Rhiza Labs FluTracker Forum

My interest in this pandemic is simple, I love watching societal reactions to events (not just disasters, but anything that gets people talking or moving) and trying to predict further actions. This pandemic has allowed me to reach further into the grab bag of possibilities than any other event in recent history short of Global Thermonuclear war. Those of us old enough remember watching "The Morning After" with Jason Robards (I think that's his name) and the dude from Police Academy. The television show "Jericho" fed into my societal project by given another version of living in the aftermath. Movies like "Children of Men" about living after a flu pandemic are bound to start hitting theatres and made for tv channels.

In my opinion, no matter what, this could get ugly. Most people living in or around large cities will not know how to survive if the groceries store shelves become empty. How will people act when police officers aren't patrolling and no one answers when you dial 911? People with no skills or knowledge are not suddely going to begin gardening, and if they try, where will they get the seeds, dirt, chemicals, etc? Who will collect the bodies of the homeless that die in the streets when the shelters close and people aren't there to give money? Where will the high numbers of dead be buried? How long will burials continue until funeral pyres begin burning?

The amount of humanity that will be shown by individuals varies by individual. Sadly I can say my humanity is based mainly on my children. If I were to lose them I don't know how I would react. Luckily, being from the south originally, I do know how to hunt and I do know how to farm. I don't believe in violence, but I will have to protect my family and my resources, which in doing so my bring my humanity further into question.

Hopefully, none of these things come to pass and this becomes a serious threat that never transpires into mass casualties. Although I am preparing for the worst, I am certainly hoping for the best. I am not digging a bunker into a hill in the woods, but I do have routes mapped out to get from where I am to where I need to be if things get bad. Here are my suggestions for anyone worried about worst case scenarios:

1) Have a plan - Let your family know your plan. Where will you be? Where will you go? Who will be with you? How will you get there? When will you leave?
2) Have enough supplies to last 1 week minimum - Don't forget toiletries and a bucket for waste in case water and sewage don't work
3) Have warm weather clothing AND cold weather clothing
4) Personal Protection - Option, obviously, but recommended

My plan consists of a 4WD vehicle (some people cannot accomodate this), my wife and children, 2 weeks supply of food, water, toiletries (don't forget female hygiene products), warm and cold weather clothing, sleeping bags, 2 flashlights (3 sets of batteries each), 1 emergency band radio (with crank), 1 emergency road kit (including 2 cans fix-o-flat), 2 first aid kits and my personal protection items (I can describe what these are and why I chose them if anyone is interested, but I don't think this is the proper forum).

I am military trained, so survival is not going to be too hard as long as I am not the one that is ill. I am trying to take this time to teach my wife as much as I can in case I am no longer around or able to assist. My greatest fear is not that I will lose my children, as I already have a plan for dealing with that, but that my children will lose me. They are too young to survive on their own unfortunately, and have never been trained in hunting or gathering.

Anyway, if anyone reads this and wants to discuss, let me know.

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I'm not a doctor, and I don't play one on TV....

One does not have to be crazy to believe in conspiracies, but one MUST be crazy to dismiss them out of hand....

Changer:

Are you in the city? If things were to get "ugly" as you put it, and I seriously hope that it will not, do you have a plan for more than a couple of weeks, because the last time we had a major flu pandemic, it lasted 2yrs., didn't it? We are sticking back some food, not for necessarily flu pandemic, but because of uncertainty in everything right now. People used to do that back when my grandmother was young, but they don't tend to do that anymore.

I am near Chicago, IL. Fortunately I am outside far enough that any quarantine will most likely not reach me before I can leave.

My supplies are for two weeks because I will be heading south during that time with my family. My sister has a large farm in the southern states where we can stay. There will be food available through farming, hunting and fishing. I don't think it will take me that long to get there, but I don't know for sure how fast I will be able to move if things get bad.

Please bear in mind, when I say "if things get bad" I am not meaning that schools are starting to close and my office tells everyone to stay home. I mean specifically that supply lines are about to break and martial law is is about to be declared. I am speaking strictly of "worse case scenario, every man for himself" situations.

If you don't know what this means, try to find a copy of the made for TV movie "The Trigger Effect" regarding power outages in California. Basically people were rioting, law and order was breaking down and social services were non-existant.

This IS the worse case scenario for this flu. As much as people don't want to admit it, Police, Fire, EMS, Nurses and Doctors are all people too. If people start dropping dead at a high rate, they will most likely retreat to take care of their own families. Add to that the roughly 10% of health services workers that will contract the flu and die and you have a serious lack of social services.

Why will truckers continue to deliver food to places all over the country when they and their children are at risk? Does anyone truly believe that the "goodness" of humanity will prevail in these moments? I don't believe so.

Anyway, enough doom and gloom. This is not what I EXPECT to happen. I always......

PLAN FOR THE WORST AND HOPE FOR THE BEST

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I'm not a doctor, and I don't play one on TV....

One does not have to be crazy to believe in conspiracies, but one MUST be crazy to dismiss them out of hand....

Understood. As much as I would hate to think of being manipulated by our gov't through "fearmongering" (as I've heard many talk of on-line)......I'd rather that be the case, than to have the "worst case scenario" come to pass.

Yes, I agree with you on that.

Additionally, we have been living in a society where people do not have to learn any basic survival skills. Where I currently live, if the stores don't have food, people will not be trying to grow food, or find food. They will steal food.

My neighbors, whom I say hello to when I see them outside, will suddenly become potential threats. They, in turn, will see my family as a potential threat. The slightest provocation could easily result in an over-reaction that cannot be scaled back later. Due to the fact that I live in an apartment, my potential threats are numerous and very close, I cannot even provide myself with perimeter security.

Thusly, if things reach a predetermined (by me) level of anarchy, I will begin my perparations. Once the next indicators are met, my family begins to move out.

My extended family did not want to talk to me about planning and emergency or contingency plans. Now their locations are getting hit with swine flu and they are calling me for advice. Don't wait until the last minute to make your plans. Don't plan yourself into a corner either. Make sure your plans are rigid enough to be followed, but fluid enough to allow for changes in necessity and location. DO NOT make plans that limit you to a single location, because if that location becomes compromised everyone in your family needs to know where to go to find you.

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I'm not a doctor, and I don't play one on TV....

One does not have to be crazy to believe in conspiracies, but one MUST be crazy to dismiss them out of hand....

I have not posted before so forgive me if it’s not correct. I have a lot to learn.

Like your get away plan very nicely done.

What if there is no gas to get out of town with! If the truckers are not driving and people are sick everywhere, how would you get gas?

You couldn’t carry that much with you and if you did, and it was seen by others then wouldn’t there be problems there.

just posted a dead trucker.
http://www.ksdk.com/news/local/story.as ... yid=183244

Thanks, it is not often that new posters are sensitive to that.
That said, this is about preparation...
My choices would be a 12 gauge pump shotgun loaded with double aught buck...for the dogs, right? They will run in packs when all the owners die. Read a story just this morning where two people were killed by a pack of dogs. This is real, and if you read history, it has happened many times in past pandemics.
I would also carry an AK-47, and lots of clips, for two legged aggressors. The AK because it is the most tolerant weapon to abuse ever manufactured, you can piss on it and rub it in the sand, and it will still work, and the parts are designed to be repaired by primitive blacksmiths.
And, of course, a .45.
Just me...

Just a thought. If we have martial law in effect will guns be confiscated?

Articles about gunowners losing the right to protect their property after Hurricane Katrina.
http://www.bobtuley.com/gun_seizures.htm
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1485480/posts

That may be a problem for people who are incapable of reading history or projecting future events...most of us are here because we do not have those problems. It is not that challenging to predict government actions...assume that a special needs child is deciding what our country will do...you will usually be not far off the mark.