Leaving your home during a disaster may be one of the hardest decisions you make during the crisis. However, not leaving could mean the difference between surviving and not. You have to know when to leave, and what to do once the decision has been made. In many cases, the local authorities may issue a mandatory evacuation order based on conditions that you may not be aware of, such as rising flood waters, tidal surges, and high winds. You, of course, do not have to leave even when an order is issued, but not leaving means that emergency personnel cannot reach you – and you will likely be trapped in your home or community for days, or even weeks.

Preparing

People seem to convince themselves that they can weather the storm and then find out they cannot, and then attempt to evacuate and find out it’s too late. Always consider leaving as a real possibility, and not just a vague notion if things get too rough. You have to plan for it, along with planning to stay in your home.

Where you will go must be decided before you have to leave. You must know where all emergency shelters are located in your area, and how to get there in the dark as well as in the daytime. Know the routes designated for evacuation out of your area, and map out alternatives in case one, or even all, are not passable. You also have to prepare for the possibility that emergency shelters may not be in operation because they were damaged by the storm.

You cannot assume the shelters will have emergency supplies, so it is important that you bring your own. The best way is to have backpacks (bug out bags) for every family member. The packs will be in addition to any supplies for the home. It is important that each backpack have the emergency essentials for the person carrying it to survive. Family members can be separated, and if one person is responsible for carrying water and other food, and they become separated – everyone suffers.

Supplies For Each Pack Include:

• Food for 72 hours, such as protein bars, trail mix, MREs, beef jerky…
• Water for three days – at least 2 quarts/liters daily – just for drinking (1.5 gallons for 72 hours)
• Rain gear such as a poncho
• Thermal blanket
• First aid supplies, with any prescription medications
• Multi-tool along with a fixed bladed knife
• 50 ft of nylon rope
• One waterproof lightweight tarp for emergency shelter (or a 1 person tent depending on the size/contents of your pack)
• Matches, lighters, and alternative fire starting tools
• Communication devices
• Extra socks (it is assumed a person would be wearing clothing appropriate for the season, so avoid over packing)
• Collapsible walking stick (can be used as protection)
• Compass with maps of the area, state, and county
• Personal hygience items
• Hat, gloves (work or cold weather), bandana, sunglasses, lip balm, hand sanitizer
• Insect repellent
• Cash, change, and personal ID (make sure this is on their person at all times)
• A sleeping bag can be optional if space allows

The packs should stay packed, and be placed in your vehicle when the storm nears. Make sure your vehicle is backed into the driveway, and is fueled up. That way, once the decision is made, all you have to do is get everyone in, and go. You have to remember that if the shelters are closed you will have to travel beyond the storm’s reach, and possibly use your vehicle as shelter if rooms at motels/hotels are unavailable.

When to Leave

You have to be informed, and leave before the highways are clogged, or become damaged. Once an order is given leave immediately, or leave before the order is given based on conditions in your area.

You can go to a relative’s or friend’s home that is out of the storm’s path, or find an area to set up a temporary camp. National or state parks are an option during an emergency, if of course they are not affected by the disaster. There may be utilities available – such as water and electricity – at certain parks. Know the locations of parks in your state or area that can be used. Check ahead of time about using the parks during an emergency, and inquire about “check in” procedures after hours. Some parks may have restricted access, so know before you attempt to use one.

Carry all paperwork pertaining to your home such as insurance and lease agreements. You will need the paperwork to apply for disaster relief, file insurance claims, and you may even need it to prove you live in the community because of a curfew, or if access is restricted to help prevent looting.

Once out of the disaster area, you have to keep in mind that local retail stores and service stations may be short of supplies and fuel, due to the exodus of people fleeing the disaster. You have to be prepared to survive on your own for a few days.

You always have to consider that vehicles may break down, or that roads are impassable. You may have to travel on foot to escape some disasters.

The disaster may be such that your entire city, town, or community becomes a hostile area because of airborne contaminates from a nuclear, chemical, or biological attack, and bugging-out is the only way to save your life. If this is the case, your vehicle may be more of a hindrance when traveling, because of the clogged roadways, bridges, and tunnels. If on foot, you can maneuver around obstacles, and even cross water where you could not otherwise in a vehicle.

Getting ahead of everyone else can solve some of the congestion problem, but once again this means you have to be informed, and can make a decision based on information you gather instead of relying on the authorities to tell you when to leave.

For more information:
Creating an emergency plan
Zombie bug out bag essentials

Fishing is one of the quickest ways to obtain food in the wild, and all fresh water fish are edible. Fish can be found in rivers, lakes, streams, and ponds.

While the average person can survive up to three weeks without food, you must have nourishment for energy in a survival situation. Lack of energy may mean you cannot perform the necessary tasks needed for survival – such as hiking out of your predicament, or constructing a shelter and finding a reliable source of water. After three days without adequate nourishment, you will begin to feel the effects, which will be physical as well as psychological.

Fish can be caught using your hands, speared, netted, and caught using the traditional baited hook and line. Once you realize your are lost or stranded, you should inventory your supplies for the means in which to fish. In some circumstances you may not have any more than what you are carrying in your pockets, or may happen to have in your vehicle, on a motorcycle, or even on a bicycle.

Using a baited hook and line is the simplest method and is likely to yield the best results. Contrary to what some may believe, successful fishing does not require expensive rods, reels, and watercraft. Fish are attracted to bait – which can be virtually anything – and once they swallow the bait, the hook is what secures the fish to the line. Hooks can be made from pieces of bone, broken buttons, wire, wood and even glass in some cases.

The hook depicted is made from a one inch piece of wood. The sizes of the hook are dependent upon the fish size, and if unsure of what size, start with a one to two inch piece. Sharpen both ends so that bait can be secured. The idea is to get the fish to swallow or gorge on the entire hook, and from there it is simply a matter of pulling the fish in.

Another way to make a hook is to break a large button and sharpen the ends leaving the holes intact so you can attach line. The ends can be scraped on a rough rock or use the file blade on a multi-tool. The end must be shaped so that bait can be secured.

You can make a hook from a paperclip, vehicle wiring, and even shards of glass. Make multiple hooks, because it is likely you will lose some, and so you can have several lines in the water at the same time as well.

Once you have the hooks made it is time to find some fishing line. Any type of cordage can be used including shoelaces and strips of clothing twisted into string. Plastic grocery or garbage bags that you may have in your vehicle, or scraps you find on the ground can be cut into thin strips and twisted together to form line. You can use electrical wiring from vehicles and bicycles as well. Certain fibrous plants such as dogbane can also be used for fishing line.

Dogbane can be found virtually anywhere in a wilderness environment and the dried stalks can be peeled apart into fibrous strands that can be twisted or braided together to make a strong line.

Paracord can be used as fishing line if you remove the braided outer sleeve and unravel the seven inner strands.

Bobbers can be pieces of Styrofoam and even empty capped water bottles. Wrap the line around the neck of the bottle leaving plenty of line to reach into deep pools. The bottle will float on top of the water and it is recommended that you attach some type of weight to the line such as a pebble or other weighted object.

Fishing Bait

Fish are attracted to many things and sometimes it is simply something to grab their attention. They will test the “food” and many times end up swallowing the hook. You can use food scraps, fuzzy seedpods, worms, crickets, and grubs for bait. In some cases, you can use brightly colored pieces of cloth or even Styrofoam as bait if nothing else is available. Live bait is ideal and you should always attempt to find some for best results.

You can use any shiny object as a fishing lure, such as discarded eating spoons, bottle tops, and even pieces of colored glass. Even though the environment you find yourself lost or stranded in looks remote, it is likely that humans have been there, and in many cases will have left debris behind. Carefully look your area over for anything that can be used as line, hooks, and other fishing tackle. In some cases you may find discarded line, hooks, and even poles near large bodies of water left there by some other anglers, or those that may have been lost as well.

Spear Fishing

Fishing spears can be made with a few simple tools and in some cases no tools at all, except for what you find in your environment.

Sharpen the end of a sapling using a sharp sliver of stone or knife, and then split the end into prongs using a stone shard and a heavier rock for hammering. A single sharpened end will not always penetrate, which means the fish can get away. You will need multiple sharpened prongs for penetration and securing the catch.

In most cases, you will need to be directly over the fish to plunge the spear versus trying to launch it from any distance. The spear will not be heavy enough, or be balanced properly to throw it at the fish. You want to keep the spear in your hands so you do not lose it or the fish, so you are essentially stabbing down into the water as you stand over the fish.

Hand Fishing

It is recommended that you only hand fish if no other means are available. To catch fish by hand you have to find a relatively deep pool near the bank where fish would gather to hide from predators, or to escape the hot sun. You may also find snakes and snapping turtles nearby as well, so use caution when trying to fish by hand. Reach under the banks to find the fish, and in some cases to secure the fish you may have to place your thumb in their mouths and grab the gills with your other fingers, otherwise they may slip away.

Netting Fish

Fish will gather in deeper pools if the weather is warm, and in shallow areas if it is cold. You can wade into the pools and wait for the silt to settle from the movement, and wait for fish to begin gathering again. You can lay your net along the bottom while you hold on to the handle and lift the netting up as fish swim over it.

Fish netting made from a supple sapling and string. Ensure the sapling is long enough so you have a handle after bending the end into a hoop. You can use pieces of clothing instead of string to capture the fish. Once the fish is in the netting or clothing work fast to get it to the bank – otherwise the fish will slip from the net. You can essentially “fling” the fish from the netting onto the shore or riverbank.

As stated earlier, all fresh water fish are safe to eat, but they must be thoroughly cooked to destroy any harmful bacteria and parasites that may be present.

Also, don’t feel that you can’t prepare for survival fishing in advance. There are several small kits available that can be placed in a bug out bag, hiking backpack, or automobile as a precautionary measure.

Great news!  Six months after the zombie apocalypse starts, you’ll be in the best shape of your life!

As it turns out, running for your life is great exercise!  And since all the restaurants will be abandoned, you won’t be eating pizza three times a week anymore.

Worse news is, of course, that most people will be dead or will be zombies.

The better news is that you won’t be a zombie, because you’re fit and lean already, and you’re very capable of pulling yourself up over a fence, or climbing a tree, or outrunning even the quickest of the undead.

You are able to do that all, right?

I’m not saying you need to be able to run 10 miles, or bench 400 pounds, but the reality of the matter is this: some very basic fitness requirements are really, really useful – especially if, you know, there’s an apocalypse going on.

Now, before you click over to Amazon to buy that new exercise program you saw on TV where they run up the walls like they’re in the Matrix, there’s something you should know.

Most of maintaining a healthy weight is eating a proper diet.

Experts have estimated that up to 80% of weight loss is attributed to what you eat.  That means that as little as 20% is a result of exercise.

If that’s true, it makes sense to focus on the bigger number, right?

And you don’t have to clean footprints off your walls!

Now, I know what you’re thinking.

“I’ve tried diets before, and they didn’t work.”

Or, “I’ve tried diets before and it was too much work – cutting up vegetables to put in little bags, and eating 8 times a day doesn’t work for me.”

Maybe even, “I can’t or don’t have time to cook the meals the diet recommends.”

What all of these are really saying is this: “Dieting is too hard!”

And you’re right, in those instances, dieting is too hard.

But, what if dieting could be easy?

What if someone were to bring all your meals right to your door every week, and they were good for you, tasted great, and were affordable?

That would be easy, right?

No going shopping to buy food.  No cooking.  No cutting up celery sticks.  No dirty dishes.

You would never have to think about what’s for dinner.

And as busy as you already are, having one less thing to think about is pretty nice.

Restaurant-quality meals, delivered to your door, for about $20 per day – that’s what Diet-to-Go offers.

You’re probably thinking this all sounds too good to be true.  This must just be another fad diet that lets you lose 10 pounds the first week, but then you plateau – and eventually gain it all back (with interest) when you give up.

Well, you’re right – you will plateau, but there’s a big difference between Diet-to-go and a fad diet.

With Diet-to-Go you’re not tricking your body into temporary weight loss, or dehydrating yourself to lose water weight.

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If you’re interested in becoming a new you, avoiding health problems, and avoiding becoming a zombie, I recommend you get Diet-to-Go today!

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