Food for Thought – Part I

Picture the scene. It’s been a long day on the range training. The guns are all safely stowed and we retire to our local to consume a few well-earned beers. The conversation turns to our must have Zombie Apocalypse equipment. We argue the merits of various Guns, Knives etc. till it is time to go home. On the drive home it struck me that none of us even mentioned how we would survive the initial breakdown of civilization. For sure we had killing Zombies all figured out and were armed to the teeth (not quite sure where we got the fleet of trucks we would need to transport the thousands of rounds and dozens of guns) but no mention of how we would deal with the obvious need to simply stay alive and healthy in the first place. So I did a little research and some consulting (sans beers) with the group and came up with the following:

Whether you are worried about Earthquakes, Floods, Hurricanes, Power Outages, Solar Flares, Financial Meltdown or the Zombie Apocalypse it is simply prudent to be prepared. There are many different opinions on what you should have available in case you find yourself having to fend for yourself and your family in a disaster situation. It is also easy to pretend that it could never happen to us. I am sure many thought that pre Katrina and in San Francisco in 1906. Even minor disruptions to our electricity supply cause major problems for people.

What happens when the power goes out for a protracted period?

• No heat or light.
• No Cell Phones, TV, Internet or Radio (unless you have a battery radio). So no information.
• No ATMs so no cash for necessities.
• Stores are cash only.
• Gas stations can’t pump Gas.
• All traffic signals fail. Major traffic congestion.
• Sewage and water treatment plants shut down. Tap water not safe to drink.
• Freezers in homes and stores defrost no refrigeration so fresh goods spoil. (the stores in most cities have only a two day supply of food)
• As soon as those who have no reserves realize that stores are empty and they need food and water for their families, order begins to break down.

So what are our needs and how do we plan to meet them? Let’s start with things we MUST have. Then we can PRIORITIZE. Then we can PLAN.

Needs

• Information.
• Cash.
• Emergency food store.
• Gasoline.
• Clean drinking water.
• Light.
• Cooking/heating fuel.
• Hygiene.
• Means of defense.

(Note) Shelter is not on the list as we are assuming we are at our home.

Priorities

1. Clean Drinking Water is our number one priority we can only survive for a few days without water when we are healthy. Infants the elderly and infirm may succumb to dehydration even quicker.
2. Emergency Food Supply. When healthy we can survive for about 30 days without food, however our body will rapidly deteriorate reducing our ability to do basic survival tasks and our thinking will become cloudy leading us to make bad survival decisions. Our immune system will also be suppressed leaving us vulnerable to infections and disease.
3. Information. Without information we cannot make a sound plan of action. It also helps allay our fears if we have some idea of what is happening beyond our front door.
4. Cooking /Heating Fuel. Depending on your location and or the time of year this may be lower on your list. You can eat raw or cold food but Hypothermia kills quickly. You also may have to be able to boil or distil drinking water.
5. Means of Defense. When people realize stores are empty and become desperate you need some way to defend what you have.
6. Cash. We may be able to purchase essential or overlooked items in the first couple of days before stores run out and people start to panic.
7. Gasoline. If you have to leave the area or collect family members from school work etc. you will need sufficient gasoline.
8. Hygiene. Without working sewage system or trash collection you need some form of latrine system and trash system. Personal hygiene is also important for good health and morale.
9. Light. Last on our list as our ancestors and many cultures in remote areas have managed to survive without it. It is a very useful tool making survival easier and a morale booster on those dark scary nights.

So we have our priorities. You should consider how you would meet them. In the next couple of posts we will look at some ways we came up with to meet them.