Complete Guide to Survival Preparation

Being prepared for emergencies and disasters is more crucial today than ever before. From climate change-fueled extreme weather to civil unrest, cyber-attacks, and the fragility of just-in-time supply chains, the world faces increasing threats. Having the right emergency preparation and survivalist gear provides critical self-reliance and protection when catastrophe strikes. Preppers aim to be equipped to handle worst-case scenarios from natural disasters to societal collapse. Here are reasons emergency preparedness matters today along with key gear every prepper should have on hand.

Increasing Extreme Weather Events

Climate change is fueling natural disasters like hurricanes, floods, wildfires, extreme heatwaves and cold snaps. In 2021 alone the US faced 20 separate billion-dollar weather and climate disasters costing over $100 billion in damages. More frequent and destructive storms directly threaten homes and cut off access to food, water and medical care. Prepping ensures supplies to endure power outages, evacuation and aftermath reconstruction.

Potential Infrastructure Failure

Critical infrastructure like the power grid, fuel networks, and transportation systems are vulnerable to cyber-attacks, solar flares, and terrorism. Cascading infrastructure failure could disable banking, emergency services, and deliveries of food, medicine and supplies. Prepping provides independence and peace of mind if the lights go out long-term.

Social Unrest and Instability

Ongoing social tensions, political extremism, rising inflation, and growing wealth divides undermine stability. Major protests, riots, looting and even civil conflict could arise, necessitating self-reliant security. Preppers aim to avoid dependence on dysfunctional systems.

Must-Have Gear for Preppers

Emergency Food & Water

Stockpile non-perishable food like freeze-dried meals, canned goods, powders and bars to sustain your household for at least several weeks without access to groceries. Store gallons of water per person as well as filtration systems. Check out the supplies available at Prepared Bee. 

Medical Supplies

Medical emergencies become far more dangerous without access to hospitals and pharmacies. Prepping adequate medical supplies can help manage injuries, chronic conditions, infections, and illnesses during disasters. Maintain a minimum 2-week stock of prescription medications for each family member if possible. Supplement with common over-the-counter medications like pain/fever relievers, anti-inflammatories, antihistamines, antacids, and anti-diarrheal medication.

Assemble trauma kits with gloves, gauze, bandages, tourniquets, scalpels, and topical antibiotics to treat wounds. Gather thermometers, vitamins/supplements, cleaning solutions, protective equipment, and references like the SAS Survival Handbook. Consider shortwave radios and satellite phones for emergency communication if cellular networks go down.  

Power & Light

Loss of electricity instantly renders normal life untenable. Preppers stockpile diverse sources of power generation and lighting capability. Store gasoline, diesel, propane and other fuels to power generators and vehicle/equipment engines. Maintain deep supplies of standard and rechargeable batteries of various sizes to power flashlights, radios, optics and critical electronics.

Invest in backup generators like dual-fuel generators with propane/gasoline capability. Small portable solar panel kits allow recharging devices and batteries directly from the sun. Have manual crank chargers as well to avoid dependency on finite fuel. For lighting, useful items include LED lanterns, headlamps, flashlights, glow sticks, and candles.

Take steps to make your home more electrically self-sufficient like installing solar panels. Wiring your home electric system to integrate with a generator allows safely powering freezers, medical devices, and other critical loads. Redundancy across multiple renewable power sources, generators, fuels, and batteries is key to sustaining light and power through blackouts of uncertain duration.

Shelter & Comfort

Reliable shelter and basic comfort become paramount if forced from your home or living without utilities. Stock disaster preparedness supplies like tents, sleeping bags, camp stoves, and warm layers of clothing to maintain safety and morale. Durable 4-season tents allow temporary shelter from the elements. Insulated sleeping systems including cots and pads provide heated rest away from the ground. Portable camp stoves with fuel enable cooking meals and boiling water without electricity.

Wool blankets, jackets, gloves, and cold weather accessories allow for maintaining safe body temperatures and preventing hypothermia in frigid conditions. Items like folding chairs, tarps, games, and camp lighting help normalize routines. Having sanitation and hygiene gear is also important for health and dignity like bucket toilet systems, privacy shelters, and disinfectants. 

Self-Defense

Chaos, violence, and lawlessness often accompany disaster scenarios as social order breaks down. Having adequate means of self-defense and protection for your family is crucial. Legally secure firearms to hunt and protect your home along with proper training and maintenance accessories. 

Non-lethal protection like pepper spray, Tasers, and stun guns provide additional home security options. Reinforce entry points and establish a defensive perimeter with barriers and alarm systems. Maintain a network of trusted community members for security coordination if needed. Consider a guard dog for alertness and deterrence.

Just as importantly, gain tactical emergency preparedness training for yourself and family focused on situational awareness, de-escalation, securing positions, use of force, and coordination. This develops competency to protect home and loved ones while avoiding unnecessary conflict. Advance preparation enables rational self-defense response versus reactionary violence. With proper gear and training, preppers can secure their family’s safety amidst unstable conditions.

Tools & Skills

During the collapse of normal systems, knowledge and tools for securing basic necessities become critical. Preppers develop abilities like fire starting, trapping, hunting, foraging, gardening, and shelter construction. Take courses and practice primitive living techniques like making fires with bow drills, setting snares, and identifying edible plants.

Stockpile multifunctional tools for building, repairing, and crafting including hatchets, saws, wrenches, knives, shovels, sewing kits, and toolboxes packed for DIY and survival. Store fishing tackle like rods, tackle boxes, nets, lines and lures to harvest fresh fish and aquatic game. Purchase non-GMO seeds, gardening tools like hoses and trowels, and pest remedies to grow vegetables and medicinal herbs. Learn skills like grain milling, food curing/drying, candle/soap making, and natural medicine. Combining specialized knowledge with gear and supplies helps sustainably provide for needs if systems falter.

Cash Reserves

During emergencies that disable banking and electronic payments, cash becomes king. Having adequate reserves of small bills enables purchases of goods and services. Small denominations ($1, $5, $10, $20) are best for transactions requiring exact change.

Aim for at least $500-1000 or more in small bills secured in a home safe, stashed in bug-out bags, and kept by trusted community members. Also gather useful barter items like liquor, cigarettes, coffee, tea, chocolate, candy bars, and precious metals like silver and gold coins. These hold value for trade and transactions even when paper currency loses value. Useful to have extras of vital OTC medications and hygiene items as well.

Aside from enabling commerce during collapse, cash reserves also cover expenses in the aftermath like home repairs, fuel, medical treatment, and temporary lodging. Pulling actual currency from ATMs following disasters provides flexibility that digital assets can’t offer. Having a literal emergency cash stash can mean the difference between resilient preparation and vulnerability.

Communication

Reliable communication and information-gathering capabilities become invaluable when normal channels are disabled. Prepper supplies should include two-way radios for communicating with family and community members locally. HAM radios enable long-range communication worldwide and emergency radio receivers allow tuning into bulletins and reports.

Have whistles for signaling distress and signal mirrors/flares that can produce visible flashes from a distance. CB radios in vehicles can also coordinate while mobile. Ensure portable, crank, and car-powered AM/FM radios to stay updated about disaster response, evacuations, and relief information if the power grid goes down.

Even consider old-school options like Heliographs that use reflected sunlight for Morse code signaling. Stores of pens, paper, stamps, and pre-written message cards facilitate leaving notes and sending mail without electricity. The ability to gather information, call for aid, and communicate during blackouts preserves security and coordination.

Key Documents

Disasters often require evacuating quickly, so keeping copies of vital documents protected and accessible is crucial. Store paper or electronic copies of crucial identification like driver’s licenses, passports, birth certificates, and social security cards. Also have proof of residence, insurance policies, gun permits, medical prescriptions, vaccination records, and treatment plans for family members.

Keep contact info for relatives, doctors, schools, employers, religious groups, and any key people or entities. Compose details on emergency rally points, out-of-town contacts, evacuation routes, and procedures for reconnecting if separated. Pictures of family members aid identification if needed.

Back up digital copies of essential data like financial records, login credentials, maps, and family photos on a password-protected external hard drive stored remotely. Place key documents in a protective bag or tube ready to grab and take with you. Having quick access to identification, insurance, contacts, and health data helps recovery during displacement.

Sanitation

Maintaining proper hygiene and sanitation becomes difficult without running water and sewer systems. Prepping adequate sanitation supplies prevents illness and supports health when infrastructure is impaired. Stock toilet paper, trash bags, bathroom tissue, feminine products, and chemical disinfectants. Gather five-gallon buckets to use as enclosed portable toilets if needed. Have a supply of pool shock or calcium hypochlorite for disinfecting waste.

Shovels allow proper burying of waste away from water sources. Tarps create privacy shelters, and old clothes cut into rags assist with makeshift bathing and menstrual needs. Pack water filtration devices like portable filters and chlorine drops to sanitize gathered water for washing and consumption. Items like portable camp showers also prove useful. Proper sanitation preparedness reduces disease risk and provides comfort when living primitive.

The best way to endure and recover from catastrophe is self-reliance. Wise preppers build stockpiles and skills allowing weeks or months of autonomous survival if systems break down. Investing in emergency preparation provides comfort and insurance for unpredictable times ahead.