One, if not the most important aspect of Emergency Preparedness to get right is developing a plan for how you will obtain water. You simply can’t live without it. You can go a long time without food, but you can’t go long without water. Our bodies are almost 75% water so staying hydrated isn’t really an option. This article will talk about some of the main considerations you have with respect to ensuring that your family is prepared in the event any disaster to have and be able to acquire water.

Why do you need Water?

Let’s start with the obvious. The average person under normal conditions needs approximately 1 gallon of water for daily use. While a portion of this is for hygiene and cooking, you don’t want to plan on less than this amount in your Survival preparations. Without water our bodies quickly become dehydrated and that can make a bad day worse very quickly. Some of the symptoms of mild to moderate dehydration are:

  • Headache
  • Irritability
  • Dizziness
  • Weakness
  • Disorientation
  • Thirst (well duh)
  • Dry skin
  • Lethargy

If you don’t get to any water after this point and head into Severe Dehydration, the symptoms get worse:

  • Severe confusion
  • Muscle cramp
  • Lack of sweating
  • Convulsions
  • Fainting
  • Heart failure
  • Dry wrinkled skin
  • Low blood pressure
  • Unconsciousness

As your body has less of the water it needs to run, the less effective you are. This can seriously hurt your group in an emergency where they are counting on you for their survival. Water is essential and we have to have a plan for having a ready supply if you want to survive.

Not all situations are normal. If you live in the desert of New Mexico, water is of course going to be a much bigger concern and harder to acquire than if you live in the hills of West Virginia. Temperature, exertion and illness all impact how much water you need per day. In a grid-down scenario you will most likely be exerting a significant amount of additional exertion than you were in your pre grid-down life.  For water, you may not have the option of turning on the tap to have it flow out into your glass. Simply getting water could be an all-day chore. Will you have to walk long distances? Will you have to carry the water yourself?

At Risk Groups

Infants, the elderly or anyone with an illness is going to be more affected by a lack of water so special consideration must be made for them.  Children who are vomiting or have diarrhea are at an immediate risk for dehydration. If you have children to consider, you need to plan for their survival as well as monitor their progress often.

The older you get, the less acute your sense of thirst is. Grandma might either genuinely not feel thirsty or could be sacrificing water to save some for others and this can’t be allowed. Mandatory water consumption will have to be enforced in certain situations. If you are thirsty, it’s too late as you are already showing signs of dehydration.

Pregnant or Breast-feeding mothers will need more water than the usual person because they are taking care of two. Mothers who are nursing will need about 13 cups of water daily as opposed to the normally recommended 8 cups for the average person.

If you live in hotter climates or in higher elevations, you will need more water also. Drier climates evaporate the moisture from your skin so you won’t feel as sweaty, but you are losing water just the same. I’m sure we have all heard the saying “it’s a dry heat” and it is, but that doesn’t mean your body is losing water. I was in Arizona one time and it was excruciatingly warm, but I wasn’t sweating. Thankfully, there were water stations everywhere and the group was all cognizant to drink water as much as possible, but in a disaster scenario, the desert doesn’t have much water. Something to consider.

Recipe for Saline Solution

If you are suffering from dehydration and there isn’t a doctor to run to or the pharmacy that you would pop into isn’t open so that you can get a resupply of Pedialyte, you can make your own hydration solution. Most normal dehydration is remedied by plain water administered until the body is properly hydrated. In the case of diarrhea or illness, hydration solutions may be needed and it’s easy to make this yourself if you have the simple ingredients below:

  • ½ teaspoon of salt
  • ½ teaspoon of baking soda
  • 3 tablespoons of sugar
  • One quart of water

Mix all of the ingredients in a container, shake well and drink up. Yum!

Storage Options

One of the more common questions is what is the best way to store water for Emergencies. As in everything, each person’s scenario is different. If you live in an apartment on the 3rd floor, your space and potentially weight considerations are going to limit what you can store. What if you are in a dorm room or worse, away from home and Zombies attack?

Let’s take the most basic scenario of you are at home, or can in a reasonable amount of time get back to your home. Wherever this is, you can comfortably store 5 days worth of water for yourself at a minimum. (5 gallons) FEMA even recommends you have enough for 72 hours. If you have 3 other people in your family, we need to store 15 additional gallons for each of you to have one gallon per day. What about pets? OK, you are already up to 20 gallons not counting fido and that doesn’t take up much space, but again, you only have one week of water. What if the disaster lasts a month? What if there is a biological outbreak and everyone is ordered by the authorities to stay in your house? What if you are under siege? Now we are talking about needing 80-100 gallons and this starts to take up space not to mention refilling this when you are out.  If you have a basement or a large unused storage room or garage, two 55 gallon drums are fairly easy to park well out of the way but a plan for refilling your supply is wise.

Apartment dwellers have additional problems but you may already have a great storage space built-in and that is your bathtub. As soon as you know you will need it, and hopefully not too late, fill your bathtub up with water. Optionally, you could purchase a water BOB which can hold up to 100 gallons and eliminates having to screen your water for hair or tub grime. Gross. Going further down the scale, you can get water out of the backs of toilets, water beds and water heaters in a pinch. As with everything else, you should make sure the water is safe to drink first. Toilets that have had chemical biscuits thrown in there might not be a good choice for drinking.

Homeowners can also store water in rain barrels that you collect off the roof. In almost every case this water will need to be disinfected, but it is a storage option that could give you at least 50 gallons of water per rain barrel and not take up any space indoors.

How to Disinfect Water

When we are discussing disinfecting water we are primarily concerned with killing any germs or bacteria that can make you sick or worse, kill you. There are a few methods available using Iodine, but that would be rare to come by in a Survival situation I think so I will cover the basics

Chlorine Bleach is probably the most common household item that you will have that can be used to disinfect your drinking water but it is a little tricky. Chlorine is affected by the temperature of the water you are treating. Always try to filter any water that may be cloudy with contaminants such as lake water first. You can use paint filters or a bandana if necessary. If the water is room temperature (meaning not cold or hot) you would add two to four drops of chlorine bleach per quart. Shake well and let the container sit for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, smell the water. It should smell like chlorine and this is
BerkeyFilternormal. If it doesn’t smell like chlorine add another drop or two and let it sit for 30 additional minutes. By drops we are talking about an eye-dropper size drop, not a dollop.

Filters are an easier method in my opinion but you don’t always have that luxury. I use a Berkey Light water filterand it couldn’t be easier. If we have a situation where I need to disinfect my water, I would simply pour the water in the top and the Berkey does the rest.Camping filters are also really good at filtering and disinfecting, but you run the risk of breaking these if you are constantly pumping water for a large group. They are great if you are mobile though and living off the land and need a lightweight portable solution.

Boiling is probably the oldest method of disinfecting water but it works! All you need is a container (preferably not plastic) and heat. Bring your water to a boil and let the water boil for a couple of minutes and that’s it. The boiling will kill any bacteria and you can drink the water. Let it cool off first…

Distillation is another option but requires more equipment than the average person will be able to acquire much less put together in an emergency situation. Another option is the SODIS method which uses UV light (sunlight) to treat water stored in clear containers. There is a lot of information about this method online and here.

One, if not the most important aspect of Emergency Preparedness to get right is developing a plan for how you will obtain water. You simply can’t live without it. You

I sometimes have to go out of town on business just like millions of other people each year. The distance and locations all vary with the need, but in a lot of cases, I am unable to be as equipped as I would normally be around my home town. In some cases, I travel internationally, but that is rare. Sometimes I only travel an hour or two by car so I opt to drive. In this type of situation, I can take my Get Home Bag and usually a firearm (or two) with me. Most often it is several hundred miles away from home and to cities where firearms are not allowed. On business trips, it is harder to pack your survival supplies in sufficient quantities to last if some disaster happened and you needed to get home.

I started to consider what a person would need to think about and could possibly face if they were in a situation where an EMP was exploded over the US, total chaos ensued and you were forced to make it back home over a considerable difference. In my scenario, the distance would be about 700 miles and the assumptions with an EMP would be that there were not many electrical devices working. All cellular communications would be down as well as landlines were out of commission. TV and Radio networks had been taken offline even if some of the TV sets and radios themselves still worked. I don’t imagine every single electronic device in the world would go out forever, but it would be enough to create massive confusion, fear, and panic.

In addition to communication and access to news all access to money was cut off. Banks would slam shut and a bank holiday would be declared. Hospitals would quickly fill with the sick and injured and you would be on your own. How would you get back home and what would you need to consider if your home was 700 miles away and you had no survival supplies and no way to procure them.

Plan before you travel

The average, healthy person on level terrain can comfortably walk about 20 miles in a day. In our scenario above, with no issues whatsoever, it would take you about 35 days to walk back home if you didn’t stop anywhere to take pictures. That is a very long time to be walking. There are a myriad of issues to consider in even starting a challenge like that. Most backcountry hikers, who have plenty of gear and some expectation they are going to be roughing it, rarely set out on trips that long. Even backpackers, who hike the Appalachian Trail stop into towns, eat hot meals and pick up packages of goods they have stored along the way.  How will you with minimal supplies even begin to hope to make it home alive? There are some items that I think you would need to have squared away in your mind first.

  • Should you stay in place or set out on foot?
  • What gear will you need?
  • How will you eat?
  • What route will you take?

 

Should you stay or should you go?

This will be the first mental challenge that you will be faced with and could determine if you will live or die. In all seriousness, the plans you make and more importantly your actions affect the situations down-line that you find yourself in. We have all probably heard stories about travelers who had a “gut-feeling” that they shouldn’t get on a plane and the plane ended up crashing. Similarly, your “gut” is going to be screaming at you in a disaster. It is the well-known fight or flight response and you will need to figure out for yourself what you will be capable of doing mentally and physically before you set out on any expedition.

Hiking for over a month is a very monumental task that not a lot of people (including me) have any experience with. In days long past, a travel plan like this wasn’t so far out of the norm. We haven’t always had cars, trains and wagons to get us around and people walked. This is certainly doable, but for a lot of very good reasons, people didn’t live as long back then. Journeys of this scale take time, planning and skills.

Deciding whether or not you would even consider a trek like this is something you can do now. I know that I personally would.  I don’t know if I would make it, but I would be on the road somewhere. In my situation above, I would stick around a couple of days most likely to procure supplies, get any information I could, plan and prepare. I think that a couple of days after an EMP attack everyone will be in shock, but that won’t last long. Eventually, people will panic and that is when you don’t want to be around. My wife already knows that if something like this happens, I am headed home but it might take me a while.

What gear will you need?

As I said in the introduction, if I am driving anywhere, I pack a lot of supplies that would help me get back home in a disaster scenario like this. If you weren’t able to pack your Get Home Bag or any firearms, what would you do?

It helps to consider the journey back home and the different factors that you will encounter. Is this winter or summer? Will you have extreme temperature that needs to be planned for. What will you use for shelter? Security?

A good exercise if you find yourself in a scenario like this is to take stock of what you have. Empty your pockets of everything and conduct a simple inventory. When I travel, regardless of where I go I always have a bandanna, flashlight, multi-tool and small hank of paracord. These items can really come in handy, but they wouldn’t be the only things I would count on to get me back home over 700 miles away. Depending on the season, I would try to acquire additional clothing if I needed it, but usually, I pack appropriate clothes for wherever I am going. What I don’t normally pack are clothes designed for living out in the woods for a month. Some modifications might have to happen.

A simple tarp and rope/bungie cords will provide shelter for you and will keep the elements off your head while you sleep. A big sheet of plastic would do the same. Is it the same as a nice backpacking tent? No, but it works and is lighter and speaking of lighter… You need an easy way to start a fire also.

Great walking shoes that are already broken in would be a huge advantage. Actually, I think sturdy leather boots would be the perfect choice, but some people might have to hike back in dress shoes. If possible, I would look for boots as quickly as you can after deciding you are walking.

For security, you have to take what you can get if the grid crashes like this. At a minimum, I would find a large stick or pole. Baseball bat would be my second choice but may be harder to find than a good old wooden stick. This needs to be sturdy enough to use as a walking stick or club to crack someone’s head open with if necessary. Additionally, it can be used to support your tent.

Money could either be worthless or crucial to you getting supplies in an EMP event. If you have your head screwed on tightly and have cash on hand, you may be able to run down to the sporting goods store and buy some needed supplies before you make your trip. When I travel I always try to have cash in my wallet. It isn’t enough to buy out the store but could get me some crucial supplies.

I would caution you though to try and maintain a low profile. If you are all set up for a big backpacking expedition with the latest bag, gear, and clothes you may be a target. Someone might want what you have (because they can’t get it) and try to take it from you. It’s better to keep a low profile and low weight will help the trip too.

I would try to fit everything I needed into a standard size backpack that most everyone has. This way you will look just like everyone else headed home.

How will you eat?

This will probably be the toughest part about a journey like this in my opinion. I think most people can walk long distances. Most people will be able to carry or find some relatively decent source of water, but most people won’t be able to find food. What do you do?

There is no way you could ever pack enough food to last you your entire journey. You more than likely won’t be able to set up traps like Bear Grylls and catch rabbits or fish from a stream with your pocket survival kit, but I could be wrong. I think a lot of people are going to be going several days at a time without food. Could you hole up somewhere and catch wild game? Of course, you could and I am not knocking those skills. What I am going to try to do though is to get home as quickly as possible.

This may be where timing comes into play. Food from grocery stores will be wiped out in days. You could be one of the early birds and grab enough food to last you a week or so and set out. After that week, you will need to find food along the way. Will people have any to sell you or will there be some form of bartering set up already? I don’t know, but I think the sooner you can get home the better. As the realization that the power isn’t coming back on hits, people will be stingier with their food I imagine. The old rule is you can go 3 weeks without food but I don’t want to try and put that to the test.

What route will you take?

The final item to consider is how will you get back home. What route are you going to take to get there and this is where having maps will be invaluable for a couple of reasons. First, you want to plan your route and make sure you know which way you are going. I have on more than one occasion gone the wrong way and had to turn around and backtrack. It’s easy to do this for twenty miles in a car, but if you are walking and realize you took a wrong turn, that could waste a day.

The second reason is I would use secondary roads as much as possible and not highways. I would also try to steer clear of major cities in my path. A highway is faster if you are traveling 70 miles an hour, but it might not be the most direct route you can take. Maps that show the secondary roads to your home will be good to have. Some may even be able to help you determine good places to stay. I would personally camp outside of cities and avoid people as much as possible, but I would want the flexibility to change that plan if needed. Everyone’s circumstances will be unique.

Hopefully, this was useful and gave you something to think about as you plan for your next trip. Please let me know if you have other suggestions in the comments below.

I sometimes have to go out of town on business just like millions of other people each year. The distance and locations all vary with the need, but in a

It’s your home; you should feel safe and secure here. People are always worried about the safety and security of their family. Everyone wants to make sure that their family is safe in their homes. Family security always starts at home. If you feel your family is not safe at home, you need to take action immediately.

Most home safety improvements are just common sense put into action. Put a Home Security System in your plan. While you can’t ensure your home security by a single action, and no single product will completely protect you, taking the many smaller steps to provide the highest security of your home and your family, is worth it just for the peace of mind.

Here are some easy steps to make your home more secure.

Get a Burglar Alarm System

Burglar alarm system can detect intrusion – unauthorized entry – into your home. Burglar alarms have become standard equipment in stores and other businesses, and they’re becoming increasingly common in private homes as well. Most alarm systems are actually built around the same basic design concepts. While you can’t prevent any unauthorized entry at your home by simply setting a burglar alarm, you can make yourself, your family, the neighbors and the Police aware the instant it occurs. There are a lot of burglar alarm systems available in the market at various prices, and a lot of options. Do your homework.

If you can’t afford a real one you can buy a fake alarm system too, complete with a sign. One other note: Wireless is all the rage – no mods to the homes electrical system, wireless communications between the system and emergency response personnel, wireless control by you from anywhere. All pluses. One minus, wireless systems can be hacked. Repeat, do your homework.

Secure the Doors

Perform an inspection of all doors around your home. Doors frames should be strong; the hinges should be protected and make sure the wood is not hollow. All exterior doors should be solid and made from Fiberglass, solid wood, solid wood core or metal. If installing a new door and frame, consider a fiberglass door that swings outward rather than inward. Having a door open in this way helps absorb any forced entry.

There is a downside, it is easier for an intruder to pull open an outward opening door than push an inward open with you blocking. Install a deadbolt lock build into the doorknob. You can also add a dead-lock which is an exit only lock. While it might be noticeable in the entryway, it can’t be broken into without pulverizing the door. You should secure the sliding entryways doors by installing keyed locks at the best and base and install cylinder guards around the lock cylinders. Additionally, a large dowel along the bottom rail will delay an intruder, though a glass door is, after all, glass.

Get a Dog

Dogs are the first security system and have been called man’s closest companion for quite a long time which is as it should be. One of the fundamental jobs of the trained dogs has been to ensure its proprietors and prepare for undesirable individuals or animals. If a person your dog doesn’t know approaches you on your lawn, your dog starts barking and some dogs can become aggressive. Dogs, for one, are loyal to the death. A dog is probably going not just to assault any intruder to your home; they’ll make a plunge directly into the face of potential threat to secure you and your family if they need to. Dogs can act and react a lot faster than any human could.

Even a small dog can help keep you safe at home by being a reliable and very noisy alarm. Barking can hinder many would-be-criminals and, in the occasion that woofing doesn’t drive away interlopers, the noisy quarreling of any pooch is sufficient to influence neighbors to crest out a window to see what’s going on, potentially notifying police.

Get Familiar with the Neighborhood

Having friendly neighbors improves neighborhood security and makes things easier for everyone. Knowing your neighbors is always a good thing. Wouldn’t it be nice to know somebody was watching over your property when you’re on holiday or down in your rural home? A favor you can not ask of a stranger. You might also discover it means you can share backyard equipment like cloth hanging lines, childcare, recipes, movies or transport. Your neighbors will do something if they see anything suspicious around their home and yours. Neighborliness is a valuable part of everyone’s life, and there are compelling reasons to know your neighbors.
Say hello to your neighbors, go pick your child personally from the neighbor’s house, Attend neighborhood meetings. Be active in virtual neighborhood groups and be proactive.

Add Security Signs

Yard signs and stickers that say a security system protects your home can scare off potential burglars. Those that say things like “We Don’t Call 911” may be your position BUT they are not as effective as ones from known security services. Usually, thieves search for homes with a simple entrance and escape route, yet security frameworks don’t take that into consideration. The clearest advantage of using yard signs and window decals rather than a security framework is that it’s substantially less expensive. Buying yard signs and stickers with home security logos will just set you back about $10, and a significant number of the most well-known security brands logos can be bought online. The sign helps, potential thieves may pass you by for an easier target.

Install Fake Security Cameras

This method is along the same lines as having fake home security signs, but it might be enough to keep intruders away. You can really purchase fake security cameras online beginning at around $10 to $20 and these will help deflect thieves from coming into your home.

They look like genuine security cameras and even have red squinting lights to add to the act. It’s just a cheap and easy idea to consider if you don’t want to invest in a more expensive security measure.

Put up Motion Detecting Outdoor Lights

Nothing makes burglars run faster than bright lights flooding the cover of darkness. You can find motion-sensing floodlights for $25 and up and these don’t require a full-fledged home security system. Motion sensor lights basically consist of a little focal point that detects quick changes in heat or movement.

You could get motion sensor lights in a standard hard-wired version, which are generally introduced by experts, or as a remote, battery-powdered set which could be easily set up; other versions could also be solar-powered. As for alarms, the device could produce a siren or be silent, depending on your preference. Motion sensor lights should be set 6-10 feet over the ground with the goal that it covers the main section spots and conceivable blindsides around your home. The area the gadget covers at that point relies upon how you set it up,  particularly how you set its angle and distance range. Point range could be balanced and set somewhere in the range of 180 to 270 degrees. The separation could likewise be balanced up to 70 feet or more.

These inexpensive steps will again, add peace of mind to your home and maybe, just maybe, prevent you and your family from harm. Be safe out there.

It’s your home; you should feel safe and secure here. People are always worried about the safety and security of their family. Everyone wants to make sure that their family