About 38 Percent Chance SHTF Will Happen While You Are At Work

Homesteading & Country Living Forum

Help Support Homesteading & Country Living Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Sentry18

Sentry18

Thrivalist
Neighbor
HCL Supporter
Joined
Nov 26, 2017
Messages
19,105
Location
US of A
This does not apply to you retirees. :)


https://modernsurvivalblog.com/preps/about-38-percent-chance-shtf-will-happen-while-you-are-at-work/

About 38 Percent Chance SHTF Will Happen While You Are At Work
by Ken Jorgustin | Updated Nov 15, 2019


You probably spend about 38 percent of your life at work, along with the typical commute. Assuming that you’re not retired.

You spend 29 percent of your time sleeping, if you sleep 7 hours a night.

33 percent of your time you’re doing other things, at home, etc..

So, if a SHTF event were to occur, there might be a ~38% chance that you will be at work.

For preparedness sake, this is a significant statistic. Here’s what I mean…

Preparedness For If The Balloon Goes Up While At Work
Don’t ignore preparedness while at your work place. You might be at work if and when “it” happens.

One of the most effective ways that you can prep for this is by having adequate kit/supplies in your vehicle (assuming that you drive to work). Your vehicle will be able to hold a significant or at least adequate amount of supplies and gear of your choosing.

If you don’t commute by way of your own vehicle, it will be even more important to supply yourself at the workplace and your every-day-carry.

As is the case for most tangible preparedness choices, you’re looking at the basics first. Like water and food. You’re at work. So there’s technically shelter. Maybe the power is out. Perhaps a flashlight. It’s part of my EDC on my keychain (I use this one).

However your mission will be to get home (typically). So that means a bag (to carry your supplies which will help you get there if you have to hoof it). If your vehicle is operational and the roads are passable, great. You will probably have little problem, at least if you ‘get out of dodge’ quickly enough.

However, I haven’t defined the SHTF event. And I’m not going to. But I do hope that you will at least think about it. The “what if”. Define it yourself for different circumstances. Let that guide you as to what you might find tangibly helpful.

A Few Thoughts On Supplies For This Scenario
Walking shoes or hiking boots. Comfortable appropriate footwear in case you have to walk a great distance. That’s easy to keep in your vehicle somewhere.

Here’s a bonus… got a bicycle or folding bike? Though certainly a challenge to keep with you. Maybe it’ll work for you. Just saying.

Are you always wearing appropriate seasonal outerwear when you go to work during the winter? People go from their heated homes to their heated cars to their heated workplace. The right gear might be overlooked…

Got a desk at work? Or a personal space, a locker, other? Why not use one of the drawers for emergency supplies. Like a bunch of CLIF Bars for quick food, for example.

The CLIF Bar Might Be The Best Energy Food Bar For Survival Kit

Keep several water bottles in there too. Is there a First Aid Kit there at work? Workplace buildings can get real dark if the power goes out. I consider a flashlight a must have too.

A change of clothes might be good – depending on your normal work attire.

From time to time I go through my truck and adjust what I keep in there for preparedness. You should too! Think about it in the context of being at work. Maybe you’ll need to hunker down there for awhile (as opposed to immediately hoofing it back home). Maybe that will cause you to adjust your supplies.

Re-evaluate what you have and make adjustments accordingly.

While those of you who are preparedness-minded probably have a decent supply of various preps at home, the point here is not to neglect your workplace. Especially since you spend so much time there.
Click to expand...
 
This is a great thread. I'm really interested in what folks have to say about it. This is one thing I worry quite a bit about as I lived about 35 miles from where I work and have given this quite a lot of thought. For that matter I'm always looking for ideas to improve my odds.

Here is a short bit about my thoughts. First at work, I keep some food, including a large jar from Sams of Peanut butter. I eat on this pretty regular, but will rotate to a new jar at about half bring the rest home and finish. I also keep some Tuna stocked. Sometimes a few cans of fruit, beans, etc. Just from reading the story above, I think a case of Clif Type bars (I like the Kind Bars better) would be a nice addition. I've also got several water bottles in my mini fridge, probably close to 2 gallons. Multiple flashlights and tools available along with safety glasses, gloves, other PPE if needed.
In the truck I keep a fully stocked GHB made from a Mountainsmith Butt pack with Suspenders. Similar to this one. https://mountainsmith.com/tour-classic-heritage.html I also carry a day pack type pack to work every day, it's a lot for day to day work related stuff, but I keep some odds and ends in it too. So between the 2 I have the capacity for a fair amount of goods. My buttpack has a bare amount of food for 3 days, plus all the supplies I think I could use. I consider the day pack for picking up whatever I need from work and could drop it at some point going home if It wasn't needed. Also keep a few tools in the truck, Small scout ax, folding military shovel, straps, binoculars, Leatherman, extra compass, maps, flashlights, ropes, tarps, meds, Ham Radio, etc. I'll take what I think I'll need. Also boots, 3 pair socks, warm gloves, leather gloves, warm cap.
While typing this, I realized I need to add a change of clothes and add some warmer clothes in a stuff sack and stash in the truck.
 
When we bought our home one of the most attractive features to me was location. We are in a neighborhood that is both off the beaten path but is also part of a pocket of homes close to the financial district. So our house sits exactly halfway between my wife's office building and my police department. It's about a 6 mile span and 4 miles of that are residential streets. This resulted in higher property costs and taxes, but it's worth it. We also both have work provided vehicles, mine of course has a lot of advantages, but both are equipped. My wife also has a suction cup mount LED police light in her glove box that can be throw on the dash. You know, just in case I am with her and get an emergency call. ;)
 
I've been retired since 2002, however there is still a chance that I could be caught in one of the towns which are 30 to 60 miles from home, we do a lot of thought about this situation.
 
When I used to work in shirt and tie I always had my military boots. practical clothes. knives an assault pack with goodies in it in the car.
 
Though we seldom leave home, obviously at times we do so. I keep 2 minimal GHBs in the truck at all times. The problem is I doubt if my wife could walk more than maybe 5 miles per day. In our general travel areas, it is not uncommon for homes to be way more than 5 miles apart.
 
I've always reckoned on walking about 12 miles per day post SHTF if it came to it, probably about 4 hours each day.
2 hours each side of dawn and 2 hours each side of dusk and hiding up during the main hours of daylight away from any prying eyes.
 
I guess I'm having a real hard time thinking about how shtf could actually hit in an hour , surprising me, catching me off guard, so deveststating in a moment's time that I couldn't get back home.


Except maybe nuclear explosion within range...of which I, most likely wouldn't survive even at home.

I keep abreast of what's happening in my area , so I don't think I'd be leaving my place if I smelled something brewing..even a nuclear attack probably , most likely, would be in the cards in plenty time to get home or never leave home.

Natural disasters are usually known ahead of time also.

So , as I said , I can't imagine being caught with my pants down...

Some dummies , head buried , no doubt will.

Just me thinking ...

Jim
 
Jim,
A nuclear explosion in space would hardly be noticed but all the lights and computers would be out in about an hour at most. First the computer/electronics in a nano-second followed in a minute by small transformers on poles and then in probably less than an hour all the main power stations and large transformers fried to a crisp. If it happened after dark you might see a bright light followed by a local Aurora but if it happened during the day you might not have a clue. No radiation, no blast, just a big power outage across the entire US, southern Canada and most of Mexico.

Most natural disasters provide some kind of warning except for earthquakes. I don't know if you are close enough to be affected by the New Madrid fault but if you are you won't likely get much warning for that. You will also have help available from the surrounding area because major transportation routes won't be badly affected. I almost feel sorry for the folks on the west coast from Vancouver BC down to Cape Mendocino CA, east to the I-5 corridor. There won't be any functional utilities or infrastructure in that 700 mile area. It will take years to rebuild if a total rebuild ever happens. That is about 2 to 3 million people without water, food, sanitation or a path in or out. The only rescue lanes will be by helicopter and Osprey VTOL aircraft. I don't believe the military has enough of those to supply water much less food, health care or sanitation.
 
phideaux said:
Do you think a delivery could be made to mid centsl Us without our defensive systems know it way ahead of time?
The coasts, maybe ,

Jim
Click to expand...
A large CME could cause serious trouble and the gov might or might not issue a warning. There might be a 24 hour warning.
A large meteor or asteroid could hit with very very little warning. There are often "surprise" close fly-bys.
 
phideaux said:
Do you think a delivery could be made to mid central Us without our defensive systems know it way ahead of time?
The coasts, maybe ,

Jim
Click to expand...

Jim,
That HEMP could be in orbit right now. It could orbit for years before being set off. There is no good way to detect it before it goes BANG.
There are satellites that go over the center of the USA every day and any number of them could have a nuclear bomb aboard.
 
SheepDog said:
Jim,
That HEMP could be in orbit right now. It could orbit for years before being set off. There is no good way to detect it before it goes BANG.
There are satellites that go over the center of the USA every day and any number of them could have a nuclear bomb aboard.
Click to expand...

In that case...won't matter much if I'm 25 miles from home or I'm home.:dunno:

I guess I'm just not too worried about being caught an hour from my home.

Jim
 
Last edited:
This doesn't bother me b/c even when I go shopping in the bigger town it's about 35 miles away and not very populated. Yeah, it'd suck, but I'd get home....I have BOB's in the car and I'm fit enough to make the trek. One BOB in the summer and two BOB's in the winter with winter gear, which I just added today to the car. If I'm at work, it's less than 10 miles to get home by road and less than that 'how the crow flies' in the summer. I wouldn't try trekking off road thru the snow during winter since it would be much easier just to use the road. Even if I HAD to go to someone's house b/c it was too cold or whatever, I wouldn't really worry about it where I live, even from 35 miles away. Clearly it would be very early on in the SHTF scenario so folks wouldn't yet be on the defensive of a woman stranger. Barring REALLY bad weather, I'd be home in 2 days minimum.

However, I always think of this scenario when I go on vacation. I try to push it way far to the back of my head so I can enjoy myself. I'm NOT going to give up vacations due to fear......even if it costs my life. If it happens when I'm on vacation then I have to remember that God has a plan, and I'll go from there......one way or the other.:devil: Geez, I hope it's the other.:D
 
My work is only 1.5 miles from my house, and I rarely go much farther than that. If an EMP were to disable my electric wheelchair, I would simply liberate a manual w/c from the hospital to carry me and my GHB. The travel would be a bit difficult on one stretch that is a bit uphill, but the rest of the way would be fine. My husband is retired, and I suspect in an EMP, after he did the things on the list I made for him, he would come help me get home.
 
If something really big and sudden happens, my chances of survival are probably governed more by dumb luck than by anything I could have done in advance.

I believe in reasonable prepping that would be helpful in many situations. But I don't prep for the minuscule probability event, don't prep for something that is random/unpredictable/totally out of my control, and don't prep for something that would wipe out most of humanity (except me). While staying at home all the time might keep things a little more under my control, I don't do that because then life would really suck. I do end up staying at home much of the time (I wish that weren't true), but it's not because I fear I might not be able to get back if I left.
 
Good thing I mostly work from home. However, if life has taught me anything it's that things always happen at the most inopportune times they can. Just the way it is. If it's a sudden event it will most likely happen the one time I break my rules and fly somewhere and I'll be in a layover at O'hare or somewhere even less pleasant.
 
That is an interesting statistic, 38%. I have given this considerable thought, since at one time I was a road warrior, and spent considerable amounts of time and distance from home. First, ask yourself the question " What would you do if you couldn't get home? " Does you family know what to do, and where you have stored all of your preps? Can they perform the necessary tasks without your assistance? Will they be safe until you can get there? If yes, then bug in. If no, do they have a safe place to go? Maybe a place where you can meet?

I started prepping by having my vehicle stocked, so if I got stuck someplace for whatever reason I could last at least three days in my car. When my travel took me long distances where I had to fly, I scouted the area so that if SHTF while I was there I knew where I could go to get the necessary supplies, and possibly even transportation, quickly. Now I am very fortunate, and I am only two miles from home to office ( I now live in the land of the cubicle people). My desk is stocked with food, water, meds, toiletries. My EDC bag has more, including the 5 C's. My car is still stocked from my road warrior days with a GHB, a food prep bag, a tool bag, and extra clothing. I have extra batteries for each flashlight, and headlamp. O.K. This is soul-bearing. I have an obsession with flashlights. The only time I don't have at least one on me is when I am in the shower. Pretty much the same with knives and backpacks.

A few things that I carry that IMHO are often overlooked are cash in small bills; a sillcock key; and OTC meds. Get some small travel sized meds like Tylenol, Advil, Alleve, Immodium, Benadryl. They take up no space, and weigh and cost nothing. If you are walking in an urban area or through industrial courts a sillcock key may get you access to water if spigots are on the outside of buildings, but have no handles. If the power is down your credit cards and ATM's are pretty worthless. I wouldn't count on anybody giving you change, so I recommend small bills. Again, this would be more of a need in an urban or suburban area.

Phideau: It may not apply to you, but in our area a tornado or an earthquake can hit with no warning. We had a tornado miss our house by about 200 yards. No sirens. No sound of a freight train coming. One of the neighbors filmed it with his cell phone. Earthquakes hit with no warning to my knowledge. Other natural disasters may be avoided, for sure, but for some you do not have that luxury.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Back
Top