Secondly while everyone is worried about 1,2,3,4 and 5 the one that's most likely to 'steal your life like a thief in the night' is 6 and 7. If you look at early American history Cholera, Dysentery, Typhoid killed far more than bandits, raiders even war.
Preppers’ PING!
If the premise of the articke was "10 Disturbing SHTF Threats that most People Haven’t Prepared For" then I would agree, but most preppers I talk with have given defense considerations a great deal of thought.
I lived on a subsistence farm without any electricity until I was around 5. It is not as hard as many would believe but we did have the advantage of a well (also a free flowing spring not too far away) and lots of land.
Garbage is no problem, we simply dug a large pit far from the house and burned it regularly. An outhouse is not as bad as one would think either. The main problem is it is located a distance from the house.
Right now the main problem I would have is my house was constructed after central AC became common and would get really hot during the Summer.
The writer has ignored those that have prepared for Y2K and those that already live off the grid. City people will die off in the thousands. Rural people will fare better an not have the same problems. One size does not fit all.
Most preppers are already armed and dangerous. That pretty much negates about half of these points. The author is full of sh**.
Yes, garbage can kill.
You need a burn barrel. Even in town where it may be regulated out, you can still keep a burn barrel so you have one just in case. No Law Enforcement means you could then use it.
If you have no burn barrel, dig a pit.
Almost everything will burn. What won’t burn, you can bury or re-use.
Out in the boonies where I live we deal with it all the time.
You just know many are thinking they’ll just put their trash in their neighbor’s garbage cans.
If 1,2,3,4 and 5 are properly taken care of, 6 and 7 become a significant issue in that: What do you do with the bodies?
Stock up on bleach... For treating water, cuts, etc.
Is your primary home “prepped”?
Do you have a backup location?
Do you have multiple routes to that location?
Do you have designated “bug-out” supplies to take with you?
Have you figured out what fits in your vehicle and prioritized properly?
#10 is also critical
Learn about Ham Radios this weekend! Experts in your area this weekend!! This could save your life one day!!
Saturday and Sunday, the public will have a chance to meet and talk with local ham radio operators and see for themselves what amateur radio service is about at the annual Field Day. Showing the newest digital and satellite capabilities, voice communications and even historical Morse code, hams across the nation will hold public demonstrations of emergency communications abilities.
ARRL Field Day is This Weekend: Are You Ready?
TAGS: amateur radio, amateur radio operators, arrl, arrl field day, Field Day, Field Day Locator, hams, malls, proclamations, twitter
06/19/2012
Tens of thousands of Amateur Radio operators will be firing up portable radio stations from unexpected locations this weekend for ARRL Field Day. On June 23-24, over 35,000 hams are expected to operate from parks, malls, schools and. yes, fields, around the country.
Field Day is the climax of the week-long Amateur Radio Week sponsored by the ARRL. As of June 19, 21 states have issued proclamations thanking and supporting the hams for their community service work, and more are expected to do so.
Looking for a Field Day location? [link to www.arrl.org]
http://www.arrl.org/field-day-locator
Information for media and the general public is at
http://www.arrl.org/2012FieldDay
Information for radio amateurs and participants is at
On Twitter you can follow @ARRL.
Meh, I'll just build a trebuchet in the backyard and rotate it a few degrees every couple of days... ;-)
I’m still reading to see if anyone yet has figured out a barter item that is worth more than its weight in gold, and that many of us have on hand. Hint; it’s under lock and key in pharmacies and doctor’s offices.
My wife has pain killers beta-blockers, and tranquilizers that she uses in less than prescribed doses. We reorder when we calculate that the stuff wound be gone if used to maximum dosage. We stay ahead.
Takes up very little space, light weight, and I’ll bet it’s literally more valuable than gold in SHTF.
Military factions will want all of your food and resources, and will really really prefer you join their faction.
If we collapse into war, the factions who matter will be fighting to develop and control resources while depriving their opponents of the same. If they control medicines, food, and fresh water, they can keep their opponents from being able to hide within the populace.
This is rudimentary military logistics, not some esoteric theory.
Agreed. The history of wars and disasters is quite clear on this. Diarrhea will be a huge, and currently underestimated, killer. A safe water supply, and Clorox and such to make and keep it safe, as well as proper - essentially exquisite - attention to sanitation and waste disposal and such could be life-savers.
Over-the-counter anti-diarrheals such as Imodium for minor cases might help if you can’t get more potent prescription supplies in quantity, but the real deal requires non-oral fluid and electrolyte replacement. Bulk IV fluids will not be practical for most, but enema bags and the ingredients & recipe for a replacement solution can literally “keep your a$$ alive”. It ain’t pretty to think about, but neither is a corpse - especially if it’s yours or your loved ones.
All the typical things I read about in “preppers” recommendations seem to leave out one of the most important things in an apocolypse situation:
- You will not be able to stand alone as a survivor.
All the food, water, gasoline, weapons in the world won’t make a difference if you and your family are by yourselves - especially in the city. The city will be a war zone. Gangs looking for food, water, guns/ammo will go door to door and take it. A typical house is indefensible from a large group. You will not be able to stop them because of their overwhelming numbers even if you are well-armed. They are going to get it if you can’t get out of town asap. I don’t see sub-urban areas or even rural areas surviving long either if you are alone.
What scares me the most is how to get OUT of the city and then WHERE do you go?
I was thinking that a possible short term “safe” staging areas for families and trusted groups to meet/organize and coordinate plans, might be school buildings (newer enclosed ones). Where I live many school buildings are enclosed buidings - that is, they have fewer entrance points and fewer windows that could be more easily defended (at least for on a short term) with a well-armed group/groups. If you have someone in your family or you have a trusted friend who is a school teacher, they should have a key to enter the building (at least during the school year). Of course breaking into the building is an option as well.
Finding this short-term, relatively safe staging area to meet and then plan the group’s or groups next move will be critical, I think, to getting safely out of a city. But, then where to go after that I don’t know. Probably also depends on the time of year (winter, summer). And, remember that whatever location you come up with - the bad people and gangs will probably also arrive at the same conclusion. So, whatever plans are made will have to be made quickly and executed quickly to get there first.
The only hope I see for good people to safely get to the staging area quickly is to have portable survival food/water/weapons/ammo/sanitation,etc. that you can take on a moments notice - a moment is all the time you will have to get to the staging area, then out of a city. A well-armed group that has combined resources is the only way I can see for safely surviving/defending and traveling to an ultimate “safe-zone” during a major-catastrophe.
I think churches should plan for what to do and where to go in the event of such a thing. Veterans groups and other patriotic groups should have a plan as well. Remaking a livable society that can defend itself is going to be an absolute necessity if we want some kind of future for our kids and grandkids.
Who to trust and cooperation with other trustworthy groups of people will be ncessary for survival.
Just my two cents.
I’ve noticed that a lot of people think they’ll be able to go out in the woods and shoot what they need to eat. Not so. In a global shtf, game will be gone in less than a year. Only the extreme best hunters will be able to find anything, and that will be little critters.
As far back as 1600, game was scarce anywhere in the Northeast within a hundred miles of the coast. Indians killed everything with a pelt to trade it to European “fishing” vessels. One of the reasons there were not many indians back then was the scarcity of game from over hunting.
There is just not much game, even in a healthy environment.
There is something that I don’t think I’ve seen mentioned here, and that is spectacles. I realised that as I am reading this I am wearing reading specs ( my arms are no longer long enough :-)). These can break. Even if you have prescription specs, in South Africa we can buy basic “readers” very cheaply in various strengths from our pharmacies - I think what you refer to as drugstores in the USA. It would be a good idea to have several spares.
For those who are short-sighted, there isn’t such an option - at least, not here.
Anyway, whatever eye problem you have, it is probably always a good idea to keep your your old specs when they get updated just in case you ever them. They will be better than nothing.
You must always be able to read instructions or warnings on anything that you use whether on equipment you don’t use regularly, or medicines with which you aren’t familiar.
Until recent times that author would have titled his article in a more adult manner.
“10 Disturbing Threats that most Preppers Haven’t Prepared For.”