Urban Survival Compendium

D I S C L A I M E R O F L I A B I L I T Y A N D W A R R A N T Y

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C O P Y R I G H T

T E R M S A N D D I S C L A I M E R

INTRODUCTION

Have you ever faced an everyday dilemma and thought later,

“wow if only I had known...” Survival isn’t just about fighting for

your life in the wilderness, or surviving a natural disaster and

being displaced from your home. Sometimes a crisis comes right

where you are. Maybe you can’t leave or maybe you won’t want to

evacuate. Either way, you will need to know what to do. That is

what urban survival is all about – helping you survive right where

you are.

Packing up and getting out isn’t always the best solution.

Sometimes it is best (or even necessary) to stay put; no matter

what dangers you must face. Why would someone decide not to

leave when faced with danger? Here are a few common reasons:

• Family members who are unable to move due to age,

sickness, physical shortcomings, denial, or even hope that

everything will turn out okay. For some, the thought of

leaving behind those they love is impossible, so they must

make the best of a very bad situation.

• You may not be able to afford to leave.

• You or someone in your family may need to stay near a

specific doctor or hospital for treatment

• You may have missed the window of opportunity to leave

and now find yourself stuck.

• You don’t have anywhere safe to go

• The disaster is something (like a deadly virus) which allows

you to stay home

So what kind of threats may warrant you to know specific urban

survival skills and techniques? Here are a few:

Potential Threats You May Face

Crime

You can check your town or neighborhoods crime rate by either

by visiting your local police station and asking to see either blue

pages for the day (crime reports) or you can check out these

websites:

www.crimereports.com

www.spotcrime.com

Both sites will list the types of crimes reported in your area over

the last 30 days.

Accidents/Natural Disasters/Terrorist

Attacks

Many experts believe that o rail lines are going to be the exact

place that terrorists strike. Considering the fact that most

chemicals are transported via the rail line, this is something to

worry about if you live within a mile or so of any railroad line.

Dangerous leaks and explosions could put your family at risks.

Other sites that could experience a terrorist attack or other

dangerous emergency include:

• chemical plants

• industrial storage sites

• power stations

• or other industrial complex

Fortunately your preparations for a terrorist attack will also work

in the event of a normal fire or leak from a regular factory

emergency.

Paying attention is your best precaution to avoiding injury. For

instance, if you hear an explosion near a local chemical plant and

notice a plume of smoke and the wind is headed your way, get out

of the area right away – even if no sirens or evacuation orders

have been made. The key here is to put as much distance

between you and that smoke as fast as you can. Do so while

travelling perpendicular to the wind to avoid contact.

Let’s say you aren’t lucky enough to be able to get out in times of

trouble. If you live anywhere near a rail line, chemical plant, or

other factory or plant that has dangerous chemicals and

substances inside. Develop a plan now to both evacuate and to

stay safe if you are stuck in the area.

Crowds

In the event of any emergency it is always best to stay away from

large crowds. Here are just a few places to steer clear in the event

of trouble:

• stadiums

• homeless shelters

• schools

• „auditoriums

• Any designated red cross shelters

• Hospitals

• Churches

Why would you stay away from the exact places that everyone is

telling you to go? There are several reasons. One being that the

more panicked people stuck together in a small area, the more

apt you are to fall victim of a crime, remember the stories of the

women and children raped and beaten at the stadium in New

Orleans during the aftermath of hurricane Katrina. People also

worried when the restrooms couldn’t handle the influx of people

that the discharge would make the stadium a ripe place for

disease to spread.

Also, shelters often are havens for criminals and drug addicts,

making them less than safe for your family.

Be sure to scout out safe places to evacuate to in an emergency

and if you of end up at a shelter, stay alert. If you feel unsafe at

all leave.

Traffic

Think about what you local roadways are like during a normal

rush hour. Now consider what they’ll be like during an emergency

evacuation. Yea, it’s enough to scare you into staying put. But

there are alternatives. Scout out smaller roads and evacuation

route that may not be heavily travelled. Most people will stick

with the larger roadways and paths they know well when

evacuating. Few will want to venture on unknown back roads for

fear of getting lost. Now is the time to find these out of the way

passages so that you can turn off the main roads and head out of

town unimpeded by traffic in an emergency.

Also, stay clear of choke points like bridge’s canyons, and

construction areas where traffic may clog or where accidents are

common.

Living in a major metropolitan area has a lot of advantages, but

when faced with a major crisis, it can be a nightmare. Surviving

in a cityscape during a disaster isn’t easy and can be downright

dangerous. Let’s look at a few things you will need to consider if

you are stuck in the city during a major societal crisis.

Municipal Services (water, sewage treatment, trash disposal and

electrical grids) Many experts have warned that in a real

emergency having a city’s electrical grid go down for any long

period of time will play havoc with life as we know it. Most cities

are equipped with emergency generators to keep major services

running for a few days, but not weeks or months. Should any

large-scale disaster happen, the odds are good you will not only

lose your electricity, but your water supply and sanitation

services. After all, everything these days works on some sort of

electricity. Why, you won’t even be able to flush your toilets

because the sewage system may fail. This is going to create utter

chaos in urban areas, where there are so many people crammed

together in relatively small spaces and people rely so heavily

today on modern conveniences to live.

If you are in your own home, you will have more choices. After

all, even the smallest yard has room to dog a sanitation hole to

keep bacteria away from your living quarters. But what would you

do if you lived in an apartment building or were stuck in a

commercial building? It is time to think about your response.

Knowing what to do in these situations could keep you from

falling victim to dangerous diseases during a crisis.

Inner/City Apartment

If you live in a crowded city apartment, it is a good idea to keep a

five gallon bucket in the closet. I know, space is limited in many

of these apartments, but you can use it to store any sanitation or

personal items you might need in an emergency like toilet paper,

medical supplies, etc. This will give you a port-a-potty you can

pull out and use if the bathroom facilities aren’t working. By

using ash, shredded newspapers or saw dust in the container, you

can reduce odors.

House with Yard

Digging a small yard in the yard for a functional outhouse can

last awhile for several people. Be sure to dig the hole at least 48

inches deep and several feet wide. This will allow you to make an

outhouse to use for awhile without the need of digging multiple

holes.

Always keep a good stock of antibacterial wipes, spray and bleach

in your linen closet in case of an emergency. Keeping bacteria at

bay in an urban setting could mean the difference between life

and death.

Rural Areas

Those who live in rural areas are going to be in a lot better shape

during a long term crisis than those stuck in a city. For one, most

rural homes have septic systems that can be used regardless of

the grid.

What about water?

When the electric grid goes down, pumping stations will stop

working and this will mean that you can‟t get water (and if you do

get it will be contaminated). Unless you have

been able to store a few hundred gallons of safe drinking water,

the odds are good you aren’t going to have enough to drink let

alone keep yourself clean with. So what are you going to do?

Inner City/Apartment Living

If you lie in a city one of the best things you can do is stock up on

water filters. They are relatively cheap and small enough to store

in even the smallest apartment. Plus, they will be able to filter

out chemicals bacteria and virus during a water contamination

scenarios. Ceramic kits offered by Homespun Environmental are

very effective and much cheaper than other varieties.

Gravity fed systems work with an inexpensive 5-gallon bucket

and allow you to filter hundreds of gallons of water if needed.

These filters can be stored for up to 8 years in a small shoebox, so

they are a good investment.

Not only will this filtered water be a safe to drink, cook and wash

in, but you can use it to wash your clothes. But where are you

going to get the water? Collecting rain water is going to give you

the cleanest water to start with. Of course these filters can also

clean contaminated tap water (assuming the tap is till able to

run).

House with Yard/Garage

If you have the room, it is a good idea to buy a 200-500 water

tank and store it in your garage. If this is too large of an item (or

too expensive), then look for other barrels that you do have room

to store. You can get all kinds of 50-gallon drums for free or at

least very cheap from manufacturing plants; Craigslist and flea

markets.

By placing a water tank in the yard (and adding a ceramic filter to

it) you can easily collect rainwater, giving your family plenty of

water to sue in an emergency.

Rural Area:

If you have a well be sure to install a manual pump head in case

he electricity grid goes dead. This will allow you to pump water

whether your standard pump works or not.

Trash and waste disposal

Most people don’t realize how fast the trash in their apartment

building or neighborhood would build up if collections ceased on

a regular basis. Imagine if he trash collections service didn‟t how

up for 2-3 weeks. How many bags could be littering the street.

This would create more than a nuisance – it would create a real

health hazard.

Apartment Living

In the event trash service is suspended for a long period of time,

talk with your neighbors and see if you can agree on an area to

store the trash to try and maintain some semblance of

cleanliness. Finding a place to create a small burn pit can also

help to keep trash from accumulating. By burning food scraps

you can also keep the dangers of bacteria and rodents at bay.

House with Yard

If you live in a single family home you will have more space to try

and deal with accumulated garbage. Depending on how long the

situation lasts, however, you are going to have to try to do what

you can to limit the amount of trash your family produces. Again,

burning off what you can may be a good option.

Rural Living

If you live in the country on some acreage, you will be more

options than your urban counterparts. Dig a large burn it right

away and designate an area away from the building and well

where trash and sanitation excrement‟s can be tossed.

Electrical Grid

Our country’s current electric grid is an antique that is fragile at

best. Some experts forecast a major breakdown in the nations;

grid within the next decade, leaving us all vulnerable to the

effects of lost electricity. There are countless ways in which our

weak electrical system can fail: a storm can take it out; even

NASA agrees a solar flare could thrust us into life of the 1800s

within hours. Should any major electrical breakdown occur, panic

could quickly ensue. Everyday tasks would be impossible. Even

money would become unavailable as ATM machines go down and

banks are unable to open. There would be no hospital care; no

fuel; no food deliveries and no medications. Manufacturing

would halt and police and fire services would stop. America

would be utterly lost and hopeless without electricity. So what

can you do?

Inner City Apartment Life

Owning and operating a generator in this environment isn‟t

usually a possibility. For one thing there isn‟t room to store extra

fuel and the noise from the generator would attract attention,

leaving you vulnerable to other peoples request to use it. A

better option might be to install a few solar panels outside of

your window to generate at least minimal power. It may not be

enough to run your apartment, but it may be enough to charge

your batteries for flashlights; cook meals and keep some heat on.

Also, switch o LED lights now. They use a lot less electricity and

will last longer during an emergency.

Always keep the propane tank on your grill full too, so you will

have a secondary source for cooking and heating water=during a

power outage.

House with Yard

Even if your house is located in the city you will still make out

better than apartment dwellers during a power outage. For one,

you may access to a propane grill or outdoor fire pit that you can

use for cooking. You also have more room to install solar panels

which will generate more electricity for you.

Rural Living

Most rural homes already have propane tanks of 500-1,000

gallons. This can last a fairly for over a year if they are careful, so

be sure to always keep it full. Your best ally in an emergency, a

large propane tank can keep your heat on; refrigerator running

and you water and sewage working. In addition, you will likely

have access to firewood a well as room to install wind turbines

and/or solar panels.

People for better or worse

Living in a large metropolitan area may become downright

dangerous in an emergency situation. Looting becomes common,

even during shot term crisis. Imagine the panic of people as they

realize they can’t get food and other necessities. That’s puts

anyone with supplies at risk, so be sure not to tell anyone that

you are prepping for a crisis and if one hits, don’t let anyone

know what you have.

If you haven’t prepared for you own security before a crisis,

remember, you will only have a few days to do so after one hits.

Here are some tips for securing yourself and your possessions:

Inner City Apartment Living

Eliminate your light danger by installing back out curtains. If no

one notices you are in your apartment, they may leave you alone.

Fortify your doors and windows with quality locks now.

In addition, minimize your outings. Stay inside as much as

possible. Those roaming the streets will be looking for victims. If

you have one, take along a handgun for protection.

House with Yard

It doesn’t matter where you live, everyone will be in danger

during a real crisis. Depending on how long the situation lasts,

you could face hungry and panicked neighbors looking for food

and other necessities. If they think you have some hidden, your

entire family will be at risk.

Again, fortifying your doors, windows and garage are essential.

Scatter your supplies throughout your house so if someone finds

a stash it isn’t everything. Find good hiding places for your

supplies. Stack boxes in the garage marked Xmas ornaments or

old pictures and place them with your regular stuff. That way if a

box is opened, it will be full of decorations and the other boxes

will be left alone (the ones with your food in them).

Rural Living

In some regards living out in the country can make surviving a

disaster easier; but it can also put you at risk. After long periods

of time all of those people from more urban settings are going to

start scavenging outlying areas looking for food and supplies. If

they see your water tank, propane tank and livestock, they are

going to come after you for it. I some cases, working together

with your neighbors to fortify the area can work well, but you will

still likely need to keep firearms and ammo at the ready to fend

off those who want to steak your stuff.

Create road barriers or other obstacles on your property and

again, stash your supplies in varying locations. You do have the

advantage over people who don’t know the area and if you are

diligent and observant you can see trouble coming.

Always better to prepare and prevent

If you haven’t figured it out yet, you need to prepare now for a

disaster. Waiting until one strike is too late. Now is the time to

make o a list of the things you will need to gather and store. Hera

re a few things to consider:

• shelter (taro, foil blankets, sleeping bag, etc0

• water (bottled, filters, iodine tablets, etc)

• fire (matches, fire-starter tools)

• foodstuffs

• medical supplies (including prescriptions and OTC

necessities)

• security (weapons, dogs, training, alarms, locks

communication (walkie talkies, wireless, etc)

• extra clothing

• comfort items

• barter items ( gold and silver coins, cigarettes, alcohol)

After you make this main list, begin listing individual items that

you think you’ll need. Mark off the stuff you would absolutely

need to survive and buy those items first. Begin with 72 hours of

supplies; then add to that until you have 6 months worth of food

and keep adding until you have 6 months worth of general

supplies.

Basic Supplies Inventory

These are the basic items you will need to survive in a

catastrophic event:

• fire

• food

• water

• fuel

• batteries

• trauma/medical supplies

• vitamins

• prescriptions

This inventory will look something like this:

Fire

Fireplace and ½ cord of wood

Camp stove

Propane grill

12 boxes of matches

Flint, magnesium fire starter

20 candles

Food

40 cans of soups or vegetables

5 pounds of potato flakes

275 Costco meal bucket

60 cliff bars

Water

60 gallon water heater

5 x 32 ounce Gatorade

24 x 1 bottles of water

Purification

Here’s a simple way to purify contaminated water:

1. Drill very tiny holes in a 55 gallon drum

2. Put several pairs of old jeans an shorts on the bottom of the

drum

3. Add a thick layer of sand at least halfway up the side of the

bucket

4. Add a small layer of clothes on the top and weight down with

a few rocks

5. Place a bucket underneath the drum to collect the water

If you have active charcoal you can put that on the very top. You

will have to change the sand once in awhile to keep the water

filtered properly.

Fuel

3 x 5 gallon of unleaded

2 x 20 lb propane

1 gallon white camp fuel

400g isobutene for your camp stove

Batteries

20 AA

10AAA

2 9v

3 lithium flashlight batteries

1 extra watch battery

Trauma

Various sizes of band aids

Costco first aid kit

Advil Tylenol Aloe Imodium

60 worth of multivitamins

36 contact

1 pr eyeglasses (prescription)

A 1 month supply of prescription drugs

Consider Survival Groups

When you think of a survivalist, you may think of someone who is

planning for a global catastrophe or civilization upheaval. This is

not really the case. A true survivalist is someone who prepares

themselves for an emergency situation. Ranging from a lengthy

snowstorm to a flood to more serious events, a survivalist simply

wants to be ready should normal day to day living be disrupted.

Like other interests, those involved in survival preparation often

form local groups that help to share information; but stockpile

items in bulk; and even work together in the event of a crisis.

Every group is different and some many hold certain beliefs you

do not share. That is why it is important to consider the group’s

main philosophy before joining. Here are few different types of

groups that are out there. See which one best fits your interest,

skill level and philosophies:

Low Impact back-to- Nature Groups

This grouping is usually highly skilled in botany, natural

medicines, inorganic chemistry and other nature-stemming

sciences. In most cases these are very friendly and peaceful

groups that simply believe that nature holds the key to all

survival and with enough natural knowledge one can survive any

catastrophe.

Pseudo-Survivalists

These are not really survivalists at all, but rather extremists who

want to live outside of the law. Few have the skill of a true

survivalist and believe that militias and violence is all that will be

needed to stay alive during a disaster.

Primitive Skills Groups

Often considered purists, this group looks to find ways to live

without technology. They generally do to tout that their way is

the best way, but they do insist that in a survival situation their

method is the only reliable one. They believe in using the hands-

on skills of generations past and can easily grow food and

continue living without the necessities we take for granted.

Although their methods wok well, too many of the primitive skills

group members that primitive times were not all that good –

disease was rampant; and hardship was common.

Still you can find this type of survivalist in today’s society. The

best known group is the Amish. Having successfully built whole

communities without modern technological fare, the Amish are

the closest thing to pure primitive skills group as we can get

today.

Hi-Tech Groups

This group uses the best of technology to prepare for a

catastrophe. Using computers, generators, alternative power;

hybrid vehicles, elaborate filtration systems; survivor shelters

and more, this high tech group will likely stand a good chance of

living within the aftermath of a catastrophe quite comfortably.

The biggest drawback in this type of survival planning is the cost.

Unattainable to the common person, it is reserved mostly for

government officials and the ultra-rich. To work properly, there

must be a total integration of the highest technologies available,

and be online constantly, whether in danger or not. To make

matters worse, the group must also be able to manufacture

“replacement parts” for these systems.

Paramilitary (survive-by-force) Group

These groups are not survival groups at all, but rather, aggressive

forces that want to dominate everyone else. They are run by a

succession of leaders who depend on their followers to do their

bidding. Few of these groups have the ability to survive on their

own since they can’t think independently.

These groups will be a great threat after a catastrophe because

they will out to take over and gain control using force as needed.

Positive Action; Combined Skills Groups

The most difficult to form, these groups will combine the best of

all the other groups to make a group that has the intellect,

leadership, skills and knowledge to survive anything. This group

will integrate primitive skills with back to nature philosophies as

well as use whatever technology is available to try and rebuild

some semblance of organized society.

One of the drawbacks of this type of group is that it lies on each

member to see the value of other members and e wiling to give up

partial control for the betterment of all. Each person is expected

to perform to the bets of their ability, regardless of any personal

gain.

Personal Threats

Daily threats: power outages, medical emergencies, lost

individuals; crashes and derailments; robberies; gangs and drugs;

unemployment; disability recovery and more. There are a lot of

things to be afraid of in today’s world. Here are just a few of the

big things that can throw our everyday lives into chaos:

• natural disasters

• terrorisms

• Disease

• Famine

• Government collapse

• Economic collapse

• Global warfare

• Government tyranny

• Class/race/ religious war

Survivalists know that bad things can – and will – happen. And

they prepare for it. Some people call them buts and others

extremists. But really, what they are is planners. Real survivalists

are looking for trouble, but they are planning for it. Juts in case,

they want to be ready. Most people refuse to take these threats

seriously, and live each day as if all is well with the world. The

truth is, the world and its governments are a mess. Upheaval is

coming. Survivalists know this and are gathering together so that

when it a crisis hits, they will have the network set up to survive.

Organizing Resistance Groups

Here are some main rules to organizing a resistance group:

Cell structure: each cell has five members. They can be

individuals, spouses or families. Each member is represented by a

circle, showing that the members primary group and secondary

group affiliates. No member may be a member of more than one

cell. Cell structure is diverse and unpredictable’s making them

hard to infiltrate.

The family (or member) may consist of blood relatives, and others

as long as they trust each other and live together.

A cell is made up of five of these families, with each individual

attached to two other (secondary) cells. Therefore they know four

people in the main group; three in the secondary group; and may

have contact with others through the secondary group. When

message sand information needed to make their ways to cells,

they do so through common members. Cache locations are only

known by primary cell members, making them safer.

Members may belong to only one primary cell and two secondary

cells. Meetings are held regularly, which must be attended.

Weekly telephone contact is required.

There are not to be no written record of anything a cell does,

plans or says. Contact information is to be kept by the cell leader

only and never in electronic form.

All maps and correspondence should be written in code.

New recruits must be sponsored by a primary cell member.

Recruits must work to show their loyalty and will not be able to

know any cache sites until they are fully vested.

A cell should strive to know all of its members well. Background

checks are used to ensure safety. Silence in cell activities is of

paramount importance.

Complete honesty is required by all members. No contact

regarding cell activity is to be released outside the cell structure.

Members who talk outside of the cell structure are to be banned

forever from any cell activity.

Any member who leaves the cell should be harassed within the

law to the greatest extent, unless their reason for leaving is

considered reasonable.

Codes

Codes are substitutions for words and phrases to make

communication misleading to the outside. Codes should always

be used when listing members, personal information, meeting

places and more. They are especially important when dealing

with electronic messaging (email, telephone, fax, etc).

Eavesdropping can be done in a number of ways, therefore you

must be sure that no one member can ever lip read or overhear

any conversations between members.

In conclusion

People live centuries without the modern convenience we take

for granted. Even in today’s modern world there are plenty of

places where normal niceties are just dreams. Even running water

isn’t commonplace in some third world regions. This is good

news for those who are preparing for a disaster. After all, if those

people can survive primitive conditions you know you can too.

Still, finding yourself in the midst of chaos and disaster isn‟t

going to be easy; no matter how well prepared you are. Living in

an urban area is going to make survival even harder. You may

not want to purchase a rural piece of property to escape to in an

emergency, but you can at least create a network of trusted and

likeminded people so you have somewhere to go to escape the

city should disaster occur. Always have a backup plan ready.

Even a shed somewhere out of town can be a place to go to get

out of the dangerous city if needed. The key here is to get as far

from the city as you can in a disaster! You will stand a much

better chance of survival in a more rural setting. The setting are

much more sustainable without modern conveniences and will

protect you from the filth and disease of overcrowding.

Surviving in an urban environment is going to be hard – too hard

– so do what you can to make plans now to get out! Your life just

might depend upon it.