Defending Yourself and Your Family After a Disaster

Defending Yourself and Your Family After a Disaster

Disasters often bring out the best in people. Unfortunately they also brings out the worst. After any disaster, whether local or widespread, there will be individuals intent upon creating mischief. Lawlessness and disorder frequently become the rule of the day. While some individuals are lending their neighbors a helping hand, others will be helping themselves. There will be looting, stealing and an increase in acts of violence. Gang violence will become more common, even among individuals who formerly took no part in gangs. The police will be overwhelmed, so the responsibility will fall on the individual to provide protection for self and family.

Even a well-armed individual will be unable to hold out long if there is a violent gang intent upon taking his or her possessions. Your chances for survival will increase substantially if you are able to ban together with your neighbors for your mutual defense. In our cities these days it is unfortunate that neighbors can sometimes live side-by-side for years without getting to know each other. As we will see in the chapter dealing with the social aspects of survival, I recommend that you get to know your neighbors and befriend as many as you can. Don’t wait until a disaster occurs. Do it now! Some day your life may depend on it.

After a disaster the police may have their hands full in more ways than one. History has shown that during any emergency there will be individuals in law enforcement who will abuse their authority. In the months following hurricane Katrina, 200 New Orleans police officers were disciplined for various offenses, including looting, which were committed during the chaos that enveloped the city after the hurricane. Four police officers were indicted for first degree murder of unarmed individuals, including a 40-year-old retarded man who was shot five times in the back. Three other officers were charged with attempted murder. Two committed suicide.

I do not mean to imply that all police are bad. The vast majority are well-intentioned law abiding citizens who will risk their lives in order to protect others. But there are always individuals in the police force who will commit all sorts of crimes when the opportunity arises, and there is no better opportunity than when chaos is widespread. There will also be police officials who will think that they need and deserve your supplies more than you do, and will therefore commandeer them for their official or personal use. It will behoove you to lay low, keeping your activities and provisions a secret from the police. In fact, keeping your supplies a secret from everyone except your most immediate family is always a good idea.

“The beauty of the second amendment is that it will not be needed until they try to take it.”

Firearms

Amendment two of the U.S. Constitution guarantees the right of the people to keep and bear arms. But there is a wide range of opinions these days regarding personal possession of firearms. Regardless of your opinion, if there are individuals intent upon doing you harm, and the police are unable to help you, your chances of survival will improve if you are armed. Are you willing to risk the welfare of your family to the whims of a marauding gang, or will you take steps to protect the ones you love?

This is obviously not an area where overkill is desirable. You would not want to kill or severely injure someone unless it was absolutely necessary. So I believe that your first line of defense should be pepper spray or mace, or perhaps a Taser or stun gun. Everyone in your family should at least carry pepper spray during dangerous times. They should also practice using it. Pepper spray alone may be sufficient to drive off a lone individual who is not too intent upon having your possessions. After all, he will probably reason that there will be an easier target down the street, and he will probably be right. A Taser or stun gun will be an even better deterrent.

If you can avoid it you will not want to get close enough to an offender to use a stun gun or pepper spray. A BB gun or powerful air-soft gun that shoots plastic BB’s might prove to be another handy deterrent. It could allow you to take care of problems from a greater distance than that required to use your stun gun or pepper spray, and again without doing too much harm. A BB will sting but it is not likely to pierce the skin. Avoid shooting at the face or head, unless your intent is to do some damage. Perhaps someone is stealing fruit from your trees. If a verbal warning doesn’t work, the sting of a BB on their leg or back might convince them that you are serious. If the BB doesn’t work, most likely the sound of a shotgun fired into the air will do the job nicely.

“The most foolish mistake we could possibly make would be to permit the conquered Eastern peoples to have arms. History teaches that all conquerors who have allowed their subject races to carry arms have prepared their own downfall by doing so.” —Adolph Hitler, April 11, 1942.

Unless you are an experienced gun owner, I do not recommend that you purchase a firearm unless you also take a firearms or hunter’s safety class. Check at any location where guns or hunting licenses are sold for information on the classes in your area. Everyone in your family who is old enough to hunt or use a firearm should also take the class. Then you should take your firearms to a practice range and become proficient with their use. Always keep your guns and ammunition locked up and out of the reach of children.

Your survival supplies should include, not only the weapons mentioned above, but plenty of ammunition as well. During a prolonged emergency, ammunition might also serve as a useful item for barter, so don’t fail to stock up.

Intruder Alerts

If you have an intruder alarm in your home you will want to have a reliable battery back-up that will work even when the electricity is off for an extended period of time. If you do not have such a system a very effective yet inexpensive alternative is to install wireless, battery operated Sonic Alarms above each door and vulnerable window.

Sonic alarms are easily installed with the self-stick tape backing included on each unit. When the door is opened a magnetic switch activates the device which emits an ear-piercing sound that is sure to startle any intruder and awaken everyone in the house. Most intruders will immediately flee the scene when they hear such an alarm so you will probably never see them or have to confront them. If you do have to confront them it will be on your terms, with your weapon in hand, which is far better than being awakened in your bed with a gun at your head or a knife at your throat!

Action Step 16: Protection Check Lists

In Action Step 6 you created a “Get” list and a “Do” list for protection. Turn to that page now. In the “Get” column begin making a list of the items that you would like to acquire to meet your protection needs during an emergency. Continue on the back side of the page if necessary. In the right column under “Do” begin making a list of the things that you would like to accomplish. When you acquire an item or accomplish a task check it off your list. As you think of additional items add them to your lists.(source)

Other useful resources:

Survive Attack to Our Power Grid System (Weapon That Can Instantly End Modern Life in America)

Survival MD (Best Post Collapse First Aid Survival Guide Ever)

Backyard Innovator (A Self Sustaining Source Of Fresh Meat,Vegetables And Clean Drinking Water)

Blackout USA (EMP survival and preparedness)

Conquering the coming collapse (Financial advice and preparedness )

Liberty Generator (Build and make your own energy source)

Backyard Liberty (Easy and cheap DIY Aquaponic system to grow your organic and living food bank)

Bullet Proof Home (A Prepper’s Guide in Safeguarding a Home )

Family Self Defense (Best Self Defense Strategies For You And Your Family)

 Survive Any Crisis (Best  Items To Hoard For A Long Term Crisis)

Survive The End Days (Biggest Cover Up Of Our President)

Drought USA(Discover The Amazing Device That Turns Air Into Water)