What Is SHTF?

Life is full of uncertainties. One minute everything is fine and the next you are in a pretty serious scenario that requires drastic measures that possibly determine your survival. Basically, SHTF are initials standing for Shit Hits The Fan. When normal life is disrupted and everything around you seems to be in chaos and in absolute breakdown, what’s next?

In the SHTF word there are those who prepare for it and are called preppers. Preppers put a lot of time, money and initiative to learn basic survival skills. This not only puts them in a better position when SHTF happens but it also gives them some peace of mind. Defense is a must when it comes to those who may want to infiltrate your home, cabin or castle!

When the unimaginable happens, then you need to quickly come up with a way forward. Any SHTF preparedness plan needs to be clear. You need to know why and what you are prepping for. What are your biggest fears for the future and how do you think their reality could affect your life? Be real and independent as you will have to survive as a single entity. Look at your situation from a broad perspective as the systems in society are interdependent and a breakdown in one of them could affect your life at different angles.

What to Be Prepared For when SHTF

When disaster strikes, it becomes extremely difficult to maintain law and order to an extent that it is actually not there anymore. Keep in mind that the people with the responsibility of controlling law and order also have friends and families and are busy trying to pull through to survival as well.

Do not rely on emergency services or the law officers as it likely they will be overstretched and may hardly have time to attend to you. You have to have your defenses in order and rely on your intelligence, training and ability to survive. In the long run emergency attention may cease and it becomes an every man/woman for yourself situation.

Personal Safety

What are your needs? This includes everything that will facilitate your survival until normalcy is restored. This is determined by all the people you intend to stick with and how long you intend to survive. It includes water food, security, medicines, money among others. Determine how much water you can store or if you can instead use a purifier to replenish your supply.

In such times you can be sure all stores will have empty shelves as everyone is busy trying to survive. Have enough food stored depending on how large your group is. Dried or frozen foods are the best options. But also consider their storage as you are uncertain of when normalcy will be restored. Find food that is easier to cook to also help save on energy as at that time it may be a scarce resource.

Health is also another consideration to make in ensuring your safety when SHTF. If you or a member of your group has any allergies or special health conditions such as asthma, how do you deal with it? Also remember that prescription drugs will be difficult to come around and therefore have measures in place in case they may be required.

Age is also another factor to consider as different age groups have different demands. If there are children or older persons in your survival group, make sure to know how to handle them.

Then the most important thing in ensuring your ultimate survival, how do you protect yourself? How far would you go to save your life and that of your loved ones? Can you kill? Do you have weapons? Are you comfortable using the weapons? In the most disastrous situations resources for survival will become insufficient and people will want the little you have left. What measures have you put in place to ensure what you have and your lives are protected? Security is a key element in any survival plan; therefore ensure your SHTF has it well and clearly defined.

Communication

There are great chances that when SHTF strikes you will be completely cut off from whatever is going on outside your safe haven. But information is still important as it helps you determine and weigh the outcome of your situation. Although everything else may fail, there remains one communication channel that may come in handy at that time; Multi Band Ham radio. This will let you send and receive useful information in times of disaster. It is also a source of other news about what is going on around the world.

Sanitation

It looks like a small issue but the sanitation around your home at such a time may be just as big as a threat as the disaster and danger lurking outside your walls. When SHTF happens garbage will pile up, the taps will run dry and other basic sanitation services will be disrupted. When the hygiene of where you are staying is threatening, what do you do next? Have a plan in place to tackle this.

Have a Plan B

It is always good to have an alternative just in case the set plan fails to work. In some cases not everyone will need a plan B but it is wise to have it anyway.