Planning for the big one

I've been thinking lately about the precarious situation that we, the west, find ourselves in a present.

I live in central London with my good lady wife, though we are both originally from the north of England in very rural areas.

Should the $hit hit the fan in a big way we have decided that, work permitting, we would split the capital and head for the hill to family & friends. I've been thinking about various ways I can prepare for this and though a post may help me and others if they are thinking about it too.

Firstly, the car:

Ive been putting together an 'emergency car kit' to keep in the boot (trunk!) at all times. I bought a 75 litre sealable plastic box that everyting is going into (makes sense and I hate rattles in the boot when I am driving!). So far the list includes such things as wind up torch, wind up radio, canned foods, blanket, pocket knife, ID, some cash etc. I also am oneof the minority of people in the UK with a full shotgun and firearms licence. This means I can legally carry as much ammo as I like in the car, though the actual guns have to be locked up at home. These would, of course, make the trip with me.

As for a 'home emergency kit' I'm thinking similar to the car, but in larger volumes.

I am not usually a worrier, and I am still not even though the world seems to be falling apart around our ears. However, just doing these two things for me and my family will make me feel a lot safer and prepared.

Anyone any thoughts?

B

[Edited on 7-5-2004 by benjj]

Well my thought are simple i dont think we will survive(well i wont anyway) dont ask me why i just dont think so.

Building an energency car kit, sounds cool but seeing as i dont own a car it useless for me.

As for the home emergency kit well i live in tower block that wouldnt last a second so i guess now you can see why none of these would be useful to me.

Well, best of luck either way Drunk, you never know you might be spared.

Doubtful though, you are pretty much as good as dead....!!

Yeah living in a tower block 1 doesnt stand much of a chance anyway u seem the survival type maybe you could suggest summat for a tower block?

Maybe if you have a drink and pop a brown paper bag over your head?!

Will that kill the radiation or kill me? i would ahve thought it wil kill both.
Actually i am serious about that what could 1 do if they lived in a tower block and the big 1 hit???

[Edited on 7-5-2004 by drunk]

The party line is to keep a bag of essentials handy (the sort of stuff I mentioned in my original post), and should the big one hit (but not your building directly) to wait for 60 seconds in a doorway (as per earthquake rules as it's the strongest part of any dwelling), then get out of there in a fast, orderly style.......

Benjj,

I have a friend in Western Montana who has an underground bunker built into his backyard, capable of withstanding a nuclear attack. He built it himself.

He has enough supplies down there to last 6 people 10 years, and has a massive amount of weaponry and ammunition, capable of waging a small war.

He has every kind of supply down there. Everything you can imagine, it's there, plus more.

I once asked him how much money he invested in it, and you know what he said?

$2,500,000.00!!!!!!!!!!!

Seriously...


Mr. M

Damn it, I'm down to my last 10 million and don't want to blow 1/4 of it.........!

Yeah, I know, right? I feel the same way.


Mr. M

So, what? Did everyone just throw away their Y2K Survival Kits?

Seriously though, a lot of people spent incredible amounts on preparing for Y2K a few years ago. I would think you could pick up some leftover survival stuff cheap.

Originally posted by Ambient Sound
So, what? Did everyone just throw away their Y2K Survival Kits?

Seriously though, a lot of people spent incredible amounts on preparing for Y2K a few years ago. I would think you could pick up some leftover survival stuff cheap.

I never got a survival kit i wonder why? do they think i wont survive or maybe its a waste of time for them to give me 1!~

If the "big one" comes and you live in the UK, you won't survive it anyway.
The country is so small you are never more than 30 minutes away from a major population centre/target.
The only way to avoid anything would be to leave the country. A nuclear strike would probably make most of the country uninhabitable anyway.


Perhaps you could head for the hills in Scotland but it's full of Jocks up there. I'd rather face death.

Define "the big one" please!

The only country in the west equipped to deal with terrorists is Britian, what with the over 100 yr history of fighting the IRA etc. Look at all the ragheads they caught trying to blow up old trafford!

One place I wouldnt like to be is ??? America!!! Because they are the number ONE target, and with all the black winds of death stuff from Binnie, the next strike is already in the works, apparently more than 90% finished.

Originally posted by StarChild
Benjj,

I have a friend in Western Montana who has an underground bunker built into his backyard, capable of withstanding a nuclear attack. He built it himself.

He has enough supplies down there to last 6 people 10 years, and has a massive amount of weaponry and ammunition, capable of waging a small war.

He has every kind of supply down there. Everything you can imagine, it's there, plus more.

I once asked him how much money he invested in it, and you know what he said?

$2,500,000.00!!!!!!!!!!!

Seriously...


Mr. M

Holy Cow that is some serious scratch to spend on your personal delusions. I will guess that the dude is either seriously wealthy or lying through his teeth about the cost.

[Edited on 7-5-2004 by observer]

"Anyone any thoughts? "

yes here's one, stop letting paranoid Americans, and media hype make you terrified of stepping out of your front door and relax.

The building next door to your house may explode today, but the chances of you getting hit by a car on your way to the shops is about a million times more likely.

There isn't a terrorist plot around every corner. Mongol hoards are not sitting on your door step ready to invade. Its all hype hype hype.

Just ignore it and go about your every day business.

I'm off to Thailand in the summer to tour the south ? Know why ? because its incredibly cheap now dumb Europeans and idiot yanks think that every 2nd person is a suicide bomber.

Jesus. A building blew up. One building and the whole world goes on high alert, its like these "terrorists" didn't exist before the world trade centre blew up and now people are spying on their neighbours and wearing gas masks on the tube.

I live in London. What will I do next time they declare high risk of a terrorist attack in the centre ? I'm going to go shopping. At least it wont be crowded.

There is the need to have balance in your life. Prudence dictates you should be prepared for disaster. At the same time you shouldn't let it rule your life. Simon's response, while a little rough around the edges, makes an important point. Like everyone says, terrorism succeeds when we no longer feel safe. To me, that is no way to live. I live 20 miles SE of a nuke plant. That is quite dangerous nowadays (the plant is on the eastern shore of Lake Ontario, nice easy target) but the country living is what I prefer after growing up in Tampa.

With that said, I just remembered I don't have any disaster supplies on hand -- it's on the post-move list that I'm slowly working on.

I'm only 20, but I've been thinking about this kind of stuff for a while now. It's hard, because I want to be prepared if anything happens, but then again none of us really know for sure if anything is gonna happen. I'm not lucky enough to have millions of dollars to spend on stuff, I'm lucky if I can get my car fixed next week.

Even so, I plan on making myself a survival kit in the future. With some emergency equipment, MREs, etc. I don't have the resources, money, or gumption to build any kind of shelter, so I think if the sht hits the fan I'll just improvise out in the woods somewhere.

It's hard to prepare because you don't know if anything is really gonna happen, so you don't want to go blowing your savings on emergency equipment. Maybe if the big one does happen (whatever it is) I'll move to Montana and try to find StarChild's buddy. I'd feel much safer around that guy (unless he's a nut and would shoot me =/) and perhaps he could lend me a weapon, lol.

Simon,

Fair points one and all, but that sort of tone will get you nowhere here at ATS.

Pare it down a bit, you'll make a lot more friends.

B

Originally posted by Simon
"Anyone any thoughts? "

yes here's one, stop letting paranoid Americans, and media hype make you terrified of stepping out of your front door and relax.

The building next door to your house may explode today, but the chances of you getting hit by a car on your way to the shops is about a million times more likely.

There isn't a terrorist plot around every corner. Mongol hoards are not sitting on your door step ready to invade. Its all hype hype hype.

Just ignore it and go about your every day business.

I'm off to Thailand in the summer to tour the south ? Know why ? because its incredibly cheap now dumb Europeans and idiot yanks think that every 2nd person is a suicide bomber.

Jesus. A building blew up. One building and the whole world goes on high alert, its like these "terrorists" didn't exist before the world trade centre blew up and now people are spying on their neighbours and wearing gas masks on the tube.

I live in London. What will I do next time they declare high risk of a terrorist attack in the centre ? I'm going to go shopping. At least it wont be crowded.

Lemme guess ... "Danger" is your middle name?

[Edited on 5/7/04 by xenophanes85]