What are you going to do if you get The Alert?

Only if you are shorting it on Comex. Or if your the one responsible for bringing the beer

 

What about Nationwide Emergencies? Such as Gubermint Goes completely round the bend, or or Nuclear War imminent?

 

I'd definitely stay closer to home, eliminate or postpone travel, ensure that the vehicles were gassed up, double check supplies, pay more attention to my immediate surroundings and to local news sources, etc. I suppose about the same sort of things I do now when I get a severe winter weather alert.

 

Your mind (and ability to use it) is your greatest asset, right? Assess the situation, then remember your priorities. After that, being prepared is just as much about being able and willing, as it is about having a plan. Not to talk down on planning, but your abilities and willpower won't be as readily compromised by outside factors, like your plan probably will be. Too many potential factors in any situation, IMHO, so I'll respond according to my priorities.

Count me in for any alert system, sounds like a great idea. I trust the other Monkeys out there a lot more than I do the FCC and its Emergency Alert System. (As one comedian pointed out, where were they on 9/11? Did anyone hear that annoying static buzz sound on their TVs or radios that day?)

 

I'm in if you do this.
What would I do if alerted of the worst? I would have my family immediately in lock-down. My oldest would be called and told to get here ASAP. I have a sort of private list of things pertaining to my family that I would run through. My husband would almost certainly be at work (Murphys Law) and I would be seriously worried/watching for him to make it home. If necessary, he would walk and might take as much as 3 days to get here. After 5 days I'd assume the worst and I don't want to sit and think about how hard it would be to carry on without him beside me.
As long as "Mother Hen" has all her "chicks" here in the nest I will survive. If my kids were out somewhere my survival gene would kick in and I'd be out the door going to get them. Other than that it's hard to say what you would do without knowing the circumstances of what the emergency was. I mean, is it a tornado or are there nukes inbound? Martial law or the dam broke?
Might be fun/thought provoking if you'd give us all a certain scenario, and then ask us for a play by play of what we'd be doing. Theres a lot of things you just can't do at the last minute no matter how savvy you are at prepping! You'd better have some kind of cash or barter items already in place because obviously you aren't going to be the only one thinking of cash and food at that last minute.
My plan is to be self-sufficient enough to not be frantically driving around trying to buy things we might need. But like I said before, if my kids are out there I'm gonna be psycho momma till I have them with me... The one shortage in my preps is that we want a few beef cattle and have not got that done yet. I have other livestock, but beef is KING on our table! Anybody in my area got beef for sale? LOL Gotta have it.

 

It would give me a head start on getting the ball rolling as far as having the family to start following the plans as Im working my way back home. It would also put me on a higher caution level of whats going on around me and on what could or is coming possiblly giving me time to avoid it. There is also the ability to pass info down the line of whats coming to other Monkey's and what the affect was for my area.

 

This could be a great mental exercise, something to really get the gears turning... Could even be an ongoing scenario, with post-disaster factors developing in an ever-evolving situation. Only problem I see is a potential OPSEC issue - when we have to rely on preps, maybe we should make them theoretical so no one has to disclose what they have and don't have. After all, it's just a "what if" scenario that might make us think "hey, I could really use a _____ for a situation like that"...

 

Who here filled in the blank (at least initially) with beer?

 

Seriously??

Maybe we should make the beer shortage our first hypothetical disaster situation...

 

As discussed in the clubhouse...e-mail might not always work, but e-mail AND SMS would be good. SMS was up and running during 9/11 while other things were down.

For others: And...perhaps this is just my opinion, but unless Armageddon suddenly befalls us, these alerts should infrequent. Traffic tie-up on the expressway does not constitute an alert. You get an alert, some serious sh!t is going down...otherwise, you'll just end up ignoring them (The boy who cried 'wolf.').

 

count me in

 

I think it's a good idea. Maybe include some pertinant tips/advice for said scenario? I would like to get a feel of how the other monkeys were reacting to a SHTF situation. May prove to be a good way to share info, make contacts/swap supplies, in the right circumstances. Awareness is the key to prepping.

 

What works for everyone else isn't necessarily what's best for you and your situation. There's a ton of info on this site and elsewhere on the net, do your research BEFORE something happens and be better prepared when it does.

Of course I'd be happy with any kind of alert I could get, but I'd have to think that direct and to the point would probably be ideal.

+1 to Guit for email and SMS idea, and "only for real emergencies". Good thinking, Guit.

 

Sounds good to me

 

Alert the neighbors "in the loop", and gas up the chainsaw. Time to close off the valley.