Being prepared for an uncertain future is much more than just having a little extra food and water stored. There are so many possible trigger points in today’s world that preparedness needs to become a mindset and not just a something to check off your to-do list. When one embraces the need to make preparedness a life-long process and not just an event, then one truly becomes an asset rather than a liability. I’m afraid far too many are relying on the government or others to rescue them in times of need. It may be helpful to take the time to consider possible events that one could face in the next five years.
Natural Disasters (weather related)
Hurricanes
Tornadoes
Heavy thunder storms
Flash flooding
Mud/rock slides
High winds
Hail
Severe winter weather
Avalanche
Extreme high heat
Drought
Wildfire
Natural Disasters (non-weather related)
Earthquake
Volcano eruption
Tidal wave/Tsunami
Man-made Disasters
War (conventional, biological, chemical or nuclear)
Toxic material emission or spill (from a train, semi-truck or nearby plant)
Riot or other civil disorder
Nuclear plant melt down or other nuclear disaster
Terrorism Fire
Government action against you
Stock market crash
Severe depression
Plague or disease outbreak
Personal Emergencies
Kidnapping
Mugging, robbery or other criminal attack
Unemployment
Financial disaster
Death in family
Home destroyed by fire
Random acts of violence
This is certainly not a definitive list of possible events that could create a need to rely on your preps, but it’s a good starting point. As you consider these possibilities, you may also want to consider the underlying purpose for your preps – that of basic survival. If your preps will not provide the essentials of basic survival, you will want to re-think your priorities.
When it comes to survival, it can be reduced to “The Rule of Three”. You may be military, firefighter, law enforcement, rescue worker or just plain folk with an inordinate amount of common sense. Regardless, it never hurts to revisit the basics. And all of the basics can be summed up in ”The Rule of Three” which says, absent sudden death (such as an accident) or terminal illness, your survival is generally contingent upon you not exceeding:
3 minutes without breathing (drowning, asphyxiation)
3 hours without shelter in an extreme environment (exposure)
3 days without water (dehydration)
3 weeks without food (starvation)
Starvation
Most preppers‘ are stocking food. You will note that starvation is the slowest form of death among the Rule of Three. You would likely have three weeks before you starve. Your level of physical exertion has an impact on the body‘s caloric requirements. Personally, I might survive starvation for five or six weeks as I‘m carrying a lot of extra weight (just in case!). Don‘t call me over weight, call me prepped! Keep in mind, your survival strategy must consider the likelihood of you being separated from your food supply in an emergency. When that happens, stay calm, focus on any immediate threats or hazards and remember that you have three weeks to implement Food Plan B or Plan C. You do have a Food Plan B and Plan C, don‘t you?
Dehydration
Dehydration occurs much more quickly than starvation. As such, water supply is much more critical to address in an emergency. Consider that in a temperate climate and without exertion, the human body requires approximately 2.5 liters of fluids per day. In extreme heat this requirement goes up significantly. Diarrhea can lead to rapid, catastrophic dehydration as well. Given that water is far bulkier to store and/or transport than food, and that dehydration is potentially a far more pressing concern than starvation, your ability to procure water in an emergency should supplant food in your ranking of survival priorities. Stated simply, water is far more important than food. What is your home-base plan for water? What is your mobile plan for water?
Exposure
Exposure occurs far more rapidly than dehydration. Hot or cold, you could find yourself unable to function in less than three hours. Immersion in cold water, such as breaking through ice, could reduce your time to act down to mere minutes. So what‘s your shelter strategy when you‘re away from home-base? In the north, temperatures can fall to minus 40 F in the winter. If you have an accident on a slick road late at night in such conditions, you will likely not be waking up ever again unless you have prepared for such an eventuality. Exposure kills in hours, or less. Countering exposure is your number two priority for survival in any emergency situation. Yet most preppers are not thinking about exposure while stocking their pantries. Prepare for exposure.
Asphyxiation
Asphyxiation kills in three minutes. This is the emergency situation that gives you the least amount of time to react for your survival. This is your Priority One survival issue. An interior fire is the most common cause of asphyxiation. Do you have a home escape plan in the event of a fire? If not, make one – it might save your life. Unless you‘ve been in a burning building, I guarantee that you cannot imagine how blinding the smoke is nor how quickly a structure can become fully engulfed. If you have children, periodic rehearsal of the escape plan is mandatory. In the unthinkable event of a fire, panic is inevitable. Rehearsal helps to moderate the flight reaction, which might otherwise lead to death.
While fire is a common cause, there are other causes of asphyxiation worth your consideration such as carbon monoxide poisoning – usually from a combustion source in the home. This has also occurred in vehicles stranded in snowstorms. Vehicles were left running so the heaters would work and accumulating snow shrouded the tailpipe resulting in vehicle exhaust entering the passenger compartment.
Other poisonous fumes can cause asphyxiation as well. Tanker trucks, rail cars, chemical and other industrial plants often have hazardous materials that, in an emergency situation, could cause you grave bodily harm if exposed.
Take some time with your family and review “The Rule of Three” as it might relate to a variety of emergency situations. Assuring our families have the understanding and skills necessary to survive life threatening occurrences will provide peace of mind that we’ve done what matters most as we continue with our life-long process of being prepared.
CBS New’s headline today warned of more Ohio River flooding after extreme weather had already taken human lives in the Midwest. Areas in Houston, still recovering from flooding 6 months ago, are now watching their rivers as poorly developed neighborhoods recognize their increased risk of future floods. Vulnerable people are looking for aid wherever they can find it.
Government Aid
In a world where states are requesting money to accommodate their water needs, what are your personal responsibilities for your personal property and well-being? Are you willing to wait for government money and help to cover your needs? Of course not. If we’ve learned anything in the past decade, we’ve learned that we can not and should not use the government as a safety net when it comes to covering our needs, especially our water/safety needs.
Avoiding Flooding
Federal money is going to cities with poorly planned housing in flood zones. The question is, where is the responsibility of the citizens? When making possibly the biggest financial decisions of their lives, did anyone look at maps? Did anyone consider proximities to rivers, canals, etc.? What about positioning inside neighborhoods? The higher you are, the less likely you’ll have to deal with devastating flooding. While states may ask and beg for federal dollars, chances of individuals seeing any financial relief from damage to a poorly placed home are slim.
Take Control
So what does that mean? It means, you do what you need to do to be prepared. If you’re able to move to higher ground, of course, do so. If you’re not able to move, what are your options? Are you doomed because your mortgage has tied you to a house that may betray you? Not necessarily. There are things you can do. While you are high and dry, it is time to prepare. It’s time to stock up on sandbags. It’s time to build up landscaping to minimize flooding. Research diverting water, landscaping, and other options for flooding prevention. In other words, it’s time to assume you’ll receive nothing from the government and take control of the situation you are in.
Part of taking control is understanding your vulnerability. Store your food and water. Store physically high and low, spread out your resources so you can use them in different types of emergencies. But have enough resources for you and your family to ride out any storm that comes your way. If you have to ride out a flood, make sure you have enough clean water and food to do so. Even better, get away before you become stranded. Grab your Bug-Out Bag and go. Go before traffic stalls and before you can’t get out of the city.
The takeaway? Your preparation is your responsibility. It’s not the government’s responsibility. It’s not your community leaders’ responsibility. If you’re reading this, you probably already understand this concept.
The number one thing a person needs to remember when they are trying to survive is to stay hydrated. Dehydration causes the body to slowly shut down, which not only could potentially lead to death, but it causes confusion making it harder for a person to make logical survival choices that could save their life.
Do you know how to spot dehydration? Here is a simple infographic that will help you to know the different stages of dehydration and the symptoms that go along with them. Remember, it only takes three days without water for your body to completely shut down.
Here are some ways to store water so you and your family have enough water to survive:
What would you do if you were told not to drink the water coming out of your tap? That’s exactly what residents of Toledo, OH were told at the beginning of the month as local and state officials scrambled to bring water supplies to the 400,000 individuals affected. Those in the area have described the scene as resembling Black Friday, with people rushing to get enough bottled water to drink, take with medication, or brush their teeth. Officials warned that boiling the water would only increase the toxicity of the water, making bottled water the only option for residents
At this time, it’s believed that the city’s local water had become contaminated by algae blooms. Although it’s unknown what the cause of the algae growth was, algae growth is typically caused by increased phosphorus from farm fertilizer runoff and sewer treatment. While scientists did predict that algae growth might increase in the upcoming months, they didn’t expect it to happen this soon. They predicted a September algae increase.
Although there has never been a city-wide ban on drinking water in Toledo, the dangers of algae bloom have been known for quite some time. Toledo has amped up its water treatment in the past few years, spending more than $4 million last year alone to treat its water. However, even with regulation and an active approach towards water treatment, this news is evidence that the danger of water contamination is always there.
As Ohio John Kasich said in a press conference regarding the drinking water ban, “When it comes to water, you’ve got to be very careful.” In an emergency, you might be able to go a few days without food, but water is a whole different matter. It’s for this reason that water preparedness is such a crucial part of any emergency plan. If you are interested in keeping your family safe in a crisis that might affect local water supply, Food Insurance can help.
From our personal Lifestraw filter straw that can filter up to 99.9% of waterborne bacteria and protozoa, to our large reserve water tanks, we have a wide variety of water preparedness supplies to include in your storage planning. Unfortunately, when it comes to water contamination, it’s becoming more of a question of when in many areas in the country. If you live in area that is at risk of water contamination, please take the time to review our water preparedness supplies today.
When you’re living off the land, there’s no time for frills. By rule of thumb, all you need to survive is food, water, and shelter.
But what is “shelter”? We know what food and water are – anything you can safely eat and liquid made of 2 parts hydrogen and one part oxygen – but shelter can be anything. It can be a wooden hut with a thatch roof, a tipi made of sticks, or a hammock made with a tarp and some string.
A survival shelter can be all of these things, but as you can probably imagine, many of these shelters require a huge amount of time or are very impractical (like the tarp hammock).
The three tarp survival shelters outlined below only take minutes to set up and allow you to enjoy the “luxury of practicality.”
For these simple tarp shelters, you only need a tarp, a set of metal stakes, and a length of string (except for the last shelter that requires only a tarp!). It also helps to have an object to drive the stakes in when your foot isn’t enough. This can be a rock, a large stick, or refined tool like a hammer.
The A-frame tarp shelter is a great shelter for people surviving in hot areas. It offers a sufficient source of shade and gives you a place to call “home” in a matter of minutes. Because of its two open sides, it’s not ideal for storms, but it can weather light rain. It has six tie-down points and requires two trees, anywhere from 20-30 feet apart depending on the length of your tarp.
To set up the A-frame tarp shelter, follow these instructions:
1. Tie a length of rope to opposite center sections of your tarp (on 2 of 4 sides).
2. Tie one end to the closest tree, then tie the other end to the other tree – tightly.
3. Stake down the corners of your tarp and make taut.
Depending on your needs, you can either make your tent taller or longer. If you tie the longer sections of the tarp to the trees, your shelter will be taller; and if you tie shorter sections to the trees, you shelter will be longer.
If you’re in an area that’s prone to frequent rain storms, the wedge tarp shelter is a better option than the A-frame tarp shelter. Unlike the A-frame, it only has one open side, which makes keeping rain out easier. During a storm, rain will come in the open end, but you can position the open side in the direction of the wind to decrease your rain exposure.
To set up the wedge tarp shelter, follow these instructions:
1. Spread your tarp out on the ground about 5 feet away from a tree, making sure the tree aligns with the tarp’s center loop.
2. Stake down the two corners of the tarp farthest away from the tree.
3. Tie a string through the center loop closest to the tree.
4. Pull the opposite end of string upward in a diagonal fashion and tie to the tree, preferably above a branch for added stability.
Stake down the two corners closest to the tree.
You can also station a tall stick behind the center loop to create a rain flap at the head of your shelter.
This is the most basic tarp shelter, and it’s great for all kinds of weather conditions. While it’s not ideal for people with claustrophobia, it’s perfect for the survivalist who is on the go and needs to set up a shelter fast – 30 seconds-fast.
To set up the tarp burrito shelter:
1. Spread your tarp out flat and fold one end into a third.
2. Take that same end and fold again so that you’re left with a 3-layer-thick tarp.
3. Tuck one end of the tarp under itself and leave the opposite end open.
From the open end, you can slide your sleeping bag inside the tarp and any other gear for survival that will fit.
But water? Hmmm, an interesting concept. Believe it or not, the average person needs to drink at least one gallon of water per day. And that doesn’t include water for important tasks such as bathing or cooking. Continue reading “3 Things to Know When Storing Water”
The single most important resource in order to stay alive is water. This means that you need to be fully equipped and prepared in regards to water if you are to survive during any emergency.
Continue reading “Water Storage Options”
Water. It is the most important resource on the planet, and in an emergency situation is crucial for your family’s well-being. When you are building your emergency supply, it is absolutely vital that you have an adequate store of water in addition to food and other necessities.
Continue reading “Don't Forget About Water!”
If an earthquake, hurricane, winter storm, or other disaster strikes your community, you might not have access to food, water, and electricity for days or even weeks. By taking some time now to store emergency food and water supplies, you can provide for your entire family.
Continue reading “Food and Water in an Emergency”
