#Irma forecast has shifted a lot further to the west — with some weather models suggesting a small chance (as today) of US GoM hit #OOTT
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What Life Is Like for Venezuelan Refugees: The Crisis Isn’t Over When You Escape the Collapse
What Life Is Like for Venezuelan Refugees: The Crisis Isn’t Over When You Escape the Collapse
I find the most difficult aspect of survival is to keep a positive mindset. Definitely, it is. The crisis is not over when you escape the collapse. While I expected when I got my family out, our struggles were over, they have just begun. Once you have been a successful professional, with an entire life ahead of you, and a good amount of the road already left behind, and find as refugees in a foreign country…this is where you really know about how strong you can be.
Or how weak, in my case. Don’t misunderstand me, please. I have been much more fortunate than many of my people, and I give thanks to God for that.
Some reflections, some advice.
These days have not been easy. There are a lot of people already in the labor marketplace around here, working for less money than they should, and rents are increasing because of the people looking for a place…and somehow finding something to work close to home has been uphill. My reserves have been in a slow decrease, and I am starting to worry a little bit.
I have you, unknown friends, but a wonderful prepping community that has avoided that the water covers my nose, and I appreciate that much more than you would believe (Receive our blessings please!). I had some cash stashed away that worked for buying my ticket and left just in time. I hold a professional degree that many people would kill to have, and skills that made me earn some degree of respect everywhere I arrived to work at some facility. I wanted to use this opportunity to spend some more time with my young kid, as a regular engineering work consumes a lot of time, and I was without my son ¾ of a year…but you know how it is.
…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…
SELCO: The Myth of the Perfect EDC and Bug Out Bag
SELCO: The Myth of the Perfect EDC and Bug Out Bag
In the survival-prepper world, it is very important what you carry with you and just as much so, how you carry it. But it is a giant myth that there is just one right way to do this. Despite what many people want to say, there is no perfect and universal everyday carry, perfect and universal bug out bag, car kit, or other gear.
There might be some items or universal rules that every kit should have, but everything else is based on the specific situation.
It is often misunderstood, You can see that actually when someone post his EDC for example on a social media post that you are gonna have probably many comments with specific suggestions what is right or wrong in that kit. But the problem is that lot of those suggestions (or objections) are based on the specific needs or scenarios of the commenter. The suggestions may not work for the person who has that EDC.
As a general rule, we can say that you may take advice about some item in your kit, but you should always keep in mind that you are building kit based on YOUR settings and needs.
Take, bug out bags, for example.
No matter how much we write (or read) about bug out bags there are gonna be more endless discussion about it, reasons are simply because BOBs are about having cool things (that are cool to discuss) and also because by having a good BOB we are trying to cover many problems that are gonna emerge when SHTF.
Over the time we set up our own BOB with tools and equipment that we hope are gonna work for us.
…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…
10 Prepper Uses for Safety Pins
10 Prepper Uses for Safety Pins
Many survival magazines offer “Sales” rather than “Solutions” to your needs to prepare. In too many articles, people have lambasted me for suggesting low-cost solutions that are both “doable” and within the budget.
If you want secure communications, go ahead and suggest a SEAL Magnaphone with built-in scrambler, or a $15,000 current-gen pair of NVG (Night Vision Goggles), then go ahead and buy it. If your main goal with any article is to suggest something “better” than the advised thing, that’s great. The majority of the readers, however, are looking for simplicity combined with affordability.
Anyone can buy $100K worth of gear. Now, what does that person do when the gear is either defunct, “appropriated,” or unusable for one reason or another?
My work attempts to propose solutions that can be employed without bankrupting a person, and also some knowledge of what can be used when all of the laser sights, night vision devices, ATV’s, cameras, reticle-dot sights, and all else are just useless circuitry. Those days are coming: mark my words. In the meantime, we have to develop our skills and win with the tools that we have at hand.
10 Prepper Uses for Safety Pins
Safety pins. Simple little things, yet so much can be done with them. I highly recommend toting at least a half dozen with you of various sizes, large to small. They cost practically nothing. Here’s the tip: Take the safety pins: learn and practice what you can do with them.
We’re going to run a condensed, hardly-exhaustive list of uses for the safety pins. Here we go:
- Temporary repair fasteners for clothing
- Fishhooks
- Probe-tool (medical use)
- Lockpick
…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…
The Swedish Government Is Warning Citizens to Be Prepared for at Least a Week Without Help
The Swedish Government Is Warning Citizens to Be Prepared for at Least a Week Without Help
The Swedish government is warning its citizens to be prepared to survive on their own for at least a week, which is unusual advice for Sweden to dispense. Is there trouble on the horizon?
Shortly before Christmas, the Swedish government quietly published a paper called “Resilience.” Initially, the requirement had been for people to be prepared for 3 days without help, but it seems like that was a baby step. The government itself wants to be prepared for a 3-month long civil emergency and they’re urging citizens. to take responsibility, too.
It really makes you wonder what is looming ahead, doesn’t it?
A publication called SVT reported today:
“Because we have the security policy situation we have today, we say that we will make our planning at government level to face a security crisis for three months,” says Eva-Lena Fjällström, Deputy Director of the County Administrative Board in Västerbotten.
Previously, it has been said that citizens will be able to cope for three days in the event of a crisis. Now it’s extended to one week.
“I think it’s important that you can manage yourself. Society has changed and is vulnerable and complex with many dependencies. It can easily be a disturbance so we have to manage ourselves, “says Eva-Lena Fjällström. (source)
The same publication provided video instructions for putting together a “crisis box.”
The Swedish government is also urging young people to get better prepared.
It’s also interesting to note that back in November, an article introducing the idea of preparedness was published and geared toward 18-year-olds. (One must also wonder if this is a gentle nudge toward a potential draft?) It referenced a study done to measure the preparedness levels of the country’s young people.
…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…
Top 10 Prepper Articles of 2017
Top 10 Prepper Articles of 2017
A friend wrote to me the other day saying that “2017 was quite the year, almost impossible to summarize and filled with many successes and many challenges.” I can so relate! In the blink of an eye, 2017 went by and although I had goals of my own, there were times they had to be put on the back burner so that my family could grow into better versions of themselves.
My Greatest Blessings
One of my greatest blessings is my sweet husband, Mac. While many of you know him as the man behind SHTFPlan who gives his take on economic and financial happenings, he’s my amazing husband (of almost 15 years!) who works tirelessly and will bend over backward to make sure his family is cared for. I gotta say, I’m such a lucky lady!
My children are also counted as some of my greatest blessings. I am so lucky to have these little kids in my life. I have overwhelming pride in the individuals they are growing up to be and thank God for blessing me with them.
am also blessed that my dear friend, Jeremiah Johnson has been writing so much for Ready Nutrition this year. As a veteran and long-time prepper, he offered valuable, out-of-the-box wisdom that no doubt helped you in your prepping endeavors.
…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…
Florida Stores Running Out Of Water, Gas As Gov Warns “Make Sure Your Disaster Kits Are Ready” For Irma
Florida Stores Running Out Of Water, Gas As Gov Warns “Make Sure Your Disaster Kits Are Ready” For Irma
Hurricane Irma is hurtling toward the eastern US faster than meteorological models anticipated. According to the latest readings from NOAA, the storm will probably make landfall in Southeastern Florida next weekend, or perhaps earlier – that is, unless wind patterns intervene and spare residents of Miami, Ft. Lauderdale and West Palm Beach from flooding and winds witnessed in Texas and Louisiana, according to NOAA forecasts.
…Bloomberg chief energy correspondent Javier Blas noted that the Hurricane has “shifted a lot further west,” and that, according to the latest forecasts, there’s still a small chance that Irma strikes the Gulf of Mexico, compounding the devastation that Harvey left behind.
Here’s what we know about Irma (courtesy of the Weather.com & NOAA):
- The center of Irma is located 610 miles east of the Leeward Islands and is moving west-southwestward at about 14 mph.
- Irma is a Category 3 hurricane and satellite imagery shows that it has become better organized in the past day with an eye now clearly evident.
- Low wind shear, increased mid-level moisture and ample oceanic heat content favor that Irma will remain a major hurricane (Category 3 or stronger) for the next several days, though some intensity fluctuations are likely.
- One potential inhibitor of Irma maintaining its intensity would be if the hurricane’s core interacts with land as it cruises westward near the Greater Antilles later this week.
And Weather.com’s latest impact projections:
- Leeward Islands: Late Tuesday-Wednesday
- Puerto Rico/Virgin Islands: Wednesday-Thursday
- Dominican Republic/Haiti: Thursday-Friday
- Turks and Caicos: Thursday-Friday
- Bahamas: Friday-next weekend
- Cuba: Friday-next weekend
- United States: Next weekend into early the following week
…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…
40 Million Russians To Take Part In “Nuclear Disaster” Drill, Days After US General Warns Of War With Moscow
40 Million Russians To Take Part In “Nuclear Disaster” Drill, Days After US General Warns Of War With Moscow
As relations between Russia and the US disintegrate as a result of the escalating proxy war in Syria, which today culminated with Putin halting a Plutonium cleanup effort with the US, shortly before the US State Department announced it would end negotiations with Russia over Syria, tomorrow an unprecedented 40 million Russian citizens, as well as 200,000 specialists from “emergency rescue divisions” and 50,000 units of equipment are set to take part in a four day-long civil defense, emergency evacuation and disaster preparedness drill, the Russian Ministry for Civil Defense reported on its website.
According to the ministry, an all-Russian civil defense drill involving federal and regional executive authorities and local governments dubbed “Organization of civil defense during large natural and man-caused disasters in the Russian Federation” will start tomorrow morning in all constituent territories of Russia and last until October 7. While the ministry does not specify what kind of “man-caused disaster” it envisions, it would have to be a substantial one for 40 million Russians to take part in the emergency preparedness drill. Furthermore, be reading the guidelines of the drill, we can get a rather good idea of just what it is that Russia is “preparing” for.
The website adds that “the main goal of the drill is to practice organization of management during civil defense events and emergency and fire management, to check preparedness of management bodies and forces of civil defense on all levels to respond to natural and man-made disasters and to take civil defense measures.” Oleg Manuilov, director of the Civil Defence Ministry explained that the exercise will be a test of how the population would respond to a “disaster” under an “emergency” situation.
…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…
Grasshopper Nation: Planning For Those Who Aren’t Prepared
wikimedia
Grasshopper Nation: Planning For Those Who Aren’t Prepared
Whom will you help? And how much will you be able to?
Take a moment to reflect on all the people you care about who aren’t reading this article. Or sites like this, which wrestle with the implications of limits to growth and the concerning unsustainability of the economic and natural systems our society depends upon.
How many of your family members, good friends, and neighbors simply choose to ignore the messages from those of us alarmists on the “doomer” side, and live life trusting that tomorrow will always look and feel pretty much like today? Most of them? All of them?
Look, it’s understandable. Humans aren’t wired well to respond to future risk that isn’t visible as an immediate threat. And temperamentally, we prefer good news over bad, so we seek to overweight the former and discount the latter. Who wants to stress out about what “might” happen tomorrow, anyways — can’t we just enjoy life today?
The rift between the preparedness-minded and those not is age-old, as fables like Aesop’s The Ant & The Grasshopper date at least as far back as the 5th century BCE.
We spend our focus on this website engaging the “ants”, the empirically-minded folks who look at the data and concur that there is sufficient possibility of one or several crises (economic, energy-related, environmental — or a combination of such) occurring in the next several years. And that taking advance action is prudent.
But the ants are the minority.
Forget about planning for the more esoteric risks posed by faulty monetary policy or energy economics — 72% of Americans don’t even have a basic emergency response kit in place should an ordinary kind of disaster strike (power outage, hurricane, tornado, earthquake, etc).
The simple reality is that, if you’re investing your energies towards building resilience against potential hardship, most of those around you likely aren’t.
…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…
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How to Convince Loved Ones to Prep (and When to Give Up)
How to Convince Loved Ones to Prep (and When to Give Up)
Lately, those who live the preparedness lifestyle have been more concerned than ever about the events going on in the world, and for many of us, the urgency to convince loved ones to prep is at an all-time high as worries increase. The economic collapse of Venezuela, our own shaky markets and banking system, the threat of natural disasters, and worries about cyber attacks all have the potential to become life-changing catastrophes. These are the events we prep for and we clearly understand the ramifications of facing them without the necessary supplies.
And many of us have friends and family without those necessary supplies. Raise your hand if you have ever tried to convince loved ones to prep. Yep, just as I thought. Hands everywhere.
Chances are that when you brought up the topic, your friends and family considered you anywhere on the nuts scale from “a bit eccentric” to “downright certifiable.” If you’ve ever broached the subject with them, the responses were probably one or more of the following:
“Lighten up!”
“I don’t want to sit there and think about the bad things all day long.”
“You don’t need to worry about me.”
“Live a little!”
“If the disaster is that bad, hopefully, I’ll just die in it. Who’d want to live in a world after ***fill in the disaster of your choice***”
“Hahahahahaha!!!!”
“You worry too much.”
“I’ll just come to your house.”
There’s the smug dismissal, the deer-in-headlights fear, the rolled eyes, and the outright denial that anything bad could ever happen to them. There’s the justification of “We keep a case of water in the pantry at all times” and the “I have survival skills” delusion. Most folks just don’t even want to think about it.
…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…
Extreme Weather, Widespread Flooding Hammer Louisiana as Federal Government Prepares to Lease Gulf of Mexico for Drilling
Extreme Weather, Widespread Flooding Hammer Louisiana as Federal Government Prepares to Lease Gulf of Mexico for Drilling
Walter Unglaub never thought flooding would threaten the carriage house he rents in St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana. It is on a bluff 30 feet above the Bogue Falaya River, in an area that is not considered a flood zone.
But that didn’t stop a flash flood from forcing Unglaub to swim for his life to get to higher ground awaiting rescue last Friday.
“No one is safe from extreme weather,” Unglaub told DeSmog on Sunday when he returned to sort through his belongings to see what, if anything, was salvageable.
After two days of intermittent rain, 14 inches of rain fell Friday night. This extreme weather event took place 12 days before the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) will auction drilling leases to 43 million acres of federal waters in the Gulf of Mexico.
VIDEO: Walter Unglaub returns home for the first time after the floodwaters drop
Initial records released by the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness say about 5,000 homes in Louisiana sustained flood damage following a deluge. The count is likely to grow as the damage assessment in Southeast Louisiana is not complete.
Rescue crews evacuate residents in the Tallow Creek subdivision to safety. © 2016 Julie Dermansky
From Tangipahoa, St Tammany and Washington Parishes, 1,500 residents were rescued by the time the Tchefuncte River and Bogue Falaya River peaked on Saturday morning. And more damage is likely Monday evening when the West Pearl River, further south, crests well above flood stage in the town of Pearl River.
…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…
Jack Spirko: The Road To Resilience
Jack Spirko: The Road To Resilience
Requires a good map. Got one?
Continuing our focus on solutions, this week we’re joined on the podcast by Jack Spirko. His daily podcast focuses on practical, actionable steps each of us can take to “live a better life, if times get tough or even if they don’t” — a mission nicely aligned with the one we pursue here at Peak Prosperity.
In this wide-ranging discussion, Jack and Chris discuss the need for spreading awareness of the Three Es, the professional challenges in doing so, and how individuals can go about pursuing both security and prosperity in the face of the likely disruptive changes to come:
We’ve had these people predicting: This is the Big One! for 25 years. These people are hucksters who just want to make money. “End of America”, “The world is going to end!”, “In six months the dollar is going to collapse!” — people have been marketed these messages. Here’s my concern: it’s going to become Chicken Little. And when we really are at a point where you and I are going “Uh, guys…”, no one’s going to listen.
So as it relates to preparedness: being prepared for the grid to go down for a couple of months — great goal. Wonderful. But I look at preparedness this way: if you and I are in a car together and we’re going to drive from Miami, Florida to Portland, Maine, we’re going to go to Georgia before we go to Virginia unless we’re really dumb people without a map.
So when somebody asks me about preparedness, my first question is: Do you have 30 days worth of food stored up in your home? No? Then stop worrying about the grid going down. Do you have enough money to go 90 days without income and be okay?
…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…
Using Seasonal Disasters To Assess Preparedness
Using Seasonal Disasters To Assess Preparedness
I live in a smaller suburb of a medium sized mid-western town. We have had floods, tornadoes, and most recently, an ice storm. I am not going to spend a bunch of time here about floods and flooding. Bottom line gets out of the flood plain, have a sump pump, and have a backup battery powered sump pump.
A big tornado rampaged through the area in 2013 and woke me out of a semi-daze I had settled in since I had returned from overseas. I had seen the warlords and other corrupt officials, and how they treated ‘normal’ folk when they had no means to protect themselves or their loved ones. In addition, I remember thinking to myself back then, “When I get home, I’ve got a lot more to do to get my situation right – aside from inventorying my weapons and ammunition.”
Well, I did not. Moreover, the tornado scared the hell out of me. It missed our house, but the damage it caused on the periphery of the touch down zone left us without power for about a week, give or take some browning out. It scared the hell out of me, because that promise I had made to myself and my family on that dusty hill over yonder had been broken.
So what did I have to do almost immediately?
Get a generator. (M.D. recommends the Honda EU2000I 2000 Watt Super Quiet Inverter Generator)
Fast forward to this winter, which has been relatively mild. Enter the freezing rain. For those of you that do not have to deal with freezing rain, thank the lord. One thing everyone takes for granted with ice is that it is HEAVY. Normally stout hardwood trees fall over, roots and all.
…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…
The 10 Daily Habits of Prepared People
The 10 Daily Habits of Prepared People
For some people, preparedness is about the big things: the well-stocked retreat home, buying yet another firearm, or getting a super-fancy generator. While these things can certainly be classified as preparedness endeavors, it isn’t the expensive and dramatic gestures that make us truly prepared people.
The way prepared people spend their time before an emergency is the real key to survival, and this is something that no amount of money can buy.
It’s the small daily habits that become an innate part of our everyday lives – habits that may not even be noticeable to someone outside the lifestyle.
Real preppers, the ones you should look to for advice if you happen to be new to preparedness, are the ones who quietly conduct their daily lives with an eye towards readiness. Not only are these the qualities you should strive for yourself, but they are also the qualities that can help you to determine whether someone is the “real deal” or an armchair survivalist.
#1: Prepared people think beyond “Plan A”
Anytime one disaster occurs, several others are bound to follow closely in their wake. One of the most dramatic examples of this was the tsunami that followed closely on the heels of the 2011 earthquake in Japan, resulting in one of the most horrific nuclear disasters in the history of the world.
But it doesn’t have to be on such an epic scale to qualify. No matter how excellent your survival plan is, if things go awry you must immediately be able to accept that monkey wrench and adapt your plan to it.
Prepared people understand that even the most perfect plans can go wrong, and they are willing to abandon it and act on the fluid situation at hand.
#2: Prepared people react calmly.
…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…
3 Types of Emergencies That Could Happen to Anyone
3 Types of Emergencies That Could Happen to Anyone
Maybe you’re brand new to prepping and not sure where to start. Maybe you aren’t really interested in emergency preparedness but your well-meaning in-laws keep sending you links to websites about the topic. Maybe you go to those websites and you see so much doom and gloom that you immediately exit. Maybe you say to yourself, “Holy cow, no! I’m not one of those crazy Doomsday Preppers!” (Maybe you’re the in-law sending the articles!)
If any of the above apply, then this post is for you. It’s chock-full of links, supplies, resources, and information for those who are new to preparedness that may not be ready to dive in 100% just yet.
Prepping for Beginners (and Non-Preppers Who Like to be Sensible)
It’s all about what I like to call “prepping-lite”. It’s for people who aren’t into apocalypse scenarios but who are sensible enough to realize that, well, stuff happens. Remember, prepping doesn’t mean you’re a doom-and-gloomer. It’s actually the ultimate act of optimism!
There are three types of emergencies that can strike nearly anyone. These don’t require that you systematically pick apart every episode of The Walking Dead so you can figure out how to survive the impending zombie pandemic
…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…
Why Is The Fed Hiring An “Emergency Preparedness Specialist Familiar With DHS Directives” | Zero Hedge
A few weeks ago, we reported that for some still unexplained reason, the US Treasury is ordering “survival kits” to its employees overseeing the federal banking system. To wit:
The Department of Treasury is spending $200,000 on survival kits for all of its employees who oversee the federal banking system, according to a new solicitation. As FreeBeacon reports, survival kits will be delivered to every major bank in the United States and includes a solar blanket, food bar, water-purification tablets, and dust mask (among other things). The question, obviously, is just what do they know that the rest of us don’t?
We still don’t know why. But what makes things even more surprising, and confusing, is that two days before the survival kit RFP soliciation became public on December 4, 2014, a just as curious notice was blasted by the Fed’s recruiting Twitter account:
…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…
