Alpha Survivalist

How to Survive in an Urban Environment When the SHTF!

DannyM
How to Survive in an Urban Environment When the SHTFHow to Survive in an Urban Environment When the SHTF

I hope you have read my previous post, ‘How Does an Emergency Crisis Affect a City‘, and therefore be fully aware of the dangers you WILL face by staying put in the city when the SHTF, if not I suggest you do so before you read this post.

I am guessing then that you have decided that, for the time being at least, you are still going to stay put and defend your home, irrespective of the dangers that come with that decision.

Okay then, but before I go any further let me just say; if you think that long term sustainable living is possible in a city that has no electricity, no food, no water and no law and order, then you definitely need to start questioning your thinking processes!

You should only ever consider staying put if you are 100% confident that the situation you are facing is only going to be short term, and short term or not, if we are talking about a life-threatening epidemic of some kind, you should forget about staying put, as you will need to grab your best bug out bag and put as much distance between yourself and other people as quickly as possible, period!

A crisis would be deemed short term if the utilities are expected to back on after a week or two, and law and order is expected to be quickly restored as either the rapid deployment of the National Guard or a similar level of law enforcement is expected imminently. This is generally what has happened in the past whenever a natural disaster has struck or, during a period of civil unrest.

However, if this is not going to be the case and the whole country is rapidly going down the pan fast and it appears that there is no immediate way back to normality, then forget about staying put, you will need to bug out and get yourself and your loved ones out of the city as quickly as possible because surviving there will become very difficult, very quickly, and pretty much impossible very soon after that!

If you need to get out the city fast it is essential that you have a bug out bag packed for every member of your group and a well rehearsed plan in place to quickly escape the city and, if possible, a bug out location to head for, to enhance your chances of survival greatly once you have left the city.

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Okay then, I think I’ve repeated my concerns about the dangers of staying in the city enough now, I will be writing another post that will cover bugging out and heading for a safe location soon, but for now I’m guessing you’re probably saying…

‘I Don’t Care if the Shit is Hitting the Fan, This is My Home and I’m Staying Put!’

I can certainly understand anyone who doesn’t want to leave their home unprotected, irrespective of the dangers.

Most of us work extremely hard for what we have and the thought of leaving it all behind for an unruly mob of looters would make anyone feel angry and probably sick to their core too. So, if you have decided to stay put you will obviously want to give yourself the best chance of coming through, what could be, a very bad situation as unscathed as possible.

Preparation will be the key, as always.

Don’t try and kid yourself that you’ll have the time to get everything you need to survive and defend your property when the SHTF, when the time arrives, you won’t! If you do wait till then it will be too late, you need to be ready well before a crisis!

Okay then, what’s the first thing you need?

We’re going to start off nice and easy because in this specific scenario, the crisis you are going to be facing is isolated to just your city or region. It may be a flood, hurricane, earthquake, tornado, or possibly an alien invasion, who knows?

It may not sound like it but the fact that the disaster you have to deal with is regional is a good thing. If I was faced with this situation I would be grateful for this small mercy because regions close by will not be affected. This means that you know from the start that outside help will be arriving relatively quickly, bringing with it, emergency food, water and medical supplies, and anything else that is needed. Nor should it take too long before you get some degree of power back on.

Personally, I think even I would stay put and protect my home in an emergency scenario such as the one highlighted above, although I do live in a pretty good neighborhood, what’s yours like? Trust me on this, the type of neighborhood you live in does and should make a difference when you are deciding whether you stay put or not. The rougher your neighborhood the harder and more dangerous it will be to protect your home.

Anyway, back to dealing with the situation in hand. We’ve already determined that help will be arriving soon, but even though that may be the case, it will still take only a very short time for a city to start experiencing problems.

A city will literally run out of food and water within two to three days and many of the people living in it will start to panic. They will start doing stuff they would never normally do, criminal elements will take advantage of the situation and start trying to gain control and will generally start wreaking havoc. Lawlessness will be rife!

Until everything calms down, and law and order is restored, you will have to survive in what could be a very hostile environment, in some cases possibly having to resort to using physical violence to protect the lives of your family, your home and your supplies.

One of the first things you should expect are people asking for help, usually desperate for some of your food and water. Helping these people may seem like the right thing to do, but for preppers providing this type of help is something of a moral dilemma. Should you help these people by giving them some of your valuable supplies or, do you turn them away telling yourself they have put themselves in this position by not being smart enough to prepare for it like you were?

At the end of the day only you can decide how to deal with this issue, but one thing is certain, they WILL come knocking, so make sure you are clear in your mind about how you are going to deal with it when they do.

An idea you may want to consider as a way of dealing with this problem is to turn it completely on its head and use it to your advantage. By storing extra supplies, specifically for the purpose of supplying these ‘expected’ unexpected visitors, you can provide them with the help they need and in return you can demand their help protecting your home and supplies, it’s a win-win.

Increasing your numbers like this is a good idea because after these people have visited the next group who will be arriving at your door will be trying to take all your stuff rather than just asking for your help.

Sometimes these people will come in small groups, sometimes in a raucous mob, believe me, I’m not trying to scare you, there has never been a time when law and order has broken down that hasn’t been taken advantage of in some shape or form, and you’d be foolish to think that the crisis affecting your city will be the first to break this cycle!

When confronted with looters and unruly mobs, homeowners who show that they are willing to use every means possible to protect their homes will be given a much wider berth by a ransacking mob, who will naturally target homes that offer much easier pickings.

Unfortunately, there will not be an endless supply of properties that fall into the ‘easy pickings’ category and when those that do have all been looted, which will happen a lot sooner than you think, the mob will get hungrier which in turn makes them braver. If these gangs are too big and too violent and your property and its contents are in their sites, there is very little you will be able to do to stop them on your own, even if you have plenty of weapons. The best way to counter the threat of being overrun is to form some kind of local militia or prepper community that can be mobilized when the SHTF.

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Why Stand Alone, When Standing Alongside Your Neighbors Makes You Stronger?

If the thought of your home being overrun and ransacked by a lawless mob fills you with fear then don’t you think your neighbors are probably fearful of exactly the same thing happening to them?

Harnessing this common fear to create a prepper mentality in your neighborhood is the easiest way to get many of your neighbors on board when trying to build a proactive community in advance of any crisis.

It might be an old saying, but it is still true, there is definitely safety in numbers and getting your neighborhood to come together to make plans in advance of a SHTF situation will help protect every member of your neighborhood from most potential threats.

A community of preppers who are willing to stand together to protect their supplies from rampaging gangs is always going to stand a much better chance of successfully doing so than someone who thinks their best chance is to be a lone wolf.

However, you shouldn’t be surprised if you find that not all your neighbors buy into this prepper community idea. You shouldn’t let this worry you though. As soon as a crisis hits your city, those that haven’t joined your community will soon realize their mistake and will quickly offer to help protect the community’s supplies in return for a share of food and water. Think about it, they won’t be doing it for you, they’ll be doing it for themselves.

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How Do You Start Prepping for a SHTF Type Situation?

It’s not until you actually sit down and start working out what you will physically need and what you will need to do in order to be safe should you ever have to face dealing with a SHTF situation that you realize just how much preparation is required.

The bullet points below pretty much cover every area of preparation you need to concentrate on for urban survival. They are not placed in any specific order as they are all important. I will cover all of these points to some degree in this post but where I have covered a topic in more detail elsewhere I will insert a ‘related article’ link for you to check out:

So, that’s a brief outline of what you need to start putting together or getting ready. However, I’m absolutely positive I will be inundated with comments below about things I’ve forgotten to add to this list, which is great, bring them on. I have no problem updating the post if needed, so please feel free to comment. For now though I’ll start by covering creating a family recovery plan in a little more detail.

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Why Making an Emergency SHTF Family Recovery Plan is Absolutely Vital!

When the SHTF, time will be a commodity you may have very little of depending on the type of crisis you are dealing with and how quickly it develops.

Therefore, getting things done as quickly as possible is extremely important. Having a WELL REHEARSED emergency recovery plan in place so that everyone in your family or group is able to follow it to the letter without thinking about what they should be doing next, is absolutely vital.

Sure you could all be sitting at home watching the TV when it all kicks off, but the chances of every member of your family being in the same place at the same time when a crisis occurs is unlikely. When the shit hits the fan, I guarantee you will be at work, your wife will be out shopping, the kids will be at school, I’m pretty sure you get where I’m coming from. This is why having prearranged rally points will make it much easier to carry out the quick recovery of all family members whilst everything and everybody else around you will be in a state of chaos.

Having a well thought out plan is the way to go but never make the mistake of just having a plan A!

Don’t just have one rally point have 2, 3 or even 4 in case any of the locations are compromised or, are too dangerous for family members to reach. It is also important to make sure that any locations that are used as rally points are always used in sequence. This will ensure that recovery of family members can still happen in an orderly fashion and as quickly as possible and you are not visiting the same rally points repeatedly searching.

The chances are that if you have to travel any real distances to reach any of the pickup points you will need some form of transport to do so. The likelihood of the roads being clear enough to use an automobile are going to be slim so it’s a good idea to have a motorcycle or a scooter available, even a bicycle would be better than trying to recover people on foot.

Communication will also be important when trying to recover family members. In this day and age pretty much everyone has a cellphone. Make sure all your family members have the same emergency number lists on their phones and that every cellphone is fully charged before they leave the house. It will probably be the case that all the networks will be down, or they will be completely clogged up because everyone is trying to use their phone at the same time, what then?

Walkie Talkies are an excellent communication option, they are affordable, easy to use and most will have a good enough range (up to 2 miles) to be an effective way to communicate in urban areas.

>> Your 2024 Guide to Choosing the Best Long Range Two Way Radio <<

If mobile phones and walkie talkies are not an option for whatever reason, you could always rely on using the faithful and reliable emergency survival whistle. Just make sure you and your family have agreed on codes for using the whistle, four short bursts for ‘I’m here’ for example.

Be aware that there is an internationally recognized whistle code for use in wilderness and maritime situations, so there may be a little confusion if others are using whistles to communicate too. Try and minimize any confusion by learning and using these recognized signals if at all possible. However, if you are making your own signals don’t over-complicate them, signals that are clear and concise are always the best option. If you make things too complicated they will be easily forgotten in the heat of the moment, especially during a stressful recovery mission, and particularly by young children.

>> Survival Whistles – Choosing the Best Emergency Whistle for the Job! <<

Okay then, you’ve managed to get everyone picked up safe and sound and you’ve got them all home. Your next step is to make sure any unwanted visitors you may receive are made to feel that your property is going to cause them way too much trouble to bother with.

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Fortifying your Home

How to Make Storming Your Home an Unappealing Prospect

In order to lower the risk of having unwanted guests forcing their way into your home and taking all your stuff you will have to reduce it’s kerbside appeal. You need to make your property look as if it is going to cause someone some serious grief should they ever be stupid enough to try to gain unlawful entry.

Making any attempt to enter your property an unenviable proposition doesn’t take much effort and believe me, every minute spent doing so will be time well spent.

Step 1. Creating Deterrents

Your first line of defense will always be to try and stop intruders before they even get to your front door and by ding so you will also avoid any type of conflict that could result in harm coming to you, a member of your family, or the possible loss of valuable supplies.

It is possible to stop many potential intruders by creating simple deterrents around your property.

The most basic of these deterrents is the warning sign. It may sound lame but warning signs do stop unlawful trespassing particularly when they are worded in a specific way.

Signs could be as simple as, ‘BEWARE GUARD DOGS’ to something as unnerving as, ‘ WE HAVE NOTHING WORTH DYING FOR!’, or you could even use a sign warning of a bio-hazard or indicating infectious diseases, which are particularly effective in areas that are affected by a contamination, or in a region affected by an epidemic type crisis.

Posting signs, worded effectively around the perimeter of your home will work by encouraging potential looters and intruders to move on and look for easier pickings elsewhere. Unfortunately, no matter how off-putting your signage is to most, there will still be those who will not be deterred by your signs alone.

Step 2. Perimeter Fencing and Booby Traps

I’m sure many of you will have seen the Home Alone movies in which there are a couple of intruders who walk repeatedly into one Macaulay Caulkin booby trap after the next. Sure it was funny to watch but in reality most intruders would have given up after setting off just one of those traps and left as quickly as they had arrived whilst licking their wounds.

I know my example above was based on a movie but if you did a ‘Macaulay Caulkin’ and made it extremely difficult for any intruder to reach your front door without suffering some kind of injury or discomfort then that’s a goal worth achieving,

Even if, after all your efforts, your external security measures and booby traps fail to stop every single intruder, it will, without doubt, drastically reduce the number that actually do make it all the way to your front door.

What Security Measures are You Able to Take?

There are certain security measures you can take to deter intruders that are generally accepted as being the norm such as security cameras and motion sensors but these types of systems are rendered pretty much useless once a SHTF situation occurs because;

  1. A lack of power means they may not work properly and even if your system has a back up power supply to continue working in the event of a power cut, you still have another problem;
  2. The lack of law enforcement to respond to your alarm.

With modern security measures rendered pretty much useless it would be time to go, ‘old school’, utilizing many security measures that are either illegal, or at the very least frowned upon by many local lawmakers.

However, in an area where the rule of law has become non-existent you have no option but to become ruthless in order to protect your home. This ruthlessness involves making the terrain that intruders will have to cross to reach your front door, as hazardous to their health and well being as possible.

>> How to Set Up a Perimeter Alarm <<

If you have walls or fences around your property then climbing spikes or barbed wire added to the top and the outside of them are excellent as a deterrent for anyone thinking about going over them. You may need to consider strengthening any wooden fencing as a lot of urban fencing is flimsy at best, however they do cause a hindrance to would be intruders so they’re not a complete loss.

Be inventive, use whatever is on hand in order to make climbing these obstacles as uncomfortable or as difficult as possible.

Another good idea should anybody actually get over the perimeter wall is to lay nail boards at the base of your perimeter wall or fencing. I don’t know about you but the last thing I’d want after tackling a wall that fights back is to have 6 inch nails coming up through my boots, never mind the thought of landing head first into them!

Remember – there’s no need to hide your nail boards either, they are supposed to be a deterrent after all, we don’t want to be seriously injuring people or killing them if we can send them off packing instead having been deterred by our highly visible deterrents!

Should an intruder make it past your perimeter defenses, the approach to your home should be made as difficult as possible by removing, or at least minimizing the amount of cover they have available to them. Keep garden shrubs low, trees well pruned, log piles, garden tools like wheel hoes and any other movable object either indoors or somewhere they can’t be used as cover.

Booby traps are illegal when the law is there to be enforced, but in a SHTF situation when lawlessness is rife, I’m afraid I will use every means possible to protect my home and family and if that means using booby traps, then so be it.

There are many types of booby traps ranging from those that are designed to scare people off to those that can inflict serious and sometimes lethal injuries to whoever is unfortunate or stupid enough to trigger them.

Do some research and adopt booby traps that are best suited to the defense of your property, the required level of damage you want to inflict, and the cost to your pocket. As mentioned already, we don’t really want to be killing people left, right, and center if we can avoid it, we just want them to get the hell off our property, and to stay away and leave us alone!

>> Booby Traps for Home Protection <<

You can also be quite proactive when rearranging your garden, putting down your security measures and moving things around, by cleverly placing things in order to subconsciously and physically push intruders into certain areas of your property that you will find much easier to defend, “kill-zones” if you like, although I’m not overly keen on that name myself.

Think of it like this, two or three people will find defending a property from a large number of intruders much easier if the attackers are only able to approach down a narrow channel for example. When you compare that to an attack from all sides and the odds of a successfully defending the same property plummet very quickly, and the likelihood of intruders entering your home and overpowering you becomes much higher!

Step 3. How to Stop Intruders from Entering Your Home.

Your intruders have been resilient and unfortunately have made it past your perimeter and your external security measures, what do you do next?

Every house has a number of entry points with some of them easier to take advantage of than others, but every property is different and each must be accessed individually.

Below are some interesting statistics that show the most common entry points that are used by criminals when breaking into your home. Just to be clear though, these statistics show house break-ins by burglars who were trying to do so without raising alarm; looters and unruly mobs will not be so worried so in my opinion these figures would probably change quite a bit.

It makes sense that all access points on the ground floor should be secured and boarded up completely, particularly if you have a two-story property. If this is the case then you should always set up home on the first floor where you will not only have an aerial view of the surrounding area but, as the statistics above suggest, access to your living area by will be pretty much limited, in most cases, to first floor windows and the internal staircase.

Don’t leave ladders lying around your property. They are an invitation to intruders to try gaining access to your roof areas or to your first floor windows directly. You can attach nail boards or put down broken glass on your first floor window sills.as an effective counter measure to any unwarranted attempt at access.

Also, you should always make sure your windows and doors are fitted with the best and most secure locks you can afford well in advance of any SHTF situation.

>> How to Secure your Windows and Doors to Deter Looters <<

Okay then, I have just covered a few ideas that are designed to deter intruders, but what if, no matter how hard you have tried, your intruders are so determined to get into your home that all your efforts to save their sorry asses from having some serious pain and suffering inflicted upon them have been in vain! What then?

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Self Defense – Defending your Home and Supplies

You’ve done everything in your power to deter your intruders but they just keep coming at you and by doing so they are basically forcing you to take more direct action. Make no mistake about it, the lives of your family are at risk and you shouldn’t hesitate to take any steps you deem necessary to protect them and ensure their safety.

In this situation most people would instantly turn their thoughts to using their guns, and understandably so, but there are a few non lethal weapons you could try before you start shooting intruders. Having said that, your intruders will essentially dictate your actions, as the saying goes, you don’t bring a knife to a gunfight!

If your intruders are armed with guns and are showing a willingness to use them and a disregard for human life then you really have no option but to skip any non lethal home defense weapons you had prepared and jump straight into using your semi-automatics. Having said that let’s start with non-lethal options for defense.

The Use of Non Lethal Force

Let’s not get ahead of ourselves here, I’m sure you wouldn’t want to kill anyone if you can avoid doing so (even if they have messed up your lawn!).

Therefore, there are a few non lethal weapons that you might want to consider using first to help defend your property after your perimeter security, and any other deterrents you may have set up, have been breached. These include pepper spray, stun guns and even bean bag guns.

Pepper Spray

There are as far as I’m aware five ways of dispensing pepper spray; stream, cone, fog, foam, and pellet. The video below excellently highlights the three most commonly used pepper spraying methods which are the stream, cone and foam.

Of the other methods of using pepper spray that are not covered in the video one will probably be of more benefit when faced by a crowd of people, looters, or an unruly mob, and the other is used for when you want to keep the distance between you and your target as great as possible.

The fog type pepper spray will probably be the most effective to use when faced by multiple attackers as it has a much wider target arc and a longer range of up to 25 feet. The downside to using fog pepper spray is that it can have its range and intended direction seriously affected by the wind, possibly even backfiring on you and blowing back towards you. This is why the use of a good gas mask is advisable when using this type of pepper spray.

The other method of dispensing pepper spray that you might want to consider is the pepper pellet gun. It operates in much the same way as a paintball gun, but instead of paint balls it fires salt balls that contain a powdered pepper spray that smashes open upon impact creating a cloud of pepper spray dust around your intended target.

The big advantage to using such a weapon is the increased range it offers, 150 feet plus (depending on specific weapon), which is considerably further than any of the other pepper dispersal methods currently available.

Not only do these guns increase your effective range but they are also very accurate. You can also carry spare magazines and reload when empty, I haven’t checked out all the available pepper spray guns on the market but I have found that full magazines can range from 4 pellets to pods that can hold 180 pellets!

Note: Before you decide whether or not you are going to add pepper spray to your arsenal you would be advised to check your state laws and regulations regarding the ownership and use of certain pepper spray products. (Not that any of those laws will matter during a SHTF situation!)

>> Why Do You Need a Pepper Spray Pellet Gun? <<

Stun Guns and Tasers

Although stun guns and Tasers are great as far as non lethal weapons go and both have reputations for being extremely effective at stopping an attacker in their tracks I have one really big problem with them when they’re used as a tool for home defense.

At the time of writing these types of non lethal weapons are only effective when used at very short range, extremely so in the case of stun guns and are only effective for taking down a single assailant which is obviously of no benefit if you have a gang of looters bearing down on you.

I would not consider either of these weapons to be useful for home defense but for your personal defense, when faced with dealing with a single intruder at close quarters the stun gun in particular is worth having on your belt.

You’ve ran out of non-lethal weapons and your intruders continue to come at you, it’s either you or them, what now?

You have little choice in my opinion – I’m afraid it’s time to lock and load!

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Guns – What are the Best Options for Home Defense?

Home defense situations can arise whenever your home is being attacked by armed assailants. During such situations, you have to be ready, and bring the best choice of gun to the gunfight. Failure to do so could mean the difference between life and death, or at the very least get you easily captured, leading to the eventual loss of your resources.

So what are your options?

Compact Semi-Automatic Pistols

An auto-loading or semi-automatic pistol uses the energy generated by fired cartridges in order to cycle the next bullet into position. This means you can fire several rounds quickly without worrying about loading the gun each time, which is a great asset in home defense situations.

Pros: Revolvers are lightweight, easy to use and overall they are relatively safe, so anyone can learn to use one pretty quickly when facing a home defense situation. Some models come with a loading and safety mechanism that still makes them safe to use even while the safety is off. They can also hold more rounds than a standard revolver.

Cons: The main disadvantage is that auto-loading pistols have a hard time loading from a loose cartridge, which is something you may need to do in the middle of a firefight if you have no magazines available.

Full-Size Handguns

The most popular full-size handguns are the .45 ACP and the 9mm. These high capacity guns are readily available, and most experts consider them to be excellent choices for home defense purposes.

Pros: Full-size handguns are the easiest guns to use if you want to have a free hand to open doors as you try to get around through your home, to help your children escape, or even to use a phone to call 911. Full-size guns can have 16 rounds of bullets, can easily be concealed, and some of them also have integrated lasers, which can be a good option in a home defense situation.

Cons: A full-size handgun or revolver is still a weaker option compared to carbines and shotguns, and under certain home defense conditions you will likely prefer a bigger gun.

Shotguns

Shotguns are classic shoulder weapons. The most famous shotguns are well-known for “winning the West,” and some models are also excellent choices for outdoor home defense.

Pros: Shotguns are great for barricading yourself inside and shooting possible attackers before they even reach your front door. Combat models also have special sights that allow you to aim more accurately, and a lot of shotguns are also great for intimidating looters just because you’re carrying a bigger gun.

Cons: These shoulder weapons can be heavier and harder to use. They also take more time to load, and ammunition is larger and less convenient to transport.

Pump Action Shotguns

The pump action shotgun is considered by many to be the best home defense weapon. Most homeowners are not sharpshooters and it is far easier to miss an intended target with a handgun than it is with a shotgun, particularly fast moving close range targets as is likely in a home defense situation, and this even applies to those of us that are a half decent shot with a side-arm.

Pros: Unlike standard shotguns they can be loaded with between 5 to 9 rounds. More accurate in close quarter home defense situations than handguns. Easier to use for non gun savvy individuals. Very intimidating to intruders.

Cons: Not too many, but it is a bigger and heavier weapon than most. Loading shells takes longer than loading a magazine.

Carbine, or semi automatic rifle

Carbines are lighter and easier to use, as well as more convenient than a common shotgun. These short-barrel, semi-automatic weapons can fire their rounds faster, and they also have a far greater range than a regular handgun.

Pros: Most carbines are lighter and more maneuverable than a shotgun, and you have a lot of different choices to consider. The best carbines will shoot accurately at a distance of more than 100 yards, so you can defend your home from a distance, and it’s also not surprising to find carbines that can shoot more than 30 rounds on a single load.

Cons: Carbines are not to be trifled with. They are powerful firearms that can also be dangerous if you don’t know how to use them properly. They’re definitely not as easy to use as a common revolver or shotgun.

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The Importance of Communication

I’ve already covered one aspect of communication earlier in this article when highlighting the importance of being able to stay in contact with group members in a SHTF recovery scenario by using two-way radios and whistles.

Hand Cranked Radio
The other type of communication that is equally as important is a transistor radio. A transistor radio will provide you with information about what is happening in your area with regards to the severity of your situation, any impending relief operations, and the location of support services. This information may well be broadcast on local or national radio stations so a simple transistor radio could be essential.

Battery operated transistor radios are very easy to find, but bear in mind that you will need a good supply of batteries if you intend to use them over a long period of time.

A much better idea is to opt for a hand cranked radio, these small radios require no other power to operate other than the cranking of a small handle on the side of the radio and will be an excellent investment and addition to your survival kit.

Contrary to what you may think, hand cranked radios are not expensive, especially when you consider how much you would save by not having to buy a lifetimes supply of batteries for a standard battery operated transistor radio!

>> Top 6 Best Hand Crank Emergency Radios in 2024 <<

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Making Sure You Have Enough Food and Water

All the above sections on fortification and home defense will be of no use to you if you have failed to store enough food and water for your family to survive for at least a period of two weeks.

There are many ways you can store a large quantity of water and keep it safe to drink , and a whole magnitude of long life foods you can add to a survival horde over time, but rather than go over how to store water and what foods are best to store in this post, I will provide links below to articles I have already previously posted on Alpha Survivalist that cover many different aspects of these topics:

>> SHTF Water Storage <<

>> What Foods to Store for Long Term Survival <<

>> Emergency Survival Food on a Budget <<

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Off Grid Cooking, Heating and Lighting

Cooking, heating and lighting are three of the things we all take very much for granted when living in our modern homes, simply flicking a switch or turning a dial we have everything we need at our fingertips. Can you imagine how you would manage without all that convenience when without warning it all goes off?

I would find it difficult to believe that of all the people reading this article now, there isn’t anyone that hasn’t experienced a power outage of some kind at least once in their lives. With that being the case I’m guessing that you have also probably experienced the fumbled searches in the dark through kitchen cupboards and across garage shelves for our long forgotten and probably lost candles and torches.

There is even a distinct possibility that you may even be able to look back at these blackouts with a strange kind of nostalgic fondness which, if you think about it, isn’t as weird as it sounds as many of us would have played family board games by the light of a few flickering candles and will reminisce about how we actually enjoyed some quality time with our loved ones rather than them being glued to the TV, game consul, or home computer.

Anyway, my apologies for digressing a little there, the point I’m trying to make is that when the lights go out, we can all manage okay, initially anyway. This is because power outages usually last no more than a few hours, however, when a power outage goes beyond that point things become a little more disconcerting, particularly for those who are ill prepared.

Preparing for two weeks without electrical power or a mains gas supply is considerably different to having to live a life completely void of external supply as would be the case in a TEOTWAWKI situation (this is for another post), here we are only going to cover how you would cope if you had no utilities supplied for two weeks.

Heating

When the temperature outdoors is moderate, cooking, heating and lighting are all as important as each other but that changes drastically during the colder winter months when heating will almost certainly take priority hence why I’m starting this section with it.

Before you even think about turning on a propane or kerosene heater, and yes we’ll get to the types of heater you can use in a moment, you need to make sure that any heat you create is not going to be wasted.

You need to make your home as heat retentive as possible, you can do this by ensuring all windows and doors are kept shut and are well insulated. Close all curtains and blinds and tape up any seals through which heat can escape. It makes sense that it is easier to keep a single room warm than it is a whole house, and you will use less resources in doing so.This should be your primary focus before using your heater.

If you have stored plenty of fuel don’t be wasteful with it, you can reduce the need for fueled heating by ensuring you have and use the following:

The most obvious way to create heat is to start a fire but that isn’t always possible indoors. If you are lucky enough to have an open fire, or a wood burning stove, all you need to do is make sure it is regularly cleaned and ready for use, and if possible, have a wood-store indoors, hidden from prying eyes and you’re good to go.

Not everyone is fortunate enough to have an open fire or wood stove in their property but there are a few portable alternatives that are great for short term use. I say ‘short term’, but the amount of time these heaters can be used for is only limited by the amount of fuel you have been able to store, so store plenty!

Gas and Kerosene Heaters:

As I’ve already mentioned a wood burning stove is an excellent source of heat as long as you have a supply of seasoned wood to feed it, if not, the most effective way to heat a room is to use a propane or a kerosene heater.

Having either of these two types of portable heater is a good idea, nor is not necessary to store them away until an emergency situation arises either. As long as you continue to replenish your store of propane or kerosene, there is no reason why you can’t use these heaters regularly in rooms where you have no heating, or for keeping you warm when working in a cold garage or work shed. Another bonus to putting your emergency heater to use outside of a crisis situation is that it is always a good idea to regularly use emergency equipment to make sure it is working as it should be. You don’t want a piece of equipment you’ll be relying on, to fail you when you need it the most, simply because you failed to work the bugs out of it.

>> Which are the Best Kerosene Heaters for Indoor Use? <<

Which Type of Portable Heater is Best: Propane vs Kerosene?

The questions most frequently asked about these particular types of portable heaters are; which is better at producing heat, which is more economical, which is more reliable, how easy is it to purchase the fuel, and most importantly if you live in the city, how much storage space will you need to have to store a minimum two week supply of fuel?

To be completely honest there is no right or wrong, best or worst answer to most of these questions, because the answers will vary depending upon your location.

For example, per gallon, propane is normally cheaper than kerosene but when you consider kerosene produces more heat than propane so can be used more sparingly to produce the same temperature, it actually works out cheaper than propane!

Note: The prices for all fuels will fluctuate based on local and sometimes national, supply and demand, so what may be the more expensive fuel one week may be the cheaper the next! In a situation when an impending crisis has been announced you should expect all fuels to increase in price quickly followed by frequent shortages. It’s a good job you’ll be one of those individuals smart enough to be prepared then, isn’t it?

Storage: When stored correctly both propane and kerosene keep really well and are extremely reliable fuels and will therefore be good to use for years, they are also deemed safe fuels, although propane will ignite if the gas is exposed to a naked flame whereas kerosene does not.

Although both fuels can be stored in large tanks that will have been specifically designed for such a purpose, such storage is, in most cases, too much for a city fuel cache. For an urban emergency supply of two weeks I would say that kerosene is the easier to store of the two fuels as it can be placed in containers that are easier to store away in whatever spaces you have, whereas propane needs to be stored in pressurized cylindrical bottles which are available in varying sizes (it is usually the case that the larger the bottle you buy the more cost effective the purchase will be, although again, this may vary depending upon your location).

Availability: The availability of both fuels will be an extremely important factor and will be wholly dependent upon your specific locale.

You will find that kerosene is usually cheaper when purchased from a gas station and pumped into your own containers rather than bought in bottles, but not all gas stations will have a kerosene pump, especially in the city.

Propane containers can be purchased from most camping and hiking stores, larger and refillable containers can be purchased from specialist gas suppliers, the problem is you might not have one close by.

In other words, before you purchase a heater whether it is propane or kerosene fueled, it is smart move to make sure you check out how easy it is for you to purchase the fuel needed for it. For some people a kerosene heater will be the perfect fit for others it will be a propane heater, the secret to making the right choice is to do your diligence first!

>> Kerosene vs Propane – Which Type of Heater Gives the Best Portable Heat? <<

Cooking

The first thing you will need to consider about cooking food when the grid is down is to either cook indoors or outdoors.

Cooking outdoors will provide you with more options that you can utilize but will also attract hungry prying eyes and in an emergency situation when food and supplies will often be in short supply the last thing you will want to do is attract the unwanted type of attention. Besides, it might be cold and wet outdoors and, if that is the case, any heat generated by cooking would be of better use indoors.

As your priority should always be to survive a crisis as pain free as possible it would be wise to avoid attracting attention and that is why you should concentrate on cooking methods that you can use indoors.

Before going over your cooker choices, I should mention that if you are emergency planning for a two or three week crisis, then what you really should be aiming for is to have a large cache of canned foods in your emergency food store.

Most canned foods will only require heating, which takes a lot less time and energy than cooking, and if absolutely necessary, most can be eaten straight from the can without being heated. Having a good stash of canned foods will not only simplify the task of feeding everyone in your group but will save a great deal of your energy/fuel that would otherwise have been needed to cook the same food from scratch. Just make sure you have a good few can openers, you’d be amazed how many people have the foresight to store canned food but then completely forget that they will need something to open them up with!

>> How to Use a Reliable Military Can Opener – The P38 vs P51 Can Opener<<

Your options:

If you have an open fire or wood burner then you can use these to cook on but the vast majority of urban dwellers don’t, so the best option for cooking and heating food indoors is a portable butane or propane stove.

Butane or propane stoves operate in the same way as your portable gas heaters, using a connected gas bottle as a fuel source. They are excellent for heating, cooking and boiling water and are very economical to use.

Another option that can be used for heating food is a folding camp stove that uses Sterno, or other liquid fuels, however these are not very efficient for cooking for larger groups and, in my opinion, are not really suitable for prolonged use either.

My personal suggestion would be to make sure you check out portable gas stoves, honestly, they are the best and most effective option available.

Lighting

Lighting may not be as much of a necessity as heating and cooking for survival purposes at least, but wait till after the sun goes down and you’ll rue not making any plans for having a light source.

The most basic of light sources are candles. Very cheap and effective, but try to stick to bees wax candles for use indoors as those that are paraffin based give off a toxin filled smoke that you really do not want to be inhaling if you can help it!

Much better than candles are oil lamps. Used for centuries they are still, even to this day, a highly effective way of generating light. You can use many different types of oils and fuels for your lamp.

Kerosene is popular although it does produce a rather strong odor so good ventilation is key. Vegetable oils and animal fat can even be used, olive oil is one of the best to use as it burns really clean with no odor or smoke, however, it is considerably more expensive than other vegetable oils.

>> Kerosene Lanterns – The Best Lamps to Have in an Emergency <<

Torches are always a good option to have knocking about and battery powered lanterns do a pretty good job of lighting up rooms, particularly rooms used by children where burning candles and oil lamps may not be the safest choice.

It goes without saying that you will need to ensure you have a large cache of batteries for any torches or lamps you may have.

A couple of great alternatives to battery powered lamps and torches are those that are designed to charge themselves using solar power or, better still those that use a hand crank to create a charge and thus produce light without having to rely on the sun!

>> Best Emergency Hand Crank Lantern – Do You Actually Need One? <<

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Sanitation

Effective sanitation is often overlooked which is unfortunate because it is extremely important when the SHTF. If an effective waste management plan has not been put in place to deal with your human waste and garbage it will not matter how much food and water you have stored because in a very short space of time disease will almost certainly become your biggest issue, especially in hot temperatures.

People often forget that when a disaster strikes it isn’t just your electricity, gas and water supply that you lose, your household waste stops being collected and disposed of and I’m not just talking about your empty boxes of cereal here, with the power off any food you have stored in your refrigerators and your freezers will very quickly go off and become rancid, attracting every disease carrying fly in the proximity.

That’s not even the worst of your problems, if you have no water supply your raw sewage will not be getting flushed away for treatment. For a sewage system to work there needs to be a water supply and without that supply there will be no way for your waste to get to the treatment plants. As with your garbage, your sewage will quickly start mounting up, the stench will become overpowering and again, there will be swarms of flies everywhere.

You can magnify all these issues by ten if the climate is hot or if you’ve been hit by a flood and the water levels are taken a long time to go down.

Not a pretty picture, is it? Nor is it a fairy tale.

In the past, with every city that has experienced a natural disaster that results in the loss of utilities, the biggest contributor to death after the initial disaster event has passed is disease caused by poor sanitation, whether that was from direct contact with waste or indirectly, such as drinking water contaminated with raw sewage.

I hope that by reading that, you now understand just how important good sanitation is for your general well being during a crisis, and how important it is to know how to keep on top of this potentially life threatening problem.

>> Chemical Toilets for the Home – When the SHTF Good Sanitation is Vital! <<

How to Manage a Human Waste Problem

First of all I would not advise you to use any of your home toilets when you have no water supply. Instead make a simple emergency toilet using a 5 or 6 gallon bucket lined with a heavy duty garbage bag. You will also need a tight fitting lid for when the toilet is not in use (you don’t want those unpleasant odors floating around do you?), and a toilet seat that can be made to sit perfectly on top of the bucket for easier use.

Important: Remember to stock up on your favorite toilet paper, you’ don’t realize just how much you rely on that lovely soft tissue paper until you have none!

There are a couple of issues that you will have to deal with when taking care of human waste, first is controlling the smell, and the second is disposing of it.

Managing the Smell

Bad odors are easy enough to manage if you have the equipment:

After using the toilet it is a good idea to have some cat litter, quicklime or sawdust on hand to sprinkle over your fresh deposit. Doing so will also help keep the smell down as well as making it less unpleasant for the next person to use the toilet.

Always make sure after using the toilet that you wash your hands with soap and water as you should after disposing of bags of waste product, or anything else you do that involves contact with any part of your household sanitation.

Always disinfect every surface when changing toilet lining bags, this can be done using a simple 1 part bleach to 4 parts water mix, or a shop bought disinfectant spray if you have one.

Disposing of the Waste

There is only one way to safely dispose of human waste other than using the now defunct (in this scenario anyway) sewage processing system, and that is to bury it, preferably with a good helping of lime over it to help with its decomposition. However, for many city dwellers and suburbanites that simply isn’t possible due to a lack of a garden or similar suitable soil covered area. When that is the case there is only one option and that is to store your tightly tied up bags of toilet waste. You should do this by placing all your bags in a well sealed bin until an opportunity to dispose of them properly arises.

Managing Garbage

Where possible burn whatever garbage can be burned, when this isn’t an option you will have to bag it up and store it for safe disposal when the crisis has passed. Food waste and any other items that may attract unwanted wildlife are better buried if at all possible, if not then they must be double bagged and stored somewhere animals cannot smell them and get to them.

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Health and Medication

We all know it makes perfect sense to have a first aid kit at home ready and waiting for life’s little medical emergencies, but having a box of plasters and some antiseptic cream just isn’t going to cut it when the SHTF!

When it comes to an emergency medical kit you need to stop thinking that a first aid kit you can buy at the nearest pharmacy or department store is going to be good enough, it isn’t, not even close! Sure it’s better than nothing, but only just.

What you will actually need is something quite a bit more comprehensive, an emergency medical kit that will include supplies enabling you to treat multiple serious trauma injuries should you need to, and medicines for treating as many different illnesses and infections as possible.

As you can probably imagine, your med kit will need to be pretty substantial and there is no reason why you can’t grow it by adding to it on a regular basis either, in fact it’s a good thing to do as you can never have too many medical supplies.

There is also the distinct possibility that you will also have someone in your group who has a medical problem that requires specific medical needs, an elderly person on medication for example or someone that needs insulin for diabetes perhaps. If this is the case then you will need to make sure there is a regularly updated SHTF supply of meds for them in your kit too.

Having a well stocked medical emergency kit is great, but if you don’t know how to use it’s contents you might as well have stuck with the band aids. In other words…learn some emergency first aid, and make sure you stick a first aid book in your kit.

>> What is the Best First Aid Kit You Can Use for Survival Situations? <<

>> Survival Antibiotics – SHTF Healthcare <<

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Wrapping It Up

I’m hoping this article has opened your eyes up to the amount of preparation that will be required if you are to successfully survive a SHTF situation in an urban location. Without a doubt there is definitely a lot more to learn, I have only scratched the surface with this post, however, what I have provided is the really important stuff and is more than enough to get you started down the road of full preparedness for anything that mother nature or, a troublesome foreign nation with an EMP device, could possibly throw at you.

If there is anything that I have overlooked that you believe needs to be added to this article, or if there is any information that I have provided that you believe needs to be updated or even corrected, I would gladly appreciate it if you could let me know by either using the comments box below or dropping me a line using the contact page. Thanks.

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