SHTF Disaster Preparedness

[Jackwagun]

So I watched a few episodes of Doomsday Preppers last night and noticed that people were getting prepared for different things. There were people preparing for a virus that would spread rapidly, the Yellowstone Super volcano, and nuclear attacks.

If you guys believe something will happen in Dec. 2012 what do you think it will be? Do you believe its the end of the world? If you prep for disaster what general disaster are you prepping for?

What do you imagine Doomsday will be like?

 

[vzdude]

TEOTWAWKI , IMO , will be an economic collapse of worldly proportions. The US isn't far off, and look at how many other countries would falter if the US did. How many other countries have stumbled, and how has that affected their country and surrounding countries? It would be bad. That's all I'm sayin' ! LOL

 

[melensdad]

What do you imagine Doomsday will be like?

I don't expect a specific "doomsday" at all.

I think that it will be different for everyone. Some will prepare with food, loose their job, and that food will get them through their personal SHTF.

I think some people will be victims of a winter storm, lose their power for a week, and get snowed in. Their generator, fuel and food will get them through their personal SHTF.

Its certainly possible that hyper-inflation of the currency will collapse the value of money, for those with food stockpiles, they will coast through the collapse without much trouble. But if there is a currency collapse it will NOT be world wide. It will be specific nations. For example, if the US Dollar collapses, the currencies of Russia, India, China and Brazil will still be reasonably safe havens. Argentina had a currency collapse, it was the most developed nation in South America, yet it collapsed in 2000. When it collapsed the surrounding currencies were still stable.

There are dozen of scenarios you can come up with, but I don't expect any sort of total world collapse of civilization like in the movie THE ROAD or THE BOOK OF ELI. Maybe I am naive.

 

[vzdude]

I don't expect any sort of total world collapse of civilization like in the movie THE ROAD or THE BOOK OF ELI. .

I would have to definitely agree. I might make my scenario out to sound more epic, but hopefully not near as bad as that.

 

[Jackwagun]

I can agree with both of you. I don't think that it will ever get apocalyptic or worldly disastrous. Do you think that it will ever get to the point where there is no government? If our US Dollar collapses what would happen? Would we adopt some other currency?

 

[vzdude]

I don't really think that it will be apocalyptic, or worldly disastrous, but the entire world would feel the effect. I think,. realistically, almost every nation would feel some sort of financial impact. Some , obviously, worse than others, but we are the backer of currency for most international transactions and is considered to be the most dominant reserve currency. The Federal Reserve is hindering that, every day, as they print more money however!

 

[Kmcinnes]

Zombies!

Ok in all seriousness my family prepares for really anything from a personal crisis to a natural disaster. We believe that Dec. 21st will be no different than any other day, we do not buy into all the hype and that is what you will probably hear from most on this site, that being said we could be wrong but we will be prepared for the worst.

 

[the1kidd03]

I can agree with both of you. I don't think that it will ever get apocalyptic or worldly disastrous. Do you think that it will ever get to the point where there is no government? If our US Dollar collapses what would happen? Would we adopt some other currency?

No, LOL. You don't think the powers to be would put themselves out of a job/power do you?

 

[the1kidd03]

Zombies!

Ok in all seriousness my family prepares for really anything from a personal crisis to a natural disaster. We believe that Dec. 21st will be no different than any other day, we do not buy into all the hype and that is what you will probably hear from most on this site, that being said we could be wrong but we will be prepared for the worst.

Agreed. I prepare for various possibilities for the survival of my family, BUT I don't think mankind is going to be able to predict such horrible events to any significant degree.

 

[eldirector]

Let's see... Dec 12 is a Wednesday. I'll get up, have breakfast, and go to work like usual. I may score some sweet Craigslist deals on prepping supplied on the 13th, though!

What am I prepping for?
- Personal economic hardship (loss of job, for example)
- Weather events (ice storm, loss of power, hard to get out and about for a while)
- Personal or localized disaster (house fire, tornado, etc...)
- Larger scale economic disaster (depression, food/fuel shortages, rationing)
- Larger scale societal collapse (riots, for instance)

If you want examples of SHTF, then look at our own history, or even modern times. The Great Depression, the Dust Bowl, the collapse of major economies (Greece, Spain, others), government over-reach/collapse leading to localized wars (Bosnia, Chechen Wars, and what seems like half of the mid-east, even civil wars). We don't really have to guess.

Sure, there is always a chance of a "major" event of some sort (solar flare, super volcano, asteroid). Once the event itself is over, if you survive it, then you end up in one of the above anyway.

 

[WyldeShot]

I think that you should be prepared for disaster in general and not prep for one particular situation. With that being said, I am basically just starting out. I have always kept extra food and such around, store what you eat, eat what you store. I think in the event of apocalyptic disaster including nationwide financial disaster people need provisions to get them through the first few weeks but will ultimately people will need to band together for long term survival. I guess this wouldn't be the case for those who are lucky enough to live or own large areas of land.
Just my 2 cents.

 

[pudly]

What am I prepping for?
- Personal economic hardship (loss of job, for example)
- Weather events (ice storm, loss of power, hard to get out and about for a while)
- Personal or localized disaster (house fire, tornado, etc...)
- Larger scale economic disaster (depression, food/fuel shortages, rationing)
- Larger scale societal collapse (riots, for instance)

If you want examples of SHTF, then look at our own history, or even modern times. The Great Depression, the Dust Bowl, the collapse of major economies (Greece, Spain, others), government over-reach/collapse leading to localized wars (Bosnia, Chechen Wars, and what seems like half of the mid-east, even civil wars). We don't really have to guess.

Sure, there is always a chance of a "major" event of some sort (solar flare, super volcano, asteroid). Once the event itself is over, if you survive it, then you end up in one of the above anyway.

Definitely this. TEOTWAWKI is possible, but there are far more likely events to deal with. As noted, bad weather, utilities out, illness, and unemployment are far more likely events. The good news is that preparations for these types of events will directly contribute to making you more prepared in the case of more severe events.

 

[6mm Shoot]

I think that we will default on the loans that our country has made. That will put us into a depression that will be worse than the first one.

It will take a couple of years for our debt to be forgiven. When it is we will start all over again.

Our money at that point will be worth nothing. The government will hand out new money and that will start things over. After four years or so things will start picking back up.

Before that happens we will see bread lines, soup lines, no work and a lot of crime.

We will still have a government, police and an army. You don't have to worry about the the top 10% they will be doing fine. Thank god they didn't have to pay more in taxes. It is the rest of us that will catch hell.

By the time things start back up the baby boomer's will have lost there pensions, savings and more than likely there homes. It will be a mess but they and many others will hang in there just like they have dun in the past.

With the preps I have made it will help the family but it will not be a fix all. It will make thing easer. That is why I prep. To make things easer for my family. You all have a great day.

 

[wolfts01]

Some of the scenarios in that show are ridiculous, and I think some of them are forced to commit to one when they are just general preppers.

I prep for the end of the economy as we know it. The rest of the world is quickly developing, and resources are going to become scarce. The carrying capacity of Earth for a middle-class American lifestyle is only 2 billion people, so something will have to give eventually. Climate change is clearly taking place, whether we're responsible for it or not.

I think the first thing to go will be the food supply. It'll be either through economic collapse, some disease that wipes out the genetically altered crops, or through lack of being able to distribute/process the food due to lack of energy/order.

Another option is a devastating disease, but who knows with that.

 

[smokingman]

I do not know one prepper that has a doomsday date.

Most prepare because it is a hedge in the uncertain world we live in.Currencies fail,governments change or end,jobs are lost,natural disasters happen.I also find it hilarious to even call us preppers.

Most of Our grandparents put away food for winter,nearly every American home had a garden just 60 years ago(at least a victory garden during the rationing of WW2). Culturally we have forgotten how fragile society is,how rapidly the world can change,and have become nearly totally dependent on a just in time supply system.That system is not perfect.Some will remember the oil crisis others natural disasters like Katrina.Developing a system to meet your own needs is a rational and intelligent thing to do if you feel responsible for your own well being and the well being of your family.

The point is prudent planning and preparations does not make you a lunatic.It simply hedges your life to a degree against uncertainty.At the very least preppers that I know worry less,are more independent,and better ready to meet life's challenges than most people.

 

[Ted]

Despite any disaster, the only constant will be the innate stupidity of the human population.

This is why INGO arms themselves.

 

[Atlas]

Whatever the event will be, it's civil unrest that is of most concern to me. As we're seeing in NY, once food supplies dry up and FEMA is nowhere to be seen, people will start snapping.

 

[Justin Case]

Thanks to our prepping, we had no worries about food when I lost my job a month ago. We're not even close to needing to get into our SHTF food stores yet.

Our main prepping is for severe storms, whether they be summer or winter, or earthquake or EMP that could knock out power and other utilities and isolate us from the outside world. We have enough fuel to run our generator for 6 hours a day for a month (cycling 2 hours on & 6 hours off) to keep the refrigerators and freezers running and recharge radios, batteries and other devices. The wife also needs to be able to run the hair dryer and curling iron :-)

Our second focus of prepping is home defense, whether it be robbery, home invasion or looters due to food shortages and/or economic collapse. We have the ability to protect the homestead against anyone except the military or law enforcement.

Our third focus is a pandemic or chemical/biological/nuclear attack. We have the means to seal off our home and wait out these threats until conditions improve. We also have the necessary medical supplies and training to survive a variety of scenarios.

In most scenarios our chances of survival are best if we hunker in. However, if the situation calls for bugging out we have a primary and a secondary bug out location. If it's TEOTWAWKI, we have the equipment and skills to survive in the wooded areas here in Southern Indiana, but that would be the last resort.

 

[LtScott14]

Everyone to their opinion. The young preppers starting a fire in a deserted home? About closed the book on that. Earn some camo cloth strips?
The guy living in the buried steel cylinder? Good luck, isolation isn't that guy's only problem. Enough to start a food pantry somewhere needed.
The Family Preppers seem to have a chance getting out with weapons, and BOBs till the road block scenario. Also BIO decomp troops could really mess up your one hour commute to the woods. Best bet of the three.
Seems like prep to hoarding, a new sport.