Disaster Prepping For Dummies

A grounded, effective guide to preparing for serious natural and man-made disasters

In Disaster Prepping For Dummies, experienced Navy pilot, writer, speaker, and disaster preparedness expert David E. Stevens delivers an eye-opening and practical guide to preparing yourself and your family for natural and man-made disasters. You'll learn to develop a survival mindset that equips you to handle the real-world issues that arise when things go sideways. You'll discover how to prioritize the resources you would need to survive, including shelter, water, food, and communication.

Stevens brings a down-to-earth realism to a subject that's often clouded by outlandish paranoia and head-in-the-sand denialism. He explains how you can prepare for specific disasters—like earthquakes, hurricanes, wars, and blackouts—while keeping the risks in perspective. He shows you how to make measured, proportional preparations to support yourself and your loved ones in the event of large-scale disruptions to society.

Inside the book:

• Practical, step-by-step guides to obtaining, storing, and preserving necessary resources, including food, water, and energy
• Techniques for measuring your local and personal risk exposure to a variety of external threats and potential disasters
• Strategies for developing a resilient survival mindset that adapts to local conditions as they change in the real world

Perfect for everyone concerned about the possibility of natural and human-caused disaster events, Disaster Prepping For Dummies is a realistic and hands-on roadmap to identifying your risk exposure and taking simple, practical steps to improving your ability to survive and thrive in the face of unexpected events.

INTRODUCTION 1
About This Book 2
Foolish Assumptions 3
Icons Used in This Book 3
Beyond the Book 4
Where to Go from Here 4

PART 1: PREPARING FOR PREPPING 5
CHAPTER 1: Preparing for the Worst or Something Less 7
CHAPTER 2: Identifying the Top Potential Global Disasters 19
CHAPTER 3: Identifying Local Disasters and Their Impacts 41
CHAPTER 4: Avoiding Personal Disasters 59

PART 2: SURVIVING — BASIC LIFE SUPPORT 67
CHAPTER 5: Breathing When the Air Is Toxic 69
CHAPTER 6: Drinking When the Faucets Run Dry 81
CHAPTER 7: Eating When the Grocery Stores Shut Down 99
CHAPTER 8: Pooping When the Sewer Stops Working 117
CHAPTER 9: Treating Injuries and Illness without Emergency Medical Services 123

PART 3: SHELTERING 135
CHAPTER 10: Sheltering in Place 137
CHAPTER 12: Powering without the Power Grid 171
CHAPTER 13: Protecting Yourself during Civil Unrest 203
CHAPTER 14: Defending with Firearms 219
CHAPTER 15: Fixing Stuff 227

PART 4: EVACUATING 235
CHAPTER 16: Evacuating When You Can't Stay Home 237
CHAPTER 17: Traveling during a Disaster 247
CHAPTER 18: Funding during a Disaster 253

PART 5: NEXT LEVEL DISASTER PREPARATION 263
CHAPTER 19: Developing Independence from Municipal Water 265
CHAPTER 20: Developing Independence from the Power Grid 275
CHAPTER 21: Creating a Survival Retreat Destination 285
CHAPTER 22: Creating Your Own Shelter 297
CHAPTER 23: Finding the Right Vehicle 317
CHAPTER 24: Preventing Global Disasters 323

PART 6: THE PART OF TENS 335
CHAPTER 25: Ten Fun Things to Do While Claiming to Prep 337

INDEX 343

David E. Stevens was a Navy commander and engineer. As an F-18 pilot and the Strike Operations officer for the Persian Gulf, his job consisted primarily of planning and executing “disasters.” After los­ing a friend on a low altitude mission, he created and patented a warning system to prevent pilots from flying into the ground. Realizing society is also at risk of “flying into the ground,” he became an expert in catastrophic disasters with an advi­sory board of renowned experts – TED talk: “How Do We Prevent Our Inevitable Extinction?”