It isn't news to anybody that calamities happen. They are reported on the television, radio and Internet every day. As viewers and listeners we often have an impersonal distance from these events. I invite you to stop for a few minutes to personalize it and envision it as a situation that is happening on your street. There are many ways to imagine this. I'll suggest just one. Imagine losing electricity to your region for ten days or more. This means no refrigeration or lights. Maybe limited radio and no TV. No cell phone service after your phone runs out of batteries and the cell tower generators run out of gasoline. The gas stations won't be operating because they can't pump gas out of the ground without electricity. You may not have running water because there won't be electricity to continue to pump water into the water towers which will eventually run dry. Grocery stores will be closed because they don't have electricity or because highways may be damaged or blocked. Perishable food will start going bad and people will be getting concerned. If the outage is over a large region then you may be on your own for a while. What kind of condition will you and your family be in after ten or twenty days? What kind of condition will your region be in? If you want to make sure that you and your family remain safe and secure during this type of situation then this book is for you. The difference between this book and many others is that it describes an incremental, low cost approach to becoming being prepared for a disaster of any kind. This is not a book that describes things like expensive underground shelters as the best solutions for surviving short or long term, local or regional disasters. It is a practical approach that you can use to remain safe when there may be impending or increasing chaos around you. Throughout this book you will find descriptions of extreme disaster situations. If you are prepared, as much as anyone can be, for these extremes then you will have a better chance of surviving lesser disasters. You don't have to prepare all at once. I have been seriously preparing for over three years and I still have a couple of years to go given the limitations of my budget.
