# Urban preparedness



## dragon (Mar 26, 2013)

I live in North Houston, bugging out is not an option. Are there any people that are in the same situation? 
Learning all I can about how to survive in the city, luckily there are woods and forests that surround Harris County should the need arise.
Any info or advice is appreciated.


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## Grimm (Sep 5, 2012)

We were living in a beach side city until this month. BO was not an option for us either with a toddler and planning to try for #2. We had to take lots of mental inventories of possible SHTF supplies from around us. If the neighborhood across the street had lots of fruit trees we took note of types, location and growing season so we knew when the fruit was available for us. We also took notes on who had water delivery service and were swimming pools were. Anytime we went anywhere we were on the look out for possible food and water sources. Heck! I even posted a thread about how common it was to find beached dolphins and if need arose I'd make dolphin burgers.

We even started a balcony garden to grow as much of our own food as we could to offset the need to go to the store.


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## Aliaysonfire (Dec 18, 2012)

I am prepping for both situations- one because I really don't have anywhere to go as of yet. So I totally understand where you're coming from. Here's some of my story:

The very first thing I did is invest in is a few buckets of that expensive freeze dried food- commercially prepared food buckets that will "feed an adult for a month." It felt like I had done something substantial to purchase a few of those when I began. I didn't have to know anything about shelf life or whatever. And proof- I had food for a month. (Basically trying not to overwhelm yourself when dipping your toe in the water.) 

Then I bought 2 55 gal drums and the pump and chemicals to treat it if needed. (my hubs did so I have no idea actually what's going on there.)

Then we had some shelves built to fit one wall of the garage to start putting stuff on like paper/hygiene products and other bulky prep items. (Water drums are underneath, also have a few gas cans) (We haven't figured out what all food can go there yet...cans don't look good after a few weeks out there, now wondering if we stuck vacuum sealed bags of food into the food grade buckets with the sealing lids would be ok??) 


Then I'd look into utilizing "hidden" storage space in your home for your preps. Like for instance- we have an odd 8x8 dead space under our stairwell that is climate controlled. We will have a ton of space there for canned goods that we'd rather not have exposed to the whims of humidity. You might be surprised if you live in a neighborhood that has a lot of the same floor plans there- someone who's lived there a long time can be a big help when trying to find stuff like that out. 

You can also start by having a simple emergency plan for your wife and whoever else lives with you. If something happened while you and your wife were apart and your small one was in day care, do you know what you'd do? Start small. Look up a basic Red Cross or even the FEMA emergency preparedness family plan. Try to get everyone some food/water/medicine/monthly income stored for 3 months...

Simply having a small safe for your important documents gathered up if they aren't already in one is a good thing to check off a list. 
Small steps are key when first starting out. 
There's so much to do!  don't worry though. The fact you are thinking in the right direction is miles farther than some people who deny anything that could disrupt their Starbucks coffee from stop flowing and Walmart putting cheap Chinese crap on the shelf.


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## Gians (Nov 8, 2012)

dragon said:


> I live in North Houston, bugging out is not an option. Are there any people that are in the same situation?
> Learning all I can about how to survive in the city, luckily there are woods and forests that surround Harris County should the need arise.
> Any info or advice is appreciated.


Bugging out isn't an option for us either, at least not for an extended period of time. If you have any kind of front or back yard to your place, you can grow an amazing amount of vegies and fruit. Depending on your neighbors and codes(that are enforced) you can also raise chickens or rabbits for meat. Between what you can stock pile inside and a garden outside, you'll be off to a good start and building a knowledge base that you can tap anywhere, anytime. If your stuck with no yard  maybe you could get together with a few others and turn an empty lot into an inner city garden. It'd help you and teach others where food comes from..besides Safeway and Burger King. I had a friend in Oregon that didn't have his own space but had an elderly grandparent that let him garden for a share in the produce....doesn't even have to be a relative.


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## swjohnsey (Jan 21, 2013)

dragon said:


> I live in North Houston, bugging out is not an option. Are there any people that are in the same situation?
> Learning all I can about how to survive in the city, luckily there are woods and forests that surround Harris County should the need arise.
> Any info or advice is appreciated.


Why isn't bugging out an option if it ain't personal?


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## rf197 (Jul 19, 2009)

Bugging in an urban area is probably not a great plan, ask the folks in Lower Manhattan when a few buildings collapsed.


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## swjohnsey (Jan 21, 2013)

You might not be able to get out by car but you can get out.


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## BillS (May 30, 2011)

Your biggest concern is your own security. You're going to have hoards of people going from the poor areas to the better areas in search of food. You're going to need to have someone awake at all times who can use a gun. It would be good if you had reinforced doors and bulletproof glass. Even if you're awake and you have a gun, the biggest danger is having people kick in your front door and your back door at the same time. I have a sliding glass door that I can block shut with a long piece of wood. I have a living room door that I can block with cinder blocks between the door and the closet wall.

Assuming you have your security taken care of, you're going to need at least a year's worth of food and water. It would help a lot if your home has a basement. If you don't have room to store water then you probably want to go get water at the safest time which I consider to be 3:00 AM. You need to plan your trip you so that leave at a time when few people are awake and you're home before it starts to get light.

Given that you live in the city you also need to think about how you can block all your windows so no light escapes. You don't want anyone to know that you live there.


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## GrinnanBarrett (Aug 31, 2012)

Reality is there are many many more people who will HAVE to bug in rather than bug out for various reasons not the least of which is they have no place to go. In most states the farther you get from an urban area the closer you get to another one. Making the most of what you got to work with is what survival is all about. If you plan to bug in be sure to have at least a back up plan if you MUST leave such as having your neighborhood overrun by bad guys, fires breaking out around you, or you just run out of supplies and have to go. Make your home as defendable as you can. Make alliances with key neighbors for mutual defense. Start growing a garden now not when you have to. 

Always be ready to change your plans to meet the times you are in. Best wishes. GB


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## Grimm (Sep 5, 2012)

To hit on BillS's point of blocking the windows there are a few ways to do this. 
1. Paint the windows with blackout paint. This was common during WWII so densely populated areas could not be seen from the air.

2. Blackout curtains. The ones you can buy at the store are not 100% blackout. You can add layers of fabric to them to help.

3. Wood over the windows. Says it all.

Using more than one of these together would work great. We are finishing a move to a more rural area where it snows. I plan on making thermal curtains to reduce heat loss through the glass and block light at night.


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## hiwall (Jun 15, 2012)

The one problem that I see that can not be overcome is fire. If you are in an apartment building and your neighbor decides to build a campfire in his living room to roast his weenies it will burn the whole building down. Or in a SHTF situation where there is no water and/or no fire dept, whole sections of cities may burn.
Also sewage WILL back up into many buildings(try to live on a hill).


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## dustinglodney (Apr 3, 2013)

Grimm said:


> To hit on BillS's point of blocking the windows there are a few ways to do this.
> 1. Paint the windows with blackout paint. This was common during WWII so densely populated areas could not be seen from the air.
> 
> 2. Blackout curtains. The ones you can buy at the store are not 100% blackout. You can add layers of fabric to them to help.
> ...


I like the idea of 3/4" plywood cut to fit
Over each window with some kind of locking mechanism that will keep them in place on the inside. They can be easily stored behind a dresser or bed in each room.


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## DKRinAK (Nov 21, 2011)

Grimm said:


> We were living in a beach side city until this month. BO was not an option for us either with a toddler and planning to try for #2. We had to take lots of mental inventories of possible SHTF supplies from around us. If the neighborhood across the street had lots of fruit trees we took note of types, location and growing season so we knew when the fruit was available for us. We also took notes on who had water delivery service and were swimming pools were. Anytime we went anywhere we were on the look out for possible food and water sources. Heck! I even posted a thread about how common it was to find beached dolphins and if need arose I'd make dolphin burgers.
> 
> We even started a balcony garden to grow as much of our own food as we could to offset the need to go to the store.


Looting your neighbors is no solution.

Staying in a city with no water, sewer, electricity or any other city service is a short rip to suicide. A modern city, for the most part, is uninhabitable in a grid down/loss of utilities event. IF you have water, and IF it is safe to drink, what will you do for food? How do you plan on holding onto to the food? Cooking?

I see people in Detroit that actually hunt in the more abandoned areas, and there may even be surface water, but are you prepared to eat racoons, dog, rats and so on?

I understand that once you have a job, house (and all that debt) you feel like you can't move.
Give that some thought.
My grandfather moved several times in the Depression to stay employed and to feed his family. That may be needed again....

Good luck. It is a worry.


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## seanallen (Nov 13, 2012)

DKRinAK said:


> Looting your neighbors is no solution.
> 
> Staying in a city with no water, sewer, electricity or any other city service is a short rip to suicide. A modern city, for the most part, is uninhabitable in a grid down/loss of utilities event. IF you have water, and IF it is safe to drink, what will you do for food? How do you plan on holding onto to the food? Cooking?
> 
> ...


Good points about food scarcity. A person will eat ANYTHING when they get hungry enough. I hear lots of ppl say stuff like " i would rather starve than eat THAT! ". They dont have a clue! I grew up poor enough to know what hunger was a few times. Places like Detroit, them poor bastards will be eating EACH OTHER after awhile! 
Prep, defense, and knowledge! Place a cache of food water and weapons a days walk from where you live. It might be the only thing you have left in the world if the ravening hordes burn you out or run you off.


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## Grimm (Sep 5, 2012)

DKRinAK said:


> Looting your neighbors is no solution.
> 
> Staying in a city with no water, sewer, electricity or any other city service is a short rip to suicide. A modern city, for the most part, is uninhabitable in a grid down/loss of utilities event. IF you have water, and IF it is safe to drink, what will you do for food? How do you plan on holding onto to the food? Cooking?
> 
> ...


Um... I never said "loot" my neighbors. If no one claims the fruit/water etc I'd be happy to claim it.

BUT that is no longer an issue.

We are moving to the mountains this weekend. 

Gee, maybe you should not be a negative Nancy. You have no idea what our situation is/was and you started thinking the worst.


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## Jimthewagontraveler (Feb 8, 2012)

Congrats Grimm.
Take care of the little one!
And put on your boots unless you have been country before
you just stepped on a steep learning curve.
From what I've seen of you you will be fine.
Exhausted but fine


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## Grimm (Sep 5, 2012)

Jimthewagontraveler said:


> Congrats Grimm.
> Take care of the little one!
> And put on your boots unless you have been country before
> you just stepped on a steep learning curve.
> ...


Thanks. I haven't always lived in cities. But this is going to be different than anything my DH has experienced.


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## MDsapper (Mar 12, 2013)

and remember dont make yourself a target


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## UKzilla (Apr 10, 2013)

The way I see it is that there will be 2 options to be safe in the city.

1. Literally go underground. I mean subways/sewers etc and come out only for necessities.
2. Strength in numbers. If you have a large family or close friends and you are all armed, and have the prepper mindset you will probably be ok as well.


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## Fn/Form (Nov 6, 2008)

dragon said:


> I live in North Houston, bugging out is not an option. Are there any people that are in the same situation?
> Learning all I can about how to survive in the city, luckily there are woods and forests that surround Harris County should the need arise.
> Any info or advice is appreciated.


All of my family in the H-town area lives north. From Splendora to New Waverly to Waller. I think you'll need to be well north (past Huntsville) to have a fighting chance of an unmolested forest existence. Hundreds of thousands will try the same plan as you. There are a lot of people north of Houston--and most of them know the area already and put you to a decided disadvantage. And many of them you do NOT want for neighbors.

The only way to do it in the city is to secure a reliable water source, have a group (preferably neighborhood) working on prep for sustenance and security. Then practice your arse off. Hurricane season discussions should be an excellent catalyst for drumming up support. It is hard to hide serious prep in an urban environ. Nosy people, clever people, etc.

But it is a limited lifespan plan. After a certain period of time anything that moves is fair game for the desperate in urban areas. And traps/blockades/ambushes will be in full effect. A lot of prior service people will dig up their training.

Good luck to you, sir.


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## Padre (Oct 7, 2011)

A city poses many problems, that very well may be insurmountable for most people in most situations--exceptions always exists, you can't presume your situation will be exceptionally good. Of course a frequent cause of discord on this page is a PRESUMPTION that SHTF means the same thing to everyone on this page.

I personally like to think about prepping in terms of three main categories:
1) Localize, short term, disaster
2) Localize, long term, disaster/widespread, short term, disaster or SHTF
3) Widespread, long term, Disaster or TEOTWAWKI

I and many of the users often are thinking about level three, TEOTWAWKI, when we are prepping, and it would be useful, I think, to be clear about what level you are thinking/talking about. At level three it would be exceedingly difficult to survive in the cities. In contrast the types of preps that most beginning preppers have, food and water for three months for instance, would serve preppers well in most level one and many level two situations.

Speaking of a true TEOTWAWKI situation, assuming you have clean air, I think the first concern is security. This means security from attack but also from man made secondary incidents. Fire, and in the long term sanitary conditions, are of particular concern! 

1. Security--to secure your family even if you opt to stay in the city I think you really must move out! Instead of residential buildings you want to find buidings that are as far away as possible from other buildings, perimeter fences, no windows, few, strong and defensible doors are desirable, as is an inner courtyard if possible. To this location you want to bring your prepps, as well as your group. A group is almost essential for survival in a big city because with the population density a proper (alert) watch.

2. Water of course is the second priority, and not just the storage of it but also the collection of water. 

3. Of course next comes food. Here is where an interior courtyard would particularly come in helpful.


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## redcrow (Apr 14, 2013)

Research what happened in New Orleans during Katrina.


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