Avoiding government-run emergency shelters

One of the primary reasons I feel folks should prep for disasters is so they can avoid resorting to staying in government-run emergency shelters. This isn’t because of any conspiracy theories or anything like that. Rather, I think it is just common sense.

As we saw during and after Hurricane Katrina, many of those in charge of local governments quickly become overwhelmed during major disasters. While many of the stories to come out of the Superdome were later found to be exaggerations, even outright lies, the fact remains that folks staying there went through hell. The Superdome just wasn’t designed for that purpose and it failed miserably because of that.

Government emergency shelters are often ad hoc set ups in gymnasiums or other large semi-public buildings. The food is minimal, the water pressure questionable with so many using the facilities. At best, you’ll get a cot with a thin blanket. Now, don’t get me wrong, if you’re coming in with absolutely nothing, these are all luxuries to be had.

But, the whole point of prepping is to be able to rely on yourself, rather than needing to stick your hand out for assistance. The more people there are who prep and can handle things on their own, the more supplies and assistance government agencies are able to give to those who truly need it. To me, it isn’t that government agencies don’t want to help, it is they get spread so thin their help is minimal at best.

In other words, be part of the solution, not the problem. The better prepared you are, the less likely you are to need help from someone else.

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Jim Cobb

Jim Cobb has been a student of survivalism and emergency preparedness for almost thirty years. As a young child, he drove his parents nuts with stockpiling supplies in the basement every time he heard there was a tornado watch in his area. Of course, being a child, those supplies consisted of his teddy bear, a few blankets and pillows, and random canned goods he grabbed from the kitchen cabinets. Later, he was the first (and likely only) child in his fifth grade class to have bought his very own copy of Life After Doomsday by Bruce Clayton. Today, he is a freelance writer whose work has been published in national magazines such as Boy’s Life and Complete Survivalist Magazine. He is a voracious reader with a keen interest in all stories with post-apocalyptic settings. He maintains the Library at the End of the World blog and is also the Content Director for SurvivalWeekly.com. He currently resides in a fortified bunker in the upper Midwest, accompanied by his lovely wife and their three adolescent Weapons of Mass Destruction. Jim's first book, Prepper's Home Defense, was published late 2012 and his second book, tentatively titled The Prepper's Complete Guide to Disaster Readiness, will be out in mid-2013, both coming from Ulysses Press.

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