Helpful information for all preppers...

[savageagle]

The following information will hopefully help new preppers as well as other preppers and survivalists in a variety of ways. It is for education purposes because knowledge can change your survival odds in your favor.

Preparing Some Essential Urban Survival Gear

The purpose of this article is to highlight some essential urban survival gear for people who are not prepared to perish just because there has been a disaster in the area. Over time you will learn to pick out the tools that have many functions and will therefore not be a burden on you as you try to flee the scene of the disaster. At the same time you need to learn to use the tools that are available to you. For example you need to ensure that you have a current firearms certificate and that there is sufficient weaponry to ward off an invader. This is a basic template for the things that you might want to do.

Start with the basics
It is rather foolish to have a mobile phone that does not work because there are no batteries. Likewise carrying food that you are not able to prepare is going to be a futile exercise. The will to survive will be complemented by other things such as water, warmth, light, shelter, food and even medical treatment. These are things that you should consider when preparing the survival bug-out bag. In fact they have to be part of the long term strategy of protecting your home even if you are of the view that the threats are very remote at this moment in time.

Getting rescued
Obviously you do not want to be in a state of perpetual crisis. There are times where you lose hope but the fact that you can be rescued should be a source of comfort. Try to make life easier for the people that are going to help you by carrying a map, radio and mobile phone. There could be important announcements about the rescue plan and if you are out of touch then it is going to be very difficult for you to get access. Travelling as a community is certainly better than doing things privately because you can pool resources together.

Some street skills

There are children out there who are simply not equipped to deal with life. They lack the basic wisdom to overcome the obstacles that come their way. This is something that you need to avoid as a parent. Your family should learn some skills such as administering first aid, making important calls in case of an emergency and fighting off danger. They should also have some geographical awareness of the place in which you live so that they are not completely lost when you are not there.

Using modern equipment
You should not fear to use modern equipment just because you have been stereotyped as a survivalist. The most important thing is that you are able to examine your environment for things that might be useful and that you take the time to use those things appropriately. For example water purification tablets are a modern phenomenon which can be very useful when you are out in the wild. Hopefully the discussion above will give you ideas on how to prepare some essential urban survival gear. The list is just the start of the planning process. You will decide whether there are items which have a higher priority when compared to others. Likewise you will take the time to expand your knowledge of how things really work in case you are called upon to be the leader in a crisis.

The Survival Bug-out Bag and Equipment

Who needs a survival bug-out bag? The fact is that anyone can be in a position where they rely on this type of equipment in order to avoid being destroyed by a natural disaster. Therefore the question is not whether you need the bag or not but how you are going to go about getting it. In this article we refer to some tips that are provided by FEMA. They are by no means exhaustive but at least they will give you ideas about what can be achieved within your resource list. You should presume that these are mandatory steps but rather we have tried to offer you general guidance on how you can keep safe.

Communicate suspicious activity

If there is something wrong with the environment or you feel that a disaster is imminent, you need to contact the authorities. Sometimes their intelligence has not picked up the signals and that is why hurricanes can devastate communities with impunity. Likewise the government may have some communication to impart to the community in order to raise awareness. If you are planning to prepare a survival bug-out bag then you need to include some form of communication equipment such as a radio. Chances are that you will not have electricity and therefore solar/batteries are the preferred option.

Concentrating on survival
A lot of energy is spent on self pity and apportioning blame when in fact you need to be thinking about survival first. Make sure that you have sufficient water and food to see you through at least three weeks. If it is going to take longer then you may need to move away from your home. That is why you need some cash or a debit card so that you can survive in an alternative location. Do not assume that the water and power supply are as good as they were prior to the disaster. That means that you have to be prepared to go ‘organic’ when the disaster strikes. Make sure that you have the right equipment including batteries, knives, tape and lighters.

Dealing with dead bodies
You need to keep away from dead bodies because they can carry diseases. Scavenger animals can also come to feast and may attack you. If the stench becomes unbearable and you cannot move, it is advisable to scatter the place with herbs such as thyme in order to mask the smell. The ideal situation is to move to a safe area where there are no dead bodies. In some cases you have to cover the bodies with soil in order to occupy the area.

 

[savageagle]

Helpful information for all preppers........Part II


The Use of Urban Survival Tactics

The development of urban survival tactics is both a personal choice and a community initiative. Ideally you should start with
personal responsibility and then move it to the family before bringing your resources together as a community. A classic
example of people who are prepared to fight for their survival is a gated community. Although some people have
complained about certain demographics fleeing the city, there are practical considerations which determine these
decisions. In any case we are affected by the choices we make. If your car is parked on the road, you can expect that it will
be easier to be vandalized than that which is locked up in a secure garage. This article attempts to highlight some tactics
that you can use to ensure your safe in an urban environment.

Access to Food and Water

You have to ensure that as a minimum you can access some basic provisions including food and water. To that you can
add shelter, warmth, security and other needs. One option is to produce food. An example is where people in the city
request for allotments in which they can grow food intensively. This tactic has been tried out in the UK with some success.
The second option is to find ways of acquiring food. For example your children need to be able to hunt fish and swim.
Essentially you have to prepare them to go back to their instincts when faced with danger. Rather than taking them on a
junk food binge, you need to ensure that they visit the outdoors and become accustomed to being self reliant. These are
the future generation that will need the right urban survival tactics.

Self defense and security issues

Learning to defend your life is not a sign of violence. There is a difference between the community bully that engages in
random violence and someone who has carefully nurtured the right skills in order to respond to a crisis. When we had the
London riots, some people were able to become instant defense support teams. They knew how to deal with a group of
people that had suddenly decided that they were going to bring London down. The truth of the matter is that if you neglect
your self-defensive training, your urban survival tactics will remain woefully inadequate. That is a recipe for a disaster when
you are confronted by angry and desperate people.

Education and general awareness

The first element of urban survival tactics is the understanding the nature of the threat. Do not become one of those snotty
people who openly laugh at the efforts of survivalists. They have a point to make and you can learn something from their
efforts. This is not to say that there are no kooky people out there who see crisis everywhere. It is all about finding the right
balance and educating your community.
Acquiring urban survival tactics is not enough. You have to be prepared to use them. That is where practice becomes an
important issue. Do not just read books or work in a controlled environment. Instead you need to take every opportunity to
develop your core skills. For example you could become a neighborhood watch volunteer. That means that you will be well
prepared for any eventualities in case there is a crisis.

The elderly, sick, pets and children
Inevitably there will be members of the family who are more vulnerable than others. Therefore you need to make contingency plans that account for this issue. For example you can pack special food and medicine for them. Children need to be occupied during a disaster or they could become a serious distraction from your rescue efforts.
Do not listen to those perpetual optimists who claim that a survival bug-out bag is not necessary. There is always the risk that you are going to be part of an affected community. It is better to be prepared and laugh off a false alarm than not to be prepared and deal with disaster. This is not about conspiracy theories but the lives of ordinary people who are trying to survive terrible circumstances.

 

[savageagle]

Helpful information for all preppers...........Part III

Some Survival Kit Contents and Ideas
In this article you are given a rundown of some survival kit contents and ideas. There is no requirement that you have to follow all these recommendations to the letter. However they are a good foundation for anyone that has hopes of surviving a major disaster regardless of whether it is an urban or rural setting. It is absolutely essential to have a list of the items that you intend to carry because it is very easy to forget. Prepare a list of things you need A checklist is very important for anyone that is looking to deal with a potential crisis. The primary reason for doing this is that we tend to forget things. Start off with the headline items such as food, water, shelter, fire, medicine and weapons. You can then break it down through describing the normal routines that happen in your home. What exactly do you do when you are preparing a meal for your children or preparing them for bed? Such an approach will ensure that you can pick up all those minor details that are easy to ignore in a rush. Consult with your family so that you can get their perspectives on what is required. Accumulate them over time Obviously it is very difficult to accumulate all the things you need in a relatively short time frame. That is why you need to look at this as a long term project. If you are gathering your food items then the saving process has to be as gradual as possible. Start off with the items that will last longest. Do not forget to rotate your provisions lest they become expired and useless to you. There is a big difference between hoarding and a prudent accumulation of stock. Above all you need to think about the size of your family and the kind of requirements that you have even as you go through this process. Learn to use them It is imperative that you know how to use all the stuff that you have accumulated. The crisis is not the time to brush up on your basic survival skills. One of the ways in which you can become proficient is to visit a camping site on a regular basis. This is family time together while at the same time the kids will be learning very important lessons that can make all the difference as they attempt to cope with a hostile world around them. This is a training process that starts with the adults and then trickles down to everyone in the team. Make sure that they understand the origins of the emergency and can use their skills to overcome those problems.
Ultimately the survival kit will be a reflection of your needs as a family. For example four members of a nuclear family are going to have requirements that are very different from an extending family grouping of 50. If you have aunts and uncles helping, it becomes relatively easier to deal with the problem because it is being attacked by more than one person. You may actually coordinate your activities so that nobody is left out when the emergency arises. It is certainly preferable to sitting at home and then hoping that the problems will never come to you.

 

[Gazrok]

To add on to this (in the city) idea.... (in addition to looted stores of course)

WATER - sources include: inside garden hoses (you'd be surprised how much), toilets (tank only), businesses (which typically have a waiting area with a water cooler), stores that may sell water (but that you wouldn't initially think do, like up by the register, etc.)

FOOD - vending machines, pigeons, frogs, insects, squirrels, same note about stores you wouldn't originally guess.

 

[getnready]

Wow Savageagle, that was pretty intensive information!
Where did you get your resource information?

 

[savageagle]

It comes some from my own training excersizes within the cities of fresno and clovis. It is from clovis emergency responce team's training through the counties office of emergency services where we teach many people of all walks of life to be the eyes, ears and hopefully someone within a community who will be trained in many aspects of various types of disasters and the important basic details of bringing educated guidance to small groups or communities. You'd be surprized by the number of small details in any community that should be thought of when faced with the protection of a communities residence. Turning off fuel sources like gas lines or propane sources and power. We work with PG&E who train us with certs and then we can train others. It is an effort by police departments, city fire and many amateur radio operators belonging to civil emergency services and besides all this I do alot of reading of California's emergency services plan training guides.

 

[savageagle]

Gazrok added some great info which applies to a more "city" environment and makes you think there's alot you can miss so when someone has a comment, listen to them, it could be a life saving comment of which you didn't think of.

 

[jontte]

Hi again,as I live in an apartmentblock,have a question abt water,if stored in bottles what's the so called shelflife if poured from tap into bottles compared to bought waterbottles?? and should the storageplace be completely dark?

 

[DrHenley]

Hi again,as I live in an apartmentblock,have a question abt water,if stored in bottles what's the so called shelflife if poured from tap into bottles compared to bought waterbottles?? and should the storageplace be completely dark?

Sterile water in a sterile container has an indefinite shelf life. Chlorinated tap water, placed in a sterile container has an indefinite shelf life. Containers made from BPA or other plastics that can leach into the water may impart some undesirable qualities to the water over time, but the water doesn't "expire" like food does.

What you have to be careful about is placing tap water in a container that has some microbes from the environment. Even if the water itself is sterile, and the container itself is sterile, spores or microbes can be present in the air. A few spores in a container can eventually spoil the water if left long enough. Chlorination may help kill any microbes so introduced, which is why some authorities recommend using chlorinated water for long term storage instead of filtered water.

Back before the days of chlorination, people would put silver coins in water cisterns to kill any stray microbes. I don't know of any "scientific" studies that show that it works, but it was a fairly common practice once. The modern version of this is to use colloidal silver in the water.

 

[jontte]

Thank you for the answer,they chlorinate out tapwater here so it should be safe for storage as lond as I store it in sterile bottles.

 

[savageagle]

Bottled Water Storage
Emergency preparedness guidelines issued by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security recommend that all households maintain an emergency supply of water -- at least one gallon per person per day for three days -- for drinking, cooking and personal hygiene.
The International Bottled Water Association (IBWA) advises consumers to store bottled water at room temperature or cooler, out of direct sunlight and away from solvents and chemicals such as gasoline, paint thinners, household cleaners, and dry cleaning chemicals.
Some consumers have asked why these conditions are best for bottled water storage.
•First, when water (bottled water or tap water) is exposed to extended periods of direct sunlight or heat sources, algae or mold may infrequently develop. Although this is not a general concern for public health, the bottled water industry wants you to enjoy the freshest, cleanest water possible, and storing water in a cool place out of direct sunlight helps assure that.

•Second, bottled water and other beverages are packaged in sanitary and highly protective, sealed plastic containers that maintain the quality and freshness of the product. However, plastic containers – whether used for bottled water or other beverages – are slightly permeable, which may allow ambient air gases such as vapors from household solvents, petroleum-based fuels and other chemicals, to affect the taste and odor of your beverage. Your bottled water company takes great care to store and transport its products carefully so you can enjoy the fresh, clean taste you expect from bottled water. Proper storage will help ensure product quality.
Consumers also ask about expiration dates printed on some bottles and whether bottled water has a limited shelf life.
•The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which regulates bottled water as a packaged food product, has determined that there is no limit to the shelf life of bottled water.

•Because it is packaged under sanitary, good manufacturing processes; is in a sanitary sealed container; and does not contain substances (such as sugars and proteins) typically associated with food spoilage, bottled water can be stored for extended periods of time without concerns.

•In addition, only one state (New Jersey) has ever required expiration dating for bottled water. However, the New Jersey state legislature repealed the 2-year expiration date law several years ago, noting that there was no scientific evidence to support such a requirement. Some companies place date-based lot codes on bottled water containers, which are typically used to assist in managing stock rotation at distribution and retails points.
Bottled water is an excellent choice for emergency water storage and, of course, daily refreshment. FDA Good Manufacturing Practices mandate that bottled water be produced in a sanitary environment and bottled in sanitary, safety-sealed containers. These and other extensive FDA, state and industry standards help ensure that bottled water delivers consistent safety, quality and good taste to consumers.

Whether you buy your bottled water in bulk for everyday drinking or you've stockpiled for emergencies, you may be interested in keeping it usable for as long as possible. According to the FDA, water bottled by U.S. companies has an indefinite shelf life for safety. More important is learning to store tap water bottled for emergencies. Learn more about storing bottled water and how to do it yourself.
Extending the life of your bottled tap water:
Step 1 -- Prepare a proper container. You should purchase a food-grade storage container (available at outdoors stores), or use a 2-liter soda bottle. Do not use old milk or juice containers, which contain acids that erode plastic over long periods.
Step 2 -- Wash and sanitize the containers with regular dish soap and water. Rinse completely to remove any residue.
Step 3 -- Sanitize the bottle with a solution made of one tablespoon bleach to one quart water. Swish the solution around the inside of the container and rinse thoroughly,
Step 4 -- Fill the containers with tap water, being careful to avoid touching the inside of the container or cap with your fingers. If you are using tap water that is not from a municipal source (i.e. if you have well water), treat by adding two drops of chlorine bleach to each gallon.
Step 5 -- Write the date on the container, and store it in a cool, dark place. You should replace self-bottled water every six months.

 

[jontte]

as I said earlier,if you don't get an answer here,you don't get it anywhere,thanks to you ladys and gents, i've gotten many good advice and that again makes my prepping alot easier

 

[jimLE]

food smells during a natural disaster(short term).to a TEOTWAWKI event..which means we best make sure the smell of food don't get out for others to smell,when ever possible..to me,that includes keeping the food smell(s) in place when ever possible..and i don't know about all of you.but i simply don't want to eat cold food ever time.so i've done a lil bit of research on what might work..so here's something that might work..

Reynolds® Oven Bags are the easy way to make great tasting meals for your family. Whether it’s your family’s Thanksgiving turkey or a flavorful prime rib roast, using an oven bag is the easy way to enjoy great tasting meats and vegetables.

To use your oven bag, just place it in a pan and fill it with your favorite meat and/or vegetables and refer to any additional information on the package as needed. Close it using the nylon tie provided and place it in the oven for an easy meal prepared with only one pan. The bag traps in moisture and natural juices to keep food from drying out so it comes out juicy and tender every time.

http://www.reynoldskitchens.com/products/oven-bags/

and here's another one..

http://www.packitgourmet.com/Storage...ts_per_page=25

and here's one that has more variety of choices..

http://www.alibaba.com/showroom/reusable-cooking-bags.html

 

[Gazrok]

Hi again,as I live in an apartmentblock,have a question abt water,if stored in bottles what's the so called shelflife if poured from tap into bottles compared to bought waterbottles?? and should the storageplace be completely dark?

Personally, I rotate self-bottled water out every 4-6 months. Mostly, it's due to leeching of the plastic. As mentioned above, still potable, but there will be a definite "taste" difference. As for storage, light and warmth encourage the growth of bacteria, but if a sterile bottle and sterile water, then shouldn't make a difference.

If EVER in doubt, simply boil it first. The old silver coin trick is a worthwhile one, but most coins don't have it anymore. You'd need a pre-1965 dime, nickel, quarter, or silver dollar coin (which were about 90% silver).

 

[jimLE]

i was reading else where,about where to store foods.and a good suggestion was made for someone else,in which it'll work for me as well.my home sits up off the ground.and that can be a idea location for storing long term foods that'll last a long time.on account it stays dry and cool there.but yet i'll need to make a trap door in a section of floor,within the house.this way no one else will see me putting any thing there,or take it out.thats where our hall closet comes in at.seeing how i plan on making that our tornado safe room.

 

[savageagle]

JimLE, thats a great place for storage...........not my primary but I have a double mobile and several years ago I made a hatch to go down then dug out 5' x 5' x 6' deep area surrounded by standard type walls with sheet rock that goes all the way up to the underside of the floor. About a year ago I lined the outside with brass screen material and on the inside it covers the walls and top and the hatch cover making a small shielded room. It's enough room for things I want quick access to in case and as well I have a few radios that are cabled to antennas that are up in pine trees and all cables are burried. They are simple home made antenna and you'd have to be directly under the pine tree with good eyes to see them. I can easily bring up repeaters that are as far as 120 miles away and I have a bit of everything in there including water which it stays pretty cool even in summer. I hope to expand on it soon because there is a lot of room down there and might as well put it to some use.