What Do I Need, to be Prepared

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Survival Priorities

The basic survival priorities, in order, are Shelter, Water, Fire, Food.

Shelter

Although most everyone reading this post has some sort of roof over their head, be it an apartment or house, the fact is that your shelter is of the highest importance in the order of survival priorities. In normal circumstances, water would be a first priority, however if caught in a cold un-sheltered environment for example, hypothermia could become your biggest problem before a lack of water.

Evaluate your current living environment, community, and geographical location to determine how safe you will be during a collapse scenario. If you live in the city or suburbs, have you considered a BOL (Bug Out Location) – a location where you are less likely to be overrun by desperation in a longer term collapse. This could be a friend or relative living in a rural location who would be okay with you and your family showing up. This should be worked out in advance and you should be ready to contribute in some way to that situation.

The fact is, human civilization will become completely uncivil after 3 – 5 days without food or water. The cities and suburbs will become extremely dangerous places to be while the desperate hoards will be out in the streets and will do anything necessary to find the resources to survive. If you find yourself at the beginning of a SHTF scenario, and if you live in the city, it will be imperative for you and your family to get out as early as possible (day 1 – 3).

If you live in a suburban area, you are in the same scenario such that people will become desperate after 3 days without food or water, however the lesser population density will provide a cushion of time before you may be affected. Depending upon your population density, you may not be too much safer than the city dweller.

The rural population is in a safer condition regarding the threat of being overrun. The severity and length of collapse is directly proportional to the relative safety of a given location. Obviously the further away from the main flow of traffic, the better. Out of site, out of mind… up to a point.

Water

You will surely die soon after 3 to 5 days without any water, depending on the specific conditions (this may sound a bit unreal, but it is true). If you live in the city, particularly a city in a dry region of the world, imagine the desperation that will rapidly overtake the population if water pressure is lost for more than 3 days. If you have waited that long before considering to get out, you will be in grave danger. If you live in this type of environment it is extremely important to maintain an inventory of water storage, but better yet you should have a plan in place to bug out to a safer location (be sure that you have adequate preps in your vehicle!).

Unless you live on property with natural occurring water, you need to have excess water storage available for an emergency. Depending on your weight, physical activity, and environment, the human body needs nearly 1 gallon of water per day. Human beings are made up of about 60% water. We sweat out about 2 cups water per day. We lose 1  cup per day from exhaling and we eliminate about 6 cups of it. Your life depends on daily replenishment of water.

Fire

In a cold weather environment survival situation, you will need a source of heat to keep from developing hypothermia which can lead to death. For most people this means being sure you have an alternate source of heat if the power goes out. The risk of hypothermia is highly dependent upon your geographical location, the season, and your current situation. Are you dry, do you have dry clothes, a blanket, warm sleeping bag, fire, a fireplace or wood stove. The more likely your are to be in cold weather conditions, the more you need to consider being prepared for providing heat when the normal source is gone. Don’t forget to keep at least a blanket, a jacket, and a 72 hour kit in your vehicle (to be discussed in other posts).

Food

There are many factors that determine the length of human survival without food. In general, the human body cannot survive beyond about 30 days without food, assuming you have water to drink. After you have planned for Shelter, Water, and Fire, you can then decide how much food storage is appropriate for you and your family in your given location.

It really is not difficult to build up at least a 30 day supply of food storage. Simply buy a few more items of the foods that you normally eat, each time you visit the grocery store. It is a personal and inward-looking choice to decide how much food storage is right for your family. I recommend at least a 30 day minimum, but encourage you to store much more for your well being. Be sure that you have food storage preps in your home, your vehicle, your place of work, and your BOL (bug out location – if you are fortunate enough to have one).

 
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