My survival experiences....

[masek77]

Ive been through two "disasters". Both would be considered very minor next to Katrina but they were major occurances for me.

The first was a major hurricane back about 20 years ago. I live 200 miles inland so even big ones dont usually hit us hard here but this one did. Roads were impassable for a week. There were hundreds of thousands of trees down and virtually the entire electrical network had to be rebuilt.

The second one was a major snowstorm. Again where I live even a small flurry is rare so when we got 15 inches of snow and ice with a million people out of power it became a mess really fast.

In both of these events simple services such as electricity were out and stayed out for months for some people. My girlfriend at the time was without electricity for 71 days. In the snowstorm we were without power for 21 days and my parents were without power for 39 days.

1) Food...after the snowstorm the roads were impassable for almost two weeks. Being the Southeatern US we dont have a lot of (snow) road crews so it took them weeks to get to the tertiary roads to clear them. We ran out of canned foods pretty fast. We ended up cooking on a propane heater. After the roads were usable for a few miles we ventured out to buy food. The only store available to us at the time was selling spaghetti in the can for 20 dollars each, and people were buying it as fast as they could. Many of the large grocery stores wouldnt open up because the meat departments had a lot of rotting meat. They were looted by the time we made it to them.

2) Water...if you have municiple water then you shouldnt have much to worry about. They repair them first in a disaster. If you live on well water and the power is out then thats another story. The ability to flush the commode is something you dont think of as essential in survival but wait until its been three days. Women especially have a thing about going outside. I had to MAKE my wife at the time do it. Eventually we melted snow and poured it in the water reservoir to get the toilets to flush.

3) Protection...I hate to say it but in a pinch people are not nice. After a week without power people were roaming out in the snow looking for handouts. Many had not slept warm in a week or more and many were armed. I never turned them away but I never gave them good food either. They had to be truly hungry to eat what I gave them. I also made sure they knew I was armed. I always asked them to place their guns on the ground before entering my driveway. We moved the dogs inside and they always let us know when someone was outside.

After it was all over many people on the same road as ours had been robbed or imtimidated into "trading" their food for protection etc. People become crazy after being stuick in a house for several weeks and seem to seek out trouble. I think being paranoid about other people during this time kept us from being robbed several times.

4) Heat...in the aftermath of the snowstorm I learned that electric heat doesnt work to well when the power lines are down. Luckily our neighbor, a 78 year old woman let us live with her for 3 weeks until the power came back on. She had an LP gas heater that we used for heat and to cook with.

THINGS  I LEARNED...
You should have enough food to last 2 months minimum. In a really bad situation youll have nothing to do but eat and sleep and this wont last you two months. Get a lot of canned foods that you can eat unheated like spaghetti, vienna sausages and crackers, canned beef stew, etc. Buy dry beans and store them in 3 liter bottles. They will last years if not decades if stored this way. Keep enough food for your dog to last at least as long.

While you are at it store several hundred gallons of water this way (in a 3 liter drink bottle). Its cheap and easy and the water stays clean and drinkable no matter what happens (generally) to the bottle. They can be stored under the house, or in an outbuilding.

Keep a few hundred dollars in small bills handy.

Dog are worth their weight in gold when they are all that is guarding you at night.

Keep a kerosene heater and enough kerosene for at least a week available if you have electric heat.

ALWAYS carry a gun.



The romantic idea of survivalism is roughing it and living off the land. In truth for me at least it was trying to provide a basic minimum for my family, which I think I BARELY was able to do. Im sure there is a lot more I could do but today I keep a lot more food on hand than I used to; I made sure I was on municipal water; I have LP gas heat in my house and have usually enough gas to last the entire winter by October each year, etc etc etc.

[masek77]

I cant help but laugh a little at the talk of military style survival skills, living off the land, etc ... Some act like they think theyll spend the whole time enjoying an extended vacation from work or something.

No matter what a disaster is a shock to the psyche, if not for you then maybe your family or neighbors. ITS NOT A "FUN" TIME BY ANY STRETCH. If you live around people at all even if its still very rural you wont be leaving your family to go hunting, fishing or hiking unless you are a moron, and you wouldnt want to take them with you because the house is your home base.

The single biggest danger is other people. Other people dont prepare. Other people have families that end up going hungry. Other people have no qualms about stealing your food or robbing you if they are hungry enough. Other people get cabin fever and venture out looking for trouble. Other people leave their family undefended. Other people watch you from the woodline to see if you have a weakness and then they try to exploit it.

I dont want to make anyone mad at me but I think the way people portray life after a disaster is way off the mark.

In the end my survival isnt the issue as much as my families survival. Im not talking about living off the land for years at a time but rather surviving after a disater for a few weeks to a few months until things return to normal.

[myronman3]

great post, and excellent food for thought by everyone.   very real world....

[masek77]

Thanks.

Most of the posts here and elsewhere are about which model pistol to hide where or bug out bags or crap like that. C'mon guys. A family man couldnt just "bug out." A family man has responsibilties, a wife and children that he must protect. Survival depends on being inconspicuous and protecting whats yours, not loading up the truck to run off somewhere because when you come back you probably wont have anything to come back to. Your house and property will be for the most part gone when you get back. Besides a "bug out" bag couldnt possibly feed your family for a month could it? Fifteen different guns wont protect you better than one decent pistol that you can shoot well can it? I hate to burst your bubble but you dont need an HK53 submachinegun for this.

Some of you guys make it sound like a disaster is an excuse to go play "survival".

People will quickly develop psychological problems after a disaster. Children can go from "normal" to severe depression quickly when they are used to watching TV in the afternoon and the power is out. Women as well as some men will quickly develop serious problems if left to their own devices and no contact with the outside world. IMO the best way to handle this is to keep everyone busy. Dont let things get out of control. A good cup of coffee or tea, or a hot meal, or any number of things can go a long way in making a rough situation bearable.

Alcohol has its place and its not during a disaster.

MELATONIN...a hormone released by the brain that causes deep sleep. Available over the counter as a sleep aid. This can prove invaluable in a crisis situation because it allows you to get a restful nights sleep no matter what. Even with it you can wake up quickly and be able to respond to whatever the dogs are barking at if need be.

[Almtnman]

MELATONIN...a hormone released by the brain that causes deep sleep. Available over the counter as a sleep aid. This can prove invaluable in a crisis situation because it allows you to get a restful nights sleep no matter what. Even with it you can wake up quickly and be able to respond to whatever the dogs are barking at if need be.

I guess that with an anology like that if my house burnt down, I need to run to the local drugstore and buy myself a bottle of melatonin.

I sure wish I knew that on the several occasions that I was without power and water for days on end and snowed in so deep the four wheel drive couldn't push all the snow out of the road. Maybe I should just stock on a good supply melatonin and everything will work out. How many calories and nutrients does melatonin have? 

[Almtnman]

Dont be a moron. You know what melatonin is for.

I know what they say it's for, but as for it working, I'm not so sure about that. Anyway, the reason I questioned you was I really enjoyed your first post, but then you came back and contradicted a lot of what you had said and I couldn't figure out why you would do that. The first post was great, but the second one, well that's another story.

Bottom line is, everyone should be prepared in their own way to do it along for a period of time and that might mean moving the family several hundred miles away. And a bug out bag is a necessity. Try to remember that a bug out bag should contain a stock of prescription medicines just in case you can't get to the drugstore for a while, plus other things you and your family might need. I'm on a disaster relief team and we all have bug out bags packed and ready to go on a few minutes notice. Without one handy, we would just be like a leaf blowing in the breeze. When disaster's strike, that's not the time to start thinking of packing something up.

[masek77]

I agree everyone should be prepared but for most the thought of disaster planning is just a reason to "play survival".

Melatonin is specifically for stressful times when people have a hard time sleeping. It works. Deleted by Graybeard.
I know several people who would call themselves survivalists. Most of them are just plain idiots. They are the same people who were wandering out in the snow asking for handouts after 6 days without power. They are the people who get have all the guns in the world but not a single can of food for their family. They are the people who ended up in a shelter 80 miles down the road for 2 weeks because they had a wreck trying to drive with all the other idiots trying to drive on a sheet of ice....

You speaks of what you and your family might need. I say in an emergency situation where the house is still intact and not in imminent danger they need to stay put, especially if they have everything they would need right there. Most if not almost all people who "bug out' will end up broke 250 miles up the highway with no way to get home, and no relatives or friend for help, and BTW most likely with a home that is still there and could still be stocked with food, water and other essentials. But then again its no fun to stay at home and take care of your family is it? Much more fun to go run out and basically become a refugee...

Disaster could mean anything but generally for most of us its going to be hurricanes, blizzards, or something like that. The vast majority of imaginable disasters dictate that you would be better off staying put and planning beforehand and not running out where the elements are not going to be kind and becoming an instant refugee. Ive served on several Disaster planning committees and in almost every imaginable situation its better to stay put. The only major exception is flooding but if you are stupid enough to live in a flood plain then you deserve what you get.

In a Nuclear War I imagine everyone outside with their "bug out " equipment will be breathing in lots of I-131 fallout and getting Thyroid Cancer so go right ahead.

What do New Yorkers do when a blizzard hits? They stay at home and wait it out. I can tell you one thing, they dont jump in the car with 50 bucks, 10 rifles and handguns, and start driving. Maybe they know a thing or two about them as they see a good blizzard every year at least.

What do people who live on the coast do when hurricanes threaten? They prepare by boarding up their houses, stocking up on food and generally hunker down. For the most part only the tourists evacuate.

What are you supposed to do if tornadoes threaten? NOPE YOU DONT GRAB YOUR (edited by Graybeard) BUG OUT BAG. The safest place in an interior room of your home.

I understand your post. Go ahead and go out in the snow or in the weather and play little man. Im sure your wife wont mind a bit when you are trading your guns for gas money so you can come back home, or so you can rent a motel because she cant take sleeping in the back of the truck one more night.

As for me, IF my house is secure and not in danger, Ill sit tight and feed MY FAMILY and take care of MY FAMILY because thats what a man is supposed to do.

[Almtnman]

As for me, IF my house is secure and not in danger, Ill sit tight and feed MY FAMILY and take care of MY FAMILY because thats what a man is supposed to do.

Okie Dokie!