Would You Survive a Pandemic
Tonight I’m watching a show on the History channel called “After Armageddon” and it got me thinking; how would I survive if society failed in the wave of a pandemic.
Our society has become so dependent on technology and organized city structures, most people do not have the necessary survival skills that we once had just as little as 100 years ago.
Do you know how to hunt? Do you know how to farm? Do you know how to make shelter or do you know how to tell the difference between wild growing berries and plants that are safe to eat or deadly to you? Can you purify water to make it safe for drinking? Remember the human body can survive 30 days without food but only 7 days without water. Do you know what to do?
Supplies Would Be Scarce
Supplies would be difficult to come by. The interstate trade of food, water and other goods would become more and more scarce if not stopped altogether. No local deli’s, no super markets, no fast food or fresh water. The power stations would shut down, the lights would go out. No sanitation services to manage our sewers or trash. More people would be sick. More people would die. No services to clean up the mess or even remove bodies. People would be lay dead rotting in the street and inside their homes thus more diseases would spread.
No cell phones, television, radio or internet for you to communicate with people or learn the fate of friends, family or even the rest of the country. Short wave radios would be the only source of long range communication but honestly how many people do you know who have a short range radio?
There would be mass looting. Gangs and roaming groups of “not so nice people” would quickly take advantage of the opportunity with the lack of law enforcement and unfortunately would find it more easy to steal, rob or hurt the average person, thus making them a constant factor to worry about.
Money would quickly become obsolete because face it, without electricity you cant access your bank accounts, credit cards are pointless and ATM’s wont dispense any cash. People will start to go back to the barter system. Precious metals and other useful tools would become the source of major trade.
Medicine that we are used to having access to wouldn’t be available. Hospitals would close, no paramedics to come save you. A simple cut on your hand could become infected and spread to the rest of your body and turn to something worse, possibly killing you.
Self preservation and protection would become the only thing that is important. Everyone would become armed with weapons. Most would have hand guns or rifles but blunt objects and fixed blade weapons such as knifes, swords, machetes and ax’s would become more practical. Bullets run out and guns jam. A fixed blade can be used for self defense as well as a tool for farming or irrigation.
So What Is There To Do
Basically everything we are used to and have come to expect in our day to day life would be gone. We would have to relearn how to live. We would have to learn how to survive off the land like the settlers of the 1800’s.
With all of these things to think about it would be smart to read a survival book or at least buy one that you can take with you and use if you ever find yourself in any of these scenarios. Possibly even prepare a couple backpacks and clothes with supplies to take in case you ever have to evacuate your city.
Keep in mind, a virus could spread in a mater of hours across a city and days across the country with the social life style of our culture. One person sick in a theater or shopping center can spread it to any number of people. One person on a plane can transfer the virus across state lines in just a couple hours.
Remember SARS, Avian Bird Flu and most recently Swine Flu. Anyone remember the Black Plague of Europe or Smallpox? This has happened before and can happen again. Knowing what to do and how to survive is the only way you will survive if society collapses.
Do you think you would be able to survive?
