Finding your way

Some other things that you’ll need during your survival mission are a map and compass: a real, old-fashioned paper map and a handheld compass, not any sort of modern satellite navigation device! The more detailed the map, the better it is. This might seem a bit archaic, but you have to remember that when the world as we know it is over, chances are that anything electronic will be completely superfluous. You won’t be able to charge it, and good luck finding a signal during a post-apocalyptic evacuation.

In fact, you could even take this one step further and prepare a full-scale evacuation plan. Think ahead now, and you will save yourself a lot of stress and panic in the long-term.

By this, I mean that it would be a good idea to sit down and actually put pen to paper to create a plan about what you’ll do and where you’ll go, should the worst happen. This should definitely include a map with some potential routes to safety that you could take, as well as information on emergency aid centers where you could seek refuge. When the crisis rears its ugly head, it’s likely to cause such stress and chaos that you’ll be too panicked to think clearly. If you’ve already written down exactly what you’re going to do, you won’t need to think about it at the time; you’ll just be able to get on with it!

Your survival plan should include details of what you’ll do for the first few days of an emergency, but it should also include suggestions for how to survive beyond that period. If this is a large-scale disaster, you might need to fend for yourself for months or even years to come. How are you going to cope once your bug out bag supplies run dry? When your food runs out and you’ve worn straight through all your socks and boots, what will you do? If you’re struggling for ideas right now, fear not! We’ll discuss this in more detail later on in the book. In the meantime, the point is that if you decide now, you’ll be able to put your plan into action really quickly when the time comes.