Commander CMG Posted March 14, 2014 #1 Share Posted March 14, 2014 The floods and storms that have wreaked havoc across Britain this winter could be just the beginning, and now a growing number of people are making preparations for the end of the modern world. Here's what you'll need to do to stand a chance.We are getting close to what might be called The Noah Scenario. Last month was the wettest January in Britain since records began in 1767. So far this month has been no different, and the Met Office expects the wind and rain to continue until March. Climate change may be a gradual process, but people who live on the Somerset Levels or the banks of the Thames are getting a very sudden education in the value of arks. View: Read more Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sakari Posted March 14, 2014 #2 Share Posted March 14, 2014 I have a Mormon phone book for each State. In that book, are the addresses, for the food / water sources I will need for at least the next 2 years after it happens. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeremiah65 Posted March 15, 2014 #3 Share Posted March 15, 2014 It's never too late to be prepared to take care of those that depend on you. I'm not stockpiling like a madman, but I do have a decent collection of survival tools and things to barter with. I think hoarding up dried foods will make you a target if anyone at all knows about it. Best to know how to hunt, fish and forage in nature...not saying don't store stuff but storing years of supplies might cause as many probs as it solves. Nothing wrong with some rice, beans and seeds though. The world she is a changin'...crazy weather, wars and rumors of wars...only thing we're not hearing much about are earthquakes in diverse places... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skep B Posted March 15, 2014 #4 Share Posted March 15, 2014 I kind of figure that, if the world winds up in such a state that the preppers are made right. I probably don't wanna be living there. I'll just watch the world burn itself up, as the Universe intended Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug1029 Posted March 15, 2014 #5 Share Posted March 15, 2014 We probably should have started some serious prep work a long time ago. Our civil defense plans are among the world's great works of fiction. Consider this: you are the local county sheriff. The phone rings. There has been a meltdown at the nuclear reactor. The radioactive cloud will be there in two hours. Evacuate the city. Stand by for further information. The Wayne County (Michigan) sheriff actually got that call. The Detroit Fermi reactor had just had a meltdown. Luckily, the radiation leak was not that bad, or Detroit would have become a ghost town a few decades sooner. That's how disasters happen: by surprise. A tank train derails, releasing a cloud of chlorine gas. That cloud is heavier than air and moves with the wind. A town twenty miles away might have an hour to evacuate. How many people have enough gas in their tanks to get out of town? Do they think the local gas station attendant should stay there and die to save them from their own lack of foresight? There is already a strain of bird flu virus that can transmit from person to person. Why it isn't going epidemic, nobody knows. But there are other strains that lack only one gene. What happens when they get it? The Spanish flu produced 25% mortality rates (Only 50% of the world's population was exposed.). What would be the exposure rate today? Would we lose a quarter of the world's population in less than a year? New Orleans had a hurricane plan. The mayor hadn't read it. Neither had anybody else in a position of authority. They told city staff to get out of town, not realizing that that included bus drivers. All but one bus was lost to the flooding - buses that could have been rescuing people. That one bus survived because a local kid hot-wired it and took a load of people to safety. The city prosecuted him for grand theft. The judge was not pleased with the city and ordered them to pay that kid's way through bus driving school and give him a job when he finished. Disasters always bring out a lot of confusion. That's because people (including emergency services) learn by doing. So be glad they don't have a lot of practice. Doug 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug1029 Posted March 16, 2014 #6 Share Posted March 16, 2014 The world she is a changin'...crazy weather, wars and rumors of wars...only thing we're not hearing much about are earthquakes in diverse places... Is Oklahoma diverse enough? We're running two or three a day in the vicinity of 3.0. I notice they're more-or-less in a line between Ponca City and southern OKC. We have an oil and gas field in that area - hmmm! Doug Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Jim Posted March 16, 2014 #7 Share Posted March 16, 2014 This topic floods my mind with so many things. There have always been disasters. Wars, Indian attacks, Viking raids, epidemics, the Black Death, Mt. Vesuvius, to name just a few. While prudence and foresight are admirable qualities we seem to be the first group obsessed with surviving at all costs. It's our view of life that has changed, not the world or our fate. We have lost sight of the fact that our lives are not our own. We did not choose the circumstances of our birth and we cannot do so about our death. Yes, I have a small emergency kit in the closet. It is meant to provide some semblance of modern comfort through the disaster of a power outage or being snowed in for a week. The major disasters that come to mind, fires, floods, tornados and nuclear holocaust, pick their survivors by chance. Even the best prepared are left stunned at a world in chaos. I think an attitude of stoicism and resourcefulness is the best preparation because it is the only thing that applies equally well to all possible calamities. No one can prepare for every possibility. What happens when your bomb shelter floods or your food stash burns? I think what fuels this drive to be a survivor is the modern feeling that we own our lives coupled with the fear of losing the illusion of control. Earlier people were acutely aware that they had but little control over most circumstances and left their fate in the hands of God. I'm not overly religious. I'm not preaching and I know such things seem quaint today. But we as a people have survived everything the world has thrown at us and for most of our history that was what got people through. It strengthened the will and consoled the survivors. As individuals, no matter how well prepared, we all succumb to our own disaster, whether it be a bomb or a slip in the tub. But as a people we survive, unprepared, by trusting in the names we've given Fate. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug1029 Posted March 16, 2014 #8 Share Posted March 16, 2014 The major disasters that come to mind, fires, floods, tornados and nuclear holocaust, pick their survivors by chance. At least with floods we know where they are going to occur and about how often. If we're in the way, it's our own fault (My old house in Longmont, Colorado survived last fall's floods with only a few inches of water in the yard - former boss had four feet in his living room.). It's just a matter of having the foresight to avoid the flood plains. With tornados we have to-the-minute forecasts of when it will be arriving in your town, on your block, etc. Stay tuned and get out of the way. I get packed when I hear a watch is posted anywhere southwest of here and run for the shelter when it crosses I-35. I've had to do that three times in twelve years. So far, it's always missed me and my house. With fires, at least the big ones: you know when the red flag warning has been issued. You know how to defend your house/neighborhood from a wildfire. The rest is just getting off your butt and doing it. Most disasters will be something we do to ourselves, or our society does to us. It's usually just a matter of staying out of the way or quickly getting out of the way once disaster strikes. Doug Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Jim Posted March 16, 2014 #9 Share Posted March 16, 2014 At least with floods we know where they are going to occur and about how often. If we're in the way, it's our own fault (My old house in Longmont, Colorado survived last fall's floods with only a few inches of water in the yard - former boss had four feet in his living room.). It's just a matter of having the foresight to avoid the flood plains. With tornados we have to-the-minute forecasts of when it will be arriving in your town, on your block, etc. Stay tuned and get out of the way. I get packed when I hear a watch is posted anywhere southwest of here and run for the shelter when it crosses I-35. I've had to do that three times in twelve years. So far, it's always missed me and my house. With fires, at least the big ones: you know when the red flag warning has been issued. You know how to defend your house/neighborhood from a wildfire. The rest is just getting off your butt and doing it. Most disasters will be something we do to ourselves, or our society does to us. It's usually just a matter of staying out of the way or quickly getting out of the way once disaster strikes. Doug I get your point, to a point. What you say is true and survival, whether in a disaster or just day to day, depends on the decisions we make. Yet in every case you point out people die or are otherwise severely affected. Even the best prepared, most action ready people sometimes succumb to the very thing they were most prepared for. That is the "illusion of control" that I referred to. I don't know when that developed but it seems to be somehow unique to modern man. Our recent ancestors of just a century or two ago would cross oceans relying on only wind for propulsion and stars for guidance. As soon as they left port they were on their own. They relied on faith and fortitude or they didn't go. Now we can't go to the corner store without GPS and contact with the world. We think we're in control whereas in earlier times people realized they were not. Yet our sense of control is a sense only and not reality. I'm not saying don't be prepared. We all have insurance of one type or another whether it's through Aetna or Smith & Wesson. I'm just trying to say that the best preparation is the realization that we can't always expect to be prepared. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redhen Posted March 16, 2014 #10 Share Posted March 16, 2014 Forget about trendy, reality TV "preppers". Here's the OP's (Original Preppers) http://www.usscouts....out/bsmotto.asp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug1029 Posted March 16, 2014 #11 Share Posted March 16, 2014 I get your point, to a point. What you say is true and survival, whether in a disaster or just day to day, depends on the decisions we make. Yet in every case you point out people die or are otherwise severely affected. Even the best prepared, most action ready people sometimes succumb to the very thing they were most prepared for. That is the "illusion of control" that I referred to. I don't know when that developed but it seems to be somehow unique to modern man. Our recent ancestors of just a century or two ago would cross oceans relying on only wind for propulsion and stars for guidance. As soon as they left port they were on their own. They relied on faith and fortitude or they didn't go. Now we can't go to the corner store without GPS and contact with the world. We think we're in control whereas in earlier times people realized they were not. Yet our sense of control is a sense only and not reality. I'm not saying don't be prepared. We all have insurance of one type or another whether it's through Aetna or Smith & Wesson. I'm just trying to say that the best preparation is the realization that we can't always expect to be prepared. I agree with you for the most-part. If we get a really big disaster, about all we can do is die. But the sad truth is that we aren't prepared for a medium-sized disaster and we have trouble with little ones. Doug Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Jim Posted March 16, 2014 #12 Share Posted March 16, 2014 I agree with you for the most-part. If we get a really big disaster, about all we can do is die. But the sad truth is that we aren't prepared for a medium-sized disaster and we have trouble with little ones. Doug I think we may be approaching the conversation from two different angles. It sounds to me like you're talking about government preparedness while I'm talking about being prepared on a personal level. If that's the case then we are in agreement more than we realize. I'm all for fire trucks and rescue vehicles. Between our scientists who help predict to our many heroes who react afterwards we are well prepared to deal with most emergencies. The trouble lies with the politicians and bureaucrats who decide on how they are funded and often when they are deployed. I sometimes think their idea of being prepared is having their posters up in time for election day and keeping the bar stocked in the limo. That's why in many cases the first responders to the large disasters are private volunteer groups. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug1029 Posted March 16, 2014 #13 Share Posted March 16, 2014 I think we may be approaching the conversation from two different angles. It sounds to me like you're talking about government preparedness while I'm talking about being prepared on a personal level. If that's the case then we are in agreement more than we realize. I'm all for fire trucks and rescue vehicles. Between our scientists who help predict to our many heroes who react afterwards we are well prepared to deal with most emergencies. The trouble lies with the politicians and bureaucrats who decide on how they are funded and often when they are deployed. I sometimes think their idea of being prepared is having their posters up in time for election day and keeping the bar stocked in the limo. That's why in many cases the first responders to the large disasters are private volunteer groups. It will be a great day when the local fire department can buy a brand new state-of-the-art truck and the Pentagon has to hold bake sales to buy tanks. We've got the money - we just waste an awful lot of it. Doug Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Jim Posted March 16, 2014 #14 Share Posted March 16, 2014 It will be a great day when the local fire department can buy a brand new state-of-the-art truck and the Pentagon has to hold bake sales to buy tanks. We've got the money - we just waste an awful lot of it. Doug I'll drink to that. It would be even better to have all the tanks and fire trucks we need and fewer studies about why people get fat or how sled dogs survive in the snow. Our congress members are richer than most of the citizens they are supposed to represent yet they get free haircuts and numerous other perks at our expense. We could fund the country's necessities twice over if we could just outlaw stupidity and waste. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikko-kun Posted September 17, 2015 #15 Share Posted September 17, 2015 (edited) I'd like to see what people do when there's no cattle to grow because climate change killed most of it, and you realize most of us need meat to function properly. And all you got is other humans and a few scarce animals... Purines... sweet purines... At that time, I'll be glad I know how to hide better than your average person Oh and hey, if it's the new ice age coming... which it will be sooner or later... watch what eskimos do. They eat meat, a lot of it. Why? Because that's the only thing they got. What do you think you can grow in those kinda conditions? Edited September 17, 2015 by Mikko-kun Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dark_Grey Posted September 17, 2015 #16 Share Posted September 17, 2015 It's funny that preppers, like gun enthusiasts, are considered "fringe" until the electricity goes out. It always bothered me that disaster preparation is never discussed. The assumption is that the power will never go out and the water will never stop running. There is 0 promotion of independence from the grid, even for safety purposes. it's gone so far the other way that in some states it's flat out illegal to be off it. "If you aren't getting power from us, you can't have power at all!" 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
questionmark Posted September 17, 2015 #17 Share Posted September 17, 2015 you mean it is time to join that gang of loons that have been stockpiling .22 ammo to the point that you better get the moment it is delivered to the store or all bricks are gone? Well, no. And if you have a detailed look at their "preparation" you might find it is better to just let it come... you will be more prepared. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dark_Grey Posted September 17, 2015 #18 Share Posted September 17, 2015 I have a Mormon phone book for each State. In that book, are the addresses, for the food / water sources I will need for at least the next 2 years after it happens. My wife's family is devout Mormon. Early on I learned about the disaster prep that's simply part of the religion. Each Mormon family is instructed to store food and supplies...some families take it more seriously than others of course but the framework is there. Myself, I'm getting ready to scratch that prepper itch. Like anyone with a decent head on their shoulders, just looking around at the state of the world can make you feel pretty vulnerable. I hope it never happens but I don't want to be caught with my pants down when SHTF. I mean, grocery stores have roughly a 2 day supply. If the trucks stop coming in, what's plan B? It's quite amazing how thin the line that separates our comfortable way of life from total chaos and the unforgiving wild that waits just beyond the city limits. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robinrenee Posted September 19, 2015 #19 Share Posted September 19, 2015 I'm retired EMS, and everybody that I know is a prepper... fire, rescue, police... Our middle name is "What If." FEMA tells people to store up for 3 days. http://www.ready.gov/ But people who work for FEMA have at least 6 months stored... minimum... Yep, I live in the land of "guns and butter." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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