90 Days: Part One

Here is a post I have been working on off and on. I think that if I wait too long to post it, some of it may become too late to implement. So here it is as currently written.

Ninety days.

Huh?
What about it?

After ninety days, or thereabouts, most of the unprepared sheeple will have died off from a lack of food and possibly adequate shelter.

Not all will be dead at this point. There will be those who survive, those who banded together and withstood the onslaughts of the displaced and starving masses. They were prepared to turn back those who had no important skills to offer, no supplies to share. They will be located in areas where ingress and egress can be controlled tightly.

The others that survived, the raiders, they are mostly the strong and the predatory. They were the shady characters that inhabited the inner city, preying on the weak there. They have no morals against taking what they want and killing those who stand in their way. Gang members and such come to mind.

And then the worst of the worst: those who have turned to eating their own kind in order to survive. They will be hated and killed when discovered by all other groups of survivors.

Within 2 weeks of the crash the cities will begin to tear themselves apart as different groups of people fight for precious dwindling resources. Only the very adaptable will be able to survive there. Things will most likely hold together until the first paycheck welfare check fails to materialize. Then watch out!

In the beginning the government may try to bring the chaos under control, but they will be vastly outnumbered by desperate people, trying to get food. Eventually they will retreat back to critical infrastructure in an effort to protect it from the destruction.

The first to die will be the sick and elderly who are dependent upon healthcare workers and caretakers for their daily existence. After the end of the 1st week, they will be left to die by those same workers, as they leave to see to their own family’s welfare. Perhaps not all will have left, but those who remain will soon be overwhelmed trying to take care of just a fraction of those needing care. After the second week, a large portion of the sick and elderly will have died. There is no one left to bury them. Their rooms become their mausoleums.

Because of just in time inventory management, all stores concerned with disbursement of household consumables will be empty in record time. One has only to look at what happens just before a hurricane or a Black Friday sales event to imagine what it will be like come the collapse. As soon as the sheeple become aware, the stampede to “get some” supplies will empty store shelves. Two weeks after the collapse, the store owners will not even go there anymore as there will be no resupply and to be out on the streets is to invite swift death at the hands of the roving gangs.

Most available food will be consumed by week three and people will begin to hunt the small creatures that live in their neighborhoods. Dogs, cats, various non-standard pets, birds, rats etc… If it moves, it will be considered for the stewpot. Expect the city pigeon population to dwindle quickly.

Even if the Government manages to open a few stores to ration out supplies, the gangs will post lookouts at the stores and they will report what vehicles loaded what supplies to the raider groups that will follow them home and steal it from them later, or perhaps immediately depending on the location and situation.

If you were to evacuate your home for at least ninety days, you might be able to come home to a semi-intact structure. If you are lucky, only your unprotected windows will be broken out. If you are unlucky you might find your home a burnt out shell. A possible strategy might be to leave a little food behind so that those who will break in (and they will) might be appeased and not vandalize the structure.

Now how does one survive these ensuing 90+ days? You will need to be mobile after the crash.

So the plan would be as follows:

Cache the greater part of your survival goods in various locations. Include in these caches, a large quantity of vegetable seeds.

In your main cache, store materials and plastic for a greenhouse(s). Not only can you raise food in it, you can also shelter in it if needed.

Acquire good quality hiking gear for each member of your family; shoes, packs, sleeping gear, mess equipment, etc… Army surplus is good durable equipment, built to last but heavier than civy gear for the most part.

If your group is larger than two, carry a variety of weapons. First consideration should be the crossbow, a compound bow, an air rifle (1000+ FPS) and a slingshot. Their ability to kill nearly silently is a great benefit. Since your ability to remain undiscovered is imperative to your survival, remaining in the deep forest is your best choice. Fancy scoped bolt rifles are of not much use in areas in which visibility is limited to under 50 yards. Here is where the lever action rifle comes into its own. It is also a good area for the shotgun and .22lr. Whatever you choose to carry, have the appropriate ammo for it in a sufficient quantity.

You need to have a series of caches with enough supplies to sustain you for these ninety days. Your food should be high calorie as you will need the fuel to sustain you as you move about. At least 1 of each days meals should require no preparation as you may need to eat it on the move. More would be desired if possible. Each cache should supply your group with 2 weeks worth of food and other essentials.

If you are pursued, those following you may have little or no food, thus limiting their energy expenditures. Since you are able to eat on the move, you gain precious ground with each hour. Hopefully they are weakened by hunger and unable to pursue for long.

It would be wise to carry a small radio capable of receiving AM/FM/Shortwave/NOAA bands so that you can try to stay informed on what is happening. There is no guarantee that broadcasting will continue on the commercial bands, but shortwave will hopefully continue.

The use of mapping software can greatly help in planning routes and locations, and can download this info to various GPS devices. Electronic devices should not be relied upon solely to do your navigating, so a good compass and maps should be part of your gear. If you don't know how to navigate by compass, yesterday is a good time to start learning. Find and make friends with a Boy Scout. Look for local classes, perhaps a class at your local hiking group or Search and Rescue group.

End part one.