Survive Infinite Dangers: The Family Survival Guide of 21st Century Dangers (26 page)

Other needed items for your Safe Area

*for items with asterisks refer to notes below

If money is no object consider storing at least your most “must have” items in environmental containers (Google environmental containers and environmental cases). These range from $3 plastic containers (where price is important) to special material airtight waterproof containers made of special materials that can withstand being dropped from an aircraft. They are used extensively by the military for storing fragile items. They range in size from a shoe box to the size of a semi-tractor trailer. Even if your safe area is under water or under thousands of pounds of debris they can be dug out and what is inside is safe and ready to be put to use. The author was fortunate enough to obtain a number of these slightly used by watching government auctions and spotting some that were deemed “excess” even though they are in perfect shape. Many government programs discard everything when a program ends; it’s declassified and is sold at government auction. You’d be surprised what you can find for pennies on the dollar if you keep track of potential sources. As noted before, beware of the HUGE amount of circa 1955 Civil Defense items that became worthless twenty years ago. But a hardened case with rubber gaskets made of special alloys; they will last hundreds of years. Perfect for storing your most important items. Also, remember bags of desiccant. Those bags of what looks like sand in a cloth bag you find in various items you buy. They soak up moisture. Many stores sell them as well as hundreds of sites on the Internet. You can also buy moisture monitors that turn colors as they soak up moisture. Items that must be kept dry can be kept dry by sealing them and adding desiccant plus a moisture monitor. All for not much money!

Chapter 22

Transportation

As you’ve already read if the disaster happens when you and all of your survival group happens to be at or near your safe area do the first few minutes routine (determine what the disaster is, is everyone OK, are you far enough away from the “epicenter” of the disaster to not have direct danger short-term or medium-term, get everyone calmed down and then into your safe area. After that, prepare for, as the Santa Claus story reads, “settle in for a long winter’s nap”. Seriously, over the next few hours do the other things (but not too early or you’ll draw attention to yourself as your neighbors are still trying to figure out why the lights are out, the newscaster is sweating bullets screaming something about “an anthrax aerial spray has just hit the entire city, the standard battery powered radio or TV picks up no stations, vehicles may “crank” but won’t start and any number of other abnormalities are going on). But you will have unwrapped your battery/solar/crank shortwave radio from its two layers of aluminum foil or removed it from your galvanized trashcan, found maybe the BBC in London or one of the few “radiation hardened” domestic radio stations our government is rumored to have made them safe from all but a direct nuclear strike and learned exactly what happened. Remember – you must now go into stealth mode unless you wish your six months of rations to be split amongst 500 neighbors and people you have no clue who they are then join the roving packs of desperate, no rations, unprepared people who will number about 499 out of every 500. OK to “mingle” amongst your neighbors so they don’t go looking for you. If anything, play down what just happened. You are sure it is just some major power outage due to a solar flare like you read about in National Geographic or whatever. Mingle enough so your neighbors know you and your family are “OK” but then quietly disappear just saying you’re “we’re going to play cards until the lights come back on”.

Then gather your group and go into your (possible) many month stealth survival mode. Your house should look normal at all times. If, heaven forbid, you learn roving bands of “scumbags” (pardon my “French” – this book does not beat around the bush – notice?) are blocks away looting and robbing. Many of your neighbors will have taken off on foot with backpacks making themselves targets that, in many situations, are called the “low hanging fruit”. They’ve done the worst possible thing they can do. They think as soon as they reach a rural area, say, twenty miles away no one else will have had the same idea and “farmer Brown” will be waiting with that proverbial hot meal and a warm bed.

Oops, instead you see tens of other thousands of “city people” who had the same idea with the ones with guns quickly “borrowing” the provisions of those without guns. And when the armed “city people” do reach the first rural town they will discover many others like them already there and definitely not being welcomed by the “rural folks” with no thoughts of sharing anything with this hoard of people who have descended upon them. They’ll shoot a few rounds of a Remington 870 hopefully first “firing for effect” but the message of “keep moving” will be loud and clear. Unless you have a close friend in a rural area who has agreed to provide you food and shelter for sure should you even think of such a trip? Your chances of arriving safe are quite low then your “friend” may have changed his or her mind noticing the gravity of the situation. Remain in your safe area unless you are within the radius of the “blast” or whatever happened and you MUST leave or die. It is simple as that. As your block empties out and the gangs (remember the one percent of humanity that are just plain bad and just plain evil – well, here they come! That’s when you drag out the bags of old clothes, spread them around your yard, maybe break a few windows and so forth. But this chapter on transportation is not long because the answer is short and sweet “DON’T MOVE”. That is except to get to your safe area. If you are across town when it happens and you have a 20 mile hike to reach your safe area you may discover it best to hunt for another group who will take you in (remember, you have this book and can sell yourself as an expert on survival!). Refer to the GONe Bag chapter. ALWAYS have one within reach. You should own maybe as many as half a dozen as should each member of your group.

Due to all vehicles built since the 1960’s having electronic ignitions and other semiconductor devices there is a high probability of your vehicle being DOA. It is now a permanent yard ornament. All it is good for is as part of a barricade. The optimum group is six families who all live on a cul-de-sac, all good friends, all healthy and all have taken this VERY seriously. There might be ten cars among everyone. Push them all to the entrance of the cul-de-sac and build an old fashioned French Revolution barricade blocking your street from end home to end home. Everyone will do rotating guard duty every night and with the night vision goggles your amazing group purchased you will be as safe as possible considering the circumstances.

Even better, having a few people with military combat service and a large arsenal such as AR-15’s and the like really increases your chances of survival. The “scumbags” encountering a hundred cul-de-sacs with 99 totally unprotected and yours looking like the movie set of Mad Max; they will pass you by.