Another consideration for the good folk in their warm homes with full cupboards, what do you suppose happens to the American economy after something so calamitous occurs that millions of us abandon a region indefinitely and are left shuffling up the road starving and cold?

Perhaps some of those refugees used to keep a vital part of the regional power grid operating.

Maybe some of those refugees worked at food processing plants. Or oil refineries. Or medical supply plants. Or maybe had something to do with electronic records keeping track of other people's wealth.

Unless you're off-the-grid, grow your own food and have a water well, we're rather more interdependent than we'd like to think we are.

The WTL must be greater than that surely, You've still got your legs and as most in the western world a reasonable amount of subcutaneous fat still left. Good to go for another 3-4 months I reckon, heck a lot of the folks in the southern states are good to go for year. It might be prudent to pack some decent walking shoes or boots as well. It could well give you another 1000 miles action radius before resorting to the Ritter MK5.

The Ritter MK5 is not the best tool for the job. I would much prefer a Kabar (certainly an ironic use of a survival knife). Much less messy and certainly more "honorable"

Sorry about the thread hijack. Perhaps this should be a new thread.....

I am a woman so this subcutaneous fat conjecture is treading in dangerous territory.

What's "WTL?" Weight-to- ???

Yes indeed on the shoes. And I have an assortment of Ritters to choose from: MK1, mini, MK3, MK4 and the 5.

Have to figure out which ones of those I'd barter and which to keep. Hmmmm....

In such a horrendous scenario, I think a lot of people would choose the way out of the wife in Cormac McCarthy's "The Road."

No food, no housing... no cable. So many just could not be bothered with the struggle.

That would be a particularly gruesome thread and entirely contrary to Equipped to SURVIVE.

;-)

Weird, WTL isn't on the list of ETS Acronyms, but is one of the most important because it is at the foundation of the Survival Pyramid of 'Kit' then 'Knowledge' then 'Will To Live'.

Within a very short time I'm sure there would be radio broadcasts advising people where emergency shelters/aid stations are located. And since there are only so many main arteries in and out of cities I imagine most people would use the most obvious routes like freeways and interstates where traffic could easily be blocked or diverted by authorities. Not saying it would be well organized but there would be some order within the chaos. And if things got truly out of whack, wouldn't it be more likely people would head for super wal-mart and other big box/grocery stores rather than homes? As long as you're not a parking lot security guard you should be okay.

And when you get there to find them fully occupied or empty of goodies by the other millions of you?

And when the resources of the local and regional Red Cross, churches, etcetera, are gone, I ask again are you assuming the government can and will adequately respond?

We can continue this infinite regression [you post a what if and I counterpost a what if not], but I guess it comes down to this: do you prepare for the potential for evacuees and refugees overwhelming local resources as if it was in itself a disaster or emergency, or do you think your preparations for other disasters and emergencies covers the situation.

I propose that you think through the first possibility. If you have done so and decide that scenario is too unlikely or that you are already prepared for it with no changes, fine.

Dweste, you haven't defined the scenario well enough to venture a reasoned assumption on the government's capacity to respond or in what time-frame it could adequately respond.

What is "it?"

Two million evacuees? Five million? Ten million?

The entire New York metropolitan area?

Washington, D.C.? Denver? Los Angeles?

In winter? Summer? Spring? Fall?

Was the place they evacuate from obliterated so they can't go home again for a decade, or ever?

Did they have a heads-up, such as in a hurricane, so that they could pack their cars with supplies? No warning, ala earthquake or nuke? Dirty nuke and bio-terror that could compel a populace to flee and have the opportunity to do so?

Where, what, when and how many matters, a lot.

I don't believe that Americans (or any other civilized people) fleeing a metropolitan area for any reason will be left to fend for themselves -- abandoned by every level of government, in every state, by every other entity in America (for-profit companies as well as non-profits have helped with other disasters) and the American people.

And I don't expect those people to become a massive mob of marauding savages. If our televisions still function, we're going to be seeing video of people just like us: children, seniors, disabled, women, men. Odds are that some of them will be old friends, colleagues or family.

So, no, I won't flee. I will sit tight and help as I can.

And if our government doesn't help our own people in that situation, there will be heck to pay at the next election.

The scenario is to imagine that there is a point at which the mere presence of evacuees / refugees become themselves an emergency / disaster to which you must respond. If you do not think it could ever happen and have thought it through, scenario has served its purpose and is over.