Staying Secure The First 7 Days After The Power Grid Goes Down

Image source: NPR.org

Being able to provide immediate security is the cornerstone of surviving a grid-crippling event. Before you are able to provide security, it is important you realize that human behavior will be somewhat predictable after a major catastrophic event.

Regardless of the event being a natural disaster or a widespread state of civil unrest, the patterns of human behavior largely follow the same model as evidenced throughout history. Knowing these patterns will help you properly plan your security strategy.

Let’s look at what the first week will be like.

Immediately after the grid goes down, the public will initially bond together over the trauma. As you go to your local super markets, you will realize that the shelves have been fleeced. Local populations who rely on these grocers must cross their fingers in hopes of the grocer’s supply chains being able to flow. Relatively speaking, your immediate security is not in danger at this point. Many of your neighbors will be operating in a compassionate mindset.

After a catastrophic event, the general public will stage a search-and-rescue effort. Once this effort is underway, your immediate threat level begins to rise slowly. As hours turn into days, people begin to realize how desperate the situation really is. This is the point in time when you will begin to see crime levels slowly start to creep up. Only days after Hurricane Sandy, New Yorkers were seen eating out of dumpers in order to survive the natural catastrophe.

Once the public becomes aware of the severity of the situation, what do you think people will be willing to do in order to survive? Some will feel that they are above dumpster diving and as a result, you could find yourself in a situation where you have to protect your supplies. Once desperation sets in for the public, it’s fight or flight. What steps are you willing to take in order to protect your survival cache?

The Nuances of Protecting Yourself

Navigating the nuances of security can be challenging due to all of the different lethal and non-lethal methods at your disposal. It is important to stay within your local legal guidelines. If you do not like your current local legal guidelines, the best advice is to move. If you live in a place where strict gun laws are present, you will have a difficult time protecting yourself against criminals. They have already acquired their guns using the black market. This means that you will often be at a huge disadvantage if you had to go barrel to barrel. Statistics show that cities that enact strict gun laws often have higher rates of crime. It is often best to just avoid large urban areas altogether.

How To Defend Yourself And Your Family Against The New Breed Of Lowlife Criminal Scum

Gun ownership is an effective method for immediately securing yourself. Anyone who can aim accurately and pull a trigger can enforce immediate security in this fashion. Gun ownership isn’t for everyone, though. Are you an able bodied person? If so, the next best method of immediately securing your belongings is to simply implement an exercise routine. Let’s face it, if you are outgunned and outnumbered, you must do whatever it takes to survive. If you are out of shape, you are at a disadvantage. If you already exercise daily, you are on the correct path. It is recommended that you slowly build up to a cardio routine that incorporates self-defense maneuvers. Practicing a useful self-defense martial art will give you the skillset to fight multiple attackers if needed. Being in good shape also allows you to run for long distances in case you need to immediately evacuate an area.

When you go to purchase a firearm, talk to the dealer and tell them your specific concerns and ask for recommendations on where to practice firing, how to procure training and how to become an expert at handling firearms. Gun shop owners and employees are often thrilled to explain firearms and firearm safety to prospective firearm purchasers. It’s somewhat of a responsibility for them to give gun ownership a good name by putting firearms in the hands of properly trained individuals.

Proactive Immediate Security

Fortunately, the 21^st century has blessed us with all kinds of security mechanisms that can help divert a face-to-face encounter altogether. You should game plan your certain situation if you plan on surviving with a cohabitant or small group of people. For example, it would be a great idea to designate one person as a lookout that uses either low-tech methods such as a perch and binoculars or high-tech methods such as cameras and motion sensors. Preparing for an attack is the best solution for someone wanting to avoid an attack. If someone begins casing you as a target, they may get intimidated and try to move on to an easier target if they notice you are prepared.

Incorporating K9s into your proactive immediate security scheme is also an effective means of deterring criminals from targeting you. Statistics show that criminals are much less willing to break and enter into a home with a K9 present. If you have a large piece of open property that you need to protect, implementing K9s will scare off potential criminals and alert you to those brave enough to bypass the dog’s warning barks. You can contact a local animal shelter in order to adopt a K9 or you can typically raise puppies from birth from those who have had litters and need to give them to a good home. Information is available online that shows you how to train your dog as a watch dog. Popular watch dog breeds are Bull Mastiffs, Rottweilers and German Shepherds.

Knowing the fundamentals of immediate security will help you find a pathway out of danger. If turmoil showed up in your neighborhood, the consequences of being unprepared could be fatal. It is important to evaluate your specific conditions in order to determine the tools and the skillsets you must acquire in order to survive.

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