Common Terminology Used by Survivalists In Disaster Planning

Below are some basic terms that a person may come across when researching survival awareness and preparedness. Some of these words and others may appear from time to time in articles and other information sources commonly used by survival experts or self proclaimed 'preppers'.

Big One - see TEOTWAWKI. The "big one".

BOB - Bugout Bag. Used to store a supply of readily available supplies that you can grab at a moments notice if you need to leave your home in a hurry, as in right now!

Channelized Areas - In the case of an event where an entire city was to be evacuated, channelized areas are the most likely routes people would take; major roadways, railways, riverways, etc...

EMP - Electromagnetic Pulse. Capable of knocking out electronic equipment permanently.

Event - A catastrophe, big or small, that may require you to use some of the knowledge and supplies you have acquired through being a prepper. Green events last 1-10 days, yellow events last 10-90 days, and red events last 90 days to years in duration.

FEMA - Federal Emergency Management Agency. A Federal Government organization that responds to disasters. It usually takes FEMA a minimum of 72 hours to respond to a disaster emergency with the very basic of supplies (water and rations).

FIFO - First In First Out. A method of organizing perishable goods.

Golden Horde - The anticipated large horde of refugees and looters that will pour out of metropolitan regions when things like food, water, and civil order start to become non-existent.

G.O.O.D. - Get out of Dodge. Abbreviated slang term that describes the need to get out of town in a hurry.

GPS - Global positioning system.

Grid Down - An extended period of time when the power system is not available. (1989 Quebec power outage - small solar storm struck earth, lasted only 12 hours but knocked out power in the entire province of Quebec).

MRE - Meals Ready to Eat. U.S. military rations.

Prepper - A person who plans for the worse, but hopes for the best.

Retreat - A privately owned property where you can go in case your home becomes unsafe to reside within. A retreat in most cases is someplace away from large cities where you can find safety and survive on the basics such as hunting, foraging and farming.

TEOTWAWKI - The end of the world as we know it. Basically this is an event that spells the end of world society, including a large drop in the world's population and a massive loss of technical skills/knowledge. The entire world will never be the same as it was.

For more information on survival planning and preparedness, check out Biff Brannon's web page at http://www.survivalawareness.net.

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Disaster Preparedness "Games" for the Whole Family

During a car ride or perhaps over the dinner table, start off with a very simple "what if" situation. Ask something like, "Just imagine our electricity went out for two days during the summer. What would we have to do differently? What would we need to keep our family safe and as close to normal as possible?"

Set the stage saying that there would be no air conditioning, no video games, no TV. Let the children come up with ideas to keep cool and entertain themselves. Ask what they think they might need at night if there are no lights in the house (flashlights and extra batteries?). Turn the conversation to food and how it could be prepared. Is the only can opener in the house an electric one? Is the stove electric? How do you keep the food in the freezer from melting?

Probably at the point of mentioning no TV, you will get the children involved. Ask how long their handheld game player can run on its batteries. You get the idea.

Everyone should begin to see the things that would be fine and things that would be more difficult. Ask someone to make a list of everything that would be helpful to have in an emergency kit for surviving two days with no electricity. Let everyone contribute ideas. Then take action to secure the emergency items that make the most sense, and let the kids know where they are. They will see that they have helped think through the problems.

The next time the family is ready to play "what if," the scenario could be the same situation but in the wintertime (if you live in a cold climate). Disaster situations discussed for the "game" could escalate to more serious situations as all the members in the family become more comfortable. Of course, parents should use their best judgment about whether their children would find this fun or whether a child might have a "worry" personality and continue to fret after the game.

Just thinking through possible disasters makes everyone (including you) less likely to panic should a serious emergency occur. You have already imagined what you would do. As a family, you will have discussed what the safest procedures would be, what emergency supplies you would take, etc. The lists and ideas for various survival situations should spur you to take action and prepare emergency kits (yes, the children should each have their own custom bug-out kit).

A great place to prepare so you can lead your family in a discussion is the U.S. government emergency preparedness site, http://www.Ready.gov. You'll find lots of checklists and tips. Also on that website, you can find a drop-down menu that takes you to the disaster preparedness site for your own state. Learn the most likely emergencies for your area.

Carla J. Hall is the author of the ebook novel "Obliterated - Would You Know How to Survive?" The suspenseful adventure story is filled with real-life survival tips. It is available from Amazon. Learn more at: http://www.c-j-hall.com

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How to Store Water

Over recent years we have seen natural disasters and emergencies strike all over the world. Earthquakes, fires, floods, power outages strike all around us and at times we feel like it will never "happen to us" but in reality they could happen to us at any time. Grocery store shelves are emptied in minutes during times of crisis. The most important item to have during an emergency is WATER. It is more important than food or anything else. A person can survive without food for many weeks if necessary if they are properly hydrated. However, if a person does not have enough water, you can dehydrate and die in only a few days.

Water is an absolute necessity for drinking but it is also a "must have" for cooking, cleaning wounds, washing and other hygiene needs. During an emergency, water supplies are either shut off due to damage (as from an earthquake) or they can become contaminated from broken lines and are not safe to drink. It literally could take several weeks or longer for normal water supplies to be returned to normal.

So how much water does a person need? A person needs at least 1 gallon per person per day to survive an emergency. If you have not tried living with that amount of water, a person will quickly see that this is a bare-bones minimum and is what a person needs to "survive". Having more water on hand so that you have enough for cooking your food and washing yourself is a better idea. 3 gallons per person for each day is a much better amount to make sure that all of your water needs are taken care of.

Most people do not have any water stored away for emergencies and when something happens...they are in trouble. Storing water is not difficult. First you need to determine how much water you and your family will need. Let's say you have a family of 4. It is recommended that you have enough on hand for at least 2 weeks to allow for normal water sources to be restored. If each person needs 3 gallons per day then you will need 12 gallons for each day. (3 gallons x 4 people) 2 weeks would be 14 days so (12 gallons x 14 days= 168 gallons). A family of 4 will need 168 gallons of water to survive independently for a 2 week period. Storing that much water in water bottles would be very cumbersome but there are some very easy ways to store and access that amount of water to make sure your family is taken care of. The FDA recommends food grade polyethylene barrels. You will most often find these in 55 gallon size and are normally blue. They are very durable and the dark blue color limits the growth of any algae in the water from being exposed to sunlight.

Next to air...water is the most important thing that people need to survive. The best thing to do is start today, decide how much you need and start storing water now so that if/when an emergency happens you already have your clean supply of water to take care of you and your family's needs.

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