Category Archives: Preparedness Blogs

This is an excerpt from my PDF ‘The Preparedness Encyclopedia (TPE)’.
Download the PDF Version Here

Without monitoring media and news outlets you won’t know what’s happening in the world. It’s vital to keep up to date with the news and be able to separate the facts from fiction.

● Internet: Social media can spread the message pretty fast about impending disasters without any bias that the media has today. You can set keywords on news websites to notify you when certain events happen near you or when a global event takes off.
● Friends & Family: The more people in your prepping party that are watching for disasters and keeping an eye on the situation can provide multiple failsafe’s if one person doesn’t check the news for a few hours. Everyone can ring each other and keep them all informed about a worsening situation and keep in close contact when the time to come has to bug in or bug out.
● The Media: In 1983 90% of the media was owned by 50 companies. Today in 2018 90% of the media is controlled by just 6 companies. For more information on media corruption see the MEDIA section.
● Government Organizations: You can sometimes opt into getting text updates to natural disasters or other events that happen in cities. These can be very helpful as you get the information straight from the source such as the weather bureau.
● Government Institutes: Governments will attempt to control all sensitive news released with an impact to the public and will threaten heavy fines or jail time for any media outlet that doesn’t comply with these demands. Generally their main aim is to avoid a mass panic and exodus of people which will make it nearly impossible for them and other government agencies such as the police to do their jobs. They typically only look at the big picture and take action to avoid the most causalities from an event by downplaying the news even if that means a small group of people dying,

Monitoring Websites
These are useful websites to help you track and monitor the disasters around the world, whether it’s volcanoes, the stock market, hurricanes, tsunamis, earthquakes and more. To have the best chance to reach your bug-out destination before the rest of the population finds out you should be constantly monitoring most of these websites.

Global Monitoring & News Sites

● Emergency and Disaster Information Service
A worldwide map displaying notable disasters and emergencies around the world.
URL: hisz.rsoe.hu

● AccuWeather Severe Weather
Shows the different types of severe weather such as flooding, avalanches and fires currently occurring around the world.
URL: accuweather.com/en/au/severe-weather

● Prepper News
A prepper news website with topics sorted into different categories to make it easier to find what you need.
URL: prepperwebsite.com/page-2

Weather

● Windy
An invaluable website which displays: Worldwide Weather Radar, Worldwide Satellite Weather View, Worldwide Wind Map, Worldwide Rain and Thunder Map, Worldwide Temperature Map, Worldwide Cloud Cover Map, Worldwide Wave Map, Worldwide Air Quality Map
URL: windy.com

● Nullschool
A website very similar to windy.com with a few less features. It shows information on wind, water and ocean conditions.
URL: earth.nullschool.net

Earthquakes

● Earthquake 3D
A 3D live feed of the earthquakes occurring around the planet. You can also buy and download a much higher quality version with more features from their website.
URL: www.earthquake3d.com

● Earthquakes USGS
A 2D live world map showing the current earthquakes. USA website.
URL: earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/map

● USGS Significant Earthquakes
A list of the most recent significant earthquakes.
URL: earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/browse/significant.php

● EMSC Latest Earthquakes Worldwide
A list of the latest earthquakes worldwide.
URL: www.emsc-csem.org/Earthquake/world/

● EMSC Significant Earthquakes
A list of the latest significant earthquakes.
URL: www.emsc-csem.org/Earthquake/significant_earthquakes.php

● Earthquakes@GA
A 2D live world map showing the current earthquakes. Australian website.
URL: earthquakes.ga.gov.au

Active Volcanos

● Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre
Daily updated map of currently erupting and restless volcanoes.
URL: volcanodiscovery.com/daily-map-of-active-volcanoes

● Volcano Discovery
Shows the active volcanoes around the world with last eruption dates.
URL: volcanodiscovery.com/volcano-map

Buoys & Tsunamis

● National Data Buoy Centre
Shows the buoys around the oceans on an interactive map. They flash when they go into “Event Mode” when a change in the median wave height is detected. It is useful to track tsunamis, storm surges and other water based events.
URL: ndbc.noaa.gov

Hurricanes & Cyclones

● National Hurricane Centre
Shows any current hurricanes around the United States only.
URL: nhc.noaa.gov

● AccuWeather Hurricanes
Shows any current hurricanes & cyclones around the world.
URL: accuweather.com/en/hurricane

Pandemic & Viral Outbreaks

● Healthmap
Real-time surveillance map of emerging public health threats and disease outbreaks.
URL: healthmap.org/en

● Outbreaks Map
Displays outbreaks, cases and deaths from viral and bacterial diseases which have the potential to indicate biological terrorism.
URL: outbreaks.globalincidentmap.com

● COVID-19 Hub
This is a COVID-19 hub with a lot of links to various virus tracking websites.
URL: coronavirus-resources.esri.com/

● GIS COVID-19 Tracker
Johns Hopkins University (JHU) COVID-19 live viewer.
URL: gisanddata.maps.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/bda7594740fd40299423467b48e9ecf6

Economy

● World Stock Markets
An overview of all the stock markets of the world.
URL: markets.businessinsider.com/indices/world-stock-markets

● Dow Jones Index
The Dow Jones index.
URL: marketwatch.com/investing/index/djia

● S&P 500 Index
The S&P 500 index.
URL: www.marketwatch.com/investing/index/spx

● ASX 200
The ASX 200 index.
URL: www.asx.com.au/products/index-charts.htm

● NASDAQ Index
The NASDAQ index.
URL: www.marketwatch.com/investing/index/comp

● U.S. Debt Clock
The total U.S. debt.
URL: https://www.usdebtclock.org/

Commodities

● Gold Price
The gold spot price.
URL: goldprice.org/
URL: www.kitco.com/charts/livegold.html
URL: www.kitco.com/charts/techcharts_gold.html

● Silver Price
The silver spot price.
URL: silverprice.org/
URL: www.kitco.com/charts/livesilver.html
URL: www.kitco.com/charts/techcharts_silver.html

● Platinum Price
The platinum spot price.
URL: www.kitco.com/charts/liveplatinum.html
URL: www.kitco.com/charts/techcharts_platinum.html

● Palladium Price
The palladium spot price.
URL: www.kitco.com/charts/livepalladium.html
URL: www.kitco.com/charts/techcharts_palladium.html

● Oil Price
The Oil (WTI) Price.
URL: markets.businessinsider.com/commodities/oil-price?type=wti

External Threats

● Sunspots / Solar Flares
Tracking of the sun for solar minimums, maximums, coronal holes, coronal mass ejections, sunspots and solar flares.
URL: www.spaceweatherlive.com/en/solar-activity

● Earth Impact Monitoring
Tracking of any space objects or debris which could impact earth.
URL: cneos.jpl.nasa.gov/sentry/

● NEO Earth Close Approaches
Tracking of any space objects or debris which could impact earth.
URL: cneos.jpl.nasa.gov/ca/

● UFO Sightings (America)
A map of all UFO sightings in America.
URL: metrocosm.com/ufo-sightings-map.html

● UFO Sighting Map
A map of all UFO sightings over the world.
URL: www.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=ddda71d5211f47e782b12f3f8d06246e

This is an excerpt from my PDF ‘The Preparedness Encyclopedia (TPE)’.
Download the PDF Version Here

The sections below will help you identify, categorise and mitigate any risks that you may have relating to disasters or bugging in/out.

Managing Risks
The following is a guide on how you can gauge the approximate impact of any risks you may encounter.

1. Make a list of every risk that you can think of relating to your bug out plan. Use a list instead of a table, but if you want draw up a table to help visualise their severity.
2. Try to gauge the chance and the impact they will each have on your bug out plan.
3. Calculate the severity of each risk by adding the probability chance with the impact chance.
Probability No. + Impact No. = Severity
4. Order them by the calculated severity.
5. Work on a risk mitigation plan (explained further below) which will either reduce the severity or the chance of the risk. Work on the highest severity first.

Risk Impact
The below chart is a risk impact analysis of any risks you deem probable of occurring during a bug in/out.

● Risk Probability: The risk probability is the chance the risk has of occurring.
● Risk Impact: The risk impact is how much damage the risk will inflict if it occurs.

You first assign a probability of occurrence of the risk between 1-10 then determine the impact of the risk between 1-10 then find the risk impact from the chart. When you have the risk impact level you should take the necessary actions to mitigate or reduce the chance that rick occurs. It is not considered a risk if an event has a 0% or 100% chance of occurring. But the number range is there to cover all numbers such as 0.01% and 99.99% chances. If you create a table similar to the one below you can add as many vertical or horizontal cells as you like such as going up in 10%’s instead of 20%’s.

Risk Impact Table

Risk Mitigation
Ways to reduce the effects or the chance of the risk occurring. To mitigate risks you can either reduce the probability or impact of the risk or eliminate the risk completely.

● Risk Acceptance: Risk acceptance does not reduce any effects however it is still considered a strategy. This strategy is a common option when the cost of other risk management options such as avoidance or limitation may outweigh the cost of the risk itself.
● Risk Avoidance: Risk avoidance is the opposite of risk acceptance. It is the action that avoids any exposure to the risk whatsoever. It’s important to note that risk avoidance is usually the most expensive of all risk mitigation options.
● Risk Limitation: This strategy limits a company’s exposure by taking some action. It is a strategy employing a bit of risk acceptance along with a bit of risk avoidance or an average of both.
● Risk Transference: Risk transference is the involvement of handing risk off to a willing third party.
● Watch/Monitor: Monitor the environment for changes that affect the nature and/or the impact of the risk.
● Reduce Probability: Try to reduce the probability of a risk occurring. A simple example is tying your shoelaces if they are loose to help prevent you tripping. Another example is moving away from a fault line if you live near one.
● Reduce Impact: Reduce the impact of a risk by taking steps to prepare for more eventualities. For example you can install roller-shutters on every window of your house to help prevent damage from attacks, hurricanes and hail. You may get some dents, but it’s better than shattered windows.
● Eliminate Risk: If you have the ability to – you should eliminate risks entirely. For example if there’s a risk of not being able to reach your bug-out shelter due to flooding, perhaps you should live in your bug-out location permanently. If you’re concerned about tsunamis you should move at least 32km (20 mi) inland where it’s almost impossible for a regular sized tsunami to reach you.

This is an excerpt from my PDF ‘The Preparedness Encyclopedia (TPE)’.
Download the PDF Version Here

You’re bound to have at least one weakness in your preparedness plan or preps. This section will shore up those weaknesses so one small mistake won’t leave you stranded. Risk management involves taking into consideration the likelihood of any risks coupled with the damage the risk will deal if it occurs.

Gear Vulnerability
Your gear or types of gear that might have adverse affects.

● Consumable Gear: You have a limited supply of consumable gear such as one use glowsticks. You should have calculated how many consumables are required to reach your destination plus 15% as a general rule.
● Broken Gear: Gear may break with use or on the way to your destination. Check the state of your BOB gear every month in case an item has accidentally been broken or crushed during storage. You should have a redundancy or partial redundancy for all gear in your bag, so if something breaks on the way there’s another item that can take its place even temporarily.
● Spoilable Gear: Some gear may be already spoiled by the time you open it such as canned food or freeze dried food. Take into account items that go off and have an extra 30% spare for edibles such as food and water.
● Electricity: You can’t depend on electricity in a disaster as it would likely to be the first amenity to be taken out. Therefore you shouldn’t entirely depend on your electronics such as your mobile, GPS or torch, particularly if you have no way of generating your own electricity. Not to mention that in an extended disaster, rechargeable batteries could reach their end of life before civilization returns to normal and you can’t exactly replace the battery in a phone yourself even if you had a spare.
● EMPs: Electronics have the potential to be rendered useless by an EMP, therefore you should always have a way to perform the same function which isn’t reliant on that device. An example is having physical maps and a compass instead of using a mobile device and if possible – having a way of communicating distances without electricity such as semaphore.

Environmental Vulnerability
Your location could be your biggest vulnerability, such as having an active volcano nearby or you might be living on a tectonic plate.

● Location: Living in a precarious location such as on a fault line only increases the likelihood of a disaster. As preppers it’s recommended to live in a stable environment where the fewest disasters are likely to happen.
● Climate: A harsh climate will make it much more difficult to reach an end destination. However the flip side is that few people will want to actively live in a harsh climate such as the arctic or a desert so you’ll have less threat of people.
● Creatures: Some locations have a higher than normal percentage of dangerous creatures such as Australia. It may be best to avoid these places as it falls under the same considerations as avoiding potential natural disasters.

Medical Vulnerability
Any known medically related issues that might affect your disaster plans.

● Health Conditions: Some people in your party could have a health condition ranging from minor such as hay fever to diabetes which requires constant medication. Your bug out plans should take all conditions into account no matter how minor as even something as hay fever could be dangerous if your route goes past huge fields of flowers.
● Accessibility: If one of your party is confined to a wheelchair or temporary crutches you may need special equipment or alternative plans to bug out safely. Be sure to account for any situations that may arise when they happen such as the broken leg of your primary bug out driver.

Team Vulnerability
Any problems that may arise with your family or bug out party.

● Age: Very young or old party members won’t have as much stamina or flexibility as the others in the party and may need special requirements. You’re only as strong as your weakest member so make sure they are able to keep up with everyone else.
● Complaints: Any complaints from other people in the party, but particularly children who aren’t used to a sudden change in lifestyle. Have a method to deal with restless kids whether it’s music, activities or games. Complaints by adults are harder to address as you may have justified reasons why you can’t solve it straight away, this causes them to grow more discontent over time which may spread to other party members.
● Betrayal: Some members of your party may choose to desert you due to poor leadership or just a change in heart. It’s important to keep the loyalty of your party members or a mutiny could happen which may leave you without anything. Be sure to address concerns from party members before they become a big issue. You should know each party member intimately and have a unique relationship with each one. If possible – have an insider mole who you trust completely and will tell you any news that people are gossiping about behind your back.

Unexpected Vulnerabilities
These are vulnerabilities to your party which you cannot realistically foresee or predict. They can range from minor to catastrophic. You may be preparing for an asteroid to hit within 1,000 kms (621 mi) of your area, but you would never expect it to actually hit your house directly. This is an extreme example of the unexpected. Another example would be a 20-something party member with no history of medical problems suddenly have a major heart attack.

● Management: You can’t risk manage what you don’t expect to happen, therefore as preppers it’s best to prepare both for bugging in and out for as wide a range of scenarios as possible.

This is an excerpt from my PDF ‘The Preparedness Encyclopedia (TPE)’.
Download the PDF Version Here

In general your BOB should be packed and ready to grab and go at a moments notice, however there’s a few reasons why some items won’t always be stored in the bag. Some of the below items are stored in containers and therefore require a key.

You do NOT want to waste time searching for a key to your safe or weapons locker in an emergency because it could cost you your life. Ensure you either have your keys on you at all times or you know exactly where they are and can easily get to them without going through multiple security barriers.

Essential Gear
● Borrowed Items: If you’re the type to borrow items from your pack when you go camping or hiking you should be sure to return them immediately afterwards.
● On Display: Some items such as family pictures will be displayed on mantles and desks, so be sure you know where they are and grab them before you go if you want them. An alternative is to have digital versions or duplicates in your pack.
● Refrigerated Items: Medicines and drugs should be stored at a cooler ambient temperature, therefore you should only grab these at the last minute to maximise their life.
● Valuables: You may have a separate location for your valuables such as a safe or they could be diversified around your home or work office, or even perhaps a safety deposit box.
● SCAR Bags: You may have specific bags for this type of emergency stored around the house, in addition to your primary BOB like pandemic medical gear.
● Weapons: Weapons are generally stored in special containers to ensure their compliance with the law, therefore you have to remember to grab them before you leave.
● Volatiles: Volatiles are items which have to be stored separately from general living quarters due to the hazard they pose to general safety. These kinds of items can include: Gas Canisters, Fuel (Petrol, Diesel, LPG) and dangerous chemicals such as kerosene, calcium hypochlorite (used in water purification) and shellite.

Unessential Gear
Before you need to bug-out there may be a bit of spare time to grab a few extra items around your home, particularly if you’re never coming back. The following list provides ideas on the most important non-essential items.

● Digital Records: Computer hard drives and other storage media could prove useful if you aren’t ever coming home and you rely on your files. There may also be personal files on them which shouldn’t get into the hands of anyone else.
● Memories: Photographs, memorabilia, personal items etc can provide a vital function in keeping up morale.
● Important Documents: Leaving any important documents (such as your birth certificate) in your home could end in a stolen identity. You should either bring these documents with you, including copies or burn them – in the case of copies.
● Spares: Grab any spare pantry snacks, food, water, gas canisters, batteries and candles you have around your home if you’re bugging out via car and have some spare time.

This is an excerpt from my PDF ‘The Preparedness Encyclopedia (TPE)’.
Download the PDF Version Here

The Signs
The following are signs of prepper burnout. Prepper burnout is the becoming frustrated, tired or wanting to give up prepping for various reasons.

Sign 1: They only read pessimistic new articles and ignore an encouraging outlook.
Sign 2: They don’t see the beauty or pleasure in daily life, being focused on the end.
Sign 3: They spend all their money on securing goods and nothing for themselves or their entertainment.
Sign 4: They visit preparedness websites daily which can slowly reduce their optimism and outlook.

Resolutions
These are some simple ideas on how you can fix prepper burnout if you see it occurring.

Resolution 1: Realize that the world ending tomorrow is possible but not very likely.
Resolution 2: View prepping as a hobby and the skills you gain through it. Hobbies should be worked on in your free time and generally aren’t thought about every second of every day.
Resolution 3: Find a healthy balance between prepping and enjoying life.
Resolution 4: Focus on buying food and gear you will use in daily life and which won’t be just stored on a shelf.
Resolution 5: Take a break and focus on other activities or a skill that has links to prepping such as archery.

This is an excerpt from my PDF ‘The Preparedness Encyclopedia (TPE)’.
Download the PDF Version Here

Becoming a complacent prepper is one of the pitfalls of prepping. The following will discuss a few reasons we can become complacent and how to prevent them.

No Urgency
When things are going well we may tend to overlook the fact that anything bad could ever happen to us. We just have to turn on the news to see how much of a delusion this could be, especially today. Just because things are going well in your corner of the globe doesn’t mean the violence on the other side can’t affect us.

Expecting Disaster
A lot of preppers are so ready and expectant for a disaster to occur that they actively want one to happen in the back of their mind so they can finally use their preps. They spend so long researching disasters and looking at the worst of humanity that they forget to enjoy life and have fun while the going is easy. Don’t forget to take time and enjoy the world around you while it’s intact.

Ebb and Flow
There’s a natural cycle between hard times and times when a disaster is the last thing on your mind. Sometimes we have to look past the best times and keep on prepping, as well as not becoming fearful if the worst looks like it will happen.

Attention to Detail
Always keep in mind the big picture as well as the small things such as remembering to have breakfast. You won’t be very effective without keeping yourself running smoothly. In a similar way keep checking the basics of preparedness to ensure you aren’t missing a critical area, or forgot you borrowed your gas stove when camping and forgot to put it back.

Self Interest
Preppers can get so caught up preparing for themselves and their family that they forget there will be a lot of other people such as friends and family who won’t be prepared in a disaster. When one does strike, these people will be looking to anyone and everyone on how to proceed in these tough situations. Without any assistance they may have to resort to theft and violence to be able to stay alive which is the last thing you need from your neighbours and friends.

Besides preparing for ourselves we should think about putting together a small collection of gear for our neighbours, friends and family. Not only will this help ease their survival situation, but it could turn a potential threat in a disaster into an ally. You could include long life food, water purification equipment, a torch with spare batteries or candles, some firelighters, a radio, a bible as well as a few survival guides both on a USB or physically printed. You don’t even have to make contact with them on your way to bug-out, just drop it off at their door, ring their doorbell and then bug-out.

The Easy Life
We’ve had such an easy life compared to the other periods of time and regions where nearly everyone sees death, violence and theft daily. Very few of us have lived through a world war or any war for that matter and with other countries boosting their arsenal we should stop being complacent and prepare like these events will happen. Although America is beginning to wake up from this easy-going lifestyle lately with a potential downfall of their entire constitution in the future.

Crying Wolf
Often we’re sure a collapse is imminent or it looks like a disastrous cyclone is heading right for you but then dissipates before anything happening. After these events we can often question our preps and ask ourselves “Is this really necessary?”. We should always remain steadfast in prepping and can’t change our minds because of false warnings. But when you’ve let your guard down is potentially when disaster could happen, and then you would wish you never did.

Local Disasters
We often focus on the large scale world-changing disasters and end-times scenarios but tend to focus less on the common local disasters such as job loss, financial difficulty or the loss of a family member. We can’t lose sight of preparing for the smaller things life can throw at us when we tend to only focus on the large scale disasters.

Situational Awareness
Throughout our often mundane lives are fixed patterns of repeated actions which we often automate because we do them so often. This generally happens at work when we have fixed tasks to complete over and over again and sometimes we take these actions home with us. We often don’t pay attention to our surroundings during these times as it’s a normal, dull day, but keeping an active mind will ensure our situational awareness is always active and alert for any trouble coming our way.

Health
We can easily become complacent about our health which may slip out of our control when we aren’t taking note of what we’re putting into our bodies or how much exercise we’re getting. This will definitely affect our ability to survive in SHTF when the time does arise, and a person with poor health will be a risk to their prepping group and themselves.

Overconfidence
When you’re sitting on a mountain of preps, months of food and enough guns to arm a small country. You may feel the need to sit back and survey the mighty empire you’ve constructed and become overconfident with your prepping. You may think you know it all, but I can guarantee there’s always more you can learn and more research to undertake to improve your skills. Often the more you learn about preparedness the more your BOB changes. Don’t let your number of possessions halt your prepping or your desire to learn.