to the curricula of police academies. In most states, by exceeding jurisdictional authority, officers shed their "Sovereign Immunity" from prosecution and/or civil suit as individuals. (Up to a $100,000 per Title 42, USC.) In many states, sworn officers sued in this manner for damages in their personal or individual capacities are classed as "persons" (rather that state officials). See: Hafer v. Melo, S.Ct., 112 S.Ct. 358, (19, 116 L.Ed.2d 301 91). And in many states, by doing so they even put themselves in the same category as a common criminal. To wit, extrajurisdictional seizure of property constitutes common theft. (Technically, you would be able to place an officer under citizen's arrest. But I wonder what circumstances would allow you to safely do so.)

The wise course of action during a disaster is to studiously avoid confrontations with anyone in law enforcement that is exceeding their authority. And, if you are unfortunate and do get your guns seized, then have a backup set of guns cached nearby. They can't take what they can't find. BTW, this is just another example of the value of redundant logistics. Don't be belligerent or come to blows over this issue. Worry about recourse in the courts later. In the short term, your key responsibility is to protect your family members and see them safely through the crisis. And you can't do that if you are behind bars.

Dear Mr. Rawles,
First off, I would like to thank you for writing the novel "Patriots" and starting SurvivalBlog. My dad sent me your book in the mail and told me to read it. Being a fan of Tom Brown-ish survival literature, I decided to give it a try. I read it in one night, starting at about 8 pm and finishing at 3 in the morning. Truly, my world view has changed. I have immediately started making preparations---getting my Bug Out Bag together, my Bug Out Routes planned and starting to practice some of the skills sets I've let fall by the wayside recently.
I am a full time college student and collegiate cross country and track runner at a school in the great state of Tennessee, but have had the benefit of being raised in a preparedness oriented family in a
southwestern region of rural Montana. I was at school when [Hurricane] Katrina hit and remember the close-to-home impact it had on many of my friends who lived in the New Orleans area. Our school sent relief teams to New Orleans immediately afterwards, with shipments of food and water. At the time, my perception of the Katrina disaster was largely shaped by the major media
outlets. A humanitarian crisis it surely was, but I never realized the uglier side of the story until recently.
It seems that disasters and emergencies bring out the best and the worst in people. Having read extensively many of the SurvivalBlog entries and perused the Internet for stories and first-hand accounts of surviving the Katrina disaster, I discovered that the population of New Orleans could be broken down into four "classes" of people during the evacuation/hurricane/post-disaster crisis.
The first class of people was composed of a small group of individuals and families who had plenty of food, water and protection stored away to either weather the storm, or to travel to a safer location without sacrificing their safety.
The second class of people was composed of a larger section of the populace who decided to leave New Orleans or evacuate their area and had no food, water or self-protection supplies built up before-hand. These became the highway refugees, or the refugees huddled in the Superdome. Some were successful in escaping safely, many were not.
The third class of people was composed of people who decided to stay in New Orleans, without the necessary preparations, and planned on either the government helping them or on obtaining supplies from their vacant neighbor's homes and Wal-Mart. These were looters, thieves and murderers.
The fourth class of people was composed of law enforcement and National Guardsmen who stayed in New Orleans to try and maintain order. They were usually not successful.
In my analysis, everyone in the first class of people were prepared to handle whatever came their way. They were good, hearty men and women, with respect for God and a practical view of the world. In order to survive, they just needed to minimize contact with all three of the other classes of people, namely the refugees, the looters and the police.
The refugees were desperate people, some willing to kill for gasoline so that they could rescue family members. While not necessarily bad people, they were victims of the circumstances. Avoidance of these people was relatively easy, as long as one stayed off of main highways and out of refugee concentration areas. One reader posted a letter on this blog about his experience with his dog and pickup filled with gas-cans on his way back to secure his gun store. The looters were also desperate, but not necessarily refugees. They weren't fleeing, but were actively preying on people and businesses to
sustain themselves. These people were a lot like the "Mutant Zombie Bikers" [often mentioned by SurvivalBlog readers]. Mostly active in New Orleans, these looters were to be feared and avoided mostly by the prepared and self-sufficient people.
The police were able to direct traffic and enforce the law in the early stages of the disaster, but by the time traffic spilled out into the opposing lanes and looters really started opening up on their rampage,
they were relatively helpless. One thing that much of the public is not aware of is the indiscriminate"martial law" tactics undertaken by many police/SWAT and National Guardsmen during and after the evacuation. While their actions in arresting and confiscating weapons may have been justified in trying to control the looting problem, many honest, prepared men and women who were "holding the fort" had their homes invaded, searched and any and all weapons confiscated. In one of the parishes near New Orleans, the police used boats to pull over riverine traffic and search and confiscate any weapons found, often without providing receipts for the weapons confiscated. Obviously, for a prepared survivalist who was protecting their property, Bugging Out, or trying to provide humanitarian/rescue assistance, this was a major problem. After watching this short documentary on 2nd Amendment violations in [the aftermath of Hurricane] Katrina, which every law-abiding American owes it to themselves to watch, I have realized that in a TEOTWAWKI or near-TEOTWAWKI type disaster, even law enforcement can be more of hindrance than a help. The indiscriminate firearm confiscations that occurred in the wake of Katrina are very worrisome indeed.
In planning my Bug-Out-Plan (with multiple, redundant routes...one by foot if need be: yes, all 2,000 miles of it back home to Montana), I fully intend to avoid law enforcement like the plague. As [the] Doug Carlton [character] said in Patriots, "Roads are for people who like to get ambushed." Similarly, getting searched by the police in a TEOTWAWKI type situation is something you definitely want to avoid. There may be cops out there with their heads screwed on straight who can discern an honest citizen from a looter, but the risk of running into a hotshot and losing the means of protecting myself is too great.
I hope all other preparedness men and women take this into account when planning. Oh, and never become a refugee and confine yourself to a refugee camp. - R.D. from southern Tennessee

JWR Replies: The troublemakers in New Orleans came from many races, and surprisingly from both lower class and the lower middle class. It is difficult to stereotype the "looters" when based on the archived news footage it is clear that they represented a fairly wide cross-section of the New Orleans populace. Safe distance from major population centers is the key to survival during a widespread disaster. Fewer people means fewer problems. Most of the armed confrontations will take place in the big cities. Yes, lives will be lost far and wide WTSHTF, but the vast majority of the violence will be in the cities.

James Rawles;
I enjoy your blog and wish I had more time to review [all of the content]. I plan on getting the best of the blog when my funds permit.
I saw the "Convincing the Unconvinced" post and thought I would reply.
I like what another reader recommended on bringing people around to preparing and hope you have a section dedicated to this subject somewhere on your blog.
Pushing a lot of information too fast will be counterproductive. They need to learn and decide for themselves to be prepared, and how prepared [they want] to be.
MJS could try getting Government-issued preparedness brochures. They are available from the American Red Cross and The Department of Homeland Security. This literature shows the need to be prepared for various situations. The information coming from a source that the doubtful will consider "mainstream" may be what they need to convince them to be prepared. You can work from there to discuss with them all the types of potential disasters (man made and natural) that can occur in your area and what can be done to be prepared.

Preparedness gifts are also a way to get the doubtful thinking about preparedness. I have given first aid kits, power inverters, Flashlights, Baygen radios, vehicle 72 hour kits, Preparedness books--some published by the Red Cross and Homeland Security--as Christmas gifts to plant the seeds of preparedness thinking. With the bird flu threat looming, I am considering a long term food supply for a month or less and publications on what you should know about bird flu for this Christmas. I am looking at water purification equipment for the following Christmas.
At least this gives family members a chance to survive a short term event. I know I cannot prepare for them and they have not considered what to do if the big cities that they live in melt down. But I can give them the information to make them think and to help them if they ask for it. - Ron from Ohio

James:
I found the three following Australian web sites while surfing the web. The AusSurvivalist site led to the second two: Australian Government information concerning the London bombing and how Australia needs to prepare, and the Australian Government Emergency Management web site. Regards, Bill N.

I'd like to share a couple of things I've learned through the recent hurricane seasons in Florida, being hit directly by one, indirectly by three or four more (I've lost count). The following assumes you’re staying put, not bugging out. Typically my wife will take the kids and bug out, while I stay home for security and damage control if needed. This can also apply to some of the severe storms that other parts of the country experience throughout the year.
1. Water - In Florida, I travel with a case of water in the back of my car. You never know. In the off season, we use up the stored bottled water from the last year, and right about now [--May--], do a replenish. Our typical storage water "in season" is about the size of a pallet, four feet high. Off season we may get down to three or four cases. We also have a “Big Berkey” to filter the water from the lake behind our house if things are down for more than a week or so.
2. Food - Freeze dried long term storage food (Mountain House or equivalent) is absolutely required. The stores will be cleaned out in the two or three days before the storm arrives, and the grocers stop shipping food in at the last minute to cut their losses in case the buildings are knocked down. Immediately after the storm passes you're a fool to go out on the roads with the trees and downed power lines and by the time they are cleared, the stores open on a cash basis because the power is out, and it's dry goods only. All frozen and refrigerated food is discarded so they won't get sued for selling spoiled food. In your house, at the start of the hurricane season it’s prudent to work down your refrigerated foods and fill the space in the freezers with gallon milk jugs full of water. This will keep the remaining food from spoiling if the power is only out for a few days.
3. Cooking – We have several stoves that work when nothing else does. The best one for indoors is a butane stove that I picked up at a gun show for about twenty bucks. Butane cans are available, and they store indefinitely. I’d not use any combustion appliance indoors without ventilation, but after the storm the windows can be opened, and there is plenty of breeze coming in around the corrugated storm shutters, which still provide some measure of security. We also have a couple of Coleman stoves that run on either propane or coleman fuel, but those are strictly outdoor units.
4. Cash - Have a few hundred bucks cash on hand in the beginning of the season, and increase it to a thousand or more if you can once things are in full swing. There is usually a run on the ATMs when the storm is bearing down on the area, and when the power is out, it's done.
5. Fuel - If there is even a hint of a storm, top off all vehicles and keep them full until the threat has passed. It can take two weeks to get gasoline into the area and replenish the empty stations after the run on gas that happens when the storm is bearing down. Also, keep up on maintenance of your vehicles. It would truly suck to blow a radiator hose in traffic while trying to evacuate. (I’ve seen that happen – I think it was [Hurricane] Wilma, a guy from Miami was evacuating through the Fort Myers area and had [his engine] overheated with his small child in the car. I stopped with my work truck and we filled up his radiator with my drinking water supply, and I left him with a half case of bottled water, which was what I had left. His terror at being at the mercy of both the weather and his unwillingness to prepare was obvious).
6. Shelter - You need to buy the stuff to watertight your house before the storm, not after. Buy enough tarps to completely cover your roof - do the math and figure it out. In the off season the tarps are on clearance, pick up a few spares. They don't go bad [if kept out of sunlight] - stick them on a shelf in your garage.
7. Storm shutters - either cut and number plywood to cover the glass or install the mounting tracks and have the corrugated metal panels ready to go. Do this on the off season, not the day before, as you want to do the initial exercise once and be done with it We put our shutters up about a day before the storm is supposed to hit - sometimes at the last minute. Our family can do the job in about 40 minutes in the pouring rain.
8. Tools and batteries - Charge everything at the first indication that your area is targeted, then keep them on trickle charge to maintain full capacity. I've got a battery powered Sawzall, but with two discharged batteries I might as well use a hand saw. The same goes for battery powered drills – a dead battery renders them useless.
9. Lighting – As for wind up lights, check them pre-season. I bought a wind up light a year ago and while it still lights up, the battery is shot - only lights when I crank it. I only paid ten or twelve bucks for it, but it’s junk. April is the month where the battery powered lights are checked to make sure they work, and a fresh supply of batteries are stocked.
10. Security - If you think you might need force to defend yourself, get your concealed carry license (CCL), get your practice in and buy your rifles, handguns and ammunition well before season. The state has been known to declare a state of emergency and suspend the sales of guns and ammo when a storm is coming. Also, the gun dealers will cut a deal in the off season, but "sticker [price] is sticker [price]" when a storm is coming. Not gouging, just no breaks. Gun shows are your friend, as you can really shop and compare.
This will get you through the storm and the immediate aftermath.

Dear Jim,
Looking at the concept of mercenaries post TEOTWAWKI [mentioned in Ron's recently posted letter], I'm not convinced there is a valid threat there.
There are a lot of myths floating around about Blackwater specifically. I have several friends on contract to them in various capacities from maintenance to pilot to executive protection.
The relevant facts are that they are highly trained, highly paid (up to $1000 a day, depending on assignment and location), held to high standards of qualification (must be honorably discharged veterans, no criminal background and with relevant skill sets) and do specifically fall under the UCMJ when contracted to the military or in association with the military (including executive protection details on State Dept missions in Iraq). I keep hearing these stories of beer-bellied yahoos who don't answer to anyone, but I've yet to see anything to substantiate that apart from vague allegations in the press.
Obviously, if a government collapses, it will not be hiring troops in that price range unless it's paying gold or foreign cash. Even if it could, convincing politicians that 20 out of country mercs are better than 100 local recruits is a long shot.
As to low-paid, second rate mercs, history is full of them. They tend to be more hassle to the paymaster than any enemy.
I can't see what they'd be hired to do other than guard government installations or private facilities with the desire and the money. "We're hiring you to go rough up the civilians" doesn't seem either cost effective, worthwhile, or doable, as in small groups they'd be readily defeated by numbers. And if things are that bad, I won't be going anywhere near a government facility.
The condottieri of the Middle Ages were specifically small bands with training and weapons equal to the small local forces they faced--enough to defeat a village or small town. Without lots of supplies, any modern equivalent would just be another gang of armed men. In this case, armed professionals who'd prefer to dig in and take control of an area, rather than be roving bands. It's quite likely a few of them read survivalblog, and they're hardly the enemy. If such groups existed, it would be worth allying with them to build a community. Nor would they be likely to pillage an area, as it means less resources in future.
It is possible, in case of a total collapse, that such would become feudal lords. However, that would last only as long as they maintained the good will of the locals and had ammunition. Modern systems of government are far more effective and efficient. - Michael Z. Williamson

Here is the second round of responses to this question: Those who are well educated enough to see a societal collapse of some sort or another in the making fall into two groups, the merrymakers and the preparers. The merrymakers don't see life worth living post-SHTF, so they live it up now. We on SurvivalBlog are the preparers and have chosen to survive, but why? Our children? To rebuild civilization? Because the collapse will only be temporary? Because we can and we're stubborn with a stronger than normal will to survive? The following is the second batch of responses. A few of the following poll responses exceeded the one paragraph limit, but they had substance so I decided to post them, regardless:

Jim,
The survival seed was planted at when as a young boy I entered our Ohio basement "fruit cellar" and noticed the stock of canned goods, candles and other necessities. My mother explained that we might need the items if the "weather turned bad". We never did need those items in the 1950s but the idea stuck.

For my family [living] in Alaska, it just makes sense to provide yourself with comfort items should the SHTF. We have a self sufficient setup which is accented by a complete, mobile camping outfit and further enhanced with ultralight backpacking gear. We are experienced in the use of this gear.

Silly as it may sound, if hard times come we do not want to be inconvenienced. That is the simple answer. And that includes begging others for help and standing in line to ask that the government do something.

Most important, we have incorporated preparedness into a normal enjoyable lifestyle. And it just plain feels right.

--

Life is tough. Challenges abound. Success is a drug that there is no anti-dote, only garbage that clouds the “vision” to succeed.
Why prepare? When reading the responses to this poll, I noticed a common reference to a “near term” disaster such as “Katrina”. This truly is a short term disaster. There is no reason that most of us can’t survive any short term disaster. Let’s look back to the late 1920s and early 1930s, or better yet, back to the original settler’s challenges, those were Longer term, affecting several generations. Why do we make reference to the near term problems rather than the historic obstacles? I think it is a protective mechanism that allows us to relate to “recent history” rather than “necessary history”. Imagining a multi-generational collapse I admit is not in my thinking, (to protect my fragile mind). But the labors of my grandparents and their grandparents are not to trivial to be memorialized. History repeats itself.
In the late twenties, a vast percentage of the population was “semi-self sufficient” and lived in the rural area’s trading with neighbors for the items needed that they did not produce themselves. Fast forward 80 years and a scary few minorities produce the knowledge to be productive and have the land to do so. Our forefathers could plan and survive even though difficult at times, they did it. How will we as city dwellers with no productive skills for the basics survive a similar economic tragedy? History repeats itself.
If more of us do not prepare, the likelihood of reverting back to the wagon train era is inevitable. If we can do more now, it is prudent to the survival of this great nation. This Nation is deserving of all of our love, and the things that we don’t agree with can be politely demonstrated against, or we can use the power we wield by voting for change. History repeats itself.
This country feeds the world, yet we squander it away in the pursuit of riches by greed. What a disappointment to our forefathers to have what others want, move it at all costs to further one’s pocket book, and not hold enough back to help our family and friends. If everyone in this nation had a year’s supply of food, then the vulnerability of this nation would greatly lessen, (see the history of the noose that was placed around Russia and the tens of millions that perished because of such starvation) After a “collapse”, our productivity would be multi-generational leaps rather than microscopic advance, if in fact we had the basics squared away. To get this great country back on her feet, we need to first, take care of our needs so if the tragedy of life happens, our focus can be productive, focused, and our return to glory inevitable. History repeats itself.
Am I am optimist? Am I a pessimist? Am I aware of how things really are so delicate? Do I love the country I live in enough to help bring her to her feet?
Be part of the solution, not part of the problem,…. An old saying is: “…problems always work themselves out…” I don’t want to be “worked out”, I want to help re-build, and not stress in the basic needs of my family and friends, I want what I have now, the ability to do much, and hopefully be surrounded by like minded friends no matter what the economic situation of this country is. I love this country, I love my family, I love the teachings of history even though history repeats itself. I love what I have learned, and pray for what I have not. God Bless the USA.

--

Jim,
It occurs to me as I read the responses to this question that while I share most of the reasons I am reading, including it is kind of fun, I also fear that I have within myself the capacity to do great evil if the need to provide for my family in times of trouble comes and I am not prepared. In fact this is one of the questions I ask people whom I approach when they tell me something vague about being okay. I ask them if they will really be able to sit by and watch as their children starve? I get interesting looks and statements.

--
I first became interested in the whole survivalist concept as an ER doctor, early in my career in the late 80's. What I saw is that the government cannot help people prevent problems, it only "cleans up" and tallies data. The police are the best examples of this (call the police when a burglar enters your home and they will gladly come and take a picture of your dead body). Although I had hunted since childhood, I only became interested in concealed carry, etc., after seeing case after case in the ER where people died or were maimed, while hoping/waiting for the cops to come. The cops did come, but always after the bad guys had done their deed. So much for that.
Over the past decade, my lack of faith in government "Helping" has grown more pervasive (in part due to working as a DOD doctor during Desert Storm I) and now focuses on Peak Oil (about which the government will never inform you in any truthful way until its too late) and the US Dollar (which the government and its goons (e.g. Kudlow et al on CNBC) say is just fine, along with the economy as a whole). There will be no functional oil by 2030, and by 2015 (that's just 8 years away), we'll see $10 per gallon at the tank, if we're luck and if China/India do not grow any faster than they already are.
All h*ll will have broken lose by then, as nearly everything we use comes from oil or is related to it (think antibiotics, clothing, food, not to mention our incessant "happy motoring" to go to work and take kids to/from school and other activities). We will not be able to depend upon transport of veggies from 1000's of miles away and may have trouble even getting water, depending upon where you get yours, just for starters. The sheeple, as another writer on this forum pointed out, will become wolves. The goal is to be a better prepared wolf, with stores of food, medicines, farming and mechanical equipment, guns and ammo.
Oh yes, the US Dollar (USD); it has dropped about 30% in the past three years. Yes 30%! China has announced that it will diversify out of the USD, as has most of OPEC, Russia, et al. Only Saudi and Japan continue to support the $USD for oil scheme, and that won't last much longer. When the USD drops below 80 on the USD index, that's it; we'll see 30 or 40 within a year or so, and that will be a 50%+ devaluation from present levels. If you look at every country in the world that has had its currency devalued (always, BTW a sure result of over use of the printing press), social degeneration has followed. Ordinarily, governments become totalitarian when that happens, but I suspect that the Peak Oil situation will prevent our government from doing anything but jawboning. Cops won't be able to enforce anything at $10/gallon gas.
Peak Oil + USD devaluation = total social/economic breakdown. And, BTW, I agree with other writers who have pointed out that its "pie in the sky" to think we'll "simply return to 1890 and live happily ever after." 1890 technology could not support a highly urbanized, work challenged and bloated population like ours. 10,000 BC is more likely, only with pockets of technology, and ammo, and a much smaller population. The only question left is when, not if, and when is likely within a decade.

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Because no one with any sense of self respect likes being a loser.

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Hi Jim,
My family prepares for bad times because it is inexcusable not to prepare. Bad things happen all the time - job loss, illness, accidents, etc., - as well as all of the possible natural and man-made
disasters that could occur. Preparation is insurance that your family will get through a rough time. Not preparing is a deficiency of character and neglectful to your spouse and kids. Being able to
survive more easily through bad times will greatly improve your physical and mental situation if it happens. In addition, you will be in better shape to help others should you need to. If nothing ever
happens in my lifetime I will be thankful and will enjoy having a bit less stress in my life because I did everything I could to keep my family safe and protected.

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Beside the fact that I've read the last chapter in The Book (Revelation), there's peak oil & the coming die-off as petrochemical resources become scarce, population stresses, a government that seems hell-bent on totalitarianism of one flavor or the other (I keep praying that cooler heads will prevail, but the past couple decades' experience doesn't build much hope.), external political & economic turmoil, pollution, terrorism, a resurgent Russia, Chinese war drums, froggy dictators with nukes, a weakening dollar, the list goes on and on. The worst part is each one of these either feeds off or feeds into the others. I'm betting that my children & grandchildren will live in a much different world than the one I grew up in. My prayers are that it will be a better one -- but I also realize (and in some cases, I'm very thankful for the fact) that sometimes God says "No!" So, I prepare -- and I attempt to prepare my sons to live in a world that looks more like their Grandparents' world during the Great Depression than the one I grew up in. Keep a stiff upper lip & watch your Six!

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First off, I love your novel "Patriots". Regarding the survey: We prepare because of the core morality we have: that we aren't victims and we don't want to depend upon the government for our welfare since that would make us slaves. I believe every other political view we hold comes out of this core belief, be it regarding the 1st and 2nd Amendments, welfare reform, public education, taxes, business regulation, Federal Reserve policy, etc.

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As to your query about why planning and striving to survive. At first I paused and asked myself that same question...Why Survive? For what purpose? What will I do when/if I do,
and when will I know that I have "Survived". I guess that initially it came down to personal and immediate family survival. Our extended family is fairly large and we are, what I consider to be, relatively "close" as a family unit.
Although my immediate family considers me "alarmist" and "extreme" I have still been planning and stockpiling as best that I can (afford) for all of us when the SHTF. (Whether the next "emergency" is natural or man-made.) My personal survival is only to ensure the safety and well-being of my daughter and to stand as a resister/witness against the "Anti-Christ".

National survival (the sovereignty of our Constitutionally-based government) is doomed by the fact that the globalist cabal have already (over the last couple of centuries) put into place people, politico-financial-industrial networks and the military might to enforce their will, that resistance will be short lived and futile. Our best effort will be to resist honestly and honorably being witnesses against the evil that is closing its trap upon the unsuspecting mass of sheeple. Although, conceptually, I can understand their reasoning, I cannot in good conscience support their end result.

Survival, not just being a biological instinct, but in humans - a choice, we are presented with not only mere physical requirements and consequences, but also moral and ethical repercussions as a result of our choices. The faculty of conscience, whether intact or corrupted, is a characteristic of God imbued into mankind to act as a "moral compass" to influence and guide one's actions. Our mind's/personality/character's (the soul's) decisions and consequent actions are the basis upon which we shall be judged. So survival is not just a matter of how we achieved it, but also how well we achieved it.

Survival isn't just to get by, but to be able to provide the basis by which our "way" of living (hopefully by the freedoms outlined in our Constitution) continues into (at least) the next generation. We must do as much as we can and as long as we are able. My personal "religious"/"reality" views are that we all will "survive"; (continue on as beings) and that our further existence will be far greater than that which we experience now.

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I prepare because I am responsible for my family. I also realize that even if our government is able to respond, they will not be able to do so immediately. Just look at the response times for police and fire departments. Three to ten minutes is not unusual and that is when the phone system is working and there is no snow storm or other disaster such as [Hurricane] Katrina.

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I will survive because I'm too mean to die. Survival is a choice. Many people choose to die rather than suffer the hardships that survival often requires. In the next 10-to-15 years, the world population will almost certainly decrease by 3-5 billion people for various reasons (mainly famine related to Peak Oil). I plan to be one of the people who live. I don't have much interest in religion, and I have no interest in leadership. People want to be sheep: let them follow someone else to their doom. I will do what is necessary to survive and hopefully enjoy the process as much as possible while I quietly duck away from trouble others feel compelled to fight head on (and die in place). If you die for a cause, you have failed at survival. Always remember that.

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Because when I first heard the story of "The Three Little Pigs" I got it. Make you house strong so the wolf can't blow it down. Do it right from the beginning and the wolves wont get you. I have had a Survivalist mentality since as early as I can remember. I think people have to be blind and deaf to all around them not to catch on to the obvious, our lifestyle in America is not stable. And no culture/society has ever been stable. All the great ancient cities failed, USA is no different. 1 year or 1,000, USA will end. I am 30 years old and have seen many Third World countries. I do not want to end up like that! I wish I could get everyone to see what the real world is like and what we stand to lose. Incidentally, my wife is from one of those Third World countries. So in the end, a hand dug well, no toilet paper and a dead 42 inch plasma TV suits us just fine because we know we can take care of ourselves. Being a Survivalist is the closest thing to being stable, a Survivalist community is the closest thing to a stable society.

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I was in the Coast Guard during Hurricane Hugo and I saw how few people were prepared, it made a huge impact on me. People were driving one hour for ice! I also know that is my God given responsibility. Reading your book only reinforced these thoughts. Thanks for all you do to wake up the sheeple.

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In response to why I am planning to survive. Is there any other rational choice? I am preparing from a personal sense of mortality. Selfish as it is it is my survival and hat of my immediate downline that I am concerned about.
Being the victim of a massive Stroke several years ago that left me partially paralyzed on my left side, and disabled from my corporate America job. My earning capacity went from $100K per year to less than $36K, in a stroke, yes pun intended. With more time on my hands I see many many ways to do things differently. Our nation is an anchor to world events and I see that we are on a downward spiral. We feel that we as Americans have in our scant 250 years of existence gained the knowledge and expertise to control the whole world, by debt. I see the collapse coming, and am in survival mode right now as to go from $100K per year to less than $36K per year requires retooling. I think that much more retooling will be required in several years when we mostly all go from Dollars to Skills and actual work. The one who owns a shovel can get some one to operate it for him, If you don’t own the shovel, then you will be the one shoveling for me! Shovel long enough and I will let you shovel it a while for yourself.. That is the way it is supposed to work.Real work for real value. This is the legacy I am intending to leave for my kids.

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Because the prophets have said to. Because [LDS] President Gordon B. Hinkley and the 12 have said to. Because I know it is the right thing to do. Because the Spirit tells me it is the right thing to do. To protect my family and loved ones from the storms that will rage and be poured out without measure. And because I want myself, my family, and others to hopefully make it through all the tribulations in order to see the Second Coming of our Lord and Savior!

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Like one of the previous writers – I grew up in the 1950s when Nuclear Was and bomb shelters were the norm. My dad made sure we prepared ourselves for survival back then and I took over that responsibility after he died in 1967, as the sole surviving son in our family. It was ingrained in me and taught as a responsibility – and it’s one that I take seriously. I am now an ordained minister and believe that God has called us to prepare ourselves spiritually, mentally, and physically for whatever comes our way in the future.

As I prepare my family for TEOTWAWKI or whatever else may come, I am also preparing to share with others in need. As I buy, make, grow or otherwise acquire I put aside extra for charity and barter. I hope each and every survivalist, preparer, and/or provider will do the same. Preparing to survive is not just so we can live while others suffer or die; it is a duty and responsibility we have been called to by our Creator. And, besides, it’s so much fun!

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I choose to prepare so my children will have a chance to live a full life. By "full life" I do not mean a materialistic, consumption driven competition to amass "more". I do not wish to ever have to look at them and say there is no more food, I do not wish their lives cut short because I chose not to prepare for what I know is coming. Many may think I am "strange", but ever since I was a child I have always been drawn to acquiring knowledge of natural food sources, survival skills, etc, and I have always known a time would come when you can't just go to the grocery store when you need something. I believe things will get very bad, I don't know for how long, I also believe that "we" shall emerge at the end of that time, (after what I'm sure will be an enormous "die-off"), and begin to put together a new society. I prepare so that my children will have the chance to make it through the worst times, become self sufficient, strong, and capable of building a new future for themselves.

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There are a myriad of reasons why my family prepares, and most of them have been mentioned (Religious leaders instruction, Boy Scout motto, seeing the writing on the wall, American self-reliance) and all of them have a great deal of merit. Although I don't think any of us can totally prepare for TEOTWAWKI there is a great deal we can do to prepare for the end of electricity/oil/food/water as we know it.

I have few axioms that I live by that have served me well.
* If you are not prepared to care for yourself, be prepared to rely on the generosity of others.
* I would rather have it and not need it. Than need it and not have it.
* You can never have too many knives or flashlights.
* Preparation is cheap insurance.
I love your site and have derived a great deal of information from it that I pass on to others. Thank you for all of your hard work that you share with others.
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I guess many reasons, most likely though it was triggered when I was going through a hard time in 1998 and Y2K was coming. It just got me to thinking more about the future then the present. Then I happened to come upon "Patriots" and it started to motivate me to do more, then 9/11 hit and Like everyone else I got a bit excited and started doing all sorts of things for prepping. There are many other reasons too but those were my first ones. Namely now I do all I can to get my mom and myself ready, mainly for a Bugout as we cannot survive in the urban place were at. I also have taken up a bit of time with posting flyers with a small 3 day kits explained and priced, by just going down to the local Dollar store. Lastly, I want to die from old age not starvation or an injury or by [be killed by] a nut, post-SHTF.

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Back when I first heard of survivalism, my first reaction was not "They must be crazy!" like most of my fellow liberals, but "That's a good idea." I realized that prepared people are our nation's life insurance: if America falls apart, the survivors will revive it. I still had faith in the government, but I admired independent people. After the Oklahoma City bombing, I realized that if the government can't even protect its own workers from a single man, it'll never be able to save us in a true disaster; I had to prepare for disaster myself. When I learned that McVeigh was a survivalist, I saw that thinking "the survivalists, whoever they are, will rebuild after I die in the collapse " was as naive as thinking "the government, wherever it is, won't let anything bad happen." Our nation is only as good as the people in it. If some evil people will survive a collapse, then I have to make sure that the good people who survive will outnumber them. I prepare because I want to be one of the good survivors. It's my God-given duty to be a part of this great nation, and if America breaks down it will be my duty to rebuild it as an even better nation.

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Our founding fathers created this great Republic to be a beacon of hope for humanity. Every day that we exist we prove their point that when government is small people are big – then miracles happen.

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When you see the rain coming, you take an umbrella. When it rains, you open it. How can I not prepare to survive with so many storm clouds clearly visible: economic maladjustment, hedonistic society, government growth into incompetency, and imminent crop failure, both in the US and abroad? Sticking my head in the sand is a death warrant. Period. Maybe not all of the storms will hit but all have the potential to be nasty...very nasty. I have a chance with a plan and some extra supplies. Without a plan, I would wander aimlessly or panic, becoming easy pickings for the predators that will certainly arise. With a plan I have fortitude of spirit and the knowledge that most of those I interact with in troubling times will not have a plan, leaving me with an advantage. Maybe a slim advantage, but that may be all I need to come out alive. I pity the countless souls that will come to a sad end because they didn't or wouldn't pay attention to the gathering storm clouds.

Here is the first round of responses to this question: Those who are well educated enough to see a societal collapse of some sort or another in the making fall into two groups, the merrymakers and the preparers. The merrymakers don't see life worth living post-SHTF, so they live it up now. We on SurvivalBlog are the preparers and have chosen to survive, but why? Our children? To rebuild civilization? Because the collapse will only be temporary? Because we can and we're stubborn with a stronger than normal will to survive? The following is just the first batch of responses. I plan to post at least one more batch. Please send your responses (one paragraph or less) via e-mail, and I will post them anonymously.

The survivalist is an optimist -- not merely because he/she thinks he'll make it through the crisis, but because of the (possibly subconscious) hope that something good will emerge in the aftermath. It's the logic of any kind of apocalyptic thought... Theological systems that have a conception of a climactic struggle or an "end times" imagine that, after Armageddon, we'll see the dawning of a new age. Not surprisingly, a lot of Hollywood movies follow this script, too: After the aliens are defeated, for example, in "Independence Day", mankind stands united, having put aside their differences; After catastrophic weather changes in "The Day After Tomorrow," the planet begins to heal itself, etc. Heck, this theme can be seen, too, in your fine book, "Patriots". In the same way, I plan to live not only because I'm stubborn and have a finely-tuned sense of justice -- and thus hate the idea of turning over the planet to looters, thugs, and others who would prey on the innocent -- but also because I'm both curious and hopeful about what will emerge as society reconstitutes itself.

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My modest preparation springs from the knowledge that I and the Lord are the protectors of my family (there are five of us). Our ultimate trust is in Him, but it is on me to do what I reasonably can do to protect my family from in the event of hardship and/or disaster. (After watching [Hurricane] Katrina, it seems apparent that the government cannot do that.) Anyone reading your web site thinks that there is at least a fathomable chance that our nation's run of blessing/luck will end (or be suspended) at some point in the future. Nothing lasts forever. If and when that time comes, I would never forgive myself if my family suffered unnecessarily because I did not take reasonable steps to prepare for such a time. In addition to that, it's just plain fun to learn about this stuff. (Anyone who says otherwise is lying!)

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Because the alternative is inconceivable to me!

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I’m currently going through some things in my life that are agonizing (but subject to change) and make things feel almost hopeless for me at times, yet every day I wake up again and thank God that he breathed the breath of life into me. I won’t waste that breath. I’m motivated to prepare to survive and overcome by many factors. Here are some examples:

I’m a 7th generation descendant of a settler in my current state and I’m motivated to survive by the risks my settler ancestors took, the struggles they went through, the multiple battles they fought in, the children they lost prematurely and the price they paid to be here. I recently visited some of their graves for the first time. I see it as my responsibility, honor and duty to live freely and survive. The stock I am from is cut out for it.

I prepare to survive because I’m ultra conservative, at times feeling like an endangered species or “minority” and I’m tenaciously defiant to those who would like to see my “kind” exterminated. I am equipped with a few trusted friends that are peers in regard my views (though mostly surrounded by sheeple) and have inspired some to begin to prepare. I discern a negative spiritual force is taking action to see my country’s sovereignty given away. I am motivated to be a hindrance to that spirit. My country is worth saving.

I prepare to survive because as a young man I swore an oath to uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States, despite the fact that there have been some truly sorry individuals working to undermine that Constitution since before I was born. I intend to see my oath fulfilled.

I prepare to survive because I read "Patriots", awoke to how fragile our economy really is and saw how foolishly I’d been behaving in the past (assuming life would always be normal) and am in the process of repenting of any residual foolish, sheeple-like attitudes and habits I have.

I prepare to survive because I’ve been in a city where gasoline was temporarily not available and walked through the local grocery store at 3:00 AM (less crowded) and have seen the store shelves stripped of food for a short period of time. It’s pretty convincing you need to prepare when the fuel in the tank of your vehicle and few 5 gallon cans (at the time) may be all you’ll have for a while.

I prepare to survive because if things ever Schumerize I have multiple skill sets that can help a number of people in a number of survival situations. I believe I was created to help people, when possible. I gather info, educate, discuss and leave food for thought for those who are unprepared, but willing to listen and consider my views on the subject.

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Why an I preparing? For the simple reason that I live in the middle of the midwest. Bad winters, heavy snow, and ice storms. The rest of the year heavy rain , floods, tornados, et cetera. You can't depend on the government to come through when needed, so if you don't have what you need than you are SOL! You have to be able to get by on what you have or fabricate something to do the job needed. I haven't depended on the government to help and I really don't think they have the capacity any more if ever. It will be your self and friends and neighbors pulling together that will make the difference. I prepare for me and mine so that we may be able to help others if need be. I've traveled extensively in South America, off the beaten path, and if you don't have what you need or can fabricate it than you should not be there. The same goes for having all your ducks lined up at home.

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I'm a Jesuit educated 38 year old Bachelor, Eagle Scout, USMC Gulf War Vet, working for a major aerospace company in Seattle. The reason I'm preparing is I inherited ~$500K from my grandfather, who sold the family farm in California to housing developers. He worked hard for all of us and I don't want that blessing of wealth to be squandered. I'm preparing because being prepared is what's been beat into my head since I was a kid. You can't play the "victim" card on the Four Horsemen.

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Why do I prepare? Probably because I read too much science fiction as a child! Probably because surviving is so much more interesting than succumbing. Born in the late 1950s, I remember bomb shelter salesmen and diving under my desk during A-bomb drills. I always assumed something, a war, or a pandemic, could change life as I knew it. It never occurred to me not to want to survive. Both my parents were alive during the depression, and that contributed to not taking food/housing for granted. Perhaps my uncle, who survived Bataan, or my aunt, who was a prisoner of war in the Philippines, might also have had something to do with my mindset?

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Because I believe that life is worth living, and I have no intention of simply "biting the dust" unless I give it the old college try. I believe that trying and ultimately failing is far better than not trying at all.

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Bottom line: I owe it to my family to be prepared. I could not bear to look into their eyes as they look to me for help and have to say "Sorry."

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I am a preparer. Not because I'm smarter than anyone else, but because from what I see, there just is no other choice. I do it for my family; my beloved husband who humors me but thinks I'm slightly nuts, my grown children who love me but roll their eyes whenever I speak about what is happening around us. look, I don't have any college degree or any fancy smarts, no one would call me well educated. But I can see what I can see. I read, study, research and from my angle, we are gonna be toast and I bet my surly one eyed cat that it will be ugly. so I plod along doing the best I can when can. I don't have a retreat, I don't have a bunker or fallout shelter, I don't have 10 acres or two years worth of food. But I've got God. I keep plodding on doing the best with what I have and I know He takes care of the rest.Will we survive the whatever that comes? Heck if I know. But I'm a fool if I do not give it my best shot.

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As a man of firm Christian beliefs, I believe all our days are numbered and have value. In those number of days we are to protect and provide for our our own selves, our families and so on. Examples in scripture are numerous how people were commanded to defend their homes, their cities, their neighbors, and their land. Unless we (like some were) are destined to go into Babylonian captivity I see no other proper choice.

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I am taking what steps I feel necessary to survive in a societal collapse of infrastructure because I realize that the more intricate a system of living becomes, the more possible facets of failure are therefore created. As the machine known as Society grows in scale and complexity, so do the required aspects of its function; increasing the number of things that can go wrong, thus eventually causing a critical failure of the system. With the statistical (and historical) inevitability staring one in the face, how can someone not do everything within your power to be prepared?

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I feel its my duty to four fathers, kids, grand kids, friends, although they are getting harder to find these days, an it just feels like the right thing to do,also its interesting,fun, a great learning expense,i spend hours on your site an i want to really thank you for it. I'm sure you make money off of it an you should, but I'll bet you are the type of person that really believe in what you do. I love my guns an have about 25 [of them], I try to go to the range at least three times a week, its the most relaxing time in my life ,by myself or with someone, I'm sure a lot of people don't understand, I love the military weapons a lot, I have .303s, Mausers, and others. I'm proud of my beliefs, thanks.

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I consider preparing my Christian duty. I'm also stocking up lots of extra food, clothing, and so forth for charity, which is also my Christian duty.

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Myself, I am what would be called a "millennialist" based on my beliefs from the Bible. The majority of mankind is stupid and sinful. Thousands of years and we are still doing the same mistakes over and over. I do not believe in any Gene Roddenberry vision where mankind, by its own efforts, rises from the ashes and evolves into a benevolent a Star Trek society. Nothing sort of divine intervention will save us in the long run from permanent self-destruction----Now aren't I a cheerful one to invite to a social gathering?;)

Just for the record, I'm not one of those nuts that believe in trying to hasten or encourage the Second coming The world is dong a fine job all by itself.

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While I had read about survivalism and planning for a couple of years, the importance of having some sort of plan didn't hit me hard until I was living in the South, had a new baby, and [Hurricane] Katrina hit. All of a sudden the importance of having an evacuation plan, supplies, and a known destination to retreat to were very important. I am not as prepared as many of the readers, but I know where to go and what I'll do when I get there. Also, thanks to some great books on small farming and some great advice on here I know how to avoid some real pitfalls.

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I’m preparing to survive for my wife and my children, because I can and because it gives me a feeling of confidence. I say “because I can” since most of my acquaintances don’t have a clue of the probable upcoming changes in society, but of those that do have a clue they can’t prepare for survival. They can’t prepare for survival because they’re financially tapped out by having been brainwashed into living on credit today figuring somebody else will take care of them tomorrow, but it won’t be me.

And it drives me nuts. A 45 year old single female friend of my wife owns a boat, owns a camper, had two vehicles, bought a scooter and recently bought a house within the last two years. When I first started preparing for survival, my wife made a comment to her about it and her friend said when the SHTF “we’ll all be as snug as a bug in a rug.” I said“What do you mean we? I think you need to make your own preparations.”

I used to try and educate our acquaintances but have started taking more of an inquiring approach with regards to what they think are the possible upcoming changes in society. A couple we know refinanced their house to buy a travel trailer but they only camp within 45 minutes of their house because they can’t afford the gas and their tow vehicle is not reliable. I asked the husband what he thought was coming in the future, he said he figured things were going to get pretty bad. But then they just put down a deposit on a trip to Hawaii so I’ve got to figure you just can’t help people like this.

And it’s not that I wouldn’t help anybody, I saw value in a comment on your web site with regards to helping neighbors and I will. (Is it okay if I only help the ones I like?). We live in a conventional neighborhood and I wish we didn’t but at this point it would take too much of our resources to move to a property with more land. So our best defense is to bond with the good neighbors but I don’t want all our irresponsible acquaintances coming to live with us.

We have a good life and are lucky to be able to make preparations for what may come. And I am thankful for every additional day I have to get better prepared.

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I am preparing to survive because I believe the threats to our way of life are manifold. We are in a global war. China strength's grows, our borders are not protected. Our government is shredding the constitution. Natural disasters, environmental concerns, the basic depravity and selfishness of man--its reason enough. I was a volunteer during [Hurricane] Katrina. Not one person who had preps, was sorry. Many other equivalent societies in this century have fallen, why is America better ? It is inevitable, one disaster will prove the wisdom of preparing.

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1. Life is worth living.
2. I want to be around if there is any defending of this nation to be done.
3. Who said one can’t prepare and merrymake? (I guess it depends on one’s interpretation of ‘merrymake’).

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It's something that was raised in me. Whether it was the Boy Scout's motto of always being prepared, or just the human instinct of survival, if I see something on the horizon, I won't back down. Not to mention I get to justify spending a lot of money on camping gear and guns, my two favorite hobbies.

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We are trying to prepare because it is the right and responsible thing to do for our family, friends, neighbors, and country. If we all became part of the solution, then there would be no problem.

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Jim, I grew up in the bomb shelter/Cold War era. A neighbor two houses down actually dug out their front yard to install a bomb shelter. My folks had a rudimentary bug-out bag and we always kept a month's worth of food on hand. Hey, for the 1950s, that was progressive thinking so I guess I come by being into preparedness naturally.

I hold advanced degrees but my education does not get in the way of exercising common sense. It is obvious that our complex society is too interdependent to survive major interruptions and we have numerous examples to look at (the L.A. riots, Hurricane Katrina, and such). To believe that a major interruption of services could not occur is delusional. The empirical evidence is right in front of us. The family which is prepared has far fewer worries.

Do I believe we are headed for TEOTWAWKI? Not particularly. Do I believe that we will see significant disruptions that will affect us for 10 days or so? Yes, definitely. Disruptions lasting to 30 days or beyond? Less likely, but I maintain a "year's supply" nonetheless. Also, my Church has preached being prepared for years. Our leaders have constantly cajoled us to have a year's supply of food and other necessities and my guess is they know something we haven't heard yet.

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Most pundits state that human beings are constantly evolving. The point they have ignored or can't see is that the evolvement of the human race in the last 50 years has been a deterioration, not an advancement. We survivalists are, quite frankly, throwbacks to the pure genotype that got us to this point in time.

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I prepare because the end is nigh (at least TEOTWAWKI), and there will be a lot of merry-makers who suddenly changed their minds, post-collapse. If you're prepared and you decide the going is too rough, you can always quit,but if you're not prepared, your options are zero. You're done. Besides, my family is Finnish, and we're stubborn SOBs. You can always tell a Finn, just not much...

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I prepare to survive because I see it as part of the natural cycle of human civilization. Something in us wants to forget the lessons of what makes us a great society and start living on borrowed riches and capabilities. Eventually, that living beyond our means catches up with us via a natural disaster, economic collapse or societal conflict.

If we were not to prepare to survive then we are doomed to fail and live miserably under the dictates of someone else. If we prepare we are not guaranteed to have prepared for the right situation, or enough, but at least we have a much better than average chance. In the end, I am an optimist. No matter how bad things get they will eventually get better. We can speed up our own recovery and that of our community’s by preparing now. If we do not, then we may end up wallowing in misery and struggling for the barest necessities. Is that the kind of life God wants for us? I think not. I believe God wants us to live wisely and prepare to prosper under all conditions. That takes discipline and short-term sacrifice.

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Jim, your blog rocks. I only hope that I can learn and earn fast enough to take advantage of the incredible information that your forum provides before TEOTWAWKI.

I have a beautiful 6 month old son who is totally innocent to the ways in which TPTB (the powers that be) are systematically destroying nature, American Democratic principles and threatening the survival of humanity. He deserves a chance in this life, regardless of whether or not he'll ever get to visit Sam's Club, get a college scholarship, drive a V-8 or own an iPod.

When things start to get dicey, and as the world as we know it begins to fall apart - most likely permanently- he will be just coming up in age and entering what should be the most wondrous years of a child's life.

For him, and for my future children, I will fill their youthful imaginations with nature, tools, projects, outdoor adventure and practical knowledge. Before I let the idiot-box and America's media-driven junk-culture destroy their understanding of their place in God's kingdom (and the animal kingdom), they will know what to eat and how to hunt it, how to garden, how to fix stuff and how to avoid trouble in a society that in the future will eventually fail entirely by trying to eliminate all risk of failure here in the present.

They will be encouraged to learn practical trades: veterinary sciences, engineering, construction, medicine and alternative medicine, martial arts, food production and off-the-grid technology solutions.

No bankers, real-estate agents, financial analysts, politicians or computer graphic designers in this family, Jim. No sireeee bubba.

I have always believed that those people who want to throw God's gift of life away through risk, recklessness, attempted suicide or plain old bad lifestyle habits are doomed to live longer.

I have also questioned since1987 when the U.S.S. Stark got hit by our"allies" escorting black gold in the Persian Gulf how long our cheeseburger-driven, cheap-oil, fiat-money, fake-friends and fear of loss-driven society can keep going.

Therefore I will survive this impending paradigm-shift in human existence in order to see my children prevail into adulthood, and for my morbid curiosity to see how all this B.S. I have put up with my entire life winds-up in the end of my days.

It won't be easy however. Here in Texas, not 1 in 1000 people has a clue what might be coming in the next few years. Even after [Hurricane] Katrina pushed a not-so-golden horde of 150,000 low income welfare dependents onto the greater Houston area. I guess that bad stuff only happens to others, right?

I'll be heading for the hills soon enough I hope, and taking my brood to a more austere, self-sufficient and remote lifestyle before Sugar Land Texas becomes a looter's paradise.

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At first I prepared because it was an American act of self-reliance. Now, after all the weird looks and puzzled expressions, I get to have the biggest 'I told you so' in my lifetime.

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Great question. Do I have an answer? Yeah a couple. Peace of mind in these troubled times is the main one. We buy insurance for everything except peace of mind. Our power goes off we start our transition to alternatives without a worry. Lights, power,shelter, water, communication ability goes on. Food is here to be eaten fuel to use without need to purchase, cash on hand no worries. Another reason we do what we do is because "I" feel it's my responsibility to my family. Part of my responsibility as a husband and a father is prepare to take care of them no matter what happens next I can't sleep knowing I could have, but I didn't. It's a philosophy of maintaining the status quo to then have the time and resources to help others. It's about being "ahead of the game." It's about life and meeting it's changes head on, never stopping head down and moving constantly on forward to whatever it is that is next in life.

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My reason is: why give up? I have fought to hard in this life to just roll over and die.

Many people tend to think about survival as if it where an on/off switch, black or white reality. You have a relatively nice, normal life, such as the world most first world citizens live in these days, and suddenly you have a SHTF event and you go into Post-SHTF mode all of a sudden, meaning people start carrying their load bearing vests full of mags, with their SHTF rifle of choice, scavenging around the ruins of the city, shooting trespassers and burying them in the back yard.
This is all very cool to talk about, its fascinating in a Hollywood kind of way, and I love to discuss possible scenarios until 4 AM but it bothers me to think that people are actually losing perspective of what may occur, others scenarios that are much more likely than what people fantasize about.
I’m a moderator over at the survival forums at WarRifles.com, and I can tell you, If only I had a dime for every time I’ve read people writing stuff like “Now you can’t get away with it, but post-SHTF, I’ll put up “Trespassers will be Shot! “ signs and I’ll shoot trespassers as soon as I see them setting foot on my property.”
I simply have to ask: What on Earth makes you believe that you can get away with that?
The usual reply is that there will be no law or government to bring you to justice and judge you, every man for himself.
Now, I don’t want to urinate on anyone’s barbeque, but didn’t anyone consider that the government and police won't disappear as if by magic after TSHTF?
Instead of just disappearing as so many people hope, what if they just go corrupt and/or inefficient? Meaning, they wont be there to protect you, but they will be there to take you away if you shoot someone 100 yards away without a clear threat to your life, or even take away your guns, as seen after Hurricane Katrina.
My personal situation doesn’t apply to all possible scenarios, but it’s a text book economical collapse, pretty much typical and it applies to many type of medium-to-long term crises. From the great Depression to Russia after the fall of communism, there are many parallels.
I kept contact through a survival forum with a guy that moved to USA from Africa, and the parallelisms and similarities between my own country in South America and South Africa where more than I would have thought, specially concerning street smarts and crime. You can go into some of the worst parts of the country, where most people don’t have potable water or sewers and hook illegally to the main power line, and there are just a few business that are pretty much standard in most poor neighborhoods.
There’s the evangelist church or sometimes catholic church depending on where you are, some kind of school/community kitchen where most kids get they one and only meal, where maybe a small primitive emergency room operates nearby. There’s entertainment, meaning a Bingo or small casino and a brothel, an then you have the local commercial road or street, where a gray/black market operates in a warehouse or empty lot nearby, a Third World version of the upper neighborhood’s mall and shopping centers that can be found in the same country.
None of this goes on on the wealthier neighborhoods, but its pretty standard along the poorest parts of the country.
One thing that never ceases to amaze me, is that no matter how poor the neighborhood is, there’s always a “Lawyer” sign, hanging in a house near the market or commercial part of town, sometimes simply written by hand with paint.
No matter how Third Worldly the country gets, there’s always place for judges, cops, and lawyers. Those guys are like cockroaches after a nuke, they still survive.
Just think for a second, and consider the huge justice and government apparatus. Think about the millions of people that work there.
I’m not trying to preach to the choir here, just help people understand that in the huge spectrum of SHTF possibilities, from an isolated incident where to you just have to spend a day or two without water or power, to a full scale nuclear war, Armageddon-like earthquake or invasion from China, their favorite scenario where society goes down but governmental institutions, police force and justice system simply vanish in thin air, allowing you to step up and take charge of things in you area as you see fit.
Hope I provided a bit of food for thought. Take care, everyone.

Jim:
I read a good posting on the blog [by Bryan A.] that unfortunately made me chuckle. Those of us who are first responders (cops, firefighters, etc.) will confirm that the usual mantra of “three days” of preps is excessively optimistic. In fact, FEMA is quietly (or not so, depending on who you ask) telling folks a minimum of ten days. In a briefing last year by a major Puget Sound USAR director, he stated that in his opinion, 10 days is minimum. This is an actual Region 10 director, contrary to what the government says (who did respond to Hurricane Katrina). Three days for supplies to get to someplace is wholly dependant on the ability to get to the region. Far more days elapsed in Katrina affected regions due to the impassibility of so many roadways, especially into rural areas. In a briefing by a New Orleans, Louisiana police department SWAT officer, even their supplies were drowned by the toxic flooding, causing them to go well outside the area to acquire foodstuffs, fuel, etc. (and yes, causing some station houses to loot stores under the disgusting idea that it was for the greater good).

In the windstorm we experienced in the Seattle Metroplex area last winter, there were whole neighborhoods stranded and without out even power for anywhere from 3 to 14 days. Vehicles couldn’t even access some areas until power lines and trees could be cleaned up. One neighborhood in the city that I patrol in had power out for six days, and they were across the street from the city hall! They were the unlucky folks to be at the extreme end of a power grid.

When asked by folks, I warn them to plan for 15 days as a minimum. I get many shocked looks. A recent evaluation of the region showed that over 90% of folks didn’t even have the basic minimums (three days), as easily evidenced by the panic buys of the usual candles, matches, batteries, flashlights, fuel, etc. No wonder people seem shocked. Best Regards, - MP in Seattle

Dear Mr. Rawles,
Recently a fellow posted asking about firefighting options. If he wants advice about firefighting and resources to do so, he might want to look into joining his local Volunteer Fire Department (VFD).
Fire departments are the first ones (along with law enforcement) to be summoned to any natural or man-made disaster. For this reason, almost all fire departments (including the VFDs) prepare, trains themselves for disaster! 75% of the fire departments in the United States are manned by volunteers. All [of them] are always looking to add men to their rosters.
While one might think that all the local VFDs do is fight fires, they actually perform many services and have great training that would be quite useful for the average Joe.
One great advantage to being in the VFD is that you not only know what resources your municipality may have for dealing with a disaster, you know how they are going to use those resources and can make your preparations accordingly. Simply put, you know how the municipality is going to respond, so you can tailor your preparations to address at the personal level the areas where the municipalities preparations are lacking.
As far as training, pretty much everything is available: Basic First Aid, Advance First Aid, Certified First Responder, EMT-A, EMT-B, etc. All at no charge to the individual. Aside from first aid, there’s training on handling Weapons of Mass Destruction scenarios, Hazardous Materials, Mass Casualty Scenarios, Decontamination, etc. That’s in addition to firefighting training.
Many departments actually have retirement benefits even though it’s a volunteer gig; my department pays a $400 a month pension when I’m 62 if I stay active in the company for 20 years. May not sound like much, but that will pay my property and school taxes for the year! Also, after five years in the company I get a 10% break on my property taxes.
Since the departments are volunteer, a fellow can pick different jobs within the department. Not everyone is cut out physically to run into burning building or cut drunks out of car wrecks. Some folks are just drivers, some are Fire Police, others are scene support. There are different positions for different degrees of physical ability.
Another big plus is now that the Department of Homeland Security has implemented a standardized National Response Plan (NRP) and National Incident Management System (NIMS), there has been an impetus to standardize protocols between departments on things such as identification. In my company we receive county/state issued ID cards that have our name, photo, physical description and identify (in my case) the bearer as a Firefighter in the (name of town) Fire Department. On the back are the state seal and county seal. In the event of Bad Times, this ID can be a big help in getting around.
Also helpful in getting around can be the special license plates and authorized emergency vehicle lights. In a disaster when civilian traffic may be barred from the roads, such markings can be useful.
Since I’ve been in my company, I’ve learned the following things that can help my family and I in an emergency:
I know what the local municipalities disaster plans are. I know what resources are available and I know how long they will last. In short, I know how long before the refugees become a hungry mob.
At no cost to me I got credentialed as a Certified First Responder.
I learned all the 'ins and outs' of the county’s communication systems. I know where all the repeaters are, how much fuel they have and what frequencies all the local agencies use.
In the event of a smallpox or Avian Flu pandemic, I will be one of the first people vaccinated and will be assisting in the distribution of vaccine to others (meaning that I will make sure my family gets theirs in a timely manner!).
I persuaded my company to avail itself of Federal programs that allow for first responder agencies to purchase (for a nominal fee) surplus military equipment. Our company has pallets of MREs (ostensibly to feed the crews during wildfires), we have trailer mounted military generators (for when power to the municipality goes out and we need to power the local emergency shelter) and are currently looking at several other useful ‘dual-purpose’ items.
Probably the best thing is that I have learned how preparation pays off. It is one thing to prepare for social collapse; there are no rehearsals or try-outs. Society collapses or it doesn’t and you are prepared or you are not. In firefighting, I have learned first hand how being prepared before hand can affect things; I understand now that every night, without fail, my hat and keys go in the exact same place, that my boots, pants and shirt go in the exact same place, so that when I have 30 seconds to clear the building at zero dark thirty, I’m not frantically searching for my keys. My turnout gear is always painstakingly stowed in a very precise and careful manner so that when the call comes the 10 minutes I took to carefully stow it allows me to go from flammable to fire-proof in 60 seconds. My privately owned vehicle (POV) is parked with the radio off, electronics pre-set, etc. so that when I jump in to respond to a call and start the ignition, the tape player doesn’t come on blaring music that drowns out my fire pager leaving my in the dark about where I am headed. All little things to be sure, but tricks learned from repetitive experience.
How does this translate to preparing with my family? I have a much better understanding of how carefully thought out and meticulous planning can pay off in an emergency. - Regards, R.V.

One of the recent phrases the media has used almost to exhaustion is, "dirty" bomb. A dirty bomb, or radiological dispersion device (RDD) is basically an explosive device with some element of radioactivity attached, or some other means of distributing radioactive particulate matter. When detonated, it releases radiation in the form of dust or debris, which is harmful mostly when inhaled, or introduced into the body by other means, (eyes, open cuts, etc.). The main terror use of such a weapon would be to contaminate emergency services workers responding to the initial blast. In the 1990s, Chechen rebels reportedly placed such a device in a park in Moscow, They used no explosive or other means to announce it's presence; they just let it sit there and expose passers by to radiation until it suited their needs to tell the Russians it was there. They could just as well have spread the material on the ground and let people track contamination wherever they went.
What if you live near a nuclear reactor/facility? First off, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission controls all nuclear facilities in the United States. The NRC strictly controls and governs safety and security of all nuclear facilities. They mandate a "layered" approach to security systems, with redundant perimeter controls, and a dedicated, heavily armed reactive force of trained professionals. The chances of a successful attack on a facility by terrorists is slim and none, and "slim" just left town. In addition, the safety systems are layered to provide backups to backups, especially the critical cooling systems. In the event of a release of radiation, the public would be notified, and given instructions to follow, such as whether to evacuate, or to stay in their homes.
Contrary to popular belief, a detonation/release of either type would not be a "death ray, heat wave" type situation. In both situations, the radiation would come in the form of particulate matter, and affect the population according to proximity and winds at the time. For example, in both situations, depending on the direction of the wind, you could be five feet away from the release and not be affected, or be a half-mile away and receive a dose. This is why winds are important, and are taken into account by emergency officials when evaluating nuclear events. This is why having both a "bug out" (which we will call, dramatically, an 'egress' plan), and a plan to stay at home are equally important. For example, have several routes planned for several different areas in at least two opposite directions. This takes into account wind direction, as well as other naturally occurring situations, (flood, fire, riots, etc.)
I'm sure some of us remember the "duck and cover" days (no, not me, I'm not that old), of the evil Soviet empire, launching missiles at our cities, envisioning Hiroshima-like mushroom clouds. There is an important lesson in the philosophy of those times, be prepared. Have a plan to deal with emergencies at home, while keeping yourself and your family safe, and one to leave your home, and go to a safe area.
Here, we'll discuss two strategies, the egress plan, and the stay at home plan.
Egress or "Bug Out" Plan.
In the event of a radiological release due to an incident at a nuclear facility or a terror detonation of a RDD type device. (This plan will also apply to natural disasters, rioting or other scenarios). Your best option may be to evacuate, leaving your home or workplace for a safer area as prompted by authorities. You'll notice I mentioned home and workplace. What would you do if you and your spouse are at work and the kids are at school? Do you have the means to contact them or retrieve them? What kind of emergency procedures do the schools have in place? Find out. You need to have contact numbers and be sure that everyone knows the plan. Another thing to keep in mind is that if you are leaving, everyone around you also has the same idea. This is why evacuation is to only be carried out if danger is imminent, and planning of at least two different routes to your safe area is critical. Picture rush hour with a "chicken little the sky is falling" mentality, that's what roads exiting a disaster area could resemble. A good idea is to have at least one of your routes on secondary roads, staying away from highways, as they could be generally congested. Your vehicle is critical. Keep it maintained. Think of your car as you would your duty weapon if you were a police officer. Take care of it, and it will take care of you. This means a spare tire, keeping gas in your tank and changing the oil, as well as regular maintenance. Keep road maps in your vehicle as well as a spare quart of oil, and spare antifreeze/coolant. A small emergency/bug out kit should be kept in all of your vehicles, and contain the following:
Non-perishable food items, MREs/canned meats.
At least 2 quarts of clean drinking water.
Matches or a fire source
Multi-tool or "Swiss army" type knife.
40' of rope capable of supporting 200 Lbs.
Duct tape, string, nails, etc.
Survival or thermal blanket.
Small first aid kit (bandages, antiseptics, bug repellent, pain medications)
This is a small compact kit, which can be assembled with around $25.00. You probably already have most of the items you will need in your garage. There are many different sources for MREs and survival foods on the Internet and in various publications, or you can pick up "SPAM" type canned meats at your local grocery store for around $1.00 a can. They have a shelf life of several years, and provide critical fats and calories when you need them most. The rope can be obtained at a local shopping center or sporting goods store. I picked up mine at a boating supply store. All of these items can be placed in a small backpack or duffel bag, or a great idea is a USGI surplus ammo can, also available on the Internet or a local army surplus store for around $5 each, They're airtight, waterproof, and strong. I use the ". 50 cal" can in my cars, and all of the items listed fit with room to spare. The idea here is to keep it compact, as it's going to stay in the vehicle. Also keep in mind that temperatures in a car trunk can soar into the triple digits in the summer and well below freezing in the winter. Checking the contents at least once a month is a good idea, and if you are using conventional tap water in containers, change the water at least once a year, cleaning out the containers before putting the fresh water in. I also carry a pair of good quality GMRS/FRS radios for communication with extra batteries if needed for communication.
A large "bug out bag" should be prepared for each family member and be stored in your home, or in cases of extreme heightened awareness, kept in your vehicle, some items to be considered for that:
Non perishable food for three days
Portable water for three days
Matches or other fire source.
Flashlight, spare batteries and spare bulbs.
Portable AM/FM radio with spare batteries
Survival type or thermal blanket.
Multi-tool or "Swiss army" type knife.
Portable pocket saw.
Small first aid kit, including insect repellent, and needed prescription medications
Small backpacking type, "pup tent" for shelter.
3 strong plastic garbage bags.
"Isolation" or particle/dust protective masks.
These items should be packed into a portable waterproof backpack, and need to be checked and maintained at least once every few months. (Author uses a frame type hiking pack) The Isolation masks can be purchased at a medical supply store and will provide inhalation protection against particulate matter; "Dust Masks" will also work for this application, and can be purchased at a hardware store. While these do not provide the level of protection as "Gas Masks", and Self Contained Breathing Apparatus, they will work for particulate matter. And, besides, personnel that wear this equipment are trained and individually fit tested for the equipment. Improper use of such masks can be more harmful than helpful. The author also recommends the use of chemical light sticks. Available from surplus, camping supply, and sporting goods stores for around $1.00 each. They are portable, bright, safe, and last for up to 12 hours. They can provide a good source of light for an area or can be used as a marker. Keep in mind that these should not be used to replace a flashlight and spare batteries.
Stay at home plan.
In some scenarios, leaving home may not be the best thing for you or your family. In those situations, you need to be prepared to stay in your home and be self sufficient for up to a week. A good idea is to have precut plastic sheeting cut and labeled for the windows and doors of your home. These can be affixed with duct tape and will prevent particulate matter that may contain harmful radiation from entering your home. Precutting the sheets and labeling them with marker will speed up the application process. It may be necessary to isolate your water supply from the outside, to prevent the introduction of harmful elements, know where your shut off valves are. Also keep in mind that you probably already have a 40-gallon fresh water supply in your house, your hot water tank. Most hot water tanks are equipped with a drain valve in the bottom and an intake shut off valve. Know where these are. In the event of a possible contamination of the water supply, you may need to turn off the flow of incoming water, and be able to use the water in the tank. A good idea if you are going to do this, however, is to purge you tank regularly. Sediments will build up in the bottom of the tank, and can be drained by the valve in the bottom. Just keep draining the water until it comes out clear. I have a couple of "camping style" 10 gallon blue [plastic] containers that are made for water that I keep filled in the event they are needed. These have handles for ease of transport and do not affect the taste of the water during prolonged storage. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) recommends at least one gallon of water, per person, per day, for at least three days. I feel that this is a good guideline, as studies have shown that three days is the average time it takes for outside aid to reach disaster areas and begin distribution to the public.
Food is also crucial. Again, you will need enough food for each family member for at least three days. It's a good idea to keep a supply of non-perishable food items for all family members in portable plastic storage bins; these can also be purchased at a local department store for a few dollars. This will provide ease of transportation in the event relocation is required. You will need to check and rotate food stocks to keep them fresh and current.
One of the most important tools you can have during an emergency situation is communication. Local authorities already have contingency plans in place, and will pass the info on to you. However, you need a means of getting that information. A battery-powered radio is one of the most important ways of getting this information. Power supplies may be interrupted by disaster situations, accidents, or terrorist activity which makes self powered devices important.
All communities around nuclear power facilities as well as most major population centers have an emergency broadcast system, which may consist of sirens, public address (PA) speakers, television and radio broadcasts, and activation of local authorities. It's up to you to know what the audible sirens represent, and when to take action. Remember the words of George Santayana "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." Words to live by.
JWR Adds: In my opinion, having just a three day supply of food is overly optimistic. FEMA is not likely to come cahrging to the rescue in every neighborhood in just three days. So a three month supply of food with a three week supply of water (and the means to filter additional water that is gathered later) is more realistic. Also, it is important to consider charity for your neighbors. A five year supply of storage food for one family can also be a three month supply for 20 families, or a three day supply for 200 families.

Brian mentions sheet plastic and duct tape. Completely sealing a room (which of course he is not suggesting) would be suicidal. Commercially-made shelter air pumps and HEPA filter systems are sold by a number of Internet vendors including Ready Made Resources and Survival Logistics. (Please mention SurvivalBlog when you order.) Instructions on how to build improvised air pumps and filters can be found in the book Nuclear War Survival Skills, which is available for free download, courtesy of the Oregon Institute of Science and Medicine. Keep in mind that your air filter box must be isolated and/or shielded from the occupied portion of your shelter, since it will accumulate radioactive particulates.

Jim-
I'm just finishing up the nine-lesson [Citizen Corps] CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) training. I highly recommend it. Besides the very good information on dealing with a variety of scenarios, I really like the heavy emphasis on taking care of yourself and your family first. This gets constant reinforcement. So though the training is intended to help you be useful as a first responder, it is even more useful in helping you harden up your home, yourself and your family members.
Of course it's also a very good way to invite your neighbors into a local cohort group: instead of fending them off, you have a natural reason for engaging them in getting into CERT, and therefore themselves becoming more self-reliant as well. - Bob B.

Hi Jim,
Love your web site! I live just on the outskirts of Apex, NC which is basically a suburb of Raleigh.One week ago, as you know, a hazmat processing facility there had a huge chlorine gas leak that led to a massive industrial fire with multiple explosions and leaks of all kinds of nasty-kill-you-dead-chemicals leaking into the air. 17,000 people were evacuated from Apex that evening. You can read the complete story here.
What I want to share with my fellow SurvivalBlog readers is how that thing that "will never happen here" happens and the very real need for a ready bag and a plan for when to use it. Here's how it went down in Apex from my view. I was in a parking lot at a football game 5 miles away from Apex 11:30pm or so Friday night when I remarked to my friends about the lightning and thunder off in the distance. A few minutes later when all of my friend's cell phones began to ring, we knew something was up- and it wasn't a thunderstorm. All the wives talked about an evacuation of the town and chemical vapor plumes. At first, we thought someone was joking... but then, some had gotten a reverse-911 call telling them to evacuate the town, other's heard public address (PA) loudspeakers from fire trucks. Some were just outside the evac zone and wondered what to do. Some panicked, packed the kids in the car and drove 60 miles away. All of my friends live in Apex, I'm just outside of town. We were in the post-game gridlock with 60,000 other fans and going nowhere fast. What I quickly became aware of was the various reactions of my friends. One was clearly in denial and kept making jokes; another just rationalized the impending rainy weather and assured us all it would wash away the plume and that everyone was safe. Another one just spoke quietly to his wife on the cell phone. It was a startling thing to observe. I casually asked them if any of them had a gas mask in the house their wives could use if they need ed to drive out in a hurry. They just looked at me with raised eyebrows...I'm sure they ever considered that thought. One said, "I'll die with my family before I wear one of those!" I thought to myself, you know, you could likely drive them out of harms way with a mask on or, heaven forbid, have one for each of them! After we got out of the gridlock we drove to my place which was well outside the evac zone and better-yet, upwind. As we entered the garage I went over to the workbench and produced 2 chlorine gas rated respirators and said, here, take these, my full face mask is upstairs. You should have seen the stunned looks! They could not believe that I just walked into the garage and produced personal protective gear for them in under 10 seconds. I chose not to share with them the extent of my ability to deal with a variety of other situations. As it turned out, my friends stayed over and the wives sheltered in place as they were just 2/10 mile outside the evac zone. Not the heroic thing we wanted to do but the police had stopped all of the traffic and closed many roads into Apex. We were not going anywhere. As we drove back in today, each and every road into town had orange cones and a patrol car blocking any access. If you think there is no way the authorities could ever blockade your entire town, you are sadly mistaken. There were police from all over called in to help, fire crews from 50 miles away called in, and hazmat crews from other states on standby. It was the real deal yet it stemmed from a relatively small facility with only a few dozen employees. I'd hate to be unprepared and live downwind of a refinery or major chemical plant! It made me wonder about how we would fair if the nearby Nuke Plant had an evac order for all of Raleigh-Durham which approaches 1 million people in 4 counties. Or what would happen if a pandemic erupted in our town.
The most important take-aways I can share are these thoughts: We've had lot's of brutal hurricanes here over that last 20 years, most of us here know the drill. But that is not the hazard to prepare for- it's for the ones you don't think of all the time that you need to consider, the ones that happen to "other people", the ones that will "never happen here", that's what you should consider. Because, everything else, you can probably deal with already- you know, something goes bump in the night, duh, Annie get your gun! Really consider the "big ones" (for us, the Nuke Plant), pandemics, serious bio-terrorism, those are what you should give rational, considered thought to. Because, if you don't, you will be subject to the whims of authorities and the masses. And no one will be happy with that. - Sig

Jim;
Just a few notes about my experiences with Hurricane Katrina a year later. On the evening that Katrina passed our retreat, my partner and I began to make our way back to our homes (less than 30 miles) and businesses to secure them – (both firearms related). We chose to take different routes, him on foot, and me in my truck with my dogs & supplies. The routes required pushing and/or cutting trees, poles, fences and all manner of lines and debris from the road ways. The few roads that could be made passable with chain saws and simple tools tended to concentrate people and vehicles. While resting between swinging a chain saw (several folks were taking turns) one of my dogs (the cur) became highly agitated. Knowing her reputation for correctly gauging people I got a good grip on my [Model] 1911. As my truck window was already down (heat and humidity were horrible) I watched a character approach – he was intently looking into each vehicle he passed. Once he reached my truck he approached the driver’s side and wanted to buy gas that I was carrying (having it in the open was a mistake). I explained that it was not for sale – I would need it when I got home. Then he became very belligerent and indicated that he was going to take it to get to New Orleans. It became clear that the situation was critical, some with well practiced motion I introduced him to the 1911, at which point he wisely elected to be somewhere else. I realized that safety was off and I had taken up slack on on the trigger – I had committed to use deadly force in a split second, right or wrong. The event did diffuse the situation immediately and efficiently. It took 12 + hours to traverse less than 30 miles in the truck. My partner made the trip by hiking and catching a ride in less than 4 hours.
Over the period of the next few days the world took on a totally different aspect. We were under martial law – no firearms, ammunition,or alcohol and a sunset to sunrise curfew. As both our businesses were firearms related there was the need for a degree of security around the clock. The local law enforcement was stretched so thin as to be of no response value. As we are just north of the Mississippi/Louisiana border, the community grew from 12,000 to around 51,000 in a few days. Having prepared (largely in part to your novel "Patriots") we were able to meet those whom chose not to observe the curfew, and probe the “edges”, in a decisive manner. Generators helped light one of the businesses, but they are very noisy, so we had to depend on the dogs. In the other we chose to be completely dark, and depend on the dogs for early warning.
We learned that a schedule for sleep, chores, eating, and duty helped offset the elevated “wired” condition. In the planning I chose a home with a “artesian” free flowing well (~ 3-5 psi) , however without power for wells many folks uncapped free flowing wells in the area stopping the flow due to the relieved pressure points. Some municipal water was available on a limited basis. Water quality was a concern. With temperatures in the mid to high nineties and humidity there as well water for animals and electrolytes for people were hugely importantly (those containing sugar were not as effective, and seemed to be harmful).
We came through fine, and the lessons learned have been incorporated. Electricity took 17 days to [be restored to] my home and phone service [restoration] 10 weeks. No local government help was in evidence for five days. Almost all of the supplies and relief in the first few days came through the local churches (they were and still are the most effective distribution system). During events like these dealing with otherwise good people has severely changed our approach to people and denial. Some where near 80% of the people in the area are still not making any preparations against significant events. The mental toll it has taken on the community is still visible today.
Lessons Learned:
1. Carry what you need but keep as much out of sight as possible
2. Expect to have to dissuade those whom feel entitled to your supplies
3. The aspect of deadly force is an effective deterrent – be prepared to use it or abandon your provisions
4. Know and pay attention to your early warning systems – animal or electronic
5. Big dogs, and alert dogs are a great help
6. Practice, shoot, practice, plan, practice
The bottom line is, that in any event, there are unforeseen consequences. The time that you set down with your group and define what, when, and where will be of paramount value. Understand that some of the group may not make it (some of ours was trapped far away) the rest can and will have the resources available, and take up the slack, until such a time that all can join up. I do laugh easier, shoot more and plan more effectively now. Remember: technology may help but your brain will save your life! - DGS

Sir:
In my role as “the good citizen” and amateur radio operator, I have just competed a state sponsored FEMA “Incident Command System” class (IC-700). My worst concerns regarding bugging out from my coastal home in Connecticut were
confirmed at that class. Here in Connecticut we have no mass evacuation routes available or realistic plans in place to deal with a catastrophic scenario resulting in the exiting of the people who live in this area.
You see we already have quite an impressive rush hour traffic pattern which as gotten geometrically worse over the past 30 years. Back in 1976, the morning traffic heading to New York City (NYC) would be backed up starting about a half mile East of the
City of Stamford on I-95 (I-95 runs East-West in CT). Today, we (in CT) see traffic crawling through Bridgeport and stop and go from Westport down to Greenwich. This means that what would normally take 30 minutes to travel 25 miles now takes 90 minutes. And that is on a good day! All it takes is just one tractor-trailer accident to shut the highway down (or cripple it).
Now imagine a SHTF situation causing people fleeing NYC, Metro NYC and Coastal Connecticut...
The gridlock would be spectacular. As they say in the coun

Jim:
When I was a river [rafting] guide we used toilets made of [military surplus wooden] rocket boxes.
 
The premise is to take a large Army rocket box (a toilet lid fits inside ) and use double lined plastic bags and plenty of powdered lime. Regular old lime for the disinfectant.
 
We would use on of these on extended wilderness rafting trips for 30 or 40 people.
 
Here’s how it works. Set up the rocket box and remove the large roll of heavy black plastic trash bags. Take TWO bags and double bag them and line the inside of the box.
 
Set the lid on top and ONLY put toilet paper and feces in the box. All urine goes on the ground. After doing your business  take a small scoop of lime and sprinkle enough of the powder to cover the waste. After finishing, remove the seat and place the lid back on but don’t seal it. The next person comes along, takes the lid off (which keeps the flies out ) and puts the toilet seat on and does the same.
 
When a bag is full, remove it from the box, and tie off and then put it inside another bag in case of leaks.
 
This gets put in the trash bags for later disposal. ONE rocket box can handle about 30 people for a weekend easily going through 2 to 4 bags every 2 or 3 days. We always brought two, one for women and one for men. Once ready to break camp, we removed the bag of dump, put the bucket of lime, the roll of trash bags and the lid inside the box and sealed the lid.
 
This was VERY effective and met the U.S. Forest Service "pack it in, pack it out" rule.
 
Lime is a VERY good thing to stockpile. In addition to keeping the oders down on feces, it can also keep the odor down on rotting bodies, as will 20 Mule Team Borax. I use that for raw tanning hides and have some that have NEVER been chemical tanned and ONLY had Borax and are now going on 10 years with no hair slippage or odor. These are deer hides that I have made into rugs. - Mel

Mr. Rawles,
Please let me commend to your attention the website of the Suburban Emergency Management Project: http://www.semp.us/
This is an excellent website with material written by professionals but useful to laymen. There's more info on this site than I can assimilate in a week. Their "Biots" are short papers on a whole panoply of emergency preparedness topics. There are 340 of them, as of today. Some of my favorites are:

#334: "Please Remain in Your Seat": The Federal Government's Role in Quarantine (26 February, 2006)

#332: What Is "Earthquake Baroque" Architecture? (21 February 2006)

#259: Revisiting Looting Behavior during Disasters (6 September 2005)

#216: Lessons Learned from a Hospital Evacuation During Tropical Storm Allison (21 May 2005)

#179: A Palimpsest of Pandemic Influenza Preparedness Plans (25 February 2005)

#23 Who Was in Charge of the Massive Evacuation of Lower Manhattan? (26 September 2002)

Keep up the great work! - TFA303

James:
I was a bus driver for the evacuation of the New Orleans Convention Center and figure that I should put my two cents in worth.We drove straight through from Ohio to a staging point (LaPlace) in New Orleans and were escorted to the Convention Center. This was on Saturday morning around 9 a.m. New Orleans time about a week after the dikes let go. We were lucky not to be in the first wave that came into the Super Dome earlier in the week as we heard they were still ordering parts to repair the busses that got busted up when they got mobbed. [By the time that our busses arrived] they had the evacuees fenced off a block from out busses and they only let through enough to load one bus at a time. They were literal bag people and brought what they had in bags and we loaded them up and took off to wait for a escort. We went to a staging site to get the escorts for our first leg of the trip and for all the busses to form up. There were ten in our convoy. We did not know where were going. We were told in Ohio we were going to Texas, but when we got to the staging area we were told we were going to Arkansas. Fort Smith to be exact a old WWII training base with some of the barracks restored. The evacuees needed off the bus to use the restroom and we were told not to let anyone off, but the call of nature reigns, so we let everyone off to pee and smoke before heading for Arkansas. The back story for not letting people off the bus (which we learned couple days later) was that they did this at another location and the people would not return to the bus in a timely manner and looted the site they had stopped at. The number one item looted was alcoholic beverages...so no stops anymore was the order of the day...
We had little food on board, just what folks in Ohio gave us to give to people, Vienna sausages, sardines, and water. Some of the other buses were luck in that they had pallets of MREs and water at the Convention Center and those at the end of the line were loaded up with them for the trip...
We started for Fort Smith with the escorts switching when jurisdictions changed. We were not briefed on the trip and it turned out they were not going to stop for anything. About five hours into the trip the last five busses in the convoy (we were the second bus, but everyone kept passing us) got off the highway and went to a travel center that was turned into a rest
stop for evacuees. Boy talk about a needed break. We needed to get out of the drivers seat for a while. Most of the busses had two drivers and a few had only one. We had two and learned latter that is what FEMA required for the trips, but some companies only sent one driver per bus. We drove straight through from Ohio to Fort Smith switching off every five hours or when we got sleepy. All DOT regulations were suspended for the emergency, no log books, no hours of service everything was suspended. We were running on agricultural fuel as they were so short of over the road fuel. The agricultural fuel is tax free and dyed red, so that the DOT can catch illegal use of non-taxed fuel. Anyway the stop was a evacuees dream come true, A tent with mostly new clothes and other items free for the taking and heater meals and water to drink and flush toilets. Speaking of toilets we did have a toilet on the bus and had to open it up. We were told by the company to keep it locked up, but on a non stop trip that was not going to happen. More on this subject, later. :O(((
We got our break and we told everyone on the bus when they heard us honk the air horn to get back to the bus or they were going to be left behind.
Everyone got back on the bus, but many got on another bus as they did not remember which bus they had been on. So off for Fort Smith again...the next two stops were for fuel as some of the busses had small tanks and did not get topped off at the staging point..We had a 210 gal tank and had topped off just before getting into the affected area as we did not know what the fuel situation was..We saw several mile-long lines at gas stations after we refueled and were happy we refueled when we did.
We got into Fort Smith at 5:30 am and were told no one off the busses....well that did not happen, our toilet was full and the evacuees had been on the bus some 20 hours and needed to stretch their legs and get something to eat. They had busses lined up what seemed like a mile on base. We could not figure out what was going on. We let the evacuees off as there
was a mess hall serving food, but they could not remove any items from the bus. Well it was 7 PM before they off loaded from our bus and the local authorities were stripping everything off the busses and going through everything and I mean everything. They took all our water and food off, so we did not have anything for any other evacuee we might be hauling, and they went through everything the evacuees had. They were looking for weapons and alcohol in particular and anything that might be considered looted items.
So expect to get searched. If it is a biological or chemical issue then expect everything you got to be trashed and then you will be issued clean items to wear and sleep in.
Anyway, we went to a hotel and spent the next day cleaning the bus up. The smell was unimaginable from the sardines and people who had not showered for a week or more and the toilet, which we dumped the next day...but we were lucky..on some of the buses people just went where they were and there were wet seats and other stuff laying around.  It looked like a party was going on with all the whiskey and wine bottles we found...
We heard that they relocated everyone from Fort Smith to smaller sites like Bible camps in the middle of nowhere and the evacuees were told they were not allowed to leave the site, but then again some of these sites were several miles from anywhere, so they had nowhere to go... The evacuees had no idea of where they were going when evacuated, some were flown to other places, some were bussed. Families were split up and they had no idea of where the rest of the family was. One story going around was that a lady wanted to know where her father was going and the guard she was talking too did not understand and she explained they put him on the plane that had just taken off, separating the family. They did not keep track of anyone and where they were going. They dealt with this issue once they got evacuees to a shelter/final destination.
We did not carry any more evacuees even though we were there for three weeks, sometimes sleeping on the busses due to lack of housing. It was very chaotic, more than what I am used to, out on disasters. I did enjoy my three weeks as my past disaster experiences prepared me for this one. The only regret was not being able to stock up on all the MREs that they had lying around. Pallets of them...I just got one or two at a time for meals...
I have been out on disasters for over ten years now and they are all chaotic at best especially the big events. They are too big to get a handle on in short order. They can take from days to weeks to get out of the chaos stage and into some kind of organization. The politics can be horrible to say the least...
If you have not been through one first hand and want to see what it is like before you are affected by such an event find a humanitarian aid organization and volunteer to go out on a or several disasters. It is a eye opening experience and very good to understand what you might be going through if an event happens in your area.
My take on the Asian Avian flu is that we will be sheltered in place which is isolation of the people infected with bird flu from the rest of us. We will have to fend for our selves in our homes or business pending on when the quarantine is issued. Hopefully you will be at home when the quarantine is issued. Figure essential personal will have to live at heir work locations to keep the power, water, sewer, phone, etc.. going. Have heard that care packages may have to be made up and delivered to residences if the quarantine is long term. Basically take a Tupperware container fill it with stuff--food water, etc.. and tell everyone to stay in their homes until it is dropped off on the porch and then after the people
delivering it leave then they can get it. Dealing with the sick and dead will be an issue, just hope you do not get sick. Mass evacuations are a last resort in a bird flu situation as it raises the risk of spreading the illness not controlling its spread. You end up in a mass shelter you will have a higher risk of getting the flu. Keeping people in their homes and restricting contact with others is the best defense. If you have any questions, I can try and answer them. Thanks, - Ron

If you are relocated: Depending on the circumstances of a relocation it may be salvation from danger (large disaster) or because you are considered a threat (a la the Japanese Americans during WWII) In any case, a government camp can be one of the most undesirable places to be once you are out of danger. Once you are their "guest", the organization who has sheltered you may feel they must continue for political or security reasons to see to your well being. Ease of providing security, lack of ID, or fear of rioting may be excuses for denying or making difficult the conclusion of your stay. Separation of men and women may be mandated, especially after the rape problems at the Hurricane Katrina stadium relocation "camps".
The U.S. Forest Service fire camp is essentially the same model used for most FEMA operations (look up "FEMA ICS"-- Incident Command System), there is a whole industry which starts in spring through late fall following the fire season. Federal and state prisons employ trustee fire crews right alongside regular crews on large fires. Prison infrastructure and security is present at most large fire camps.
In the event of a large national emergency in your area, be prepared for forced evacuations. Have a plan in case you are caught in a relocation and are unable to make your way (or are prevented) on your own. An assessment must be made whether you are a prisoner or a guest but even guests of an operation like this are treated like to some extent as prisoners to reduce manpower requirements.
Cyclone (chan link) fences are made to keep you in, out, or prevent your crossing. In any of these circumstances a proper heavy duty wire cutter is needed to make your escape. Cutting through private or farm fences is a bad thing to do (use good judgment) but if you are trapped (detention camp) then this tool may be a life saver. Be sure that the jaws are of proper temper so they do not blunt or fall apart.[JWR Adds: A heavy duty "compound" design wire cutter is probably your best bet.] A smaller cutter may be a good item to hide in addition to the big cutter.
Concertina or razor-type wire may be employed to prevent foot crossing or even just block a road. Stacked concertina wire [typically deployed stacked, with two "tubes", parallel, with a third tube resting on top of the base pair, forming an obstacle that looks triangular when seen in cross-section] is almost impossible to cross bare-handed. However, scrap carpet, sleeping bags, canvas tents, tarps, et cetera can be used to reduce injury on large group crossings.
When I lived in the U.S., most sniffer dogs were for drugs and this is likely still the case. Expect to be sniffed at some point. Expect to be questioned, if you are dealing with prison guards they are more looking for nervousness or hesitation at answering than what you are really up to also do not fail the attitude test and get aggressive unless you want to be
considered a risk. Be a "Gray man." Don't complain or ask for favors be the easy one to forget then you won't be missed. Expect only a cursory search if large numbers are being taken in, having your own gear makes it easier to keep escape tools likely the back or kidney padding will not be searched on a backpack.
The U.S. government has huge stockpiles of large tents, sleeping bags, ground pads, heaters, and other supplies ready to be shipped in and form these camps.
Private contract companies for fire and security and site services are ready and trained to make these FEMA camps go up quickly in response to an emergency. Command, Finance, Logistics, Operations, and Planning personnel are pre-trained and certified to come together without ever having met and set up a huge working camp and tackle an assignment. It would be interesting to hear from a SurvivalBlog reader that has worked as (or for) a security contractor or warden about fire/recovery type operations using inmate labor, and how security is handled. [As a firefighter, my role in forming these camps was always on the "ops" end attacking fires so the other roles were only observed or in command simulations

It is important to remember as always most workers in a camp like this (if not all) think they are doing the best for both you and the public at large. Even if you hold by the "UN is evil" theory (I do) understand that the troops in the field are specially trained and motivated (brainwashed) by upper command. I have seen it in Israeli police and IDF soldiers during the ejection of Jews from Gush Katif. Use subtle resistance tactics, not violence.

Mr. Rawles:

Well, it seems that Katrina and friends have amply proven what you and many, many other survival writers have been saying for a long time.
1. You cannot depend on any governmental agency to look out for you and yours. Not federal, not state, not county and certainly not local. You have to be fully responsible for looking out for yourself and for your loved ones.
It also proved what I have always felt about FEMA's vaunted 72-Hour home survival/preparedness kit.
2. A 72-Hour (three day) Kit simply does NOT cut it, at all
Anyone who plans on anything less than a minimum of seven days (one week) is just kidding themselves and asking for trouble.
More realistically it really should be for fourteen days (two weeks).
And if you can handle it thirty days (one month) would not be at all unreasonable or out of line.

When you consider the great amount of death and destruction that was visited on the people of New Orleans and the rest of the Gulf Coast it is certainly not hard to feel a great deal of compassion and sympathy for those folks who lost their homes, businesses, loved ones or all three. Yet at the same time, considering the past history of hurricanes on the Gulf Coast and all the warning that was provided, how poorly many of those people were prepared for Katrina and her aftermath (in a great number of cases, not at all) I really cant and don't feel too sympathetic. Mostly, I feel some anger and a lot of disgust that so many people paid so little attention to their own welfare and that of their children and old folks and totally ignored the well-known hazards of living on the Gulf Coast.
Lets take just a couple of points. First, WATER. There were hundreds (maybe thousands) of cases of severe dehydration, even death due to the lack of water. How stupid! How lazy!! Here in central Los Angeles County, California, I can buy a case of six one gal. bottles of Arrowhead drinking water for less than $5. Four cases for under $20. That's enough water to take care of one person for more than three weeks. I'm sure that there are similar deals in the New Orleans area. Maybe even better ones. No one should have had a dehydration problem with just a bit of thought and pre-planning.
Another point It doesn't really seem that many folks gave much prior thought about getting out of their second floors or attics onto their roofs. I mean really, using a shotgun to blow a hole in the roof! Dangerous and what a waste of shotgun shells. How about having a hatchet or small ax along with a tree-trimming saw. Chop a small hole with the ax and then make a larger opening with the saw. And what's with this making the holes in the middle of the roof at the highest point of the roof. Cut the hole down near the eves and one or two rafters in from the end of the roof where its easy to get out and where any incoming rain wont be soaking the area where you would be trying to live.
One could go on and on about items like this but enough said. Think it through people and get prepared before TSHTF again! - J.S.

Jim,
In regards to S.F.'s letter regarding medical kits, suture/wound closure, and use of Ipecac... 1. I would not recommend the use of Syrup of Ipecac to anyone without proper training in airway management, i.e.: intubation/suction equipment on hand .The airway problems far outweigh the gains, you have to know what can come back up without problem also, leave this to the trained and save your money for other supplies. 2. Wound closure, "to be or not to be closed," again if you do not have the supplies or the know how ALL wounds can close from secondary intention, that is clean and let heal over time, yes the scar is worse but the associated problems of infection/drainage are overcome. 3. Cleaning wounds is a long subject, [but in brief]: pressure and copious amounts of normal saline 0.9% will clean most wounds others have to be debrided, large pieces of contamination can be removed with hemostats or tweezers that are sterile/clean for the rest of the debris use a large syringe (sterile) with a needle attached (18 ga sterile) to increase the pressure and normal saline in copious amounts until [completely] clean to the eye.Use of Betadine and hydrogen peroxide mixed 50/50 initially is an accepted process it makes for a foamy mess but kills most all bacteria in the wound. Then again flush with normal saline until clean. With can discuss wound care of wounds healing for secondary intention at a later date if anyone is interested. 4. Most supplies can be obtained from veterinary supplies in bulk much cheaper than anywhere else: needles, syringes, dressings, tape suture(fresh not surplus), normal saline solution, betadine, et cetera.  Do a search for veterinary supplies get a few different catalogs and compare prices prior to ordering. I get a lot of meds from the vet but I have a ranch. Antibiotics/ointment et cetera are sometimes on the shelf--you just have to know what you want/need and the name and most vets will sell it off the shelf. Buy stainless steel bowls that can be sterilized for use in wound cleaning or use glass. These two items have been used for ages and can be cleaned sterilized in the oven or pressure cooker and reused over and over again. - John