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Learn more on how you're supporting us.A prepper is a person who actively prepares themselves and their families for any type of emergency or natural disaster. It could be a disease outbreak, earthquake, war or civil unrest. A prepper will look at a way to survive and be ready before an event occurs. A prepper believes it is important to be ready and will sacrifice family leisure time and entertainment to get everyone ready for the impending problem.
They will sacrifice in order to sustain a level of living and survival with medical supplies, water, food and other supplies they deem necessary. Not every prepper will prepare for a disaster but all will have themselves organized with a survival kit that will help in time of need. People interested in prepping can easily research many articles on a variety of prepping topics.
Two questions preppers are often asked is:
What is a prepper? and What is prepping?
It is not a word that has been around for a long time and many may not have heard it before. All it really means is to be ready or prepared for any eventuality. In many ways, a lot of us are already preppers. We have money saved for an emergency when it arises, we have a first aid kit we take on holidays and trips in the car. These are ways that a prepper prepares.
Prepping means to be prepped or prepared, it does not mean you are strange or weird or that Zombie Wars is around the corner. After recent extreme weather conditions such as tornadoes out of season and flooding, many people are unprepared for the event. Power and water are cut off, there are no limited resources available at first and by being prepared you would have a stock of food and water, batteries or a generator with fuel. It is an emergency reserve that dos make some sense.
Other questions you can ask yourself include:
Basically, it is about planning and training you and your family to survive an emergency situation. It can be as easy as getting your first aid certificate and a good first aid kit for your home and car. It is about thinking of every eventuality and being prepared ‘just in case’.
A prepper or survivalist is a person who will work to improve their skills and ability to survive an emergency.
Basic human instinct is our own survival and that of family and friends. Even having a store of extra food could help you out in an emergency. That is why you should think about preparing and being prepared.
You will ‘Prepare because you cannot predict what will happen’.
The reasons are many and varied depending on what you perceive as a threat or emergency that could happen to you and your family. Some people will prepare due to their location being subject to weather extremes or they can see a possible threat in the future. The smart choice in prepping is that you are prepared for whatever comes along and will be self-reliant.
Realistic concerns will include:
Being prepared can be thought of as another form of insurance, call it survival insurance if you like. It is just another way in which we can help ourselves. We want to survive a weather disaster or other event and by being prepared we have ensured a quality of life we can live with. We have given ourselves many more options when something does happen.
Preppers have not had an easy time of late, being called crazy and weird and open to every conspiracy theory going around. All they really want to do is to ensure the survival of their family. It is not just the end of the world these people are preparing for. It is for everyday situations that are out of our control.
If you are prepped and rehearsed and understand what needs to be done, you are able to limit any damages or even save someone’s life.
We all have seen and heard about grocery stores being swamped when a severe storm or weather situation has been forecast. Basic preparedness means we don’t have to worry about any forecasts for bad weather because we already have a store of food, water and medical supplies. There is enough to survive without going to the store for maybe one or two weeks or even a month. There will be bottled water, candles, matches, batteries and battery-powered lights all ready and waiting to be used.
Many governments recommend this level of being prepared should be a part of all our lives that we need to survive in times when infrastructure fails or we get trapped by bad weather events.
These are the measures that have been designed to reduce losses caused by a natural or potential disaster. All countries, states, cities and regions are prepared in some way for fires, floods and other natural disasters that affect their location in the world.
Whether it is hurricanes and tornadoes, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions preparations are in place already. Other disasters could include economic collapse, major industrial accidents that can affect air quality and water quality and of course nuclear accidents.
In the result of a nuclear blast, a large area will be affected by radioactive material and a damaging pressure wave from a blast. Water, air and the ground can be contaminated and will be for a long period of time. Any nuclear device has deadly side effects from blinding light, intense heat, radiation, and fires caused by the initial blast.
In the case, you are worried about a nuclear accident one way of being prepped is to live somewhere there are no nuclear reactors. Choose any area not affected by any prevailing winds or weather events and you will have made the right choice.
Early recognition of possible bioterrorism attacks is needed for the health of the public populations. This is where the emergency services play an essential role. Varying levels of bioterrorism can cause civil unrest and riots, disease outbreaks, disruption to essential services, even death. It also aims to disrupt economies and cause social and political upheaval.
EMP or Electro-Magnetic Pulse is a device that causes disruption to anything electronic. A short burst of EMP will disrupt or even destroy electronic equipment vital to our survival. A solar flare is a natural example of an EMP but they can be manufactured by using a nuclear weapon.
Most worrying is EMPs being detonated over major cities that could wipe out everything electrical from phone systems to power grids.
Not everyone will call themselves a prepper just because they are prepared. All you have to do is take steps to be ready for an unplanned event. It can be as simple as getting in more food and bottled water just in case the weather gets bad this winter. When you make the commitment to be prepared for no power or no water, you have started the road to prepping you and your family.
This can seem overwhelming at first and you may feel a real sense of having to do everything now. Of course you don’t, but as long as you are ready for preparation you are doing fine.
Tips for new preppers:
SHTF can have multiple meanings but the most common is Shit Hits The Fan. So when disaster does strike you know exactly what you need to do and where you need to go. No one can possibly know how bad a situation may become but at least you are ready.
Preppers are used to being laughed at but when the power is cut or there is no fresh water, preppers are the ones doing the laughing. All it takes is one step at a time and you will be more prepared than most of mainstream USA.
The essential ingredient is for life and survival. Sourcing clean water is the most important preparation. A basic of survival is having water that is clean or water that can be filtered. You will need water for drinking, cooking, cleaning and washing. It may be impractical to have enough water stored but most preppers will have a water filtration method and knowledge of water sources.
An important consideration when stockpiling food is the use by date. If it close to its use by date, use it at home and then replace it with new products. Only stock food that you and your family will eat and get a variety so there is not too much of the same food item that can become tiresome very quickly. Look for food that is easy to store and prepare.
By being prepared and becoming a prepper, the most important goal is to have stockpiled any items that allow for you and your family’s survival in case of a disaster. Only the basic thing has been covered here but by doing your own research and getting family and friends together and having a discussion about what could happen, is the first step.
Make a plan and find like-minded people who can help you out. Survival is much easier in a group with greater resources than as a single family. Try not to feel too overwhelmed and look to the community of preppers for assistance.
Prepping will get you so much more than a cellar full of tinned meals. It will remove anxiety and fear when a severe weather event occurs because you know you will make it. Do it as a family and the family unit will grow stronger as you find new hobbies and tasks to learn together.
