Nov 2 2009

What are Your Survival Priorities?

by admin in Emergency Preparedness, Food Storage
2 Comments

This is the second part in a series that I have requested of my friend James Talmage Stevens, author of Making the Best of Basics–Family Preparedness Handbook. You may purchase his book by clicking on “Emergency Preparedness All-Time Bestseller” at the top middle of my blog. Over 760,000 copies of his book have been sold to date. He is the authoratative voice on the subject of preparedness for families.

So bring him on out, how ’bout this James!?

I’m going to Keep It Super Simple!

At almost any level of preparedness you will need to establish your survival priorities.

In almost every instance, they are shelter, water, fire, and food––in that order.

1. The most important survival priority is shelter. You need to be protected from the elements–– sun, wind, cold, rain, and in some cases, animals and even insects. All of us are particularly susceptible to the effects of cold, wind, and rain. We could die in a matter of minutes to hours depending on the temperature. Once hypothermia sets in the vital organs begin to shut down. The brain is first––and is most critical to staying alive. When shelter is resolved––and sometimes it may not be a critical situation––you can then begin to resolve the next issues.

2. Water is your second survival priority. Water makes up 75% of the human body and needs to be constantly replenished. Once you have fulfilled your needs for shelter, all effort is concentrated on finding, gathering, and treating water. Having some stored water on hand in case of an emergency situation makes good sense.

3. Fire is your next priority. It provides warmth and light, the ability to cook your food and a way to treat your water. But fire also warms the human heart and goes a long way to making you feel more secure.

4. Food is the last of your four basic needs. You won’t starve to death if you don’t get three square meals every day––you probably don’t now! Food encompasses everything from plants, animals, traps, weapons, learning to hunt and gather, cooking and storage. In preparing for an emergency situation, I do advocate storing food. It is only prudent that you have food on hand. Everybody eats!