Being Far Away From Home When It Hits The Fan
May 3, 2016 21:21:05 GMT 10
SA Hunter, Peter, and 3 more like this
Post by Ausprep on May 3, 2016 21:21:05 GMT 10
Source: modernsurvivalblog.com/preps/being-far-away-from-home-when-it-hits-the-fan/
There is a few suggestions in here that i wouldn't use, but overall a few points to consider and get you thinking outside the box.
It’s one thing if you’re fairly close to home if and when the SHTF (whatever that may be) but what if you’re far away from home? Some of you travel for work, perhaps requiring a flight and hotel overnights, or maybe you’re on a vacation with your family when ‘it’ happens.
Lets talk about some of the things you might do to prepare for such a circumstance – to give you a better chance to deal with the crisis being far away from home and/or to get back home during a worst-case-scenario…
I recall the day during ‘9/11’ when all air traffic came to a grinding halt. Regardless of where the planes were in flight they were ALL ordered to land and diverted to the nearest available airports. The entire airspace’s of the United States and Canada were closed (“ground stop”) except for military, police, and medical flights. 6500 planes and approximately one million people were ‘stranded’ in whatever airport city they landed in. Flights resumed several days later, although it took quite some time to get the system back to ‘normal’ (although ‘normal’ had just changed forever).
Several of my work mates were traveling then and became part of the stranded masses. While the circumstances of 9/11 were terrible enough, imagine a future event that is just as bad, or worse. And then put yourself in the middle of it. Are there things that you can do and precautions that you can take in order to help during the aftermath?
There are a number of scenarios that you might hypothetically put yourself in, some worse than others. If you travel enough to be concerned about it, then use your typical travel routines and put yourself on various parts of the timeline and push the big red button… what would you do?
-stuck in an airport between flights
-at your hotel
-at the place of business during your trip
-on an airplane or public transportation
-International travel?
Preparedness for disaster or SHTF far away from home involves a preconceived notion or plan, a clear-thinking head, adaptability, and the means and assets for your journey.
Preparation for this begins with hypothetical thought. As with any discussion or preparedness plan there are hypothetical SHTF circumstances that range the gamut of severity and/or potential longevity from mild, moderate, to red hot, and your preparedness for such will hinge on your severity of choice. Choices may also vary depending on your perception of risk vs. current-events during any given upcoming trip – although ‘SHTF’ tends to come without warning.
If ‘it’ happens, many will not be thinking clearly, especially at first. When a wrench is thrown into the works, so to speak, many people need time to process the major disruption in their routine before being able to function again with any sort of normalcy. Few are able to effectively or efficiently adapt, especially at first. So, use that to your advantage. Be the first to take action. Be the first to adapt to whatever has happened and beat the crowd before the ‘clamp down’.
I believe that despite whatever ‘tools’ you may have at your disposal, greater success will be determined by preemptive planning, clear thinking, and your ability to adapt and make good decisions, especially during the initial phase of your SHTF event.
Be first to get home.
Preemptively make and keep with you a contact list of all airline carriers, car rental agencies, hotel chains, and even cab companies, with their ‘800’ phone numbers, locations, website addresses, etc..
While on a trip, your main concerns following SHTF will likely be to ‘get out of dodge’ and head home, or to find shelter (for now…). Flights may book fast. Rental cars may book fast. Hotels may book fast. Assuming this infrastructure is still in place and functioning, ‘first’ wins the race. You snooze, you lose.
During 9/11, a few of my work mates who were stranded about the country immediately booked rental cars and literally drove home, although it took days…
Why fly when you can drive?
This may not be doable in many instances, but if you can, consider driving instead of flying. This way you’ll have your vehicle (and whatever ‘stuff’ you decide to bring) and will not be at the mercy of external transportation systems – not to mention the hassles at the airports…
Maps.
Even if you’re flying, you may need to drive. Do not depend solely on your GPS device, be it a built-in nav unit or your smart-phone. You might consider keeping a U.S. Road Atlas in your bag. If you are bugging-out to home from your place of stay, the more detailed maps that you have with you – the more options you’ll have to route yourself home. Here’s one:
Rand McNally 2016 Road Atlas
Have plenty of cash with you.
If for some reason there are problems with the credit/debit/banking system, cold hard cash will be king, at least for awhile for some establishments or service providers who are able to accept it. Cash will help you procure some of what you may need during such circumstances and the amount you carry is discretionary. Personally, I always carry a moderate amount of cash with me at all times since I use cash for most purchases anyway. I bulk up on twenties. Never 50’s or 100’s.
Keep your gas tank full.
Whenever you’re driving, especially while traveling far away from home, keep that gas tank on the full side of the gauge. Your travel distance is directly proportional to how much gasoline you have. If the grid goes down, so do all of the gas pumps.
Pack enough food.
Most people don’t give this a second thought – assuming that they will always and simply be able to purchase food while on-the-road without issue. Consider packing a number of high-calorie food bars (for example). It’s all about calories, so whatever you choose to bring along, count the calories. If you’re on your trip when ‘it’ happens, consider (among other things) quickly buying up some extra non-perishable food to throw in your pack (even candy bars or other such junk).
Water?
Water is seemingly most everywhere. However don’t count on it always being pure to drink. You might consider bringing along a very small water filter to fit in your bag, perhaps like this one:
Sawyer Mini Water Filtration System
A pocket knife.
While bringing a pocket knife aboard an airliner in your carry-on or in your pocket might prove to be problematic, you can still put one in your checked-in luggage.
Small portable AM/FM Shortwave radio.
When I traveled, I would often take with me a small portable radio. Not only did it provide occasional listening pleasure during the evening (listening to a favorite talk-show or two) but it’s a source of news and information during an ‘event’.
A backpack.
In addition to, or instead of a traditional luggage bag, a backpack will enable carrying ‘stuff’ with you while on-the-go. When I traveled I would use a backpack for my carry-on while also checking in a bag (with wheels of course).
You must bring a flashlight.
Not only do I always keep a small flashlight on my keychain, but I ALWAYS bring a second (a bit larger) flashlight in my bag. There are too many uses to list, most of them obvious.
This is the flashlight that I bring along…
It’s a ‘kit’ of sorts…
As you’re starting to see here, I’m basically putting together a list of things that you might ordinarily consider keeping in a emergency kit or bug-out bag. When traveling far away from home, the decisions as to what you might bring with you for ‘just in case’ will depend on your own circumstances, risk-awareness comfort level, feasibility, etc.. While you probably don’t want to haul around an entire secondary bag filled up with bug-out gear, on the other hand you do want to bring along some assets. The question is, which one’s?
The thoughts listed above are there to provoke your own thoughts and opinions. So lets hear your ideas. If you’re traveling far away from home, what might you suggest so as to be better prepared for if and when the balloon goes up while you’re away?
There is a few suggestions in here that i wouldn't use, but overall a few points to consider and get you thinking outside the box.
It’s one thing if you’re fairly close to home if and when the SHTF (whatever that may be) but what if you’re far away from home? Some of you travel for work, perhaps requiring a flight and hotel overnights, or maybe you’re on a vacation with your family when ‘it’ happens.
Lets talk about some of the things you might do to prepare for such a circumstance – to give you a better chance to deal with the crisis being far away from home and/or to get back home during a worst-case-scenario…
I recall the day during ‘9/11’ when all air traffic came to a grinding halt. Regardless of where the planes were in flight they were ALL ordered to land and diverted to the nearest available airports. The entire airspace’s of the United States and Canada were closed (“ground stop”) except for military, police, and medical flights. 6500 planes and approximately one million people were ‘stranded’ in whatever airport city they landed in. Flights resumed several days later, although it took quite some time to get the system back to ‘normal’ (although ‘normal’ had just changed forever).
Several of my work mates were traveling then and became part of the stranded masses. While the circumstances of 9/11 were terrible enough, imagine a future event that is just as bad, or worse. And then put yourself in the middle of it. Are there things that you can do and precautions that you can take in order to help during the aftermath?
There are a number of scenarios that you might hypothetically put yourself in, some worse than others. If you travel enough to be concerned about it, then use your typical travel routines and put yourself on various parts of the timeline and push the big red button… what would you do?
-stuck in an airport between flights
-at your hotel
-at the place of business during your trip
-on an airplane or public transportation
-International travel?
Preparedness for disaster or SHTF far away from home involves a preconceived notion or plan, a clear-thinking head, adaptability, and the means and assets for your journey.
Preparation for this begins with hypothetical thought. As with any discussion or preparedness plan there are hypothetical SHTF circumstances that range the gamut of severity and/or potential longevity from mild, moderate, to red hot, and your preparedness for such will hinge on your severity of choice. Choices may also vary depending on your perception of risk vs. current-events during any given upcoming trip – although ‘SHTF’ tends to come without warning.
If ‘it’ happens, many will not be thinking clearly, especially at first. When a wrench is thrown into the works, so to speak, many people need time to process the major disruption in their routine before being able to function again with any sort of normalcy. Few are able to effectively or efficiently adapt, especially at first. So, use that to your advantage. Be the first to take action. Be the first to adapt to whatever has happened and beat the crowd before the ‘clamp down’.
I believe that despite whatever ‘tools’ you may have at your disposal, greater success will be determined by preemptive planning, clear thinking, and your ability to adapt and make good decisions, especially during the initial phase of your SHTF event.
Be first to get home.
Preemptively make and keep with you a contact list of all airline carriers, car rental agencies, hotel chains, and even cab companies, with their ‘800’ phone numbers, locations, website addresses, etc..
While on a trip, your main concerns following SHTF will likely be to ‘get out of dodge’ and head home, or to find shelter (for now…). Flights may book fast. Rental cars may book fast. Hotels may book fast. Assuming this infrastructure is still in place and functioning, ‘first’ wins the race. You snooze, you lose.
During 9/11, a few of my work mates who were stranded about the country immediately booked rental cars and literally drove home, although it took days…
Why fly when you can drive?
This may not be doable in many instances, but if you can, consider driving instead of flying. This way you’ll have your vehicle (and whatever ‘stuff’ you decide to bring) and will not be at the mercy of external transportation systems – not to mention the hassles at the airports…
Maps.
Even if you’re flying, you may need to drive. Do not depend solely on your GPS device, be it a built-in nav unit or your smart-phone. You might consider keeping a U.S. Road Atlas in your bag. If you are bugging-out to home from your place of stay, the more detailed maps that you have with you – the more options you’ll have to route yourself home. Here’s one:
Rand McNally 2016 Road Atlas
Have plenty of cash with you.
If for some reason there are problems with the credit/debit/banking system, cold hard cash will be king, at least for awhile for some establishments or service providers who are able to accept it. Cash will help you procure some of what you may need during such circumstances and the amount you carry is discretionary. Personally, I always carry a moderate amount of cash with me at all times since I use cash for most purchases anyway. I bulk up on twenties. Never 50’s or 100’s.
Keep your gas tank full.
Whenever you’re driving, especially while traveling far away from home, keep that gas tank on the full side of the gauge. Your travel distance is directly proportional to how much gasoline you have. If the grid goes down, so do all of the gas pumps.
Pack enough food.
Most people don’t give this a second thought – assuming that they will always and simply be able to purchase food while on-the-road without issue. Consider packing a number of high-calorie food bars (for example). It’s all about calories, so whatever you choose to bring along, count the calories. If you’re on your trip when ‘it’ happens, consider (among other things) quickly buying up some extra non-perishable food to throw in your pack (even candy bars or other such junk).
Water?
Water is seemingly most everywhere. However don’t count on it always being pure to drink. You might consider bringing along a very small water filter to fit in your bag, perhaps like this one:
Sawyer Mini Water Filtration System
A pocket knife.
While bringing a pocket knife aboard an airliner in your carry-on or in your pocket might prove to be problematic, you can still put one in your checked-in luggage.
Small portable AM/FM Shortwave radio.
When I traveled, I would often take with me a small portable radio. Not only did it provide occasional listening pleasure during the evening (listening to a favorite talk-show or two) but it’s a source of news and information during an ‘event’.
A backpack.
In addition to, or instead of a traditional luggage bag, a backpack will enable carrying ‘stuff’ with you while on-the-go. When I traveled I would use a backpack for my carry-on while also checking in a bag (with wheels of course).
You must bring a flashlight.
Not only do I always keep a small flashlight on my keychain, but I ALWAYS bring a second (a bit larger) flashlight in my bag. There are too many uses to list, most of them obvious.
This is the flashlight that I bring along…
It’s a ‘kit’ of sorts…
As you’re starting to see here, I’m basically putting together a list of things that you might ordinarily consider keeping in a emergency kit or bug-out bag. When traveling far away from home, the decisions as to what you might bring with you for ‘just in case’ will depend on your own circumstances, risk-awareness comfort level, feasibility, etc.. While you probably don’t want to haul around an entire secondary bag filled up with bug-out gear, on the other hand you do want to bring along some assets. The question is, which one’s?
The thoughts listed above are there to provoke your own thoughts and opinions. So lets hear your ideas. If you’re traveling far away from home, what might you suggest so as to be better prepared for if and when the balloon goes up while you’re away?
