Getting home, bugging out, evacuating
Bill Masen - August 19, 2021This is quite brief, sooooo if you live in one place and commute to work / school etc and you have a plan to get home or bug out PDQ if something goes wrong………….
Does your area suffer from the risk of Flashfloods, Wildfires, Quakes, Tsunamis, Landslides or Avalanches etc then you need to consider a few points.
1 Normally when trouble turns up on a communities doorstep the first thing people have a habit of doing is jumping into the car and heading for the Freeway / Motorway. This very often leads to total gridlock and traffic chaos within minutes. You need Alternative routes if and where possible. And possibly alternative means of transport.
Some years ago I read of people in the PNW who had boats , microlights, light aircraft, even helicopters which were positioned for a quick evac if neccessary (Though I dont know the validity of a boat in a Tsunami risk) . Though Bicycles, Motorcycles, Horses and 4×4 mules and quads were more affordable and popular alternatives. Either way the major highway routes are more than likely to be gridlocked very quickly, and possibly in ruins if the issue is Landslide or Quake.
Your best route will nearly always involve NOT using Bridges, Tunnels, Mountainside roads or through Forests, But I accept its not always possible to avoid having to use such vulnerable routes. So if possible PERSONALLY Recce / Recon as many alternatives as you can find. And revisit them occasionally to ensure they are still open, and try to avoid vulnerable structures.
2 If you face inundation from flash floods or tsunamis or burst reservoirs your route out should ideally avoid any travel that involves going DOWNHILL, Common sense I know, but its not uncommon for folks to not do a realtime recce of their escape routes.
I know of one fellow here in the UK whose original B O route involved crossing a river, but what he assumed was a bridge was in fact only a FORDING PLACE which for much of the year was under 4 feet of water. And flood water from failed dams or tsunamis can outruns cars easily so GO UP not DOWNHILL.
3 Disasters dont make appointments, and they can affect HUGE areas. If your BO/Get home plans rely upon motor vehicles please I beg you to consider TWO options. (A) never EVER let your fuel tank get under 50% full, EVER. (B) consider keeping one or two extra full fuel cans in your boot (UK) Trunk (US) . During a Hurricane in FLA some people bugged out with full tanks and extra fuels but still ran out in Nowheresville Georgia after heavy traffic caused a 14 hour crawl at 10 MPH which used up their fuel reserves. The Fuel (UK) Gas (US) stations they were not dry were closed by either the police or owners.
4 Forget Public Transport in all contingency plans, chances are if its not knocked out by the disaster it will be cancelled as a safety precaution or the staff will have bugged out themselves.
5 By all means assist friends and close neighbours if you SAFELY can, but under no circumstances get involved with strangers. During disasters whilst goodness and kindness is common but so is panic driven selfishness and criminality.
Alisa Felix
Redneck
Illini Warrior
