Category: G. O. O. D.

Two Letters Re: Transitioning to Seven Day Bug-Out Bags

Firefighter Charles’s statement about FEMA‘s response times shows a lack of understanding of how the process works. In the event of another Hurricane Katrina type natural disaster, the following things have to happen, in the following order: 1. Disaster strikes 2. Local officials setup an incident command 3. Local Emergency Operation Centers (EOCs) are activated. The local emergency operations plan (EOP) is put into action. 4. Mutual aid agreements are activated. If the disaster goes beyond this, then… 5. State EOCs are activated. State EOPs are put into action. 6. The state activates it’s mutual aid agreements. 7. If the …


Transitioning to a Seven Day Bug Out Bag, by Firefighter Charles

I was standing in the living room, watching CNN and saw the devastation of Haiti when it struck me how important a bug out bag was..  I listened to how help is coming and arrived almost immediately.  Logistical issues hampered “helps” immediate aiding of the people in Haiti.  Chile got hit  by a massive earthquake as well.  With Chile’s government not wanting any support at first, watched how Chile succumb to riots and looting in just three days after the quake.  Haiti broke down as well after five days of no food, water, or shelter.  Many people in Chile had …


How to Get to Your Retreat, by Tony Y.

You have spent large amounts of time and money getting prepared for the day that we all hoped would never come.  You have found a retreat, kept it stocked and have been prepared to leave when TEOTWAWKI strikes.  It’s now here, but have you prepared how to get to your retreat? One of the most critical tasks for survival in TEOTWAWKI is getting to your retreat in a safe and efficient manner.  I was a US Army soldier who completed two year- long tours in Iraq working convoys.  I have written the following for civilians with no military or tactical …


Two Letters Re: Lessons From the Tennessee Floods

First things first, please accept my heartfelt thank you for your excellent web site and all of the information you have helped disseminate to folks such as myself. My heart goes out to the people of Nashville and the disaster they are facing from the flooding. However, the logical part of me is astounded by all of this as the media and government (http://www.nashville.gov/oem/preparedness/wcd.asp) in Nashville have been repeatedly warning people to prepare for a major flood since 2005 and have held numerous public meetings in conjunction with the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). The warnings were not from …


Living Like TEOTWAWKI Could Come at Any Time, by Mrs. C.J.

If you even so much as glance at the news or if you’re like me and check out The Drudge Report every morning, you can’t help but realize the world is becoming more and more uncertain. It seems that anything could happen at the drop of a hat and without little, if any, fore-warning. Volcanoes, earthquakes, tornadoes, and floods seem to be changing or taking the lives of unsuspecting people almost daily. The threat of nuclear warfare is always just beyond the horizon. If we ever experience an EMP, we could be without power and [utility-supplied] water for months. Most …


Lessons from Nashville, Tennessee–That “Oh My Gosh” Moment, by Cheryl C.

I live in Nashville, Tennessee.  Most people have heard about the devastation of the recent flooding of  our city –what a  lot of folks don’t know is that there were over 1,400 boat rescues of stranded people who could not (or would not) evacuate their homes before the water overtook them.  The events of these past few weeks has heightened my disaster preparedness and has proven to me once again “that being prepared” is paramount “to surviving” any natural or man-made disaster. This brings me to share with you what I call the “oh my gosh” moment.  When the forecast …


Letter Re: Establishing a Veteran’s Bona Fides in TEOTWAWKI

Captain Rawles: I am a fairly skilled soldier in the U.S. military. Without going into details suffice it to say that I am extremely capable mentally because of my military experience as well as a healthy desire to educate and train myself in my free time. However, I travel most of the time. I have no stored food and don’t own any possessions that won’t fit in my car. Due to travel I don’t even own my own firearm, even though I am trained in the use of dozens of arms and explosives. Assume that I’m am the perfect soldier …


Letter Re: The Basics of Starting to Prepare

Long term survival means you need a three part system. You need (1) Water, (2) Food, and (3) Security. most people only prep for two of the three or one of the three. I know too many “preppers” that say “all that I need is my AR-15 and a ton of ammo”, but the issue with that is obvious. you will have to turn into a bad guy and steal or kill for the other two. I also know guys who say ” will hoard a 90-day supply of food and water, and my neighbors will help me keep my …



Letter Re: Using Pipe Infrastructure to Your Advantage

Beneath many of our very feet are hundreds of miles of underground piping which utilized correctly can provide valuable resource in the event of a TEOTWAWKI situation. Storm drainage pipe siphons rain water from urban areas into surrounding streams and rivers. Accessed through manholes and curb gutters water runs off the street into basins and concrete piping. (Concrete piping varies in size, however most urban areas use diameters 36” and upward.) In the event of a G.O.O.D. situation slipping into some form of drainage would at least allow stealth movement for a decent distance (remember water always flows toward the …


Letter Re: Lessons from the Yazoo City Tornado

Dear Editor: I have been reading your blog for a while but until Saturday, I never saw how a disaster could unhinge some people so quickly and what lack of preparedness can do to some people. I went to deliver a chainsaw, some gas and water to a relative in Yazoo City and what is usually a 45 minute drive took over 2 hours. Land lines and cell towers were down, and if you had a phone with a certain carrier, the service was very spotty. The traffic was bad and the roads into the town were blocked and we …


A Practical, Full Spectrum Suburban Survival Plan, by JIR

Survival planning can be overwhelming and a lot of the advice you get is not practical or compatible with our lifestyles. A lot of us choose, or are forced to live in the crowded East Coast far too close to cities to survive TEOTWAWKI. I dare say, a lot of SurvivalBlog readers live in suburbs just outside medium to large population centers. Many of us have jobs that don’t migrate to small towns and would face a substantial loss of income if we moved away from our livelihoods. Some of us like our current lives and feel that hunkering down …


Letter Re: An Earthquake Wakeup Call in Australia

Greetings! I’m a SurvivalBlog addict who lives in the coastal suburbs of Adelaide, South Australia, and last night at roughly 11:25 p.m. my shower was interrupted by an earthquake! It wasn’t strong enough to move furniture. In fact, as earthquakes go it was pretty weak (later revealed as a 3.8), but since we’re near the coast I wasn’t taking any chances, and neither was my wife! Seconds after it was stopped I was drying off and we were both getting dressed. We locked the doors, shut the windows, grabbed our phones and our boy, put the dogs in the car …


Thoughts on the Bug Out Bag, by Tugboat

When I think on the “Bug out Bag” I am not thinking of a basic survival kit. The survival kit is designed to be small, portable, and with you whenever you venture out into the woods. The bug out bag is a larger version of the same but designed for a totally different scenario. When you know you are going to be on your own for an undetermined amount of time. First off it will be larger than a survival kit; usually a small backpack or duffle will suffice to carry all you will need for an extended stay away …


Letter Re: G.O.O.D. Vehicle Preparation and Maintenance–Is Your Vehicle Up to the Task?, by Barry B.

In a “Schumer hits the fan” (SHTF) scenario where you need to get out of Dodge (G.O.O.D.), will your vehicle be up to the task? Is your cooling system robust enough to handle unusual demands? Are your fancy new wheels hurky enough to withstand off-road conditions? Is your vehicle ready to tow a trailer over rough terrain and for long distances? Is the trailer ready? We don’t get to pick when the SHTF, so keep your vehicle ready! Here are some of my suggestions based on over twenty-five years in the automotive maintenance and repair business. Catastrophic failures often begin …