Prepare? Prepare for What???

So far I’ve gotten on my soap box a little as to why a person should be prepared, but the why is pointless unless I can point out concrete examples. So, here are a few examples of what may put most Americans into a bind and make life rough unless you’re prepared:

Natural Disaster

The most concrete example I can give of natural disaster is Hurricane Katrina in 2001. This was a perfect example of how civilization can get knocked back to the stone-age in a hurry during a natural disaster. Once the area was under water it was impossible for any type of utility service to be left functioning. Those that didn’t get out and were not prepared to fend for themselves for an extended period were left with just luck to get them through.  Now, if you don’t believe it can happen to you go to www.fema.gov and evaluate your risks. There are flood maps and other resources that are there for the public benefit. At a bare minimum, every home should meet FEMA preparedness standards, which is the ability to shelter in place for 72 hours.    

Infrastructure Failure

This is an area where I am very passionate. I am a licensed wastewater treatment plant operator and licensed water plant operator in the state of Georgia and I supervise collection and distribution system repairs. Let me tell you, the public thinks clean water is limitless. The infrastructure in this country is 40 years past the upgrade point. I know because I operate and maintain it every day. The most concrete example I can give of grid failure is the blackout that crippled millions in 2003. Stop and think for a minute. What would you do if there were no water or electricity available for a week? Most people panic if they don’t have water or power for 24 hours, much less a week. If your answer is I’ll go to the store and buy more water and a generator when I need it, congratulations, you’re going to do the same thing everyone else around you will be doing. Good luck!

Civil Unrest

Luckily we haven’t had a whole lot of civil unrest in America. That’s not to say that it won’t happen though. The Occupy Protests that are happening daily across America are the perfect setting for a mob to breakout. There is a lot of dissatisfaction with our nation’s government. Dissatisfaction among the public coupled with high unemployment could make things potentially scary in the months to come. The best examples of this are the protests in Greece and the riots seen in Britain. While avoiding these mobs is obviously the best thing to do, the disruption of goods and services they can cause can make life tough. If they become bad enough the government could impose martial law to get things under control and impose strict curfews for the public.

Above I’ve given three solid examples of how things can go wrong and why you should have enough supplies and skills to fend for yourself and family for at least a week. The truly scary part is that the three examples I’ve given above usually occur at the same time and in that order. Back to Katrina, the natural disaster occurred, the utilities went down, looting began, and martial law and curfews were imposed.

Now, I know that I haven’t addressed how to be prepared to survive yet but I will get there in future posts. For now just think about you would survive for a week or longer if you had to. Where would you get food and water? What would you do if you had a medical emergency and you couldn’t get to help or the hospital? Could you defend yourself if there were no police protection? These are all things we will cover, but until we do, try to answer some of these questions on your own.