The First/Most Important Step?

[echo5whiskey]

Up until somewhat recently, I never really gave any thought to having any kind of disaster plan. It was just one of those things that I never really thought of. I am soon to be a father, second award, and it kind of pushed me into taking this idea a bit more seriously. To top it all off, I'm hoping to move to a different part of the country within the next 6-9 months. I sort of started getting things together over the last several years, but I haven't been able to get much. We could make it through a short term situation, but I'm not so sure about anything extended.

What would be the first and/or most important step in getting together a good disaster plan?

[Koshinn]

Up until somewhat recently, I never really gave any thought to having any kind of disaster plan. It was just one of those things that I never really thought of. I am soon to be a father, second award, and it kind of pushed me into taking this idea a bit more seriously. To top it all off, I'm hoping to move to a different part of the country within the next 6-9 months. I sort of started getting things together over the last several years, but I haven't been able to get much. We could make it through a short term situation, but I'm not so sure about anything extended.

What would be the first and/or most important step in getting together a good disaster plan?

Figure out the most common disasters in the area you will live in and proportionately plan for those. If you moved to the gulf coast, be prepared for hurricanes and massive flooding, which would mean being ready to evacuate with not much notice. If you moved to Oklahoma, be ready for ridiculous storms and tornados. If you moved to California (I hope not!), they're expecting "the big one" earthquake at any time, so... yeah.

For Hawaii... get a plan to move to higher ground in case of tsunami if you live near the coastal areas, get a plan in case a once every 2-3 decade hurricane hits, and stock up on food mostly, since Hawaii has something like a 7 day back-stock of food if there aren't constant shipments from the mainland.

[Straight Shooter]

MINDSET. Seems you have it now, so that's a HUGE step right there.
Koshinn hit the nail on the head. Be ready for local stuff first...then prep for a bigger, national type event. Food, the knowledge/ability to make clean water, protection, meds....long list of stuff. For ME..Im paranoid about lack of drinking water. Cant store enough of it, so one must have the tools and knowledge on how & where to get or make it. PLENTY of good tech out there for it, like LIFESTRAW, for example.

[rcoodyar15]

MINDSET. Seems you have it now, so that's a HUGE step right there.
Koshinn hit the nail on the head. Be ready for local stuff first...then prep for a bigger, national type event. Food, the knowledge/ability to make clean water, protection, meds....long list of stuff. For ME..Im paranoid about lack of drinking water. Cant store enough of it, so one must have the tools and knowledge on how & where to get or make it. PLENTY of good tech out there for it, like LIFESTRAW, for example.

I like this one! MINDSET!!

Once you have made that decision to prepare it is really pretty easy from there on if you eat the apple one bite at a time.

Local disasters first is good advice. I have lived in florida most of my life. Hurricane preparedness is just a way of life. Get your supplies well in advance. You should see the shelves at Walmart and Lowes a few hours after a hurricane warning. My advice on hurricanes is to leave and not come back till the power and water are restored and the mess is cleaned up. Not always possible though.

Shelter, water and food in that order is the rule. Where ever you live is going to dictate how you handle each. I say everyone should have at least 6 months non frozen/ refrigerated food supply. I like the canned Mountain House because of the 25 yr shelf life. Then canned goods used on a rotating basis. Beans and Rice for long term storage. Water purification equipment. For those in the desert water storage is essential. I would go with a large cistern.

the shelter one. Everyone needs a bug out spot. When I evacuate for hurricanes I go to the home place in Georgia. Now if the big one ever happens and the trucks quit delivering food to the grocery stores and gas to the gas stations then cities will become places you don't want to be. In fact you wouldn't want to be in the path of the refugees leaving the cities. you need a small piece of land a long way from any concentration of people.

Now here is the rub. You have spent all that time and money stockpiling food and other supplies and like most you stayed to long and now you have to get out of dodge. How much of that stuff can you carry on your back. Remember no gas at the gas station.

What are you going to do now.

[6933]

Mindset and physical fitness are two that are 100% within your control.

Being in excellent physical shape was so important during/after Lenny and Katrina. One day I'll get around to posting some pics from after them as well as give a write-up of what occurred.

10th anniv. of Katrina is coming up so I'll make it a priority.

If anyone here is an IT guru and can help with getting pics. up for me, let me know and I'll PM.

[Koshinn]

Mindset and physical fitness two that are 100% within your control.

Being in excellent physical shape was so important during/after Lenny and Katrina. One day I'll get around to posting some pics from after them as well as give a write-up of what occurred.

10th anniv. of Katrina is coming up so I'll make it a priority.

If anyone here is an IT guru and can help with getting pics. up for me, let me know and I'll PM.

Yeah I can help you out with whatever you need to get up

I'm guessing a lot of the IT folk on M4C are in Vegas now for Black Hat and perhaps Defcon. I happen to live here though.

[bigjack7440]

WATER!!! FOOD !!! WAY TO MAKE FIRE !!! WEAPONS/AMO !!!
KNIFE !! after these things you can make it almost anywhere
Ps
I worked the power lines for 4 months without a day off and 16-18hrs a day during / after Katrina and I'm 6'5 325 . Not what you call in shape but if you WORKA FOR A LIVING your as strong as someone working out a hour or 2 a day lolo
Good luck to all


Sent from my rocket ship using
My cell'y

[THCDDM4]

All good advice thus far. MINDSET is huge.

One thing I think most forget to do is REALLY plan how to get out of their area and travel to a safe area. If you live in a city or a suburb of a city- bugging in would be the most likely scenario; but what if you have to bug out- and the other 2 million people around you do also?

Do you plan on taking the highway like everyone else into the hills/plains/forest/whatever- or do you have alternate routes planned out and a place to go to you can set up camp or have an alternate property, etc. Do you know of a walking route if things are really bad?

Water, food, guns, ammo, medicine and mobility are at the top of my list. Mobility and planning for the trip; having alternate routes is very important to me. What's the use of all the equipment/food/water if I can't use it?

If shit goes down all your "survival stuff" needs to be accessible and ready to move.

Do some mock runs. Figure a scenario and act it out- time yourself and see what you REALLY need time wise to get the task done. This will help if and when shit does go down as you have practiced what to do and can go through the motions. Practicing will also flush out your weaknesses and you can work on those- be it physical, mental, lack of preparedness, too much stuff, etc.

I've got an area in my basement where I keep bug out bags, food, water, a few guns and a few ammo cases- so if we need to get out quick we can pack up and be out with minimal/necessary gear to survive for a month without procuring resources. I figure if it's more than a month; we've got some work to do and some decisions to make as to where and how to procure resources for the future.

I've got tons of supplies, but realistically I can't bring it all with me; so some of it needs to be hidden in case I need to come back for it later. If people loot my house they will get a lot of good stuff- I can't hide it all; but I have a a good deal of gear in places it won't be found.

I have a hitch cargo carrier that folds up on my 4Runner all year long. It's not huge, but can carry quite a bit of gear and is ready to go on a moments notice. Same thing with my roof rack. I've timed myself getting all the gear packed and tied down and getting going. I get quicker each time and find easier ways to do things.

If you need to get out quick- everyone else near you does also- it will pay off to be one off the first out and on the road rather than stuck in the mass exodus.

I think most try to bite off a lot in the beginning, but don't really need to. Next/every time you go grocery shopping pick up some extra canned food that is on sale, buy a few gallons water, pick up a big bag of rice and of beans. You can rotate new supplies in and out as needed for optimal shelf life. Buy a few hundred rounds here and there each month when you find a good price. Buy components for firearms here and there.

Few preppers I know actually allocate a small budget of funds each month- I do and it has really paid off. Even if I'm not buying anything that month it rolls over and I have funds for when things go on sale so I can maximize my investment.

If you just do a little here and there it will add up quick, as opposed to dropping thousands of dollars in one month; which many cannot afford.

Also, what works for others might not work for you- so when you get a new tool or learn a new skill practice it and refine it to your personal ability. Everyone needs to test themselves and learn from mistakes- better to make the mistakes when your life isn't on the line so when it is you know what to do and how to adjust without wasting energy and time learning on the go.

Buy a few books about survival in your region/climate. Buy a book on edible natural plant life in your area; knowing what and what NOT to eat is huge, and buy another on natural plant remedies/medicines. Keep these in your bug out bag.

Last thing I will recommend is buy some schedule 40 3/4" PVC pipe- it is extremely useful. Can make a lot of stuff out of it and it is light. Shelters, weapons, piping water- you are only bound by your own imagination and ability.

With some gorilla tape, para cord and PVC pipe you can make just about anything.

[Straight Shooter]

Yall made me think of a couple more things I do religiously.
1. READ. EVERYTHING. ANYTHING concerning food, storage, making fire/water/improvised weapons...ANYTHING to do with survival/shtf. 2. Every paycheck, buy at least ONE high quality, well made dependable thing. NO JUNK. NEVER. ONE GOOD THING, not 5 pieces of shit.
EXAMPLE: Lights. Buy a good SUREFIRE, NOT 3-4 Chinese pieces of shit.
3. Every time you add something to your kit...write it down, and keep a list in a ziplock bag, so in a hurry you wont have to dig around wondering if you forgot this or that.
these are things I DO.

[echo5whiskey]

Figure out the most common disasters in the area you will live in and proportionately plan for those. If you moved to the gulf coast, be prepared for hurricanes and massive flooding, which would mean being ready to evacuate with not much notice. If you moved to Oklahoma, be ready for ridiculous storms and tornados. If you moved to California (I hope not!), they're expecting "the big one" earthquake at any time, so... yeah.

For Hawaii... get a plan to move to higher ground in case of tsunami if you live near the coastal areas, get a plan in case a once every 2-3 decade hurricane hits, and stock up on food mostly, since Hawaii has something like a 7 day back-stock of food if there aren't constant shipments from the mainland.

That's along the lines of what I've started. I just don't like the fact that there are over 1M people on one tiny island, thousands of miles from everything.

If there's even a hint of some kind of natural occurrence, there's no such thing as back-stock. That's part of what got me thinking about all this in the first place.