What Disasters Do You Fear Most?
Kevin Felts 09.18.17
While browsing through the forum, I came across a thread that asks, “What kind of disaster do you fear the most? And why?” I thought the thread topic would make an interesting article.
There are all kinds of preppers (survivalists) out there:
People prep for natural disasters, such as hurricanes or earthquakes.
Then there are those who live in urban areas and prep for riots and civil unrest.
For those old enough to remember the Cold War, nuclear attacks are always in the backs of our minds.
Some people live near a chemical plant, so they may prep for a chemical release. A welding company I worked for in the late 1980s was doing work on a Phosgene unit in Lake Charles, Louisiana. An engineer told me if a certain pipe blew up, the Phosgene would kill half the people in the neighboring town before the unit could even be shut down.
So depending on who you talk to, their experience, education, and location will help determine what kind of situation they prep for and why.
Personal Prepping Plans
I attempt to approach prepping with a sense of realism. Chances are, a hurricane will make landfall before the outbreak of a new viral plague.
My three main concerns:
- Hurricanes that make landfall around the Houston, Beaumont, Port Orange, Texas areas. Examples include Rita, Ike, and Harvey.
- Incident along the Gulf Coast between Houston and Lake Charles. This could be a nuclear strike, something that would make millions of people evacuate and move inland. If an organization wanted to slip a nuclear device in on an oil tanker, it would be almost impossible to stop them. Everyday, dozens of oil tankers are brought into Houston, Port Arthur, and Beaumont.
- Outbreak of some new viral plague. This could be an airborne hemorrhagic fever, such as airborne Ebola or Marburg. Or, weaponized Small Pox that our vaccine does not protect against.
Hurricanes, we know what is going to happen.
Nuclear strike, we have an idea as to what will happen.
New viral disease, what would happen? It is the unknown that I worry about most.
Regardless of the disaster, I live in a rural area and most of my prepping plans cover my three main concerns. For example, take a look at my Hurricane Harvey After Action Review.
The one thing my prepping plans do not cover is nuclear fallout. If there is nuclear fallout 150 miles from Houston, something seriously wrong has happened.
