An important rule of prepping is to identify disruptive events that could happen to you. These events are likely to be highly individualized and based on location, domestic situation, age, income, health, and a number of other factors.
There are, however, twelve disruptive events that are universal. These are the dire situations we should all prepare for in one way or another. The extent of how we prepare for them and the order of precedence is up to you. Over the next twelve months, I will be writing about each of these events. You will read about the event itself, how to prep for it, skills and strategies to embrace now, and the supplies you should have in place to survive the event if it comes knocking on your door.
Here is the list of 12 events, sorted randomly, for your consideration
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12 Months or Prepping: One Disruptive Event at a Time
1. EMP
2. Cyber Attack
3. Wildfire
4. Contamination of the Public Water Supply
5. Economic Collapse
6. Hurricane, Tornado, or Windstorm
7. Earthquake
8. Pandemic
9. Nuclear Accident
10. Civil Unrest and Riots
11. Prolonged Drought
12. Terrorist Attack or War
As you review this list you may be thinking “But Gaye, what about a food shortage, job loss, major health setback, or you-fill-in-the-blank event”? That is where risk assessment comes into play. You need to compile a list that is specific to you.
That said, the universal truth about prepping is that the best strategies are non-specific and can be applied to many short and long term events that affect your health, welfare, and comfort during daily life.
What is a Disruptive Event?
This has been asked and answered many times, but for those of you unfamiliar with the term, here is a summary from 10 Ways to Stay Calm and Prepare for a Disruptive Event and 17 Tips for Taking Charge After A Disruptive Event
Briefly, I use the term Disruptive Event as a catch-all phrase for the myriad of things that could happen to alter life as we know it. I use it to describe any event that could potentially transform our personal lives into one of chaos, distress, confusion, or all of the above.
Interestingly enough, I have not found find many references to this term using Google so the how, where, and why I started using it most likely has to do with my own thoughts on TEOTWAWKI.
Note: TEOTWAWKI = The End of the World as We Know It
TEOTWAWKI was a commonly used acronym in preparedness and survival circles until the end of 2012 when various predications of the end of times did not materialize. The term is still used today, in a much broader sense. At Backdoor Survival, for example, TEOTWAWKI refers to anything that disrupts our normal way of life. This could be something as devastating as an EMP taking down the power grid, to a more mundane (but equally devastating) job loss or loss of a family member.
Disruptive events are common and that is why we prepare. In 12 Months of Prepping, as I have defined it, we are preparing for short term disruptive events and in doing so, we are better prepared than 95% of our friends and neighbors.
But honestly and truly, that is just a start. What about after that?
The trite answer is that we focus on skills and projects that foster self sufficiency without modern conveniences. We also focus on defensive tactics and how we will defend not only our homes, but our person, and our rights under the Constitution. More difficult is that we prepare our mental state so that we will be level-headed and calm when our world becomes a sea of chaos.
