With a plethora of new shows on TV about Survival in the wild, surviving a doomsday, surviving disaster and multiple other shows on the subject of survival it seems to be a popular topic. I have asked friends of mine whether or not they could survive in the face of a bad situation, whether they had food and water stores in case of natural disaster and one thing is obvious to me: most Americans are not ready to face any adverse situations. They keep just normal stores of food in house, they don't stock up or buy bulk on items, they don't keep more than a few water bottles in the house usually for working out or something other. Most of my list is built on a budget and as I get more money I would love to add things like a generator and maybe even an underground shelter.
I don't think I am paranoid about things but I do like being prepared for most situations. Just assuming in the face of a natural disaster in my area I want to be prepared to survive at least 3 days in case the government is as slow to respond here as they were in Louisiana with Katrina.
This is what I have decided to keep on hand just in case (and I will probably keep adding to this list the more I can think of)
1.At least 3 days worth of non perishable food. This is a good starting point to build on and 3 days will get you through most local natural disasters. This could be 1 trip to the grocery, look for foods with a long shelf life and place them in a storage area other than your pantry. Be sure to include at least 1 gallon of water per family member, per day and something to cook on such as a camping stove with fuel.
For further tips you can check out survival blogs like Survival Cache , Accept the Challenge , or Bug-Out Survival .. These sites are full of great tips for building a sustainable food cache to feed your family in case of a crisis.
2. Flashlights, I prefer to keep a couple of heavy duty mag-lights with extra batteries around in case of short power outages. It is also a good idea to have a crank or solor powered radio/flashlight around so you can know what is going on around you. For long term outages, you could use oil lamps, gas lanterns, candles, or if you have the money to be prepared a generator with a cache of fuel to run the lights.
3. First aid kit, you never know what types of injuries can occur, it is always good to have at least one good one on hand and to have at least a working knowledge of everything in it and how to use it. You can pick up a pretty comprehensive kit at almost any army surplus store or if you know what you want you can build your own and tailor the kit to suit you.
4. Extra blankets for warmth in case it is a cold weather situation, this could also be replaced with a good cold weather sleeping bag. These may come in handy in other times than just a survival situation. A couple of years ago our heater went totally out in the middle of January, instead of finding someone to stay with while we had the new one installed we were able to rough it at the house because we had plenty of spare blankets to keep everyone warm.
5. Emergency kit, there are many small emergency kits you can purchase as a just in case or if you are like me just build your own usually cheaper than the kits you can purchase. My kit includes a signal mirror, tripwire for building snares, survival blanket(the small blankets that look like tin foil), fishing line, sinkers and hooks, small notepad with a pencil, emergency whistle, P38 can opener, compass, matches, lighter, and magnesum fire starter (I want to ensure I can get a fire built in an emergency situation), some hard candy for a quick sugar boost, bullion both beef and chicken and then a small multi function knife. This all fits neatly into a small plastic container that fits under the seat of my truck or in my daypack if I am going hiking.
6. Knife, not one of the $2 junk knives that you see everywhere but a good knife. Everyone has their opinions on this matter but I keep a Gerber Armor Tanto on my person or in my truck at all times. For my carry pack I have not had the money to add the knife I want but it is either going to be a Tom Brown Tracker or a military issue Kabar.
7. This one could be put with the knife but a good Multi tool can be a life saver. Again no cheap dollar store crap here, get a good one as your life could be dependant upon it. I have had the Leatherman Wave and the Gerber Suspension both are excellent tools.
With a little research you can find many good ideas to have on hand in case of emergency. You can build a minimal kit just for the home to hold you in case of a natural disaster, power outage or other minor setback. Or you can be one of the people who start preparing for TEOTWAWKI (the end of the world as we know it).
