Urban Survival Compendium - Amazon S3 · what urban survival is all about – helping you survive...
Transcript of Urban Survival Compendium - Amazon S3 · what urban survival is all about – helping you survive...
D I S C L A I M E R O F L I A B I L I T Y A N D W A R R A N T Y
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C O P Y R I G H T
T E R M S A N D D I S C L A I M E R
INTRODUCTION
Have you ever faced an everyday dilemma and thought later,
“wow if only I had known...” Survival isn’t just about fighting for
your life in the wilderness, or surviving a natural disaster and
being displaced from your home. Sometimes a crisis comes right
where you are. Maybe you can’t leave or maybe you won’t want to
evacuate. Either way, you will need to know what to do. That is
what urban survival is all about – helping you survive right where
you are.
Packing up and getting out isn’t always the best solution.
Sometimes it is best (or even necessary) to stay put; no matter
what dangers you must face. Why would someone decide not to
leave when faced with danger? Here are a few common reasons:
• Family members who are unable to move due to age,
sickness, physical shortcomings, denial, or even hope that
everything will turn out okay. For some, the thought of
leaving behind those they love is impossible, so they must
make the best of a very bad situation.
• You may not be able to afford to leave.
• You or someone in your family may need to stay near a
specific doctor or hospital for treatment
• You may have missed the window of opportunity to leave
and now find yourself stuck.
• You don’t have anywhere safe to go
• The disaster is something (like a deadly virus) which allows
you to stay home
So what kind of threats may warrant you to know specific urban
survival skills and techniques? Here are a few:
Potential Threats You May Face
Crime
You can check your town or neighborhoods crime rate by either
by visiting your local police station and asking to see either blue
pages for the day (crime reports) or you can check out these
websites:
www.crimereports.com
www.spotcrime.com
Both sites will list the types of crimes reported in your area over
the last 30 days.
Accidents/Natural Disasters/Terrorist
Attacks
Many experts believe that o rail lines are going to be the exact
place that terrorists strike. Considering the fact that most
chemicals are transported via the rail line, this is something to
worry about if you live within a mile or so of any railroad line.
Dangerous leaks and explosions could put your family at risks.
Other sites that could experience a terrorist attack or other
dangerous emergency include:
• chemical plants
• industrial storage sites
• power stations
• or other industrial complex
Fortunately your preparations for a terrorist attack will also work
in the event of a normal fire or leak from a regular factory
emergency.
Paying attention is your best precaution to avoiding injury. For
instance, if you hear an explosion near a local chemical plant and
notice a plume of smoke and the wind is headed your way, get out
of the area right away – even if no sirens or evacuation orders
have been made. The key here is to put as much distance
between you and that smoke as fast as you can. Do so while
travelling perpendicular to the wind to avoid contact.
Let’s say you aren’t lucky enough to be able to get out in times of
trouble. If you live anywhere near a rail line, chemical plant, or
other factory or plant that has dangerous chemicals and
substances inside. Develop a plan now to both evacuate and to
stay safe if you are stuck in the area.
Crowds
In the event of any emergency it is always best to stay away from
large crowds. Here are just a few places to steer clear in the event
of trouble:
• stadiums
• homeless shelters
• schools
• „auditoriums
• Any designated red cross shelters
• Hospitals
• Churches
Why would you stay away from the exact places that everyone is
telling you to go? There are several reasons. One being that the
more panicked people stuck together in a small area, the more
apt you are to fall victim of a crime, remember the stories of the
women and children raped and beaten at the stadium in New
Orleans during the aftermath of hurricane Katrina. People also
worried when the restrooms couldn’t handle the influx of people
that the discharge would make the stadium a ripe place for
disease to spread.
Also, shelters often are havens for criminals and drug addicts,
making them less than safe for your family.
Be sure to scout out safe places to evacuate to in an emergency
and if you of end up at a shelter, stay alert. If you feel unsafe at
all leave.
Traffic
Think about what you local roadways are like during a normal
rush hour. Now consider what they’ll be like during an emergency
evacuation. Yea, it’s enough to scare you into staying put. But
there are alternatives. Scout out smaller roads and evacuation
route that may not be heavily travelled. Most people will stick
with the larger roadways and paths they know well when
evacuating. Few will want to venture on unknown back roads for
fear of getting lost. Now is the time to find these out of the way
passages so that you can turn off the main roads and head out of
town unimpeded by traffic in an emergency.
Also, stay clear of choke points like bridge’s canyons, and
construction areas where traffic may clog or where accidents are
common.
Living in a major metropolitan area has a lot of advantages, but
when faced with a major crisis, it can be a nightmare. Surviving
in a cityscape during a disaster isn’t easy and can be downright
dangerous. Let’s look at a few things you will need to consider if
you are stuck in the city during a major societal crisis.
Municipal Services (water, sewage treatment, trash disposal and
electrical grids) Many experts have warned that in a real
emergency having a city’s electrical grid go down for any long
period of time will play havoc with life as we know it. Most cities
are equipped with emergency generators to keep major services
running for a few days, but not weeks or months. Should any
large-scale disaster happen, the odds are good you will not only
lose your electricity, but your water supply and sanitation
services. After all, everything these days works on some sort of
electricity. Why, you won’t even be able to flush your toilets
because the sewage system may fail. This is going to create utter
chaos in urban areas, where there are so many people crammed
together in relatively small spaces and people rely so heavily
today on modern conveniences to live.
If you are in your own home, you will have more choices. After
all, even the smallest yard has room to dog a sanitation hole to
keep bacteria away from your living quarters. But what would you
do if you lived in an apartment building or were stuck in a
commercial building? It is time to think about your response.
Knowing what to do in these situations could keep you from
falling victim to dangerous diseases during a crisis.
Inner/City Apartment
If you live in a crowded city apartment, it is a good idea to keep a
five gallon bucket in the closet. I know, space is limited in many
of these apartments, but you can use it to store any sanitation or
personal items you might need in an emergency like toilet paper,
medical supplies, etc. This will give you a port-a-potty you can
pull out and use if the bathroom facilities aren’t working. By
using ash, shredded newspapers or saw dust in the container, you
can reduce odors.
House with Yard
Digging a small yard in the yard for a functional outhouse can
last awhile for several people. Be sure to dig the hole at least 48
inches deep and several feet wide. This will allow you to make an
outhouse to use for awhile without the need of digging multiple
holes.
Always keep a good stock of antibacterial wipes, spray and bleach
in your linen closet in case of an emergency. Keeping bacteria at
bay in an urban setting could mean the difference between life
and death.
Rural Areas
Those who live in rural areas are going to be in a lot better shape
during a long term crisis than those stuck in a city. For one, most
rural homes have septic systems that can be used regardless of
the grid.
What about water?
When the electric grid goes down, pumping stations will stop
working and this will mean that you can‟t get water (and if you do
get it will be contaminated). Unless you have
been able to store a few hundred gallons of safe drinking water,
the odds are good you aren’t going to have enough to drink let
alone keep yourself clean with. So what are you going to do?
Inner City/Apartment Living
If you lie in a city one of the best things you can do is stock up on
water filters. They are relatively cheap and small enough to store
in even the smallest apartment. Plus, they will be able to filter
out chemicals bacteria and virus during a water contamination
scenarios. Ceramic kits offered by Homespun Environmental are
very effective and much cheaper than other varieties.
Gravity fed systems work with an inexpensive 5-gallon bucket
and allow you to filter hundreds of gallons of water if needed.
These filters can be stored for up to 8 years in a small shoebox, so
they are a good investment.
Not only will this filtered water be a safe to drink, cook and wash
in, but you can use it to wash your clothes. But where are you
going to get the water? Collecting rain water is going to give you
the cleanest water to start with. Of course these filters can also
clean contaminated tap water (assuming the tap is till able to
run).
House with Yard/Garage
If you have the room, it is a good idea to buy a 200-500 water
tank and store it in your garage. If this is too large of an item (or
too expensive), then look for other barrels that you do have room
to store. You can get all kinds of 50-gallon drums for free or at
least very cheap from manufacturing plants; Craigslist and flea
markets.
By placing a water tank in the yard (and adding a ceramic filter to
it) you can easily collect rainwater, giving your family plenty of
water to sue in an emergency.
Rural Area:
If you have a well be sure to install a manual pump head in case
he electricity grid goes dead. This will allow you to pump water
whether your standard pump works or not.
Trash and waste disposal
Most people don’t realize how fast the trash in their apartment
building or neighborhood would build up if collections ceased on
a regular basis. Imagine if he trash collections service didn‟t how
up for 2-3 weeks. How many bags could be littering the street.
This would create more than a nuisance – it would create a real
health hazard.
Apartment Living
In the event trash service is suspended for a long period of time,
talk with your neighbors and see if you can agree on an area to
store the trash to try and maintain some semblance of
cleanliness. Finding a place to create a small burn pit can also
help to keep trash from accumulating. By burning food scraps
you can also keep the dangers of bacteria and rodents at bay.
House with Yard
If you live in a single family home you will have more space to try
and deal with accumulated garbage. Depending on how long the
situation lasts, however, you are going to have to try to do what
you can to limit the amount of trash your family produces. Again,
burning off what you can may be a good option.
Rural Living
If you live in the country on some acreage, you will be more
options than your urban counterparts. Dig a large burn it right
away and designate an area away from the building and well
where trash and sanitation excrement‟s can be tossed.
Electrical Grid
Our country’s current electric grid is an antique that is fragile at
best. Some experts forecast a major breakdown in the nations;
grid within the next decade, leaving us all vulnerable to the
effects of lost electricity. There are countless ways in which our
weak electrical system can fail: a storm can take it out; even
NASA agrees a solar flare could thrust us into life of the 1800s
within hours. Should any major electrical breakdown occur, panic
could quickly ensue. Everyday tasks would be impossible. Even
money would become unavailable as ATM machines go down and
banks are unable to open. There would be no hospital care; no
fuel; no food deliveries and no medications. Manufacturing
would halt and police and fire services would stop. America
would be utterly lost and hopeless without electricity. So what
can you do?
Inner City Apartment Life
Owning and operating a generator in this environment isn‟t
usually a possibility. For one thing there isn‟t room to store extra
fuel and the noise from the generator would attract attention,
leaving you vulnerable to other peoples request to use it. A
better option might be to install a few solar panels outside of
your window to generate at least minimal power. It may not be
enough to run your apartment, but it may be enough to charge
your batteries for flashlights; cook meals and keep some heat on.
Also, switch o LED lights now. They use a lot less electricity and
will last longer during an emergency.
Always keep the propane tank on your grill full too, so you will
have a secondary source for cooking and heating water=during a
power outage.
House with Yard
Even if your house is located in the city you will still make out
better than apartment dwellers during a power outage. For one,
you may access to a propane grill or outdoor fire pit that you can
use for cooking. You also have more room to install solar panels
which will generate more electricity for you.
Rural Living
Most rural homes already have propane tanks of 500-1,000
gallons. This can last a fairly for over a year if they are careful, so
be sure to always keep it full. Your best ally in an emergency, a
large propane tank can keep your heat on; refrigerator running
and you water and sewage working. In addition, you will likely
have access to firewood a well as room to install wind turbines
and/or solar panels.
People for better or worse
Living in a large metropolitan area may become downright
dangerous in an emergency situation. Looting becomes common,
even during shot term crisis. Imagine the panic of people as they
realize they can’t get food and other necessities. That’s puts
anyone with supplies at risk, so be sure not to tell anyone that
you are prepping for a crisis and if one hits, don’t let anyone
know what you have.
If you haven’t prepared for you own security before a crisis,
remember, you will only have a few days to do so after one hits.
Here are some tips for securing yourself and your possessions:
Inner City Apartment Living
Eliminate your light danger by installing back out curtains. If no
one notices you are in your apartment, they may leave you alone.
Fortify your doors and windows with quality locks now.
In addition, minimize your outings. Stay inside as much as
possible. Those roaming the streets will be looking for victims. If
you have one, take along a handgun for protection.
House with Yard
It doesn’t matter where you live, everyone will be in danger
during a real crisis. Depending on how long the situation lasts,
you could face hungry and panicked neighbors looking for food
and other necessities. If they think you have some hidden, your
entire family will be at risk.
Again, fortifying your doors, windows and garage are essential.
Scatter your supplies throughout your house so if someone finds
a stash it isn’t everything. Find good hiding places for your
supplies. Stack boxes in the garage marked Xmas ornaments or
old pictures and place them with your regular stuff. That way if a
box is opened, it will be full of decorations and the other boxes
will be left alone (the ones with your food in them).
Rural Living
In some regards living out in the country can make surviving a
disaster easier; but it can also put you at risk. After long periods
of time all of those people from more urban settings are going to
start scavenging outlying areas looking for food and supplies. If
they see your water tank, propane tank and livestock, they are
going to come after you for it. I some cases, working together
with your neighbors to fortify the area can work well, but you will
still likely need to keep firearms and ammo at the ready to fend
off those who want to steak your stuff.
Create road barriers or other obstacles on your property and
again, stash your supplies in varying locations. You do have the
advantage over people who don’t know the area and if you are
diligent and observant you can see trouble coming.
Always better to prepare and prevent
If you haven’t figured it out yet, you need to prepare now for a
disaster. Waiting until one strike is too late. Now is the time to
make o a list of the things you will need to gather and store. Hera
re a few things to consider:
• shelter (taro, foil blankets, sleeping bag, etc0
• water (bottled, filters, iodine tablets, etc)
• fire (matches, fire-starter tools)
• foodstuffs
• medical supplies (including prescriptions and OTC
necessities)
• security (weapons, dogs, training, alarms, locks
communication (walkie talkies, wireless, etc)
• extra clothing
• comfort items
• barter items ( gold and silver coins, cigarettes, alcohol)
After you make this main list, begin listing individual items that
you think you’ll need. Mark off the stuff you would absolutely
need to survive and buy those items first. Begin with 72 hours of
supplies; then add to that until you have 6 months worth of food
and keep adding until you have 6 months worth of general
supplies.
Basic Supplies Inventory
These are the basic items you will need to survive in a
catastrophic event:
• fire
• food
• water
• fuel
• batteries
• trauma/medical supplies
• vitamins
• prescriptions
This inventory will look something like this:
Fire
Fireplace and ½ cord of wood
Camp stove
Propane grill
12 boxes of matches
Flint, magnesium fire starter
20 candles
Food
40 cans of soups or vegetables
5 pounds of potato flakes
275 Costco meal bucket
60 cliff bars
Water
60 gallon water heater
5 x 32 ounce Gatorade
24 x 1 bottles of water
Purification
Here’s a simple way to purify contaminated water:
1. Drill very tiny holes in a 55 gallon drum
2. Put several pairs of old jeans an shorts on the bottom of the
drum
3. Add a thick layer of sand at least halfway up the side of the
bucket
4. Add a small layer of clothes on the top and weight down with
a few rocks
5. Place a bucket underneath the drum to collect the water
If you have active charcoal you can put that on the very top. You
will have to change the sand once in awhile to keep the water
filtered properly.
Fuel
3 x 5 gallon of unleaded
2 x 20 lb propane
1 gallon white camp fuel
400g isobutene for your camp stove
Batteries
20 AA
10AAA
2 9v
3 lithium flashlight batteries
1 extra watch battery
Trauma
Various sizes of band aids
Costco first aid kit
Advil Tylenol Aloe Imodium
60 worth of multivitamins
36 contact
1 pr eyeglasses (prescription)
A 1 month supply of prescription drugs
Consider Survival Groups
When you think of a survivalist, you may think of someone who is
planning for a global catastrophe or civilization upheaval. This is
not really the case. A true survivalist is someone who prepares
themselves for an emergency situation. Ranging from a lengthy
snowstorm to a flood to more serious events, a survivalist simply
wants to be ready should normal day to day living be disrupted.
Like other interests, those involved in survival preparation often
form local groups that help to share information; but stockpile
items in bulk; and even work together in the event of a crisis.
Every group is different and some many hold certain beliefs you
do not share. That is why it is important to consider the group’s
main philosophy before joining. Here are few different types of
groups that are out there. See which one best fits your interest,
skill level and philosophies:
Low Impact back-to- Nature Groups
This grouping is usually highly skilled in botany, natural
medicines, inorganic chemistry and other nature-stemming
sciences. In most cases these are very friendly and peaceful
groups that simply believe that nature holds the key to all
survival and with enough natural knowledge one can survive any
catastrophe.
Pseudo-Survivalists
These are not really survivalists at all, but rather extremists who
want to live outside of the law. Few have the skill of a true
survivalist and believe that militias and violence is all that will be
needed to stay alive during a disaster.
Primitive Skills Groups
Often considered purists, this group looks to find ways to live
without technology. They generally do to tout that their way is
the best way, but they do insist that in a survival situation their
method is the only reliable one. They believe in using the hands-
on skills of generations past and can easily grow food and
continue living without the necessities we take for granted.
Although their methods wok well, too many of the primitive skills
group members that primitive times were not all that good –
disease was rampant; and hardship was common.
Still you can find this type of survivalist in today’s society. The
best known group is the Amish. Having successfully built whole
communities without modern technological fare, the Amish are
the closest thing to pure primitive skills group as we can get
today.
Hi-Tech Groups
This group uses the best of technology to prepare for a
catastrophe. Using computers, generators, alternative power;
hybrid vehicles, elaborate filtration systems; survivor shelters
and more, this high tech group will likely stand a good chance of
living within the aftermath of a catastrophe quite comfortably.
The biggest drawback in this type of survival planning is the cost.
Unattainable to the common person, it is reserved mostly for
government officials and the ultra-rich. To work properly, there
must be a total integration of the highest technologies available,
and be online constantly, whether in danger or not. To make
matters worse, the group must also be able to manufacture
“replacement parts” for these systems.
Paramilitary (survive-by-force) Group
These groups are not survival groups at all, but rather, aggressive
forces that want to dominate everyone else. They are run by a
succession of leaders who depend on their followers to do their
bidding. Few of these groups have the ability to survive on their
own since they can’t think independently.
These groups will be a great threat after a catastrophe because
they will out to take over and gain control using force as needed.
Positive Action; Combined Skills Groups
The most difficult to form, these groups will combine the best of
all the other groups to make a group that has the intellect,
leadership, skills and knowledge to survive anything. This group
will integrate primitive skills with back to nature philosophies as
well as use whatever technology is available to try and rebuild
some semblance of organized society.
One of the drawbacks of this type of group is that it lies on each
member to see the value of other members and e wiling to give up
partial control for the betterment of all. Each person is expected
to perform to the bets of their ability, regardless of any personal
gain.
Personal Threats
Daily threats: power outages, medical emergencies, lost
individuals; crashes and derailments; robberies; gangs and drugs;
unemployment; disability recovery and more. There are a lot of
things to be afraid of in today’s world. Here are just a few of the
big things that can throw our everyday lives into chaos:
• natural disasters
• terrorisms
• Disease
• Famine
• Government collapse
• Economic collapse
• Global warfare
• Government tyranny
• Class/race/ religious war
Survivalists know that bad things can – and will – happen. And
they prepare for it. Some people call them buts and others
extremists. But really, what they are is planners. Real survivalists
are looking for trouble, but they are planning for it. Juts in case,
they want to be ready. Most people refuse to take these threats
seriously, and live each day as if all is well with the world. The
truth is, the world and its governments are a mess. Upheaval is
coming. Survivalists know this and are gathering together so that
when it a crisis hits, they will have the network set up to survive.
Organizing Resistance Groups
Here are some main rules to organizing a resistance group:
Cell structure: each cell has five members. They can be
individuals, spouses or families. Each member is represented by a
circle, showing that the members primary group and secondary
group affiliates. No member may be a member of more than one
cell. Cell structure is diverse and unpredictable’s making them
hard to infiltrate.
The family (or member) may consist of blood relatives, and others
as long as they trust each other and live together.
A cell is made up of five of these families, with each individual
attached to two other (secondary) cells. Therefore they know four
people in the main group; three in the secondary group; and may
have contact with others through the secondary group. When
message sand information needed to make their ways to cells,
they do so through common members. Cache locations are only
known by primary cell members, making them safer.
Members may belong to only one primary cell and two secondary
cells. Meetings are held regularly, which must be attended.
Weekly telephone contact is required.
There are not to be no written record of anything a cell does,
plans or says. Contact information is to be kept by the cell leader
only and never in electronic form.
All maps and correspondence should be written in code.
New recruits must be sponsored by a primary cell member.
Recruits must work to show their loyalty and will not be able to
know any cache sites until they are fully vested.
A cell should strive to know all of its members well. Background
checks are used to ensure safety. Silence in cell activities is of
paramount importance.
Complete honesty is required by all members. No contact
regarding cell activity is to be released outside the cell structure.
Members who talk outside of the cell structure are to be banned
forever from any cell activity.
Any member who leaves the cell should be harassed within the
law to the greatest extent, unless their reason for leaving is
considered reasonable.
Codes
Codes are substitutions for words and phrases to make
communication misleading to the outside. Codes should always
be used when listing members, personal information, meeting
places and more. They are especially important when dealing
with electronic messaging (email, telephone, fax, etc).
Eavesdropping can be done in a number of ways, therefore you
must be sure that no one member can ever lip read or overhear
any conversations between members.
In conclusion
People live centuries without the modern convenience we take
for granted. Even in today’s modern world there are plenty of
places where normal niceties are just dreams. Even running water
isn’t commonplace in some third world regions. This is good
news for those who are preparing for a disaster. After all, if those
people can survive primitive conditions you know you can too.
Still, finding yourself in the midst of chaos and disaster isn‟t
going to be easy; no matter how well prepared you are. Living in
an urban area is going to make survival even harder. You may
not want to purchase a rural piece of property to escape to in an
emergency, but you can at least create a network of trusted and
likeminded people so you have somewhere to go to escape the
city should disaster occur. Always have a backup plan ready.
Even a shed somewhere out of town can be a place to go to get
out of the dangerous city if needed. The key here is to get as far
from the city as you can in a disaster! You will stand a much
better chance of survival in a more rural setting. The setting are