Urban Survival during a Crisis

Even though the crisis itself is devastating, the aftermath can be just as traumatic and in some cases more so. One of the biggest threats to families and individuals in the days after a calamity has struck is your fellow citizens. People living in built up urban areas face a greater threat from others than those living in rural areas do. In some cases, it is only a matter of hours before looters and other criminal elements are out taking advantage of the crisis.

After three days of limited food and water or none at all, otherwise law-abiding citizens may turn to violence to feed their families. Friends and neighbors will be under tremendous stress and they too may become a threat to you and your family. People will convince themselves the only way to survive is to take from others; some will do whatever it takes to alleviate the suffering of their children. Personal defense is a priority and it must be part of your overall disaster preparedness.

SECURITY EVALUATION

There will be more crimes of opportunity during a crisis. People will literally “rattle” doorknobs hoping to find a home unsecured. Opportunists usually do not want a confrontation so once they realize you have taken precautions they may very well move on to an easier target. Your objective is to make it as difficult as possible for an intruder. If your home were specifically targeted because people know you have a stockpile of supplies then you would need weapons, particularly firearms to act as a deterrent and to defend yourself. Locked doors and boarded up windows will deter some while others may need more convincing.

Windows and doorways are weak points. You can board up all glass entrances and harden doors with the proper locks and steel striker plates that make it very difficult to kick the door in. The plates are attached to the studs surrounding the door frame whereas a typical striker plate is only attached to the molding surrounding the door casing. Once the bolt is engaged, an intruder would have to kick down the studs instead of just tearing loose small wood screws attached to the molding to break the bolt loose.

Interior and exterior lighting is important, so important in fact; it is recommended you have a generator dedicated to exterior lighting during a crisis. Criminals take advantage of power outages, and they will avoid well-lighted homes. Make sure you have ample lighting inside the home as well during the disaster. Having the proper amount of lighting can also prevent accidents. Imagine for one moment you hear a noise and see a shadow, and you are armed, do you fire or do you wait to until you can clearly see the intruder. Homeowners have accidentally shot other family members because they could not identify the figure they saw standing in the doorway.

From a security standpoint, it is never a good idea to advertise you are well stockpiled with supplies. Some preparers like to encourage others to prepare and may even offer to help their friends and neighbors, but there will always be those that simply will not prepare. The ones that did not prepare for the disaster will look to you and others that did.

It is not recommended that you keep all of your emergency essentials in one place. Damage to your home or a break-in may result in you losing all of your supplies. Cache some supplies around your property that you can retrieve if your home is damaged, taken over or robbed. Use outbuildings to cache supplies or bury underground and make sure you place them where you have unlimited access. It is never a good idea to use commercial storage facilities to stockpile supplies. Commercial storage buildings will be a target of looters and others during a crisis and you may not be able to get to your supplies because of damaged roads and bridges.

FIREARMS AND A CRISIS

Have your weapons within reach at all times and if you have a handgun keep it holstered and in plain sight. Practice proper safety procedures if you have children, so keeping the weapons in your hands will keep them out of children’s hands. You want criminals that may be looking for a target to see that you are armed. Criminals will use a pretext to get on to your property or even into your home. They may claim to be from insurance companies, construction companies, and even declare they are from the government. You want them to see you are armed and ready to defend yourself.

TO STAY OR EVACUATE

Evacuation is always a possibility during any disaster and for many it is a difficult decision, but everyone should prepare for the likelihood. You must evacuate if your community or city comes under a chemical, nuclear or biological attack. In some cases, you may only have a few hours or even less to decide, so planning for evacuation is important.

BUG-OUT-BAG

A go-bag or 72-hour bag is designed to sustain you for up to three days if you have to vacate your home during a disaster. Every member of the family should have their own bag each with the same supplies. This helps distribute the workload and ensures the survival of an individual if they become separated. Each bag should have food and water for three days, medical supplies, personal hygiene items, communications devices and flashlights. Keep in mind that, if you have to leave on foot you will have to carry the bag on your back so do not over pack.

Additional Items for each Go Bag:

•             Water Purification Tablets
•             Coffee Filters and Cheesecloth for Water Filtration
•             Nylon Tarps for Emergency Shelter
•             Rain Gear and/or Rain Ponchos
•             Fixed Bladed Knife along with a Multi-Tool
•             Nylon Rope
•             Camp Axe/Machete/Folding Wood Saw
•             Collapsible Walking Stick
•             Bandanas, Sunglasses, Lip Balm, Insect Repellent
•             Extra Socks
•             Stainless Steel Canteens
•             Portable Radio

Leaving on foot is not an ideal situation. The average adult can walk three miles per hour on relatively even terrain and in a straight line. Urban areas will be congested and people walking will have to backtrack at times to get around obstacles and to avoid bridges, overpasses and tunnels. You do not want to be trapped on a bridge, or in a tunnel, so you have to map out more than one route out of the area. Given the situation, you will only average about one mile to one and a half miles per hour. If in a group, you will only be able to travel as fast as the slowest person can. Shelter will be what you can carry with you or construct along the way. Assume your water supply will be depleted before you reach your destination. You will have to collect and purify a water source along your route.

There are advantages to evacuating in a vehicle and a few disadvantages as well. You can of course carry more than three days of supplies and the vehicle is your shelter. The vehicle has to be large enough to carry everyone and your supplies. Having a trailer you can pull with sides attached is ideal. The trailer can be an emergency shelter and you can stockpile enough supplies for several weeks. The disadvantages are mechanical failures and lack of a fuel source. You must be able to arrive at your destination on a tank of fuel or be able to carry fuel. Re-fueling along the route is not going to be an option.

An all-wheel drive or four-wheel drive sport utility vehicle or a pickup truck is ideal. You can get off road and away from others at night to set up camp, and you can take alternative routes that would otherwise be unavailable in a sedan.

Being in a vehicle makes it difficult to get around roadblocks or obstacles. You should always avoid bridges and tunnels even when driving. This makes navigation more difficult. You can walk through deep snow and across waterways whereas a vehicle, in most cases, you cannot.

You have to decide quickly about evacuation so you can avoid highway congestion. You should try to be well clear of the danger zone before others get out on the roadways. You can become caught in traffic and this leaves you vulnerable. There will be those looking to take advantage of others and you simply do not want to be trapped in traffic where others can take over your vehicle or rob you of your supplies.