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Urban Survival: What to Do When Governments and Restaurants Shut Down

By    |   Tuesday, 26 July 2016 08:17 PM EDT

Urban survival is hard enough under normal circumstances, but when governments and restaurants shut down because of a disaster scenario, it pays to know what you’re doing and have a plan.

Here are some things you should do or prepare to do in case of such a scenario:

1. Find a news source — If you still have power, watching the news can give you information about whether to evacuate, where trouble spots might be, and when help is expected to arrive. In situations where you don’t have power and cellular networks are down or overloaded, an emergency radio can help you get the information you need when it is available.

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2. Arm yourself — Without government to maintain law and order, you may come into contact with those who would want to harm you or take what you have. If you have a gun in the house, make sure it is ready to use and that you know how to handle it safely, advises Urban Survival Site. Common objects like kitchen knives, baseball bats, or other large items (a heavy lamp or statue, for instance) can function as weapons in a pinch.

3. Find water — You may want to plan ahead and have water filter bottles or purification tablets on hand in case the water infrastructure goes down. Clean drinking water is the first consideration on most prepping websites since clean water is necessary to survival and diseases will proliferate quickly in an urban disaster situation.

4. Forage for food — If you know ahead of time where to find edible plants, you can forage for food even in the city. The local park may have fruit trees or maybe you thought to plant a container garden. Even dandelion greens and cattails can be food that others won’t think to harvest, says the Secrets of Survival blog.

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5. Know first aid skills — When services shut down, hospitals may become overcrowded or be limited in their services as well. For minor issues like scrapes, burns, or a twisted ankle, being able to treat the problem yourself will allow you to avoid crowds of sick people, which can prevent you from contracting a worse illness, says Urban Survival Site.

6. Negotiate and barter — Knowing how to get what you need will be an essential skill in a long-term disaster. Just as important: knowing how to tell when you’re being had.

7. Get out of town — If you have a cabin in the woods, it may be a good idea to leave town sooner rather than later when food supplies get scarce and desperate people are more likely to do desperate things. Although there may be advantages and disadvantages to staying put, according to The Survivalist Blog, it may ultimately be less dangerous to leave an urban area until order can be restored.

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FastFeatures
Urban survival is hard enough under normal circumstances, but when governments and restaurants shut down because of a disaster scenario, it pays to know what you're doing and have a plan.
urban, survival, what, to do, shut down
507
2016-17-26
Tuesday, 26 July 2016 08:17 PM
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