Under-prepped (again and again)

"Above all, remember the Prepper's Pledge. Prep today to live tomorrow. Nothing left to add to that one."  

Let's just for a minute, pretend that hurricanes can stay deadly over land for a long time. And Irma was predicted to come on shore in Florida, and then head straight for Minnesota, still packing at least Cat 4 type winds. Everyone would be rushing out to the stores to get supplies for the dark period which usually follows this type of storm. Not me however. I am not a survivalist, but I am fully prepped. I always have enough, water and meds to last one to two weeks (or longer). From seeing the stripped shelves down in southern and central Florida, that lesson has been forgotten my many.

Why do we prep? For the expected, as well as the unexpected. On the lower Atlantic seaboard, as well as the Gulf Coast, one would prep for tropical storms, up to and including major hurricanes. Considering the excessive rainfall and subsequent flooding which happened with Katrina and Harvey, staying in your home bunker might not be your best option. That is why an "E"-Plan for staying put, or "bugging out", needs to be developed for each family. And if you "bug out", you must have everything with you need to survive for a period of time. 

What else might we need to prep for? If you watch the news or read the paper, you can see the daily threat we get from this wacko kid who is charge of North Korea. Today, he threatened our power grid. A couple days ago, it was an EMP bomb. Before that, it was a hydrogen bomb hitting one of our cities. Bluster? Probably. But what if he got lucky with just one of his threats? If the city close to you was hit by a nuke, would you know what to do? How would you survive? Do you know your next move? Most of us don't.

What about money? What if our financial institutions were hit with a cyber attack? The ATM's no longer worked? What would you do? Fantasy? Not a bit. Cyber attacks are happening all the time to just about everything. It just so happens that we are good enough to remedy them before they do real damage. But that could change in a heartbeat. They could hit us with something we have no clue how to counter. And then if you are not prepped, you will have big, big problems.

I have been saying this until I am blue in the face. In a huge emergency, natural or un-natural disaster, help from the government may not be coming soon. Your house would become your store, your hospital, your bank, your bunker. If a nuke hit close by, if a dirty bomb was detonated close by, if an EMP attack happened to the nation, your home would be it for you for months. Maybe longer.

With Katrina and Harvey, we have been given a peek into our future. On how bad things could turn out in a very short amount of time. We have seen what the government(s) can do, and more importantly, what they can't do.

One more thing I need to discuss. I would be remiss should I not mention it. An expert from DHS was on one of the cable channels not too long ago talking about prepping. If all services are cut off from an area, and if families are not prepped to any degree, there is a 72 hour window. After 72 hours, all chivalry, neighborliness, and kindness starts to go out the window. Desperation sets in, and all people want to do is keep themselves and their families alive. We start living through the wild, wild west all over again.

When is a good time to prep for anyone, anyplace in this country? Now. What to prep? One gallon of potable water per person in your house, per day. I know, that adds up fast. But most houses have nooks and crannies to keep extra water in. Have one week of perishable food and one month of long term storage food. Have something to cook it with, should all utilities be shut off. If you are on meds, start "bow waving" your supply. Try with proper stock rotation you have at least a month on hand.

There is more and more and more to this story. I have read up on this so much that at times I think I could write a book. But if you do nothing, and I mean nothing else, at least have 3 to 7 days of potable water on hand. Read up on Katrina on how many died. It was ugly and unnecessary.

Above all, remember the Prepper's Pledge. Prep today to live tomorrow. Nothing left to add to that one.