My Recent Experience Bugging Into A Disaster- Part 2, by J.W.

 Print This Post Email This Post Facebook Twitter Pinterest Reddit Google LinkedIn LinkedIn

Travel Prepared- Non-Lethal and Sidearms

I always travel prepared for whatever may happen. I am older, and while still in good shape, my fight rounds are probably down to less than a minute before I get worn out (comes with age), so I travel prepared to personally defend myself and those with me in any situation. As always, situational awareness is first and foremost. On short trips, I prepare by carrying both non-lethal protection and sidearms. On long trips (my long trips average 2500 miles round trip), I carry additional long guns that are purpose minded and a reasonable amount of ammo.

I can not stress enough, should the world decide to go south and you find yourself on the interstate a thousand miles from where you would prefer to be, you simply must err on the side of that one in a million chance that you need to be better defended than the next guy or guys at least for the short term to get home. It can and will happen that fast, especially in the more populated areas like where I was traveling.

My Personal Choices In Firearms

My personal choices in firearms while traveling are as follows. You can decide for yourselves as to what, why, and what purpose when choosing firearms. I have chosen a balance that suits my abilities and situations I may encounter. I also train and know the limits of each weapon matched to my personal level of ability. Choose what works for you and become proficient with them so they become second nature in your hands. I’m a simple average shot and by no means have any superior skills, but I am very familiar with what I surround myself with. That’s all I can do.

I carry a Glock 26, a Browning High Power (Belgium 1941 manuf) and a Ruger LCP. I have three spare mags for each. Each are carried in condition one or zero. I firmly believe, through training and daily carry, that condition one or zero weapons are fully reasonable provided the weak link (the person) has this ingrained into them during all handling and storage. All are carried either concealed on person or visible in reach while driving and spare mags in plain sight in console. I’ve found that this system works for me in the states I have to cross, the local places I stop along the way, and in general with the law enforcement and inspection stations I must go through. Yes, I have been stopped, and, yes, I have survived those stops with very minor questions, usually a laugh and no tickets or problems.

Long Guns

You’re on your own when traveling with multiple firearms, so plan accordingly. With regard to long guns, I carry a Colt A-3, a Browning Belgium Sweet 16, and a Marlin 45/70 Guide. All are in soft side cases either in the bed of truck (covered) or in the backseat (crew cab). I do keep the long gun ammo separate from the guns and in an ammo can, so if stopped this is very clear to any law enforcement. I have separate, lockable compartments on the long gun stuff.

Two dash cams are always on and recording just for this alone. Also, for travel mishaps, it never hurts to snap a pic on your phone of how you load the guns and where they are located (before you start the trip) in case you ever need that little bit of proof for a judge or official in case an officer challenges your rights in his jurisdiction.

Again, this works for me. It may not for you. Just try and do everything reasonable to be safe and responsible, but don’t be afraid of the base meaning of the second amendment either. I suggest you carry non-lethal means, such as pepper spray or similar. It’s good to have that option and choice. It shows you are of sound mind to first process things in a non-lethal manner also, given the opportunity. The pepper spray should be immediately available to you from the driver’s seat. Also, it should be in plain sight, not displayed mind you. Plain sight is a legal term. There is a difference.

Most Valuable Item- The Club

The most valuable item I carry is The Club. Now, before you laugh at my eighties fad, The Club allows me to stop at rest areas, leave my dog in the truck running with the AC on, and provided I angle the wheels and install the club, it makes my truck virtually un-drivable as in “unstolen” during my quick pit stop. Even if I sleep for a quick rest in the back seat folded down, or in the larger trailers I haul while attached to the tow vehicle, no one is going to drive this unit off without some work, and hopefully I’ll be able to defend it way before then.

So, I suggest everyone get a club, keep an extra key attached to your belt via carabiner, and have the extra security. The dash cameras do a great deal to discourage those interested in evil. Remember, bad people are the ones who will notice the cameras and the club. That’s the point.

Mass Traffic

As I traveled into north Florida finally, a twenty hour trip one way for me, I was shocked at the mass traffic headed northbound coming out of the state. There were gridlocks three lanes wide for twenty miles long. Vehicles were stopped, sitting. Then this continued on for over a hundred and fifty miles. The exits were nonsense.

Long Lines To Get Fuel And Stations Without Fuel

The lines to get fuel in North Fl were twenty cars long for each row. My plan of filling up when I got home suddenly were no longer effective. Arriving home, I found no fuel available anywhere. I had my reserve fuel but was low in the tank, having driven the last 288 miles thinking there would be fuel when I got home. There are 19 gas stations that sell diesel within about five miles or so of my house and over a hundred within a 15 mile radius, yet there was no fuel.

Two days later, I found diesel by calling local stations on the phone. I finally found one at at 0330 that had a few thousand gallons being delivered right then. I immediately went there to fill up, and the manager said please be quick since they had no gasoline and as soon as people saw me fueling up there would be a mass of cars again. Sure enough, at 0330 mind you, I pulled up to pump number 22 out of 48 pumps at this deserted station and within minutes almost thirty cars arrived and sat at pumps thinking there was gasoline available.

It was something out of a movie. That was the last time I saw diesel for the next seven days, during which time I did not again fuel up until the first available fuel in Georgia while headed north back to the farm a whole five days after the storm.

Bring Your Own Fuel

Port Tampa is the fuel facility in my area; it’s only 20 miles away and could not hope to begin to supply the demand, regardless of storage reserves or barges from Texas. It’s a good thing I brought gas for the gen sets and the saws. None was to be had. I found ice at 0530 in the morning at a gas station off the interstate than had no gas (three days before the storm even hit Florida) and bought the last three bags.

Stores Wiped Out

Lastly, my home is in an area where there are five Super Walmart’s, nine large chain grocery stores, a Sam’s Club, Costco, two Lowes, and a Home Depot all within an eight mile radius. I’ll repeat, all of those stores are within eight miles of my home. I have 500 thousand neighbors in my county in Florida just north of Tampa. There are rural areas, and it’s not what you would envision as a overbuilt heavy city area at all. Everything related to either survival, comfort, or basic necessity was sold out days before the hurricane even hit. All coolers, cots, fans, AC units, ice, water, fuel, plywood, tarps, tape, garbage cans, plastic sheeting, pet food, canned food, snacks, juices, bread, batteries, flashlights, and on and on and on were wiped out.

Not the Big One

This was not the big one. This was simply a hurricane. I’ve lived through eight. This was not a major terrorist attack, an EMP, dollar collapse, or anything even remotely close to being what I would call an unexpected crisis. We had ten days to discuss it prior. In the end, it’s a big storm with big, big wind. There was no power for days. Clean up was brutal in the heat and humidity, but I survived okay, because I prepped. Thousand upon thousands did not fare as well and were beyond miserable, spent thousands in the rush, and didn’t get anything valuable from it. Others evacuated not knowing where they would even end up and spent days on the road, having to use the side of the road for bathroom events, locked into mile after mile of dead stopped interstate only to find exits clogged and no fuel.

Unexpected Things You Don’t Plan On

I learned that no matter how good you are at prepping, there are unexpected things you don’t plan on. You can never ever underestimate the panic buying factor of any given area. You also can’t do a thing about mother nature except sit, watch, and appreciate the little things you had at the moment. I am back to prepping with a renewed vision, a smarter outlook, and a greater satisfaction, having bugged in to the latest weather disaster.

Oh, and if you ever think you’re going to wait to leave a populated area until the last minute, you had better think again. Best wishes all my fellow preppers!

See Also:

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

This has been part two of a two part entry for Round 72 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The nearly $11,000 worth of prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. A $3000 gift certificate towards a Sol-Ark Solar Generator from Veteran owned Portable Solar LLC. The only EMP Hardened Solar Generator System available to the public.
  2. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any one, two, or three day course (a $1,095 value),
  3. A course certificate from onPoint Tactical for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses, excluding those restricted for military or government teams. Three day onPoint courses normally cost $795,
  4. DRD Tactical is providing a 5.56 NATO QD Billet upper. These have hammer forged, chrome-lined barrels and a hard case, to go with your own AR lower. It will allow any standard AR-type rifle to have a quick change barrel. This can be assembled in less than one minute without the use of any tools. It also provides a compact carry capability in a hard case or in 3-day pack (an $1,100 value),
  5. An infrared sensor/imaging camouflage shelter from Snakebite Tactical in Eureka, Montana (A $350+ value),
  6. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  7. A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
  8. Two cases of Meals, Ready to Eat (MREs), courtesy of CampingSurvival.com (a $180 value).

Second Prize:

  1. A Model 175 Series Solar Generator provided by Quantum Harvest LLC (a $439 value),
  2. A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training, which have a combined retail value of $589,
  3. A gift certificate for any two or three-day class from Max Velocity Tactical (a $600 value),
  4. A transferable certificate for a two-day Ultimate Bug Out Course from Florida Firearms Training (a $400 value),
  5. A Trekker IV™ Four-Person Emergency Kit from Emergency Essentials (a $250 value),
  6. A $200 gift certificate good towards any books published by PrepperPress.com,
  7. A pre-selected assortment of military surplus gear from CJL Enterprize (a $300 value),
  8. RepackBox is providing a $300 gift certificate to their site, and
  9. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.

Third Prize:

  1. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  2. A custom made Sage Grouse model utility/field knife from custom knife-maker Jon Kelly Designs, of Eureka, Montana,
  3. A large handmade clothes drying rack, a washboard, and a Homesteading for Beginners DVD, all courtesy of The Homestead Store, with a combined value of $206,
  4. Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy (a $185 retail value),
  5. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  6. Mayflower Trading is donating a $200 gift certificate for homesteading appliances,
  7. Montie Gear is donating a Y-Shot Slingshot and a $125 Montie gear Gift certificate.,
  8. Two 1,000-foot spools of full mil-spec U.S.-made 750 paracord (in-stock colors only) from www.TOUGHGRID.com (a $240 value), and

Round 72 ends on September 30th, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.


29 Comments

  1. Good article, J.W. Two important things I learned (I live in the same area as you): get gas early and don’t rely on the forecasted path of the storm. Oh, and afterward, I bought a bigger genset so I’ll have AC next time!

  2. A lot of very interesting points brought up.
    Of course, the key to making any plan successful is getting out before the actual event, or you will be sitting in the midst of that 3 lane wide – miles long gridlock with all your goodies.

    And therein lies the rub – knowing when to run.

    Its relatively easy in the face of a pending hurricane to decide to leave, but what about potential catastrophies such as threats from North Korea that haven’t materialized yet, or the FED manipulating interest rates that have us on the brink of collapse, or even a fast spreading pandemic?

    Any of the outcomes associated with these potential life threatening events could make things dicey if you are caught on the wrong side of the fence…with the masses, and everyone tries to leave at the same time.

    Not many will have the fortitude to just decide its time to get out while the getting is good…and with your BO location hundreds of miles away, you would need to leave earlier than most.

    1. regarding when to leave, I offer only this true story.

      I was discussing this same thing with two friends: when do you decide to go? Friend 1 said, “I guess that depends on whether you are a pessimist or an optimist.”

      Friend 2, who is Jewish, replied, “Well… the optimists went to the gas chambers.”

      Think about that for a minute.

      1. Very good analogy………three types of people pessemists, to the left, optimists to the right, and in the center are realists, those people who see both sides use some common sense and “get r done”. Preppers are the realists…..who never quite fit in with the shepple, and take their own path……..

  3. With all the hype, drama and cries from state and local government, north central Florida seemed spared. Fearful panicked people are a given, no gas, water, food, are also a given. So, what are the “unexpected things you don’t plan on”? Also, what protection and clean up did you have to do at your house before, during and after the hurricane? Was there something different about this one, than the other 8 storms you have been through? Lessons learned?? Thanks.

    1. Unexpected things might be tp, or an extra set of anything that was loaned out or taken by a relative who forgot to tell you. It’s the Rawls law of two is one and one is none. Plan for yesterday like you are going to need more tomorrow…..works every time.

  4. To me ‘evacuating’ is basically volunteering to become a refugee. If you have people depending on you for protection, it is your job to do whatever you can to protect them from becoming refugees. Fathers, are you listening? Mothers, are your husbands honoring their responsibility?

  5. Everyone who reads this site needs to at the very least have a small portable solar panel. The Anker 21W Dual USB Solar Charger or something similar is perfect. Small enough to always have with you, 2 USB outputs so you can keep your phone and other small items charged up.

    1. I’ve used the 15W version for the last 18 months anytime that we go to the field to train. It’s survived a combined 6 months of New Mexico and Fort Irwin deserts being thrown around on vehicles and in my ruck sack. The one charger was fantastic for keeping multiple phones in the Platoon charged as well as rechargeable batteries for my DAGR (GPS) and other gizmos.

  6. J.W.

    Thanks again for your articles. I printed them out and reread them over to the point of highlighting what I can learn and apply, and there is alot.

    You described clearly how I felt living nearer to Interstate 75. It was like the ‘Law of Inverse Distance’, the closer one is to an event’s epicenter the greater the effect felt. Except what got me was how far the ‘radius” were and how they overlapped from metro area to area. Sorry if this sounds like a physics lesson but I bet there are reports written by study groups on the ‘Spillage Effects of Hurricance Irma Due to MSM Reporting” complete with graphic diagrams, somewhere.
    By late Tuesday and into early Wednesday gas stations were emptied. A twenty minute across town trip took roughy two hours. Time seemed to slow down when the hurricance gradually turned northward pushing the predicted arrival time a day later into Sunday night. Luckily it’s landfall was just north of the Everglades and path was thru the less populated areas (from what was reported). Somewhere it rained alligators.

    The stock photo accompanying your articles is iconic and instructive. Why weren’t the south bound lanes opened up to north bound cars sooner? Same question for Hurricance Katrina and others.
    While going thru a hurricance warning on the east coast a while back the local authorities issued a mandatory evacuation that clogged up I-4 between Daytona Beach and Orlando with 50,000+ cars, etc.,. What if the hurricance or winds caught these stranded evacuees in the open? Not a pleasant scenario but the point is to prepare for yourself.

  8. It all comes down to the category of the hurricane when it comes to evacuation. 1,2 not really worried.3 getting iffy. High 4 depending on where you live and the strength of your house/roof takes some serious thought if you plan to stay. Category 5 you’d be a fool to stay. (I’m in Lee county, on the water less than 10 miles from the Gulf. My takeaway,forget having any large shade trees within falling distance to your house. After cat 3 a large oak was leaning towards the roof. Cat4or5 it would of come through the roof. Even after the power comes on don’t expect I stores to be fully restocked for a week or more. I think this along with lack of gas surprised a lot of people. In a hard hit area you’ll have no power and no cell services. A radio doesn’t cut it. To know what’s going around you you can’t beat a TV. Does anyone know of a battery operated digital tv? I’m not joking about the feeling of isolation that sets in if you are living in the area of destruction. While cat 1or2 is nothing to sneeze at you have to experience cat 3,4,or5 to begin to understand the meaning of hurricane.

  9. It seems by reading this gentlemen’s account that bugging out comes with serious consequences.
    One; you need a place to go
    Two; you need fuel for serious range–600 miles at least
    Three; Portable shelter since leaving will be slow just due to the number of people.

    However the Hurricane gave advanced warning and people still panicked for days.
    This shows me that an event like a dirty bomb or a NK nuke in San Diego the best strategy is to stay put. But with that hit the stores and top off your supplies.

    I have been in a huge traffic tie up when I-15 in Utah was out and it took 10 hours to get to Las Vegas.

    In my opinion leaving is a bad strategy at least right away.
    Let the panic and chaos calm down.
    Being stranded on the roads is a good way to get killed.

  10. RE: The Club – a good, and less expensive substitute, is a 4 ft plastic coated steel security cable with crimped ends to form eyes, available at Lowe’s Home Depot, Walmart, etc. Crank the wheel, feed one end through the steering wheel spokes, feed one eye through the other eye (trapping the wheel spokes in the loop of cable so formed) and padlock the loose end eye to the brake pedal with whatever you decide is the best padlock for the job. I wrapped the upper half of mine in bright orange tape to make it more visible; if someone sees it through the driver’s side window there’s less chance they’ll even attempt to steal the truck. As for picking the lock, they would have to do that kneeling on the ground with the door open because the padlock is at floor mat level, but with a key it takes only seconds to unlock.

    The cable coils up into a loop so it’s easy to store between the passenger seat and the console.

    Plus, a second, or third, or fourth cable can be used to secure items inside the truck – run the locking cable eye through the eye of another cable after feeding the 2nd cable through one of its eyes to form a loop, padlock the locking cable eye to the brake pedal. Easy way to secure smaller stuff like toolboxes on the floor, and cables are available in 4, 7, 15 and 30 feet. The longer ones are handy for securing stuff in the truck bed, loop the cables through the built-in tie down brackets. Pro Tip: get several keyed-alike padlocks, the more the better; check the padlock displays in Lowe’s, HD, etc. and you’ll often find an entire display box of padlocks all of which have the same key code. If you don’t get them all at once you’ll never be able to get them later.

    Using cables to prevent theft isn’t bulletproof, but a couple minutes spent looping cables and locking them prevents “snatch and grab” thefts.

    1. A number of years ago, I saw a video demonstration of why the club and associated methods of locking the steering wheel was not effective. Using a hacksaw, the demonstrator cut through the steering wheel in about 10 seconds, and removed the securing device.

  11. Thank you JW for these very fine and usefully informative articles.

    I like your take on firearms but I’m guessing you’ve not driven or been stopped in, say, California with your preferred arrangements on Conditions 0 and 1. Sadly I must go with all Condition 4 while traveling.

    I hope you will continue to be safe and look forward to hearing more from you.

    1. Thank God I live and mostly travel in Free States. On my return home a couple of weeks ago to Wyoming after a class reunion in my old home state of Missourah, I was rear ended in Missourah on I29, I was open carrying a S&W 9mm as usual and the Mo.Highway Patrol Officer asked to removed the gun and then unloaded it and removed the mag before I got into his car to make out the report, after which he gave the gun back and never once asked why I was carrying it. I also had a Para 45ACP and a Browning Hi Power in my car as well as an AR15 in a soft case in the trunk which had to be pried open to retrieve my AR. I was then given a ride into a small town for lodging by a Deputy Sheriff, he hauled me and all my guns in and he only wanted to talk about hunting. Ain’t Free States Great! Trekker Out

  12. A major problem with the club is that 30 seconds use of an hacksaw ON THE STEERING WHEEL defeats it. The CLUB is hardened steel but the wheel is soft plastic and soft steel tube.

    1. Masterlock and others makes one with 2 grapplers at each end which requires more sawing. Gorrilla has one that levers against the dash. There are also several pedal style locks that are much more secure than wheel based. But the issue w/ pedal locks is that more sophisticated thieves will load vehicles onto flatbed trucks/trailers so these do little to stop a determined theft — most auto trannys can be put into neutral w/ a position override button (manual tranny clutch pedal locks are superior in this repsect) and secondarily w/ idle that’s typically enough gas that the vehicle can be driven onto a tow trailer, etc, w/o needing to use a slow winch.
      Steering wheel locks if you point wheels to where a flatbed can’t easily maneuver to load or to where the vehicle in neutral would roll/be winched into another car/structure do help to mitigate such a theft despite being more vulnerable to defeats.

  13. In defense of the club, its one layer of security. A good car alarm with radio transmitter to keyfob.
    Also the club is steel and very effective defensive weapon too.
    I have used them for decades and my vehicles have been left alone.
    However, I like the road cams idea. Just another layer to make lazy thiefs go to lower hanging fruit

  14. J W. We carry the same guns, except my shotgun is a rem 870 riot with 18 inch barrel. As far as a pepper spray, use ammonia in a garden spray bottle that has an adjustable tip. Ammonia does not degrade in a container, and is ten times more effective as a defense weapon…..from experience when used the person on the receiving end is 100 percent out of the fight. This can be a lethal weapon and as far as carrying, it’s a cleaner for the vehicle, police would not give it a second look unlike pepper spray.

  15. Adding to the list of what to watch for before, during and after a hurricance:

    Panicking unprepared evacuatees starting five to six days before landfall.
    Returning panicking unprepared evacuatees a day after landfall.

    Weather forecasters creating panicking evacuatees with memes like “The NE quarter is the most dangerous.”. When you hear someone repeat that phase or a similar one, assume you’re in the presence of a zombie (one easily influenced by the MSM prediction paths which were way off for Irma.).

    Storm surges. A hurricance rotates counter-clockwise so depending whelter you’re on the east or west coast it’s arrival time will vary. I heard St. Petersburg, Florida, has downtown poles marked off at eighteen feet where the surge will be. Something to think about next you’re in a traffic jam and glancing up at the water level mark.
    Note: Roughly, if the sea level rises one foot or even a few inches alot of southern florida will be underwater. It’s that flat.

    Pine and other trees falling from still flood water soaked soil and shallow tree roots.

    Most of florida’s population lives on the coastline and a large percentage of them live on what was once considered Barrier Islands. A Barrier Island held together by vegetation, mangroves, seaoats, would have taken the blunt of hurricane forces, waves, ground winds. Today since condos occupy that small plot of sandbar don’t expect it to delay any hurricance forces. A direct landfall hurricane wound be like an explosion where the blast itself is minimal compared to the catastrophic after shockwaves and negative pressure vacuum. In a populated floridian city a sudden tornado came off the bay, not usual. It glanced by a fifteen story condo, the negative pressure broke all of the glass facade (glass spharell) and sucked out anything in the apartments throwing the debris a block away. The local morning edition newspaper had a front page photo but the evening newspaper reported everything was fine. ‘Nothing to see here, move along.’. Not good for tourism.

    Idiotic comments made during Hurricance Irma, “Stop it with atomic bombs.” A hurricance is at least a thousand times more powerful so the effect would be to spread radioactivity.

    The point is without Barrier Islands and people building on glorified large sandbars expect a new estuary inlet.

    Disease from contaminated groundwater. Disease has killed more people than all wars.(Floridian brown and black vector disease carrying rats. Also ticks,fleas, mosquitoes, etc.,.). New Orleans had escaped piranhas from Hurriance Katrina and gangs traveling up around Lake Ponchatrain. Also during Katrina some of the spray painted markings indicated what houses had personal protection taken away?

    Anxiety. Call it repeated post-tramatic hurricance stress disorder (head doctors would like that added to the list of psychosomatic money making ‘diseases’). Why do you think my post has so much verbiage?

    Does anyone practice living without electricity for one day a week, a month?
    Perhaps less emphasis on comfort AC; powertools I understand. First lesson I learned in Florida, do not fight the heat as much as going with it (Aikado sweating). You’ not in (insert state name) anymore.
    There are websites out there specific to indigneous Floridian living. Most of the other info doesn’t apply as Florida is opposite environmentally to the U.S..

    “Eat the Weeds” with Green Dean is an excellent and far inbetween website on edible local plants. Simlex/Catbrair is considered a thorny pest weed hard to get rid of but the one or two inches of it’s new shoot is edible. Forgitabout the bone hard root node.

    I’m not sure if I can mention ‘Hamilton Books’ that has somewhere in the neighborhood of under a half million DISCOUNTED books. Books on drought resistence gardening, trapping to bushcraft skills. And the wonder of it all … some JWR books that while they last can be passed out to family and friends.

  16. Adding to the list of what to watch for before, during and after a hurricance:

    Panicking unprepared evacuatees starting five to six days before landfall.
    Returning panicking unprepared evacuatees a day after landfall.

    Weather forecasters creating panicking evacuatees with memes like “The NE quarter is the most dangerous.”. When you hear someone repeat that phase or a similar one, assume you’re in the presence of a zombie (one easily influenced by the MSM prediction paths which were way off for Irma.).

    Storm surges. A hurricance rotates counter-clockwise so depending whelter you’re on the east or west coast it’s arrival time will vary. I heard St. Petersburg, Florida, has downtown poles marked off at eighteen feet where the surge will be. Something to think about next you’re in a traffic jam and glancing up at the water level mark.
    Note: Roughly, if the sea level rises one foot or even a few inches alot of southern florida will be underwater. It’s that flat.

    Pine and other trees falling from still flood water soaked soil and shallow tree roots.

    Most of florida’s population lives on the coastline and a large percentage of them live on what was once considered Barrier Islands. A Barrier Island held together by vegetation, mangroves, seaoats, would have taken the blunt of hurricane forces, waves, ground winds. Today since condos occupy that small plot of sandbar don’t expect it to delay any hurricance forces. A direct landfall hurricane wound be like an explosion where the blast itself is minimal compared to the catastrophic after shockwaves and negative pressure vacuum. In a populated floridian city a sudden tornado came off the bay, not usual. It glanced by a fifteen story condo, the negative pressure broke all of the glass facade (glass spharell) and sucked out anything in the apartments throwing the debris a block away. The local morning edition newspaper had a front page photo but the evening newspaper reported everything was fine. ‘Nothing to see here, move along.’. Not good for tourism.

    Idiotic comments made during Hurricance Irma, “Stop it with atomic bombs.” A hurricance is at least a thousand times more powerful so the effect would be to spread radioactivity.

    The point is without Barrier Islands and people building on glorified large sandbars expect a new estuary inlet.

    Disease from contaminated groundwater. Disease has killed more people than all wars.(Floridian brown and black vector disease carrying rats. Also ticks,fleas, mosquitoes, etc.,.). New Orleans had escaped piranhas from Hurriance Katrina and gangs traveling up around Lake Ponchatrain. Also during Katrina some of the spray painted markings indicated what houses had personal protection taken away?

    Anxiety. Call it repeated post-tramatic hurricance stress disorder (head doctors would like that added to the list of psychosomatic money making ‘diseases’). Why do you think my post has so much verbiage?

    Does anyone practice living without electricity for one day a week, a month?
    Perhaps less emphasis on comfort AC; powertools I understand. First lesson I learned in Florida, do not fight the heat as much as going with it (Aikado sweating). You’ not in (insert state name) anymore.
    There are websites out there specific to indigneous Floridian living. Most of the other info doesn’t apply as Florida is opposite environmentally to the U.S..

    “Eat the Weeds” with Green Dean is an excellent and far inbetween website on edible local plants. Simlex/Catbrair is considered a thorny pest weed hard to get rid of but the one or two inches of it’s new shoot is edible. Forgitabout the bone hard root node.

    I’m not sure if I can mention ‘Hamilton Books’ that has somewhere in the neighborhood of under a half million DISCOUNTED books. Books on drought resistence gardening, trapping to bushcraft skills. And the wonder of it all … some JWR books that while they last can be passed out to family and friends.

    Ps.

    … forgot to include under indigneous weeds Mullein leaves when the Sears catalogue pages run out.

  17. Oops,

    Sorry for the double post as I’m new to posting (hence the PTHSD verbiage on a rare SHTF Floridian post topic) but I thought it significant to expound the virtues of Mullein leaves when there’s not a Sears catalogue around.

    Then again, as Selco writes on his SHTF School blog in a survival situation it’s not exactly high on everyone’s ‘things to do list’ after a few weeks.(Health concerns otherwise.)

    Seriously, since I’m ranting & raving I strongly recommend SHTFschool.blog by Selco. JWR reviewed it awhile back. Selco is a real person and sincere, “good people”. Note: He emphasizes skills, both mental and body, over gadgets.

    One last rant, if SHTF comes to Florida forgittabout AC being available for long. It’s a luxury bought down by out-of-towners in the last century ( u’ thought I was gonna say the “Y” word) … or was it air-conditioning that made it convenient for masses of people to come down Flager’s railroads? Either way I wonder about the aquifers, etc., supporting the infrastructure. (I’m not a tree-hugger.).
    Heck, everytime Jacksonville, Florida, flushes it tiolets lakes dry up southward, literally.

    Thanks for posting

  18. This was a good series — the biggest takeaway here for me is that Florida isn’t really suitable for a SHTF location excepting a very narrow set of circumstances from location to home construction to home ventilation, etc…
    So while it’s fine to “live” there, I think most preparedness minded folks would be well served to view the state/their residence as a vacation home and make long term plans elsewhere.
    Just imagine a long term grid down scenario with no forewarning of hurricanes, limited supplies to rebuild any destruction, plus all the environment constraints of attempting to survive in that environment (both people/pop density and nature)…

Comments are closed.