When you think about survival gear do you plan on using it to deal with natural disaster? Preppers have a strange fantasy that often involves a total collapse where they reach for a loadout of elaborate gear to survive the collapse.

What about regional disasters that happen on a regular basis? What about tornadoes and hurricanes?

These things happen every year and every year people are unprepared. That said, there are pieces of survival gear that might benefit you in the wilderness but will also benefit you when dealing with a natural disaster.

Lets look at a few situation specific situations and the gear to assist you.

Managing Fallen Trees

Most natural disasters bring down trees. It can be blizzards in the cold or hurricanes in the searing summer. Trees come down in disaster. These trees block roads, down powerlines and on occasion they need to be dealt with by homeowners.

In this case you are going to want access and fuel for a chainsaw. However, you might also want a high quality ax, hatchet and maybe even a folding saw to deal with branches.

You might think of these tools as something for building wild shelter but they are great for dealing with down wood and processing them down to be moved or used or another purpose.

Cordage and Tarps

Water is the enemy in a number of natural disasters. You need to have a means of shielding your home from rain if the home takes damage. One of the best ways to do this is using cordage and tarps.

You could use utility tarps for this or you could a rainfly for smaller holes.

Whether you store bank line or paracord, or both, you want to have lots of cordage both to use as survival gear and for natural disasters. This cordage is so vital. Tying down these tarps is the key to having success.

Light Sources

When the lights go out in a natural disaster, they go out for a while. Sometimes you get lucky and your power comes right back. If thats not the situation, then you need to be ablke to see at night.

Headlamps, high lumen flashlights and solar powered lights are great options for this.

You should also invest in some batteries to assure your lights are ready for the darkness.

Shemaghs

The shemagh is a piece of survival gear that really assists you after the strom has passed. Wahtever the natural disaster its good to have a means of dealing with the after affects.

The shemagh is large multiuse scarf that can assist you in a number of ways.

• It can protect you from the sun
• As a face cover it can keep you from breathing in dust and debris
• It can be a sling to deal with injury
• Worn wet it can actively cool you in a hot environment
• Its a great backup swaddle for kids
• You could also use it as a blanket for children
• It can even be a preliminary water filter in the worst of cases

The shemagh is lightweight and highly effective. There is no reason not to have at least one for everyone in your family.

Repellents and Sunscreen

I don’t mean to poke fun but only a beginner would head off into the woods or face down a natural disaster without these two pieces of survival gear.

Granted, they are not a cool ax or a ferro rod but they are certainly going to go a long way in flooded areas when homes have been destroyed.

You might not look at something like sunscreen as a piece of survival gear but its as important as most other things. After hurricanes the sky clears up in a way that is very strange and the sun is absolutely relentless.

Most people just go back in their home but what happens if your home is gone, or the roof was taken? What happens if you are outside working in your neighborhood all day to aid in recovery?

Conclusion

If you think that survival cgear should be resered for that next wilderness adventure or an SHTF situation, youd be right! However, thats not all you want some quality survival gear for.

Do yourself a favor and start considering regional disaster. Regional disaster and natural disasters are as letitmate as anything else.

Every year people lose loved ones to run of the mill natural disasters. Stop shrugging them off and start storing survival gear for these disasters.

Comme

Test your Might; Embrace Cold Weather Survival

Campfire in wintertime, surrounded by snow.

Let me start this article by stating the obvious. The cold is real. It will kill you fast. We are going to talk about self-imposed cold survival. If you are new to survival or don’t have refined skills in terms of packing, shelter making, and fire craft, be sure you don’t put yourself at risk in a cold-weather situation that might cost you your life. Instead, plan on a future cold-weather trip when you are better prepared. Again, the cold will kill you if you don’t have fire and you cannot get to shelter. Keep that in mind.

In all things, there is a balance of risk and reward. Practicing survival skills is no different.

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For a long time, I thought that as the cold weather moved in things like sleeping bags, tents, waders and fishing poles had to go up for the year. Maybe dust off the old 30-06 and do a couple hunting trips before tucking in for the winter, was my MO. My motto has since changed.

Perhaps it was the evolution of skills and confidence in those survival skills. Maybe it was confidence in my backup gear or it could have been the fact that I understand the land and its resources better than ever. Either way, its time to embrace cold weather survival. The learning season should never end.

While you might be wondering about the motivations behind cold weather survival and why anyone would abandon the wood stove for a dangerous night in the cold, well, it goes back to the risk/reward. In the cold, you will be tested in a much more extreme way. Your ability to make fire, find food, stay warm and survive in general will be tested in ways that warm summer nights by the campfire cannot mimic.

Its a true test of one's skills but you need to understand how dangerous it can be. For even the most seasoned you should maintain a quick escape to climate control. Don’t camp too far away from your car. Things can and will go wrong and you might need to get out of the are for life or death reasons.

The truth about the cold is that it will teach you the most about what you are lacking.

Wildfires and the Importance of your Go Bag

The apocalyptic photos that have appeared on the internet show Malibu awash in billowing smoke as the California wildfires ripped through surrounding counties. With wind gusts moving at 60 miles per hour the fire was able to move at an astounding pace and brought communities to their knees.

The destruction was hard to believe when viewed in pictures. Homes and cars were simply melted an obliterated. The fire burned an estimated 111,000 acres killing at least 31 people with nearly 230 missing. This from the Butte County sheriff's office. There were other fires in the area as well but it all brought the same thing to light.

When its time to go, you better be ready to go. Living in a society that is so cushy, we tend to be late or to push the envelope on time. It's rare that we meet a force that demands timeliness in action. With the fire it was very simple. You either get your family out of the path quickly or die. For all the bad press that preppers get, this is where the bugout bag makes sense.  Everyone affected by the fires either took advantage of their own bugout bags or left important things behind in the path of the fire.

While owning and advocating for guns is a slippery slope these days, its time we get real about the things we need when we leave our home in a disaster. A firearm is one of the most important. You are already a victim and people will look at you that way.

If you have qualms about guns you should build one. You should get to know how a firearm works on a more intimate level. You can purchase an 80 lower receiver and build your own weapon to store in a go-bag. You want that bag to contain everything you need to get out and stay safe while you are out.

The fires were quickly contained but what if they weren’t? Will the day come when the winds blow these fires all the way to the coast? In that moment you will be very glad you have that bag on your back. You do not want to find yourself in a shelter with nothing.

The earth has been very clear over the last 5 years. Mother nature is warning you that now is the time to take heed. Even if you don’t live in California, you are going to see a serious disaster and its going to affect your ability to get to safety.

Keep your family safe by building a full scale go bag and settling on a serious bugout plan.