OK, this was something I meant to post a few weeks ago, but didn't get around to it. So here goes...
One morning, I woke up to no power. My clock was flashing its frustration at being interrupted at its job of keeping time. There had been no bad weather and it was a sunny morning. I wasn't really concerned, but I was curious. I got up, went downstairs, confirmed that the power was out all over the house and decided to look around outside to see if anyone else had lost power. A block away to the north the street lights were working, so I knew the power outage was fairly isolated. It turned out to be a squirrel that had electrocuted itself on a transformer, so the block running east west (I live on the corner) was out. Within an hour or two, power was restored.
SO.....
It went through my mind that day, what if it had been an EMP? What IF the grid was down? What would I have done? It made me take stock and realise how completely under-prepared I am. Now, I realise that no one is ever 100% prepared, BUT there are levels of preparedness and there is likely a point at which you feel at least adequately prepared. I definitely did not!
Now my questions to all of you...
If the grid went down (or some other immediate SHTF event happened) right now, right this moment, with no warning, what would you do? Where would you go? How prepared are you?
These questions are just meant to stimulate discussion.
I guess these days I have been thinking a lot about how people tend to talk a lot and not actually take action (this is of course a generalized statement). We talk about prepparedness and I know we are all striving for it, but we have to think of the "What would I do if the SHTF RIGHT NOW?" as well as creating the ideal plan, the one in which we feel adequately prepared, the one that takes time and we hope the S doesn't HTF until we work the plan to completion. The S could HTF at any point during the working of said preparedness plan and we a re all at different stages of that. At this stage, right now, how prepared are you and what would you do? It is definitely worth some thought.
I also realise there are those on here who have already become adequately prepared or even better. Kuddos to them. Perhaps they can share current or past feelings on this, or just their infinite wisdom 😉 .
It totally depends on the specific disaster. You should play out in your head each particular disaster. The grid going down from an attack or cascading overload should have a different response than from an EMP, which will be completely different from large CME, which will have little similarity to a banking holiday which will be different from a dollar collapse. If my solar panels are still working...I actually head into town in most of these disasters to drop my dollars if I can...on more food, dog food in bulk and as much chicken food as I can carry. Probably the cheapest stuff like wheat kernels which are multi purpose.
If my solar panels are toast...I know its really bad, toss blankets on the freezer and fridge...and then drive if the car works or bike 10 miles to the independently owned gas/convenience store wich will be the most likely place to stay open and take cash. drop cash on any pasta, beans or high density caned goods....then get back home and start the preserving process for every thing in the freezer. Then out I go with the chainsaw to bring down and buck ups as many trees as seems reasonable. I can retrieve them much later. Then...Im out to bring down as many dear as I can before they are all gone deep into the forest or hunted out. The number will depend on how fast I can get them preserved...and a thousand other things that need to get done immediately.
I have a Tactical Harness and I have a Tool Belt. The Tool Belt is more Useful.
Time of year will make a big difference. If its the middle of winter, the frozen goods are less of a concern but any travel becomes top priority. The roads may be open at the moment but you have exactly until the next snow to get where you need to go AND BACK...before you will be potentially snowed in till spring.
Mid summer heat may bring its own problems. Will you have to do the heavy last minute work at night to not give yourself heat exhaustion. Is it the fall where your time is in competition with your harvest or spring when you are doubling down on getting seeds in and weeds pulled.
I have a Tactical Harness and I have a Tool Belt. The Tool Belt is more Useful.
I think that it is important to look around the world and at historical events where this sh1t has hit the fan.
Firstly, rarely does it happen in such a dramatic way that those with means can't get out of Dodge. (this is why financial prepping is more important than your freaking guns and ammo stores)
Secondly, even when your country is spiraling out of control, most of the drama will be in "hot spots". If you're not in the center of that hot spot you should have time to enact your own plan. If "without rule of law" were to hit Canada, do you really think it would be noticed in Barons, Alberta?
Finally, being one of the few people not freaking out ought to be somewhat of a benefit. I suggest reading books and talking to old people who actually lived through some of the really shitty times in our recent past. There were large numbers who weathered the storm without really even appreciating how bad it really was because they were not living hand to mouth before the storm hit.
We seem to have given this mass SHTF scenario mythological significance. Keep your heads in reality. Leave the mythology for the zealots and band wagon jumpers.
Needs must when the devil drives.
I live by a few hydro dams and we still have more outages than most others. This is due to not being in the middle of the grid, but instead being a supplier to the grid. They don't have another source to feed the town when the lines need repair. Thus many of us have backup generators as we have outages at least 4 times a year.
Yet if the grid went down, I'm sure we'd have power before many others. This is due to it's close and those line workers have families here too. Yet it's a long way to haul fuel and so many obstacles along the way could halt the transport of gas to this region. I'm sure such considerations could be made for each your areas too. Those are the cracks you have to continually check for when testing the SHTF factors near you. Food, water, power, fuel for heat and fuel for travel. You don't have to prep for indefinite time frames, just a feasible length for the system to repair the problem.
In my particular case, I'd like to think I'm already ready. I'm living off grid so power outage doesn't affect me. I'm preparing to plant for this seasons gardening. Have an old hand pump on the well along with the submersible pump.
Naturally I wonder if I have enough food, I still need to finish my solar panels and 110 V breaker box. But in general I'd like to think I'm a bit ahead of many.
I sure wish I could find others in the Kingston area that are of the keeping it together mind since without relying on government help. If anyone knows of a group that may have meetings that'd be appreciated.