So, something major has happened in your city. Are you prepared?
You might not be home when the worst strikes and urban survival is quite a bit different from making it in the woods.
You’ll need to act fast to have the best chance of making it through this ordeal.
Let’s make sure your readiness is up to par before it happens, giving you a fighting chance at staying in one piece.
A Get Home Bag
No matter where you are during the day, you’ll want at least a few of the essentials in order to make sure you can get home and get to the rest of your supplies.
A get home bag is the perfect solution. Depending on your own personal needs and the distance you may need to travel you can keep it in your car or even keep the supplies in your normal backpack.
At the very least you’ll want the following:
- Water
- Snacks
- Flashlight
- Knife
- Multi-tool
- Some sort of prying tool
Of course, that’s just the very basics.
What else you want to carry will depend on your own skills and needs. It just needs to be enough to get you home for the most part, or at the very least to get you to somewhere safe.
Ideally, you’ll be able to access the rest of your supplies soon, but if you’re a good distance from home for much of the day then you’re going to want to make sure you have exactly what you need.
Somewhere to Go
If you’re in a city during a disaster then you’re probably going to want to get clear of the urban area as soon as possible.
Different situations will prevent this but a lot of the time you’ll be able to avoid many problems by just removing yourself from the situation.
Spend some time determining a safe place to go.
More importantly, make sure you have multiple routes to get there. Depending on what happened you may have to go on foot or take alternate routes.
Having at least three or four ways out of the city is pretty much essential. Urban survival is no joke and it really is better to flee and be safe rather than deal with the mess that may happen.
That’s particularly true in cases of civil unrest and other issues where other people may become a threat at any given moment.
A Bug-In Plan
Is it safe to leave the city?
In the case of some major disasters, like hurricanes, you may not want to try fleeing the city. Instead, you’ll need to hunker down and make do with what you have in your home.
Do you have enough food supplies to last for a couple of weeks? How about water? A backup plan for electricity? A radio to hear anything of importance?
Plan ahead just in case. Consider how you’ll get more supplies if you run out, how you’ll barricade the home if other people become a threat, and just how long you’ll be able to make it without outside help.
Ideally, it won’t come to this, but if it does then you’ll want to be prepared.
Surviving the Urban Landscape
The hazards which occur during an urban survival situation are quite a bit different than those you might run into in the wilderness.
Not everyone has a full prep in place. Supplies are relatively easy, but quite dangerous, to acquire in an urban environment.
The problem is this: you’ll need to act quickly, decisively, and possibly violently in order to get your supplies.
You may also need to fight to keep what you have.
Your First Defense: Stealth
If no one knows you’re there in the first place, then you’re unlikely to run into any trouble.
Chances are you know the local landscape in your home city. Before anything happens you’ll want to figure out routes which will keep you out of sight while allowing you to get supplies.
If going outside isn’t dangerous, then act as quickly as possible. You may need to set aside ethics about stealing for a moment if you and your family are short on food, water, or fuel.
Try to avoid others unless they’re in your group. Move at night and keep light usage to a minimum.
Your Last Resort
Violence happens in tense situations. Unless you have a concealed carry permit and make a habit out of keeping a pistol with you at all times you’re probably going to end up in a hand-to-hand fight at some point.
In your get home bag you want something sturdy that you can defend yourself with. A good combat knife is a viable option, if you’ve paired it with a multi-tool in your bag then you can ignore the usual needs for a survival knife.
Reach is your friend in close combat. The knife should be a last resort, a baseball bat, length of pipe, or any other bludgeoning instrument gives you a good bit of distance will work much better for disabling an attacker in most situations.
Your only goal should be to make it out of the situation alive. Use any means necessary to make sure it happens.
Prioritize Supplies
Water is the most important of your supplies, followed by food.
If the power is out then you’ll need to eat your fresh food first to keep it from spoiling.
If you need to go out then you should be sticking to essentials. Water, food, and batteries and fuel are what you should be after.
Leave senseless looting for those who don’t have a plan.
Urban Survival and You
The right urban survival gear makes a big difference.
What makes a bigger difference in your odds is planning and keeping a level head.
If disaster slams your city then you’ll want to have a plan and be able to remain calm.
If you’re ready to make sure you’re geared up and ready for any situation, then check out our blog and find the gear and knowledge you need to make sure that you make it out of even the worst situation.
