What are YOU preparing for.

[West Texas!]

I see quite a few threads on preparing for "things" and bugging out, but what are YOU preparing for? What the LIKELY threats in your area?

Around here, there are several threats or potential threats.

Terrorism - sure, it's possible, but not likely as W. Texas isn't high profile enough target like DC, NYC, or Houston if someone wants to attack a petroleum infrastructure target.

Civil unrest, currently our area is still doing fairly well, but the econ is getting worse as the oil prices slump...our rental house is in a...less than desireable area, so increasing crime is a very real possibility right now.

Industrial accident, VERY real possiblity as we're surround by crude oil tank farms, pipelines carrying CO2, natural gas, crude oil, refined petroleum products, etc. Tanker trucks carrying I don't know what zipping up and down the highway.

Natural disaster, not an earthquake area that I know of, not many tornados that I'm aware of...so probably flooding would be a possibility if we got too much rain.

Of course, some idiot could always hit a natural gas meter thingie in the alley and knock out the gas....

Of course there are always the big ones, nuclear war, Chinese invasion, Mexico wanting Texas back...I rate those as fairly unlikely, relative to more localized issues.

These are just some general things I was thinking about last night as the family and I were sitting around our firepit outside...

What say y'all? What worries you?

[Zombie Axe]

Simple... ZOMBIE INVASION!!!

I actually use the zombie scenario to point out the 'worst case scenario'!!! If you can survive a zombie invasion which requires, a good defensive position, hardened structure, logistics out the ying yang (beans, bullets and band aids... and more bullets and beans), a good BOV, good commo, good skillset, chemical warfare that led to rise of zombies (AKA NBC warfare), nuclear war to destroy zombies (radiation detection and prevention skills), improvisation, alternative power, etc. you can survive ANYTHING :eek:

Realistically, I have endured severe weather far more times than I have taken on the undead;) So I am setup to fend for myself and mine for extended periods of time.

So tornados, hurricanes, ice storms, fuel shortages and blizzards, are what I have PLENTY of experience dealing with... Zombies... well I have seen all the 'training films':D

[westaylor]

what I am preparing for

I believe that over the next year or two that our economy will crash. It has been set up that way and there are a lot of qualified people that are predicting riots, marshal law and another civil war. I heard a clip on Russa Today where this guy said that he thought that the U.S. would be broken up into 6 regions. Bush has just deployed 20,000 troops to the U.S. and Obama would like to see a one million man army here in America. There is still the threat of nuclear attack as well. Not to mention natural disasters that are on the increase every year.

So, I think that there is a whole lot to prepare for even if none of those things happen in our life time which I don’t see how something will not happen. I still think its good to prepare the best we can.

[Big_Saw]

I would say that I am ready for anything except a zombie invasion......:eek:

I'm rural, so expect pretty good advance warning of anything coming down the pike, and I also expect it to be more of an internal divide/uprising than anything else.

I believe there are more and more people getting fed up with the feds prying our legs apart over and over again, and basically turning the majority of directional-control over to the fascio-liberal fruitcakes within our ranks.

My $0.02.

'Saw.

[West Texas!]

I believe that over the next year or two that our economy will crash. It has been set up that way and there are a lot of qualified people that are predicting riots, marshal law and another civil war. I heard a clip on Russa Today where this guy said that he thought that the U.S. would be broken up into 6 regions. Bush has just deployed 20,000 troops to the U.S. and Obama would like to see a one million man army here in America. There is still the threat of nuclear attack as well. Not to mention natural disasters that are on the increase every year.

So, I think that there is a whole lot to prepare for even if none of those things happen in our life time which I don’t see how something will not happen. I still think its good to prepare the best we can.

Ok, but that's the BIG stuff...what about the smaller, more localized issues around your area. That's kind of the point behind the question...

Nuclear war, invasions, Zombies, the Balkanization of our country ( which is gonna happen, real soon)...admittedly, that's the fun stuff to talk about...but what about the smaller, more local issues that would only effect those in Dallas, or Richmond VA...or BFE Nebraska?

Oh, the Russian predicting the breakup of the US was weeks ago, and nothing that hasn't been bantered around on other forums for eons...personally, I would see more than 8...but hey, I'm in Texas...we're the center of Universe already...

[Rustyshakelford]

I see quite a few threads on preparing for "things" and bugging out, but what are YOU preparing for? What the LIKELY threats in your area?

Around here, there are several threats or potential threats.

Terrorism - sure, it's possible, but not likely as W. Texas isn't high profile enough target like DC, NYC, or Houston if someone wants to attack a petroleum infrastructure target.

Civil unrest, currently our area is still doing fairly well, but the econ is getting worse as the oil prices slump...our rental house is in a...less than desireable area, so increasing crime is a very real possibility right now.

Industrial accident, VERY real possiblity as we're surround by crude oil tank farms, pipelines carrying CO2, natural gas, crude oil, refined petroleum products, etc. Tanker trucks carrying I don't know what zipping up and down the highway.

Natural disaster, not an earthquake area that I know of, not many tornados that I'm aware of...so probably flooding would be a possibility if we got too much rain.

Of course, some idiot could always hit a natural gas meter thingie in the alley and knock out the gas....

Of course there are always the big ones, nuclear war, Chinese invasion, Mexico wanting Texas back...I rate those as fairly unlikely, relative to more localized issues.

These are just some general things I was thinking about last night as the family and I were sitting around our firepit outside...

What say y'all? What worries you?

This is kind of what I see as something plausable. Some sort of overseas crisis. Something serious enough to cause lots of mayhem. When mayhem breaks out a virtual whirlwind of activity follows. Militarys get tied up with idiot "PeaceKeeping duties" and then every little two bit political cause starts to make their moves. The Tamil Tigers go after independance with a vengence. The ETA separtists in Spain/France declair and independence for the Basque state. The Western providences of China including Tibet start to secede. Mexico's Aztlan movement gains ground and the Mexican Drug Lords use it to increase their control of the northern states in Mexico. Muslim uprisings in the UK take root and the Brits are so infested with political correctness that they just roll over and hand over control in certain areas to the Heathens. Israel takes back the Gaza, Golan Heights, and the West Bank out of self interest and fear of invasion. The German nationalists (a growing movement) starts another Eine Deutschland movement and threaten to overtake the Diet in Germany. Little brush wars are intensified due to lack of food. America basically does feed the world. In times of war we no longer feed them. We have our own interests in mind.

Places out in the sticks like where we are in West Texas, no longer gets regular food shipments due to Mexican insurgents. We are on our own.

That is what I see. Not necissarily all of those scenarios at once, maybe none of them. Maybe other brush wars and political movements. But make no doubt, the American government does not look out for the best interests of the people. They live to serve themselves. We are a distant 3rd on their list of priorities.

In that event, we are on our own. That is when some very serious decisions need to be made.

Now, how would I believe such things? I have studied history. If you want a case study of what can happen study WW I and the alliances that were made. Study Arch Duke Ferdinands assasination in Serbia and the dominoe affect that followed. The Germans honoring their treaties, the Austrian Empire horonoring theirs. Look at what happened in the middle east and the revoltion in China. The Ruskies revolted. All of this ended with a very bad treaty called the Treaty of Versailles 1 that punised the Germans and their allies. This lead to the rise of Hitler, and facism in Italy. Once again due to treaties the Brits and ultimatly the US were dragged into the war. The Japs had a treaty with the Germans, and honored it and attacked Pearl Harbour. The wars in the Orient exploded overnight. The world was in turmoil.

Then after the war, due to more treaties, and violations of such, numerous brush wars and wars of independence were fought. Treaties with Palestinians were made previously, and they fought a low level war with the declining Ottoman Turks. They had an agreement with the Brits that they would have autonomy. The Brits renigged on this when the modern state of Israel was setup. The Greeks seized the opportunity of Europe in Chaos to wage a war with the Turks. And so on and so on.

Hope this lets you see things from my perspective.

[beebopcop]

I see quite a few threads on preparing for "things" and bugging out, but what are YOU preparing for? What the LIKELY threats in your area?

Around here, there are several threats or potential threats.

Terrorism - sure, it's possible, but not likely as W. Texas isn't high profile enough target like DC, NYC, or Houston if someone wants to attack a petroleum infrastructure target.

Civil unrest, currently our area is still doing fairly well, but the econ is getting worse as the oil prices slump...our rental house is in a...less than desireable area, so increasing crime is a very real possibility right now.

Industrial accident, VERY real possiblity as we're surround by crude oil tank farms, pipelines carrying CO2, natural gas, crude oil, refined petroleum products, etc. Tanker trucks carrying I don't know what zipping up and down the highway.

Natural disaster, not an earthquake area that I know of, not many tornados that I'm aware of...so probably flooding would be a possibility if we got too much rain.

Of course, some idiot could always hit a natural gas meter thingie in the alley and knock out the gas....

Of course there are always the big ones, nuclear war, Chinese invasion, Mexico wanting Texas back...I rate those as fairly unlikely, relative to more localized issues.

These are just some general things I was thinking about last night as the family and I were sitting around our firepit outside...

What say y'all? What worries you?

You all bring up some very good issues both on the national and local levels. There are a couple of things I think about as times continue to get harder. One of those issues is when will we know that it is safe to take matters into our own hands without the fear of government consequences. In other words, they just look at you and say "well, he was protecting his family or land or food, etc, lets leave them alone". What I mean is that with Homeland Security and FEMA (you should really research FEMA for an eye opener) just about anyone that is not in lock step with government is going to be considered a terrorist in the near future. The other issue that concerns me and that was not present in Rusty's great history lesson (I really enjoyed that) is the technology that our governments have today. If the government continues to trash the constitution and it gets to a place where many likeminded as we refuse to comply with unconstitutional demands then we will become enemies of the state. This will put us on the run of course. With the current and coming technology, not to mention, the technology that we don't know about, it is going to be very difficult to hide. For example older technologies like infrared and heat sensing scopes and cameras make it so that shoes that are shiny and your pants that have been starched can be seen through infrared. 17 years ago I remember looking through a tank heat sensing scope and watching rabbits hop around. These technologies are nothing compared to what they have now. With that in mind I don't see being able to stay in one place any amount of time being an options. These are the things that can keep me awake at night.

[Rustyshakelford]

You all bring up some very good issues both on the national and local levels. There are a couple of things I think about as times continue to get harder. One of those issues is when will we know that it is safe to take matters into our own hands without the fear of government consequences. In other words, they just look at you and say "well, he was protecting his family or land or food, etc, lets leave them alone". What I mean is that with Homeland Security and FEMA (you should really research FEMA for an eye opener) just about anyone that is not in lock step with government is going to be considered a terrorist in the near future. The other issue that concerns me and that was not present in Rusty's great history lesson (I really enjoyed that) is the technology that our governments have today. If the government continues to trash the constitution and it gets to a place where many likeminded as we refuse to comply with unconstitutional demands then we will become enemies of the state. This will put us on the run of course. With the current and coming technology, not to mention, the technology that we don't know about, it is going to be very difficult to hide. For example older technologies like infrared and heat sensing scopes and cameras make it so that shoes that are shiny and your pants that have been starched can be seen through infrared. 17 years ago I remember looking through a tank heat sensing scope and watching rabbits hop around. These technologies are nothing compared to what they have now. With that in mind I don't see being able to stay in one place any amount of time being an option. These are the things that can keep me awake at night.

It is just my opinion. Hi tech is great, but there is an old German saying that says low tech will beat high tech any day. Remember the Sci Fi movie Star Wars when the little fuzzy teddy bears took out the Empires best with sticks and stones? That is my feeling on high tech stuff.

[Visinedrops]

Hydroelectric dams along the Columbia River pose the greatest threat to my area. Two dams are erected on either side of our town, and many more north of us. If the Grand Coulee Dam, one of the largest on the Columbia River, were to burst, it would cause a tidal-wave of riverwater down the banks of the Columbia, destroying all other dams in its wake.

It has been said that if Grand Coulee were to burst and take out the other dams in the process, the river would rise 30 feet, which would take out most of this town.

In the event of Mt. St. Helens or Rainier erupting, the smoke and ash would be so great as to dim out the sun, and travel would be next to impossible. A shockwave would rip through the state of Washington somewhere between 4 and 6 on the richter scale.

On a more serious natural disaster, it has been found that Yellowstone National Park lies on the dome of the worlds largest volcano. It has been said by those who study such things that the eruption of this dome is imminent, meaning it could blow tomorrow. If this happens, it has the potential to cause severe earthquakes that could be felt as far east as Missouri, and could cause the already active volcanos in the "Ring of Fire" to spontaneously erupt. The explosion of Yellowstone could create an ash cloud so thick as to block sunlight from half the globe, and possibly cause a nuclear winter in a large area surrounding the blast site.

I'm ready for either account...unless they both happen at once, then I'm pretty much screwed. :p

[West Texas!]

This is kind of what I see as something plausable. Some sort of overseas crisis. Something serious enough to cause lots of mayhem. When mayhem breaks out a virtual whirlwind of activity follows. Militarys get tied up with idiot "PeaceKeeping duties" and then every little two bit political cause starts to make their moves. The Tamil Tigers go after independance with a vengence. The ETA separtists in Spain/France declair and independence for the Basque state. The Western providences of China including Tibet start to secede. Mexico's Aztlan movement gains ground and the Mexican Drug Lords use it to increase their control of the northern states in Mexico. Muslim uprisings in the UK take root and the Brits are so infested with political correctness that they just roll over and hand over control in certain areas to the Heathens. Israel takes back the Gaza, Golan Heights, and the West Bank out of self interest and fear of invasion. The German nationalists (a growing movement) starts another Eine Deutschland movement and threaten to overtake the Diet in Germany. Little brush wars are intensified due to lack of food. America basically does feed the world. In times of war we no longer feed them. We have our own interests in mind.

Places out in the sticks like where we are in West Texas, no longer gets regular food shipments due to Mexican insurgents. We are on our own.

That is what I see. Not necissarily all of those scenarios at once, maybe none of them. Maybe other brush wars and political movements. But make no doubt, the American government does not look out for the best interests of the people. They live to serve themselves. We are a distant 3rd on their list of priorities.

In that event, we are on our own. That is when some very serious decisions need to be made.

Now, how would I believe such things? I have studied history. If you want a case study of what can happen study WW I and the alliances that were made. Study Arch Duke Ferdinands assasination in Serbia and the dominoe affect that followed. The Germans honoring their treaties, the Austrian Empire horonoring theirs. Look at what happened in the middle east and the revoltion in China. The Ruskies revolted. All of this ended with a very bad treaty called the Treaty of Versailles 1 that punised the Germans and their allies. This lead to the rise of Hitler, and facism in Italy. Once again due to treaties the Brits and ultimatly the US were dragged into the war. The Japs had a treaty with the Germans, and honored it and attacked Pearl Harbour. The wars in the Orient exploded overnight. The world was in turmoil.

Then after the war, due to more treaties, and violations of such, numerous brush wars and wars of independence were fought. Treaties with Palestinians were made previously, and they fought a low level war with the declining Ottoman Turks. They had an agreement with the Brits that they would have autonomy. The Brits renigged on this when the modern state of Israel was setup. The Greeks seized the opportunity of Europe in Chaos to wage a war with the Turks. And so on and so on.

Hope this lets you see things from my perspective.

You make points..it just takes a hand full of sand in an engine to destroy it, all their fancy-schmancy computers won't work without power.....

We'll be cut off for certain, but he!!, we're Texans....we'll take'm all on! :)

That's why growing and stockpiling food is so important...

Anyone see secession being viable? Bummer is that leads to the Balkanization of the US....which I've been saying for years is going to happen anyways.

[West Texas!]

You all bring up some very good issues both on the national and local levels. There are a couple of things I think about as times continue to get harder. One of those issues is when will we know that it is safe to take matters into our own hands without the fear of government consequences. In other words, they just look at you and say "well, he was protecting his family or land or food, etc, lets leave them alone". What I mean is that with Homeland Security and FEMA (you should really research FEMA for an eye opener) just about anyone that is not in lock step with government is going to be considered a terrorist in the near future. The other issue that concerns me and that was not present in Rusty's great history lesson (I really enjoyed that) is the technology that our governments have today. If the government continues to trash the constitution and it gets to a place where many likeminded as we refuse to comply with unconstitutional demands then we will become enemies of the state. This will put us on the run of course. With the current and coming technology, not to mention, the technology that we don't know about, it is going to be very difficult to hide. For example older technologies like infrared and heat sensing scopes and cameras make it so that shoes that are shiny and your pants that have been starched can be seen through infrared. 17 years ago I remember looking through a tank heat sensing scope and watching rabbits hop around. These technologies are nothing compared to what they have now. With that in mind I don't see being able to stay in one place any amount of time being an options. These are the things that can keep me awake at night.

I've researched FEMA...and it made my head hurt....concerning stuff to be certain...technology...there are ways around it.

[Legionnaire]

I'm hoping for a Red Dawn situation! In all reality there aren't too many dangerous situations that can happen too near to me since I am in such a rural area, California is not all LA or SF. I am 8 miles from a volcano so earthquakes and pyroclastic flows our inevitable, but low on my danger scale. I worry more about people needing, needing to the point the have to take. I will trade with anyone who asks, I'll give them bullets and they will fertilize my lawn. Hopefully we are all just paranoid.

[flight or fight]

My biggest concern is a total breakdown in society.If the economy gets worse some people are going to starve. When people have no money to buy food then they are going to take it by any means possible. I don't mind helping others out but what's mine is mine and if it is needed for my family you are not going to get it no matter what your situation is.

I'm not really worried about stocking up more than a months supply of food since i run a store that sells food and keep around $50,000 inventory at all times.If anyone is going to eat in my neck of the woods it is going to be my family. My biggest problem will be in making my home and the area around it safe. Since we live in a somewhat rural area everyone knows and supports each other but since we are only a mile from I-40 that might be a dangerous situation should people start moving out of the cities because of crime and shortages.

[Rustyshakelford]

My biggest concern is a total breakdown in society.If the economy gets worse some people are going to starve. When people have no money to buy food then they are going to take it by any means possible. I don't mind helping others out but what's mine is mine and if it is needed for my family you are not going to get it no matter what your situation is.

I'm not really worried about stocking up more than a months supply of food since i run a store that sells food and keep around $50,000 inventory at all times.If anyone is going to eat in my neck of the woods it is going to be my family. My biggest problem will be in making my home and the area around it safe. Since we live in a somewhat rural area everyone knows and supports each other but since we are only a mile from I-40 that might be a dangerous situation should people start moving out of the cities because of crime and shortages.

I have plenty of food, and am known for eating things that folks would not eat unless they were REALLY hungry. Security for me is ok. Best advice I offer is keep tight with the neighbors, and learn which ones are punks. What if the government seizes your business? Got enough at home to get away?

[flight or fight]

I have plenty of food, and am known for eating things that folks would not eat unless they were REALLY hungry. Security for me is ok. Best advice I offer is keep tight with the neighbors, and learn which ones are punks. What if the government seizes your business? Got enough at home to get away?

I think i would have plenty of notice if they were going to sieze all 9,000 Dollar General locations and even if they did i'm sure they could be convinced to let a good loyal citizen like me run it for them.:D Every time they weren't looking there would be a few cases going out the back door.:D