Tag Archives: emergency management

Keeping Alive During an Apocalypse
Survival Skills

Keeping Alive at Home During an Apocalypse

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This is a guide to keeping yourself alive and kicking when you’re facing an emergency of any kind – whether that’s storms, flooding, disease or simply the end of the world, which is apparently approaching us on the 21st December 2012.

It’s best that you get yourself prepared and ready for anything! 2012 was predicted to be a year of turmoil, which it has certainly been so far with hurricane Sandy battering New York, and plenty of earthly disturbances across the globe.
1. Radio. The most important factor when facing an emergency is to keep yourself informed throughout – so that means keeping up with updates on the radio at the very least. Therefore one of the biggest aspects in a life threatening situation is power outages, which threaten your ability to stay warm, cook food and stay in touch with goings on outside. So you need to think through all the things that are important to your survival that rely on electricity, and ensure you’re prepared.

e, weeks in advance you should ensure you have a good supply of batteries to power a radio. If you can possibly invest in a wind-up radio, that would also be very beneficial and means you never have to worry about running out of battery power.

2. Heat. Keeping warm will be paramount too, so you should consider investing in a safe wood burner that you can use indoors. If you have a garage, you can start stock piling wood so that you have a good supply to keep you warm. Blankets, duvets, sleeping bags, cardigans and woollen clothing should be in abundance.

3. Food and Drink. It probably doesn’t need to be said that you should have a strong stockpile of food. You will also need to either buy water bottles or start filling sterilised bottles with tap water in advance of an emergency situation. This is in case water supplies are affected. Tinned food is probably the most convenient food stuff to have at hand and keep stockpiled. Food in tins is usually ready to eat, in case you do not have any means of heating the food. It’s best to build up your food resources gradually over months and even years, to make sure you have enough to last months if need be. Have two or three tin openers handy as well – just in case one breaks.

4. Books & Games. Part of surviving a catastrophe is ensuring you stay occupied and engaged – so having plenty of books to read for example will keep your mind from getting too bored and will keep up moral. Packs of cards and a decent range of board games are excellent, and especially good if you have more than two people in the household.

 

Inspirations Wholesale are in no way related to survival, but do provide an interesting supply of indoor artificial trees

Preppers vs. Self-Sufficientists
Philosophy

Preppers vs. Self-Sufficientists

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With the popularity of Doomsday Preppers, here’s a reality TV show that would get big ratings—“Preppers vs. Self-Sufficientists”.

Picture a quiet street in a small suburban town, Somewhere, U.S.A. On the left side of the street live the Self-Sufficientists, community-minded folks who believe that being self-reliant in the event of whatever disaster or hardship may come is good for everyone. The right side of the street is reserved for the Preppers, people who mind their own business, look after themselves, and are armed and ready to defend the freedoms they hold dear. The show would focus on each group’s unique approach to something we should all be thinking more about these days—emergency preparedness. Although the show may never become a reality, here’s a look at some of the things we might learn from tuning in to the season premiere of “Preppers vs. Self-Sufficientists”.

Food

-Self-sufficientists are big on long-term food storage to sustain them in the event of an economic crisis, natural disaster or other unforeseen circumstance. Their pantries will most likely be stocked with bulk foods and ingredients to meet their long-term needs. They will rotate items that have shorter shelf-lives by using them in their daily meal preparations, trying out various recipes to make sure the foods they store find favor with all family members.

-Preppers have a more paranoid approach to emergency preparedness than their self-sufficientist neighbors. While their pantries might also contain some bulk foods, the main focus is on short-term needs. That’s while you’ll find an ample supply of freeze dried and ready to eat meals or MRE’s. They’re also big on camping gear and grab and go or “bug-out” bags, all designed to transport their emergency supplies quickly and easily in the event of an emergency situation such as Armageddon.

Power

-Self-sufficientists are always looking for ways to get off the grid in case of electrical failure or disaster—the greener the better. They lean toward power solutions such as back up solar power for their homes or solar powered ovens and other appliances.

-Preppers are more concerned about having enough gas for their cars to enable them to flee to safer ground. And so they will take precautions to store extra gas, which, even under the best situations can be potentially hazardous.

Use of Space

-Self-sufficientists are big on planting gardens in whatever space they have available. Many have mini farms with chickens and other animals that allow them to be more self-sustainable. Along with foods, they look for safe places and ways to store seeds for future planting. Self-sufficientists are always looking for ways to become more self-reliant. By the same token, they are willing to share their knowledge and skills with others to help them become more self-sufficient as well.

-Preppers are always on the lookout for a safe place to store guns and ammo. They may also raise and train guard dogs for protection against desperate outsiders who did not prepare and may come looking for precious food and water in order to survive. After all, to a prepper, when disaster strikes it’s every man for himself.

Money

-Self-Survivalists are typically cost conscious when it comes to emergency preparedness. They like the cost savings associated with buying items in bulk and recognize being self-sufficient means that they will not be subject to paying sky-high prices if and when commercial food supplies become scarce.

-Preppers are more concerned with amassing everything they need to sustain them during a disaster than with what those items might cost. They are typically willing to pay more for freeze-dried foods because they like the variety, convenience and ease of storage that they offer. Plus they want to be able to rely on them when they need them.

Skills

-Self-sufficientists are big on improving their all-around survivor skillsets. For example, they may learn ways to purify available water, rather than having to rely on hoarded water as their sole supply. In addition, their long-term mindset makes them more about maintaining or rebuilding a disaster ridden community than their gun-toting prepper neighbors.

-Preppers, at least those portrayed on Doomsday Preppers, will go to extreme measures to increase their odds of survival. Hence the guns.  After all, it’s Armageddon anyway.

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Nick Briggs is a freelance writer and expert in  emergency food preparedness and freeze-dried food.