If recent months have taught us anything, it’s that a disaster can leave people in an emergency and fragile state for weeks, and even months. As Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria proved, when basic necessities are knocked out or taken away, things can get ugly in a hurry. Keep in mind that natural disasters are just one scenario, and with relatively accurate forecasting models, they provide much more lead time than other potential scenarios where a power grid is knocked down or civil unrest breaks out.

Unfortunately, the government probably won’t be efficient enough to offer assistance to you and your family in a situation where every minute matters. Your neighbors might offer some more timely help, but the reality is, it’s every man for himself when it comes to any survival situation.

In the end, you have to have plans in place that you can execute in minutes, instead of the hours, weeks, and even months it can take to get reasonable assistance from your government or your equally desperate neighbor.

So, where do you start when prepping for the worst, to ensure you survive an unexpected natural or man-made disaster? You can start by securing these four things in your emergency preparedness arsenal.

Purified water

The number one thing you’ll need access to when in a survival situation is clean water, since it only takes three to five days without water until you can become severely dehydrated and even die. Of course, clean water is ideal to not only properly hydrate you, but also to avoid pathogenic organisms and toxic chemicals that can increase your likelihood of becoming sick and incapacitated. This clean water will also come in handy for cooking certain types of foods as well.

So when a disaster is looming or unexpectedly strikes, you need to make sure you have a system in place in your own home that can supply you with purified water immediately and on an ongoing basis, without the need for electricity or water pressure. This means having several jugs of purified water on hand immediately for consumption, and then being able to filter water going forward without access to municipal water supplies. This can mean streams, rivers, ponds, and lakes are the next access point, which will need to be purified (and potentially without electricity) in order to be safe for drinking.

Fortunately, there are systems like the Big Berkey water filter that removes all kinds of pathogenic bacteria, harmful chemicals, parasites, and more, while requiring no electricity and having a storage capacity of about 2.25 gallons (8.5 liters). This ensures you can have immediate access to clean water, and an ongoing supply as long as you can source some type of water to put through it.

Your own food supply

How bad of a feeling would it be when the food distribution system gets disrupted, and you have no ability to get what you want (or anything) at the store? How much worse would that be if you had no food supply of your own to rely on, and it was going to be mere days before you run out of nourishment?

Never take for granted that this can happen at some point in your lifetime (for many it already has). This is why having highly storable, nourishing, and filling food on hand is paramount, as well as portable growing systems that don’t require electricity. This way, if food distribution is disrupted you know you have immediate access to fulfilling and nutritious food, and have the ability to grow fresh food as well on an ongoing basis without the need for land or dirt.

Now, you can survive without food for much longer than water, but, the longer you go without it the weaker you get. In a survival situation the strongest will survive, and that means you’ll need to have sustenance on a daily basis. Both storable organic food and portable growing systems will make sure you are in a position to ride out any disaster.

Multi-functional tools

When confronted with an emergency situation, there are a number of different tools you may require to  make sure you stay safe and functionally self-reliant. In many cases, you won’t have the luxury of carrying around a full set of tools, but rather, whatever you can fit in a backpack or on your body. This makes highly portable, multi-functional tools a must for any serious prepper to survive an emergency situation.

Items such as a hammer, knife, flashlight, saw, cordage, whistles, magnesium rod ignition, flint, screwdriver, tourniquet, wire cutters, wrenches, watch, compass, and can openers are just a few of the things you could find yourself needing in order to “set up camp” properly and ensure you have adequate shelter.

The good news is you can get all of these tools in a few simple, yet highly practical inventions like this Ranger Gear Extreme Multifunction Shovel that also contains numerous tools inside the shovel handle.

Fire (for warmth and cooking)

Fire is undoubtedly an important element of survival, and that importance will be magnified in certain seasons and climates. Fire can be used for warmth, cooking, and to light up the immediate area when in darkness.

To be able to create a fire, you will need to be able to dig a hole and chop wood, for starters. Then you will likely need matches or a lighter of some sort to get it started. Once it is going, this light, warmth, and cooking medium will help provide the necessities for survival, especially when darkness hits.

Alternatively, access to a mini camp stove with built-in ignition that uses portable fuel sources (propane) is a great way to quickly boil some water and cook meals as well. Consider it another necessary part of your overall survival plan.

So when you are able to secure your own clean water, food, shelter, and heat, you are light years ahead of the population, and will have a much higher success rate of making it out of the situation relatively unscathed. Don’t think it can’t happen to you, as these disasters are not just limited to hurricanes. There are other natural disasters to consider in other areas of the world, as well as the real possibility of threats to the electrical grid and social structure.

Don’t be the one left out in the cold, starving, and dehydrated. For a relatively small investment, and high reward potential, you can make sure you are a serious survivor.

Sources include:

Naturalnews.com

Naturalnews.com