How will you
survive if our worst fears come true? Truth be told, you probably
won't. That said, it's always worth taking a few simple steps to improve
your odds. After all, the more people that survive, and the better
prepared they are to rebuild, the better. So, is quixotic as the idea
may be, this page is dedicated to helping individuals prepare for the very worst
possibilities.
There are a
great many survivalists out there who've put a great deal of thought and energy into planning how they
will survive a catastrophe. We here at The Future Watch would be grateful if
you would share your ideas with a wider audience. By doing so,
you might receive some useful feedback, and you may help to save lives. Please
submit any ideas or plans you have for surviving a catastrophe to admin@thefuturewatch.com.
Well thought out, detailed plans are
the most helpful, but simple improvements to plans already listed are
also very appreciated. Please only submit ideas for surviving the very
worst of situations - situations that lead to either the collapse of human
civilization or the near extinction of our species. The most practical,
detailed plans will be posted on this page.
Plan 1: The City Version
If you life in or around a city, you face a
heightened risk of death from pretty much any catastrophic event - most
especially from a WMD attack or from a pandemic. Your risk is even higher
if your city is a major terrorist target (i.e. New York, Washington, DC, Tokyo,
London, Tel Aviv, Paris, etc.). That said, careful planning can make this
risk more manageable. You should be prepared to ride out most disasters in
your home, which means that you should store a few weeks supply of food and
water. You should also have hospital grade face masks in case of a
pandemic. Furthermore, you should always have a Go Bag within easy reach -
at your work, at home, in your car, etc. Your Go Bag should contain a
good, current issue gas mask, money (many ones and fives and a handful of
change), a small radio, a bottle of water, a few power bars, hand sanitizer, and
a first aid kit. During most disasters, your best bet will be to quickly
evacuate to an unaffected area - or to a remote unvisited area in the event of a
global catastrophe. That said, it is difficult to quickly evacuate with a
family, and in many cases the chaos caused by a disaster will make evacuating
nearly impossible. If you can not safely evacuate, you should probably
plan to ride out the disaster in your home.
Plan
2: The Extreme Version
This plan
is a personal variation of one of the plans for preserving our species presented
on the Survival Plan page. You will have to be very serious about
surviving to be willing to follow this plan. The first step is to live as
remotely as possible. Assuming that you're not willing to become a hermit,
the next best thing would be to live in a small, isolated community - preferably
one that can go days without seeing a visitor. There are a few communities
in Alaska and northern Canada like this - and there are certainly others in
other parts of the world. Second, you should live outside this community -
with a buffer zone of at least a few miles. The more days you can spend
without going into town, the better. (But you might as well live it up
when you do go to town - once you're there you're already at risk, so you should
spend some time and enjoy it). Third, stock up. Plan to be able to
survive on your own without growing anything for as long as possible.
Decades if your budget allows it. Stocking water is also important -
although you will probably not be able to stock enough water for years of
use. Therefore you will need a private well - one that taps into a deep,
protected (slow to be contaminated) source of water. You
must be able to hand pump the well. You'll also want a generator with
a lot of fuel. Remember to stock plenty of spare parts and tools (you'll
want to keep your pump working, among other things). A large medical kit
is also a necessity, as are books and other sources of entertainment.
You'll also probably want a shortwave radio, and the equipment required to
broadcast. Guns might be useful if civilization collapses, and seeds and
farming equipment will be useful for rebuilding. Fourth, monitor the town
radio station, police band, and other sources of information/gossip for any news
of strange illnesses or other potentially dangerous events. Monitor the
Threat Board on this website, and other Internet news sources for the same sort
of news globally. Do not go to town any time there is an epidemic or a
large outbreak of an unexplained illness. These actions will keep you
reasonably secure from many threats.