Preparedness for when

NewShadow

If I'm prepping for an economic or environmental emergency, I'm thinking I'm going to be at home, going home, or being evacuated from home.

For me, Prepping for civil unrest would be a little different.

The first 'level' of civil unrest is, basically, spontaneous disturbance in your local area - and the highest level is rioting and protesting near buildings associated with the issue.

I live in a city, I work in a government building, I commute to work through a campus.

It's possible there can be low level civil disturbance, or a risk of unrest, and you've still got to go to work and back.

During the recent NATO summit (some events took place in the middle of Cardiff) we were all warned to plan alternative routes home, or alternative (closer) places to stay if roads were closed.

Work set up a text message system (to tell people not to come in if something happened), and many people made a point of swapping personal numbers with colleagues for in the event of emergency (like phone trees).

It was suggested we consider our mode of commute - with busy and peak public transport attracting additional risk in times of heightened stress.

Public services can be particularly affected by social instability or prolonged industrial action, shops would be likely to be closed or operating reduced hours, you might not feel safe when it gets dark in your own street.

During NATO, many people brought a change of clothes, extra phone charger, microwave rice... into work - just in case we got stuck over night.

We didn't need the stuff, but we had it just in case.

Frugalsod

nuatha wrote: »

I cut back on the number of hours I was working due to Herself having health problems, then MiL had a stroke then I developed some additional major health problems of my own - cash reserves were used to cover for a while but being finite they have been almost exhausted (I'm actually glad I hadn't cleared the mortgage four years ago). Rebuilding from this level will be difficult and impossible without a dramatic improvement in my health - but without the preps I wouldn't have had the freedom to put family first or take the time out from work needed for medical reasons. Having said that we are still keeping our head above water, just don't have the margins that we've previously enjoyed.

I know where you are coming from. Though I already have several months supply of dried food already stocked up, so will be running those down to clear out for fresh supplies. This will allow me to rebuild my cash piles in a month or so as I will be spending very little. Though once my current account is back at a level I am happy with I will be able to increase my credit card repayments significantly again.

It is also a great help I am also doing the stop spending in 2016 challenge which has been going really well, and helps me pay down the credit card when I have reduced the repayments to allow me to boost my current account balance temporarily. Once my bank account has stabilised after the move I will boost my credit card repayments and clear my last debt faster.

Since I will want to clear that last debt fast I will keep myself busy to avoid wanting to spend anything.

jk0

fuddle wrote: »

We're told that EU rules prevented government help in propping up our steel industry. We're told that the EU laws in this free market are strict when it comes to the commodity of steel. What we're seldom told is what the Italian's bailed out their steel works. What we're not told is that steel isn't really what our government sees as an asset any more, there's ample from elsewhere and quite cheap. Good this free market stuff eh?

Hey I know nothing but I read and I interpret in my own way. In my opinion our government didn't see value in saving our steel industry and hid behind EU legislation.

I'll be watching and interpreting in my own way but both my head and my heart are indicating one way very strongly already.

One thing I have noticed about the 'continentals' (are we allowed to use that word nowadays without being called racist? ) is that when a particular piece of EU legislation threatens one of their industries, they just ignore it. However John Bull, always playing by the rules enforces every edict mercilessly.

armyknife

Fog in Westminster, UK cut off from reality.

NewShadow

Just seen this:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-35625595

A fire which broke out at a building planned to house migrants in eastern Germany was greeted with cheers from some onlookers, police say...Police said some of the crowd tried to prevent firefighters from extinguishing the blaze, which destroyed the roof.

Shocking and saddening how 'ordinary' people can behave sometimes.

Perplexed_Pineapple

Saddening but not unfortunately shocking in the current climate.
About the EU thing, I have two main thoughts. One, is that we are already out - out of the Eurozone mainstream. We are not consulted on issues primarily affecting the Eurozone, which is committed under the Treaty of Lisbon to "ever closer union". So we have less and less influence and control anyway. My second main thought is about democratic accountability - there is none. Say what we like about Westminster, there are roughly 80000 people in Oxfordshire who could have Cameron out on his ear in the next election if need be. Who holds M. Juncker and M. Tusk to account? It annoys me immensely that for years the UK's main representative in the EU was Baroness Ashton, who had never been elected to so much as a parish council at home. (Retired now, nice work if you can get it :http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/eu/9971786/Baroness-Ashton-will-be-paid-400000-by-the-EU-to-do-nothing.html )
Rant over, just my two pennorth. Prep on :cool:

nuatha

NewShadow wrote: »

If I'm prepping for an economic or environmental emergency, I'm thinking I'm going to be at home, going home, or being evacuated from home.

For me, Prepping for civil unrest would be a little different.

And to me they are part of what I prep for.

The first 'level' of civil unrest is, basically, spontaneous disturbance in your local area - and the highest level is rioting and protesting near buildings associated with the issue.

I've had riots breakout on my doorstep (thankfully not for some time) But one lot was literally between me and the only ways out of the area, petrol bombs and burning cars within a few hundred yards is not an experience I'd want to repeat (nor be any closer to, we were lucky that it didn't reach our location and that it petered out when it did)
...

Work set up a text message system (to tell people not to come in if something happened), and many people made a point of swapping personal numbers with colleagues for in the event of emergency (like phone trees).

It was suggested we consider our mode of commute - with busy and peak public transport attracting additional risk in times of heightened stress.

Public services can be particularly affected by social instability or prolonged industrial action, shops would be likely to be closed or operating reduced hours, you might not feel safe when it gets dark in your own street.

During NATO, many people brought a change of clothes, extra phone charger, microwave rice... into work - just in case we got stuck over night.

We didn't need the stuff, but we had it just in case.

There's some useful info in there, but some of us regard that as the norm - family news is spread by a phone tree (with built in redundancy) (family in this case, includes family by choice)
In the back of my car are two bags, a fairly standard go/get home bag and a smaller overnight bag - which would cover a short hospital stay, being stuck away on business for a couple of days and the like. Both contain phone chargers, emergency food, toiletries and key information. In addition the car kit includes 8 litres of water, sleeping bag and tarp. I don't work at a single location, otherwise I would store some of this gear there.

moneyistooshorttomention

greenbee wrote: »

The question is, will you keep MTSM or not? :cool:

:rotfl:I could be open to offers - of around the £400,000 mark currently (house plus work on it):rotfl:- though my friends here wouldn't be too happy at me going....and I'd have all those car fumes to breath again and feel more at risk of terrorism....hmmm...tough call...

moneyistooshorttomention

fuddle wrote: »

I'll be watching and interpreting in my own way but both my head and my heart are indicating one way very strongly already.

Hmmm..."my heart" - okays...I've guessed. Can I open the box now please?:rotfl:

GreyQueen

Like NewShadow, I work in a (local) government building, with its attendant potential for risks. We have a fire alarm and a bomb alert alarm.

I've never heard the latter deployed as anything other than a test, but if it does go off, we bail and regroup in another building without telecoms and internet. We do have some redundancy in terms of a third building where my department could re-locate to and run a skeletonised version of our service, but it would take some time to get there, and would rely on BT managing to roll our telecoms over.

There was a major IT attack which took down Lincolnshire County Council late in January and our lot, as are all others, under constant bombardment from hackers and spammers. For the first time in years, some of the spam is making it through into individual officers' work email accounts, even mine. This is past several layers of electronic protection and it doesn't normally get that far. I live in dread of a major IT attack as most of the things I use as reference in my job are web-hosted.

Joyously, there is also a long tradition here of protestors barracking the local government buildings to protest against things national government are doing. Even things done by the national governments of foriegn powers, FGS. And we're a small city of no particular importance in the national scheme, and our MP is only a backbencher of no particular renown, definately not a cabinet minister.