Urban Preparedness

**Trishymouse** · 10-25-2008, 06:28 PM

I'm new here, new to emergency preparedness per se. I live in a small city in an apartment. I wish I could have chickens and a garden but I can't. I aim to try some container gardening but due to space and lighting that will be severely limited. Chickens are allowed in town but there are space considerations as well as sanitation issues thar realistically prevent me from having them. Oh well, nice idea while it lasted. I know one thing and that is if the 'event' was disease-related I'd be hitting the road - no thanks staying in a city with bodies piling up and cholera, etc. on the rampage...

Trish

**Rick** · 10-25-2008, 06:39 PM

Welcome - How about trotting over to the Introduction section and tell us something about yourself?

http://www.wilderness-survival.net/f...splay.php?f=14

There's tons of things you can do to prepare for any type of disaster even though you live in an apartment in a small city. There are some distinct advantages to living in that location. Food, clothing and emergency supplies are in place (or should be), you know the area. Water (in your hot water heater) is stored and available. You blend in with the crowd much better.

I also live in a small city and have no intentions of bugging out unless the incident called for it (chemical accident, wild fire, or some other event that required leaving). As for dead bodies and cholera. Not likely the streets would be littered with dead bodies unless it was something really bad. Then there would be bodies everywhere so why run? You can only catch cholera by ingesting contaminated food or water so make certain you can control both and you can prevent it. It's cause by bacteria and a water filter will prevent ingestion of those guys.

Finally, you can't put your web site in the body of your post. However, you can put it in your signature. That's to your advantage anyway. It will show up with every post if it's in your signature. Take a look at the forum rules at:

http://www.wilderness-survival.net/f...read.php?t=668

**wareagle69** · 10-26-2008, 11:27 AM

welcome nodaker talk to some folks here that live in the big cities and apts they will be of use to you

**tsitenha** · 10-26-2008, 01:52 PM

PM sent, reply at your leisure.

**hickatheart** · 11-04-2008, 03:00 AM

I believe the same principles apply no matter what your setting, supposing you choose to shelter-in/hunker down. Figure out what you'll need for a given period of time. Buy/build shelves to stash a little extra here and there. Learn to preserve/can/freeze/dehydrate, & how to store water (if that is needed). The better able you are to acquire, store, then use raw ingredients, the better off you are. For example: 20# flour, a pakage or three of yeast, salt, oil, and you have several weeks' supply of bread. Buy 60# blueberries/peaches/tomatoes from a pick your own orchard; freeze some, make jam from some . . .
H@H

**hickatheart** · 11-04-2008, 03:08 AM

PS welcome from a fellow recovering citiot

**bulrush** · 11-06-2008, 09:49 AM

Cholera is an issue only if you don't filter or boil your water. Cities in the past have had cholera outbreaks because sewage routinely ran down the street and mixed with water wells, and the residents didn't (wait for it)... boil their water. In these slums I'm referring to, the wood was long gone, and coal was expensive, so they didn't boil water.

Dead bodies may be an issue due to the smell, and attracting rodents, which can carry fleas which can carry the black plague. However, fleas don't do well in your house, at all in the dry winter conditions, so keep your house clean. Don't touch the bodies and you'll be ok.

And a small town is better than a big city. You could band together with like-minded people. And, in general, there are fewer (by number) of crack heads and nut cases.

**smokelessfire** · 11-06-2008, 12:33 PM

for the lighting problem with the container gardening, try some full spectrum light bulbs. you yourself will benefit too, from the vitamin d they provide you, so no wintertime SAD(lol, according to the packaging).

**ericka** · 11-06-2008, 07:04 PM

I also lived in a small one bedroom apartment with 2 closets. So I turned one closet into emergency supplies added shelves for storage(which you can buy the plastic units for around $30).I had water ,food and supplies to last for at least 6 months. store mres they take no water and less space.also since your in the cold make sure to have a cold weather kit complete with thermal underwear ,heavy socks and a good coat and sleeping bag also windproof lighters.And I would stay put if somthing happened unless it is chemical.

**HOP** · 11-09-2008, 02:53 PM

There are some urban survival plans that are real well thought out but IMHO always have some sort of bug out planwhen thing get as bad as they can get. This certainly would involve a BOB and firearm of some sort and a cache out a ways in you hopefully direction of travel.

**Dave Johns** · 11-16-2008, 11:52 PM

I too live in a midsized city, in a quadplex apartment. The extra bonus for me is that I own the building! So not only do I have the problem of stocking up enough supplies to last me and mine, but I have the moral dilemma of wanting to help my tenants. I have pretty much decided to stay in-place in all but the most dire of situations, and having limited space does make for "interesting" closet decisions (the top of the ammo boxes make a great place to store my shoes in the closet)... But I have the luxury of having a small yard, and I have a few fruit-bearing trees (some are 20+ years old, some of them planted just this year, should be producing by 2015

) and room for a small garden. Next spring I will do a test-planting, see how that goes.
And per Smokeless' recommendation, I am going to get some full-spectrum bulbs, and see what kind of luck I have.

**A190** · 12-11-2008, 01:03 AM

Ilive next to a major air base so a nuc hopefully would land in my front yard.
If given time to react, I would split to my place out away..............However, if forced to stay put in the city, I am prepared for a short duration,