by Mac Slavo
September 22, 2013
from
SHTFPlan Website
As you consider the threats we face and
the options available to you should the worst happen, you have no
doubt played out numerous scenarios surrounding the effects of a
total collapse event that would bring down the national power grid.
Be it,
...the possibility is quite realistic.
Some have escaped major cities and
headed for the hills, but considering that the majority of the U.S.
population is
centered in
146 of the country’s 3000 counties,
chances are most of us will find ourselves in the middle of the
worst that humanity has to offer.
Developing strategies that encompass
everything from food preparation and water harvesting, to security
and communications should be at the top of our lists.
This is where highly respected author
and
Survival Blog founder
James Rawles puts much of his focus in his most recent interview
with the team at alternative news hub
SGT Report.
It’s an interview you don’t want to
miss, because that one little oversight in your preparedness plan
may be the mistake that kills you.
Your chances of survival are
fairly low if you’re in a major metropolitan area.
In
a true grid down situation I recommend that
you
literally be prepared to hunker down for months.
Among
other critical preparedness topics James Rawles discusses the
effects and survival strategies for a grid down collapse in high
population urban centers:
For someone in an urban area who
plans to hunker down and doesn’t plan to bug out with country
cousins, one thing that should be at the top of everyone’s list
but that’s very much overlooked is… if you’re in a situation
where you have power because you have photovoltaics but your
neighbors don’t, you really
should concentrate on black-out curtains for your windows.
You need to black out your house
completely, without any light leaks so that your house will look
just as black as any other on your block.
Otherwise you’re going to be
targeted as the rich guy. You don’t want to become a
loot-me-beacon at night.
That should be a fairly high
priority for you.
…
There’s so many things that are
going to go into it.
If we’re truly in a grid-down
situation you’re going to have
to think in terms of not just food storage, but where you can
collect rainwater or surface water, whether it’s a pond
or a creek, and how you’re going to transport that water home
without access to a gas engine vehicle.
…
You’re going to want to be
able to cook without any spices whatsoever… From an efficiency
standpoint… you’re going to want to use a special insulated
cooker…
It’s essentially like
crock-pot cooking where you bring your water to a boil, add your
rice, meat, vegetables, whatever… and you’re going to enclose it
in a double-insulated container.
With that
cooking method you have a couple of advantages.
One is you don’t have cooking odors escaping and
the other is you have the absolute minimum energy input.
That’s
just one example of the work-around that you can use in
an urban or suburban environment if you literally can’t trust
your ravenous neighbors.
…
For
someone who has to hunker down you’re going to have think
through each of those situations, whether it’s sanitation,
cooking, home security, communications… the whole works. You’re
going to have to think through each of those.
Unfortunately, in an urban
environment, you can do everything right but if you’re neighbors
can’t adapt you’re going to end up just as dead, because… the
sanitation situation is going to be horrendous. And, if people
are going door-to-door kicking in the front doors of houses,
eventually they’re going to get to your house. If it’s that bad,
if it’s a total worst case your chances are not that good
hunkering down in place.
You may beat the odds, but I would
rather be somewhere else, frankly.
…
[Living in the city] You’re in the
same situation as probably 30% or 40% of my readership, so don’t
feel like you’re alone.
There are a lot of people that would
love to relocate, but either for financial reasons, or family
obligations, or work obligations, or health considerations…
you’re not alone.
…
A
level of planning that you’ll have to make is definitely a step
up than your average suburbanite. You’re going to have to think
everything through. You’re going to have to shepherd your funds,
and prioritize your purchasing and your training with
exactitude.
All
it takes is one overlooked area and you’re another statistic.
We strongly encourage you to listen to
James Rawles’ interview with SGT Report in full. It has tons of
ideas, tips and situations that any serious prepper needs to
consider - not tomorrow, today.
There are a variety of excellent
resources available to help you insulate yourself for a long-term
disaster scenario no matter where you find yourself when it goes
down, starting with Rawles’ preparedness guidelines outlined in
How to Survive the End of the World as We Know
It where he details tactics, techniques, and technologies
for uncertain times.
We encourage you to forward this to
friends and family who may not be as convinced as you are about the
possibility of an emergency that wipes out our electric grid.
The fact is, the
U.S. government has been preparing
for exactly such a scenario, and they’ll be launching nationwide
simulations later this year. They’ve been stockpiling
food, water treatment supplies, firearms, ammunition, and training
personnel to deal with the aftermath.
If you’re not doing the same thing, then
you haven’t been paying attention - or you’ve chosen to stick your
hand in the sand and pretend that it’s not really happening.
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