Survival Planning: Do You have a Plan B,C,&D?

During a chaotic survival situation, even the best preparedness plans can go awry. For those who have already gone through the process of putting together an emergency plan of action, the work isn’t over. The next step in the process is to throw a little chaos into the equation, and come up with a plan B….

You’re Evacuation Routes are Blocked; Now What?

A good evacuation plan always has multiple routes out of town; it also has multiple bug out locations in case the disaster makes it impossible for you to use your primary evacuation shelter.

You should have a backup plan to deal with:

• Roads that may be blocked, shutdown, destroyed or simply made impassible because everyone else is trying to use them to get out.
• Wide-spread disasters that affect not only your immediate area, but the area where you planned to bug out as well.
• A disaster that makes vehicle transportation impossible.

Disaster Strikes while you’re away from your family; Now What?

Because of the unpredictable nature of most disasters, there’s probably a pretty good chance that when disaster does strike you may be separated from your family.

You need to plan for this, and make sure you have a way to connect once you’ve made your way outside the danger zone:

• You need a communication plan; and everyone in your group or family needs to be onboard with that plan.
• The plan needs to account for disasters that wipe out traditional forms of communication like land lines, internet and cell networks.
• Your plan should include a failsafe; such as meet up points, or some sort of bulletin board where family members head to during a disaster.

You’re separated from your supplies, or they become damaged or destroyed in the disaster; Now What?

I’m a big proponent of stockpiling emergency food, water and supplies; but I also know that counting on these supplies without having a backup plan can be deadly. While these items are all an essential part of any good preparedness plan, you also need to have a plan that takes into account the complete loss of these supplies during a disaster.

• Never put all your eggs in one basket: At the very least, your emergency supplies should be stored in a number of locations within your home. This helps guard against things like floods, earthquakes and fire. Even better would be a backup supply at a dedicated bug out location.
• You need to know what local resources can be exploited during a disaster. Find out where you can find wild edibles, where alternative sources of water might be, and make sure you know how to fish and hunt.
• You need a plan to defend what’s yours. During a large-scale disaster, those who have supplies will become instant targets. You must have a plan to defend your home, your supplies, and your family from the unprepared masses who will be looking for what you have.