Most survival experts will tell you that trying to survive a major catastrophe in an apartment is a bad idea. For the most part, I agree with them. You are far better off out in the country, or at least a small town. The problem is that many people in today’s housing market can barely afford the rent of an apartment, let alone a house, and a well equipped remote retreat is something that is the stuff of dreams. On the other hand, it doesn’t mean you can’t prepare, it just means you have to work harder to overcome the difficulties.
Over the next few articles, we’ll look at some of the options the average apartment dweller has for being more prepared, and some basic supplies and equipment. These aren’t intended to be definitive articles and the last word on any subject, but should get you started in the right direction, if only that you think about the consequences of where you live and what can happen in a major crisis.
Remember that unlike the Japanese Tsunami, most crises rarely have everything coming down around your ears at once. It might be just a power outage, or it might be the water stops running, spring flooding, or a dozen other things, singly or in combination. The trick is to look at what you have in your apartment, and imagine that you have it no longer. You need to plan now for the what-ifs later.
Look first at your building. How big is it? If you live on the forty- first story of a fifty story apartment tower, is it even practical? Imagine hauling water, food, or just yourself up forty flights of stairs. Now imagine doing it in the dark, as those battery powered emergency lamps won’t last long. Even the buildings resources won’t be what you think they are. There might be a fifty thousand gallon pool in the basement, but it’s no good to you in Apartment 4101.
For the purposes of our discussion, I will assume you live in a two, three or four story apartment building, which is a pretty common sized building in Manitoba. You might live in something as small as a fourplex, or a building a little larger than described, but most of the lessons will still apply.
You will need to look at every aspect of your life in the apartment: food, water, sanitation, safety from natural disasters, safety from humans, easily reached resources and so on. You’ll need to make a plan for dealing with the loss of any and all services you presently enjoy, from the easily reached grocery store to electrical power.
There is one other factor that the apartment dweller needs to deal with, and that is the other inhabitants. While you might be dealing with your waste responsibly, the guy right above you might be peeing off of his balcony. You might be doing your cooking in a safe manner on your barbecue, but the moron next door might light your building on fire trying to figure out his alcohol stove he bought at the camping store.
Your preparations and forethought can disappear or be rendered ineffective because of others. This is what makes the apartment survival scenario so challenging. In addition to all the other preparations you may need to make preparations to get others organized and working together.
But that’s for a later article. First we’ll look at the more material aspects of apartment prepping.
Originally posted march 23, 2011 @ MPN
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