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I think it's been established that in the event of a SHTF/WROL situation your survival rate drops off a cliff if you find yourself in the middle of a major city. So, simply based on that fact. How would you, as an expert (or not) in the subject of preparedness/ survival react to this scenario? Moving to the countryside as a recommendation is not an option.

In such an event, would you bog down, if so for how long?
How much Food/Water would it be wise to hoard?
How soon can you expect marauders to come for your stuff?
What checklist would you implement as a bog out plan?

BTW, I'm brand new to the forum. But, the idea of preparing for the unexpected as always been on the back of my skull, especially since I have people that rely on me.

I appreciate all points of views and opinions. I'm here to learn from you all.

Thanks.
 
First thing. Have a plan to get to high ground. Um, in Miami I guess the closest high ground would be Magic Mountain in Orlando. OK, so I guess plan B would be in order, didn't Dexter keep a boat on standby for bugging out?

Best you can do is have a stock of everyday supplies on hand, keep your head down, remain as unnoticed as possible and know your neighbors.

When I lived in a very high density area I became active in the cities disaster response operations' wanted as many people with resources as possible to be on my side.
 
First thing I would do is not respond to any of these questions.
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First thing. Have a plan to get to high ground. Um, in Miami I guess the closest high ground would be Magic Mountain in Orlando. OK, so I guess plan B would be in order, didn't Dexter keep a boat on standby for bugging out?

Best you can do is have a stock of everyday supplies on hand, keep your head down, remain as unnoticed as possible and know your neighbors.

When I lived in a very high density area I became active in the cities disaster response operations' wanted as many people with resources as possible to be on my side.
My first instinct would definitely be to get out of town. But where to? Also, is the best time at the initial exodus when everyone is also making a run for it or after the pandemonium is over, but organized/ armed groups formed that may block highways and other roads up north?
 
I don't spend much time worrying about such things. You live in Hurricane country so presumably you are prepared for such events. Around here we get a major snow/cold event every few years. I have a months worth of everything and go shopping every two weeks. So I keep my pantry full, my guns clean and my powder dry. End of the world, zombie apocalypses, Jack booted thugs, blue hats whatever will be delt with as they happen.
 
Probably best not to overthink it. Plans are great until bad things actually happen, then they usually fall apart due to life having far too many variables to account for. Keep it simple and be ready to adapt as the situation changes.

The decision to bug out or hunker down should depend on the circumstances you're actually facing, so prepare for both. If bugging out, it is best to have a destination in mind, and the decision ahould not be made lightly. To go out on the road limits your available resources to what you can carry and greatly increases potential for dangerous encounters - adding aimless wandering to the mix isn't going to help your situation. Also, the benefit of improvement of your circumstances at the end destination should outweigh the risk you assume trying to get there. In other words, it better be worth the risk.

In general from a prep perspective it helps to have the following:
  • Have a means of securing your perimeter, whether that's the doors and windows to your apartment or the fenceline of your property.
  • Have food and water, enough to last you and your dependents for a good chunk of time. The amount you can stockpile (and therefore how long it will last you) will be dependent on your property type - there's only so much you can fit in an apartment. I would advocate for a month of food and water if possible. Water = 1 gal per person per day; food is dependent upon your diet, activity level, and other factors. I use 2,500 calories as a ballpark per person per day, as it provides room to stretch and ration if needed, but use whatever metric works best for you.
  • Have medical supplies on hand, and get trained on how to use them. Injuries happen, and not just from gunfire - broken glass, fire, falling, electricity, etc. Medical supplies should include a stockpile of any medications you or your dependents require to survive, as well as items for pain management, rehydration, etc.
  • Have means of receiving public broadcast emergency messages (i.e. radio), and multiple means of communication (cell phone, portable radios, HAM radio, etc).
  • Have means of personal protection, and training to use it, but don't go overboard on buying guns and try to call it prep. If you're bugging out you'll only be able to carry so much, and the majority of that weight should be things other than guns & ammo. Hunkering down is similar - guns & ammo should account for a fraction of your overall prep.
I could go on forever, but hopefully you get the idea. One parting thought - you can't prep your way out of a bad situation. You can potentially make surviving it a little more comfortable, but having this stuff on hand isn't going to guarantee your survival.

With that in mind, don't turn your prep into hoarding. Prep should be well organized so you can get to it quickly, and the act of prepping should fit into your life seamlessly without disrupting your family's cohesion. If those two criteria aren't matching your situation, reassessment is called for. Best of luck!
 
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Forget food and water. Store helium and lots of balloons.


1679313953531.png


Edit: if you have globophobia like me then have one of these installed on the roof.


1679314295399.png
 
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How would you, as an expert (or not) in the subject of preparedness/ survival react to this scenario?
Leave.

Moving to the countryside as a recommendation is not an option.
Too late. I already did.

Seriously, may not be an option for you, but it certainly was for me, and I intend to move further away again now that I am retired.
 
OP from south Florida; How did you find this forum? Wouldn't it be more useful for you to find out what locals to your area / region have to say on this subject? Perhaps more useful for you to make acquaintances locally with likeminded folks that potentially could become friends you can trust?

Pressing forward here, your scenario is really too vague to answer with any specifics. If you would like to elaborate, it may help the experts you're seeking to give some potentially helpful opinions.
 
I think it's been established that in the event of a SHTF/WROL situation your survival rate drops off a cliff if you find yourself in the middle of a major city. So, simply based on that fact. How would you, as an expert (or not) in the subject of preparedness/ survival react to this scenario? Moving to the countryside as a recommendation is not an option.

In such an event, would you bog down, if so for how long?
How much Food/Water would it be wise to hoard?
How soon can you expect marauders to come for your stuff?
What checklist would you implement as a bog out plan?

BTW, I'm brand new to the forum. But, the idea of preparing for the unexpected as always been on the back of my skull, especially since I have people that rely on me.

I appreciate all points of views and opinions. I'm here to learn from you all.

Thanks.
Just hand out free fentanyl to everyone. All the crazies, druggies, and snowflakes that make up most of places like PDX and Seattle will remove themselves from the equation, leaving plenty of resources for the smart ones left.
 
Buy lots of BEER !!!
Actually, not a bad idea to have a supply entertainment consumables like alcohol or cigarettes available for barter. Rule of thumb would be don't buy something you wouldn't make use of personally. The SHTF scenario is fairly low probability to begin with, and one where bartering becomes necessary is even lower still. You don't want to buy something and not have a plan to use it at some point.
 
I suggest you do some reading on Ferfal and Selco, both of whom survived urban SHTF, one in Argentina due to economic and governmental collapse, and the other in Europe due to war.

You can read about Ferfal here: https://www.survivalmonkey.com/thre...d-experience-a-brief-story-of-argentina.2715/

I believe Selco has also posted on the same site.

"bugging out" has more disadvantages than advantages unless it's to prevent imminent death.
 
:s0099: I'm feelin' kinda gloomy today... and, I tend to view big cities as portals to HE11 as it is, so......

In a large regional or fully National SHTF situation, city/municipal government services will cease quickly as the workers leave to get their families to safety. If you're lucky (?) maybe the military will help (if it's not a war situation). High population density = festering garbage and human waste piled high in the streets, not to mention mass piles of corpses :s0170:and uncontrolled fires. Even those with huge stockpiles of food and water and living in apartments (chimneys?) will be in mortal danger from fires, vermin, noxious air, poisonous smoke, organized looting/gangs. For large urban centers probably the only 2 choices will be either at the front of the mass refugee lines fleeing or at the rear of the lines. You don't want to be living in the first suburban areas to see the masses move through from the urban core, they'll hit like locusts, thirsty, hungry, desperate, violent locusts, most of them will feel "entitled" to your stuff. At least distance will tend to severely thin the hordes.
Most small (under 50,000 pop) cities 2-300 miles away should be much better/safer, but don't assume they'll welcome non-locals. Manned barricades will go up real fast. I guess you could find a town now and stock a small second place to visit several times a year to get to know the locals... but you're going to need to somehow manage to get there if trouble hits fast.

I think a "big city/high density urban prepper", will only need maybe 2 weeks of hunker down supplies before they'll be dead or need to bugout with a backpack, hopefully on a military truck. Close-in suburbanites maybe 4 weeks and outer rim folks need to be gone to a secondary place, with all their stuff before the hordes hit.


Other than that ... uuhhh ... have a nice day? :)
 
I guess you could find a town now and stock a small second place to visit several times a year to get to know the locals... but you're going to need to somehow manage to get there if trouble hits fast.
This is the only way to bug out with even the smallest chance of success. The locals NEED to be familiar with you and see you as an ASSET. If you want a community to share their resources with you then you better bring something to the table.

What skills do you have? Medical? Mechanical? Agricultural? Blacksmith? Do you know how to rig sanitation when city services fail? How about comms?

Do you bring HAM gear that can gather news without a repeater? How about meds and first aid supplies?

What can you do or bring that justifies letting you and your have a seat at their table? Subtle hint: Everybody else will have guns and ammo, so your skills with a gun will be both common and expected. It will do nothing to set you apart from others with the same idea.
 

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