5 places to avoid after SHTF

with any disasters approaching like hurricanes or in the aftermath of a major event like an earthquake it's not unusual to see people rushing grocery stores and supermarkets scrambling to stock up on basic supplies they'll need to survive though getting supplies is important going to grocery stores and supermarkets during a disaster so actually a really bad idea since preparing for disaster is not something that most people will do you can expect these stores to be full of unprepared desperate people scavenging the remains of the depleted shells in inventory this makes these locations a dangerous place to be as you can almost always expect chaos in an unruly crowd that is teetering on turning into a mob when even the simplest scuffle could push them over the edge however grocery stores are just one of the several places you'll need to avoid before or after a disaster in this video we'll discuss the places to avoid when disaster strikes and how you can prepare in advance so that you don't need to go near these locations we'll cover five places you'll need to avoid during a disaster number one is grocery stores as already mentioned going to grocery stores and supermarkets it is a really bad idea since you can expect a mob of desperate unprepared people which presents a huge security risk to you with so many people trying to get the same basic supplies like food and water grocery stores won't have enough stocks to accommodate all of the demand with the limited supply of goods most people will be mentally distressed during a disaster and it won't come as a surprise to anyone if they become a violent or aggressive and trying to get vital supplies this makes these type of locations probably the most dangerous in these moments the sudden surge of people and demand is not the only problem as to why supplies will be scarce most if not all grocery stores and supermarkets in the u.s. use what we call a just-in-time delivery system and getting the stocks for their respective stores this type of system basically provides stores with only enough stocks that they will need for a typical day making them successful too sudden demands like during a disaster this is why even if there is an unexpected disaster store simply cannot adjust their stocks in order more at the same level demand since the just-in-time system relies on a delicate and complex process making it almost impossible to scale up quickly under these types of unexpected load in order to avoid going to grocery stores during a disaster or just prior to it you need to prepare in advance it's important that you have a stock of food that are not easy to perish as well as clean water in your home even if there isn't a disaster approaching the reason for this is that disasters can happen any time and without warning so if you're not prepared you'll be scrambling for supplies like everyone else when getting food and water it's important that you at least have a two weeks worth of supplies since you'll never know how long a disaster will last or when help will arrive make sure that you have separate clean water used for cleaning and another one for drinking also make sure that your home has an ample space to store at least a minimum of the two weeks worth of food and water you should also consider that power might go out so you might need a small generator to power your refrigerator so food won't go to waste number two banks another dangerous place to be during a disaster are banks especially at ATM machines in this cashless age people are becoming more reliant on using credit card or debit cards for their transactions and why not their more convenient and they be carrying cash in your wallet but during a disaster at cashless transactions will be impossible since there will likely be communication and electrical outages store simply won't have a capacity to accept credit or debit card payments since the terminals that process the transactions will likely not be functioning ATM machines won't be working as well since they require electricity in a lot of communication with a bank to function one example of this is when Pacific Gas and Electric PG&E and Southern California Edison decided to cut power to the majority of their customers for several days to prevent the risk of wildfires just recently here in California since ATM machines and credit card terminals rely on electricity to function it was advised that residents affected and load up on cash prior to the power outage there's a possibility that ATM machines could be affected by the power outage and this caused residents to line up at ATM machines to withdrawal as much cash as they could another example is after Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico one of the effects of the strong hurricane was that there was an electrical and communication outage in the our country making mini ATM machines useless stores and merchants also were unable to process credit or debit card payments during that time making the country rely on cash only transactions this was problematic especially for those who were unable to load up on cash prior to the disaster they couldn't purchase important supplies from stores that were open since they couldn't use their credit card or debit cards and at the places where ATM machines were functioning the lines were extremely long the cash supply on these machines by the way is not infinite and not everyone who lines up is gonna be able to get the cash they need so prepare for that in advance to avoid having this kind of problem during disaster it's important that you always keep cash on hand make sure you prepare an emergency cash supply in your house that you only access during a disaster this will ensure that you'll have the ability to purchase things in case you need it and you have the means to pay for it make sure that the cash you prepare is broken down into several amounts remember stores likely won't have enough cash on them to constantly give out change for the payments they receive breaking down the amount of money that you have and the smaller amounts gives you the ability to pay in the exact amount eliminating the need for change and also shortening the time you spend in the store number 3 drug stores a huge portion of the country's population is relying on prescription medications this means that there will be many Americans who will line up at drugstores prior to and after a disaster as they try to get refills for their prescription medicine about 46 percent of the country's population takes prescription drugs that is a huge number which shows that almost one out of two Americans are reliant on some form of prescription medication the problem here is that not many of the people who take prescription drugs prepare or plan ahead in case of a disaster in addition most pharmacies only will refill up to a limit amount of medication forcing patients to return frequently making it very difficult to stock up the 2018 surveys showed that more than half of a population 53% don't have any preparation plans in case of an emergency the survey showed that 25 percent of Americans say they can only go without their drugs for two to three days before any negative health effects are felt this also shows that when a disaster strikes there will be many Americans lining up at drug stores trying to get prescription that they need though there are already programs in place that allow pharmaceutical companies to respond properly during disasters it won't be uncommon for drugstores that have long lines or run out of inventory especially if drugstores also use the just-in-time delivery system for their supplies why point number one when this happens expect people to get desperate aside from the long lines in inventory running out most drug stores that are open during a disaster won't be able to process any other forms of transactions of the cash this could be a problem for people who aren't able to prepare enough cash for their medications and as mentioned earlier when people are in a stressful situation they become mentally distressed experiencing depression anxiety or even post-traumatic stress disorder PTSD couple this with the desperation of feelings of having their personal safety and well-being threatened they could commit violent acts just to get their medication one thing that you can do to avoid going to drug stores during an emergency is a stock up on medications and other medical supplies and equipment you might need ahead of time you need to make sure that you are also prepared to be able to store your medicine especially if the medicine you're taking requires being put in a refrigerator you also need to consider as well how much medicine you are allowed to purchase since there's a limit for certain prescription medications another thing you can do is consider finding a natural alternative to the medication you're taking or you will likely take number four high density population areas if you live in a high density population area like an apartment building high-rises or downtown areas then it is even more important that you are prepared for disaster this is because high density population areas are one of the most dangerous places you can be and you need to avoid during a disaster one of the main issues with high density population areas is that it is filled with a whole lot of people that are probably not prepared to survive beyond a few days at best and in a disaster situation people are also going to be one of the biggest threats to your safety and security the chances of social unrest and crimes in these areas are high especially supplies are limited and help is nowhere to be found in apartments and condominiums the threat is increased since people live close to one another it makes it much easier for others to try and break into other units to steal supplies other apartment units even have multiple family living in one unit making prepping very difficult apartment complexes and condos are often good targets for Marauders since they can rate many units in just one building allowing to possibly get more supplies from people living in the building this makes security and protection one of the primary concerns if you live in an apartment complex another problem you'd experience in high-density population areas is that it doesn't really provide much space to properly prepare apartments and high-rise condos typically don't have big spaces making them problematic for storing supplies and tools most apartments only have enough space to fit in a bed and furniture for the tenant making prepping for a prolonged period of time difficult if you're sharing a unit with multiple families then prepping is already out of the question unless you trust him enough to prep with you in these type of environments you need to be creative when it comes to maximizing the space in your apartment and finding areas where you can store the supplies you prepare for disaster also give serious consideration to getting a backup storage unit nearby where you can put critical supplies as a backup aside from securing storage concerns another problem with living in a high-density population area is that the concentration of people in this area makes it more vulnerable to injuries or death when a disaster strikes the congestion dense infrastructure and limited xscape routes and make it harder for people to survive in this kind of area once the disaster strikes one example of this is in the Haiti earthquake in 2010 with a magnitude 7 earthquake in a densely populated area contributing to many deaths and injuries to people also in the aftermath of a major event keeping up with sanitation will present a lot of challenges and it lends itself to fast proliferation of disease and illnesses though it is still possible to prepare for disaster even if you live in high density population areas the best solution is a bug-out of these areas if possible before disaster strikes these types of areas typically present many risk and dangers and trying to write out a disaster is usually not your best option if you're living in an overly congested area you also need to have a bug-out plan in case you live in these types of environments have a plan on how you will evacuate the area where you'll go and how you will get there make sure that you have enough supplies prepared for your bug-out trip number 5 gas stations similar to grocery stores banks and drugstores people will be lining up at gas stations prior and their disaster to make sure that their vehicles will have a full tank of gas main reason for this is that they want to make sure they have enough gas to get out of town in case they need to do so the problem is that gas stations in disaster areas typically run out of fuel an article showed how quickly gas stations run out of fuel after disaster has been declared in an area when an emergency was declared for a hurricane Michael in October 2018 the first day of the declaration resulted in 13% of the total gas stations exhausting their fuel supplies by the time the hurricane made landfall about 35% of gas stations were already out of fuel the trend lasted for seven days after the emergency was declared it was even worse during Hurricane Florence in 2018 and Irma and September 2017 five days after the emergency was declared 69 percent of gas stations in the areas affected by hurricane erna were already out of gas when Hurricane Florence hit 73 percent of gas stations were ready out of fuel this made it extremely difficult for other people to find gas stations and fill their vehicles if you aren't prepared you may find yourself without gas in your vehicle during a disaster making any bug-out plan you have more difficult to avoid being in the situation the best you can do is to prepare ahead of time one of the things that you can do is try as best as you can to maintain your gas tank above one half full all the time doing this will give you extra fuel to use when you're looking for gas stations that still have fuel make sure you always have an ample supply of fuel in your vehicle and also ensure you know just get stuck somewhere without fuel when disaster strikes another option is that you can store as much fuel as you can in your home so that you don't need to go to any gas station to refuel your vehicle's fuel tape obviously be sure to study how to properly and securely and safely store your gasoline disasters can happen anytime and anywhere unannounced and without warning most people are caught off guard by these disasters forcing them to scramble for supplies and other items they will need to help them weather the disaster but since many people will likely do the same going to places like grocery stores gas stations drugstores and banks just be sure that you don't go to these locations since the sudden influx of people can make them a potentially dangerous place and very hazardous to avoid being put in the situation it's important that you already have a plan in place so that you don't a scramble for supplies and items if you enjoyed this video please click on the like button share on social media if you have any suggestions or any additional feedback please place that in the comment section below as always learn so much from the community as always be safe out there you

Channel: City Prepping

Views: 626,466

Rating: 4.9265432 out of 5

Keywords: shtf, disaster, doomsday prepper, doomsday apocalypse, prepper, preppers, prepping

Id: 7vDSK6G0mVw

Length: 13min 36sec (816 seconds)

Published: Fri Dec 13 2019