Prepping for war

[Beansandcheesearegood]

Reading the news and really thinking war in some form will come sooner rather than later. Any basic prep we can do? Or just have enough food, water etc for a few days?

With the events overnight I think the likelihood of us getting dragged into this is very strong. Those who mock and say "I'd rather just die" are ridiculously naive. Leaving aside the fact that it's human nature to fight for survival, it's highly unlikely that anyone is going to launch a nuclear attack. That isn't how modern warfare is conducted unless you have a lunatic (like Trump..) going rogue. It's conducted through cyber attacks, infrastructure attacks, attacks on banking etc. Plus then very targeted missile attacks when things really escalate.

I have a good supply of food and water plus we have multiple water butts and a very large pond which would assist in an emergency where the power was out for a prolonged period. We have water purification tablets. We have the means to cook and to heat the house (wood burners), power cut lightbulbs, candles, matches, solar chargers and a small solar generator. We also keep a small amount of spare fuel for the car. We have extra of essential medications which would last for a few weeks in an emergency. We grow various fruit/veg - not enough.

We do actually have iodine tablets for the kids (they don't work if you're over about 40) but that's because of proximity to a power plant.

I think everyone should have some low level preps so that they could stay at home for a week without having to venture out into the resulting panic and chaos. If the banking systems go down then nothing can be purchased. If the power goes out then not much can be purchased either since the shops can't stay open.

You don't have to be able to be completely self sufficient but to be able to stay at home safely for a few weeks if necessary is just sensible and responsible and the more people who can do that the better it is for everyone.

Why the iodine tablets?

Just in case there was a leak at a power plant or something like that. Most other countries actually issue them to people living within a certain radius of a power plant. They're only about £20 and they have a long shelf life so its just a precaution (for kids only - we are too old).

Handy for younger people around nuclear reactors that leak.

Not a lot of use around nuclear bombs.

It’s explained here.

www.fda.gov/drugs/bioterrorism-and-drug-preparedness/frequently-asked-questions-potassium-iodide-ki#Who%20should%20not%20take

There seems to be a misconception that war =nuclear

There are so many other ways a country can be attacked. Emp, cyber attacks etc. Why nuke a country when you can take down their national grid and watch them destroy themselves.

Nuclear weapons is a taboo on the battlefield. Otherwise they would have already been used in multiple wars. Only when someone has used them and broken the taboo and seen how the world responds should we need to fear them. At this point I am prepping for either widespread shortages or disruption.

You need potassium iodine, not just iodine. DH works at a nuclear power station and potassium iodine is what they store in case of an emergency.

I have been prepping for a long time now. I have a small room that used to be my office during Covid now stocked. I’ve tried to build up enough basics for a couple of days for all houses on my road (approx 26) . Things like big bottles of water , uht milk, basic medication eg paracetamol, ibuprofen, dioralye and multivitamins etc, Tealights, small torches, tinned food and dried food eg crackers and biscuits that don’t require cooking . It’s not much but if anything were to happen I’d be able to give a bag to last 1-2 days to everyone

Ok great. I need to check my ingredients then. Bloody degree, I finally thought it was coming in useful 😅

I'm thinking that ideally the kids take them semi regularly so that they wouldn't take up the radioactive Iodine so much?

I'm more worried about all the nuclear stuff in the air then having some plutonium dumped on my head. I think I need to read up again, but I initially got the Iodine when there was talk of Ukrainian and attacking Chernobyl.

My oldest son is absolutely convinced he will be conscripted at some point. I have told him he needs to get fit.

Well, if you live in a major city or near a strategic location, the nukes will reach you first so don’t stress about any prep .

Since the covid debacle I keep a small stock in the cellar of what we might need. Pasta, tinned goods, toilet roll, bottled water, meds, dog food. I don’t think for one minute we will need it, but if we do? It’s there.

Hope for best, prep for the worst, I suppose, assuming ‘the worst’ is loss of power for days on end.

Agreed. In order to survive for so long you’d need a separate home just to store everything. I wouldn’t want to survive it.

2, If deterrence fails, no amount of prepping is going to make the slightest bit of difference. The best any of us can hope for is for us and all our loved ones to be obliterated on the first day, because there will be nothing left worth surviving for.

Exactly, I don't get it. People seem to think they are in a bubble and they can browse their stocked pantry and enjoy a glass of wine with dinner whilst chaos reigns outside their front door! 😆

Not to mention any other survivors willing to kill to get to the pantry.

Not to mention any other survivors willing to kill to get to the pantry.

Always gets forgotten.

You're better off training in hand to hand combat & having access to weapons and knowing how to use them!

I doubt there are many people in this country who have a plan to survive on their own long term. Obviously they would be a target anyway.

Most of the MN peppers (remember this is the peppers board..) aim to have enough to last a few weeks to ride out any short term panic and chaos caused by any sort of disruption. That could be issues caused by war or more likely to be problems caused by local factors such as flooding, storms, illnesses etc. Its a combination of having "stuff" set aside and ensuring that your home is set up to function as much as possible without external help eg having lots of water butts, growing some of your own food, keeping chickens, having wood for fires, keeping some cash at home, always keeping a full tank of fuel, having essential medication etc. Its more about good household management than building bunkers in case of zombie apolcalypse

Buy the stuff you use anyway, just have a little bit more of it. Rotate your stock so you use the oldest first.

Prep what you can afford. (Eg emergency cooking could be done on a disposable BBQ if you have a garden rather than buying, say, an expensive Kelly Kettle)

Prep what is most useful for you and your family.

Prep according to your circumstances (flood prone, exposed to strong wind, rural, city, fire risk?)

Some things you just keep on hand in case, where you might not need them regularly but are crucial if things go wrong. (Eg:fire blanket)

Dried milk from Asda. I use it in cooking (cheats way to make a cheese or plain sauce)

Dried instant potato is in the supermarket.

You can get vegan egg replacer in some supermarkets (egg allergy) but I have never bought dried eggs.

Most people on this board are here to prepare for inconvenience. Snow days in winter, water shut off, issues with stocks getting to supermarkets.

People see the word 'prepper' and assume that we are all doomsday preppers in the extreme 🙄

Oh for goodness sakes! Dried milk is not going to be much use if nuclear bombs go off, is it?! 🤦🏻‍♀️ This is jumping on the bandwagon if ever I saw it!

Not really, because this is the Preppers section.

You're being ridiculous. Nobody is talking about nuclear bombs. In any event:

1. there are countries attacking one another all the time. Nobody is using nuclear weapons since everyone knows thats a stupid move. India and Pakistan for example.
2. Even If a nuclear weapon was used it is perfectly possible to survive if you're outside of the affected area anyway.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cpqnlxr43zdo

I use dried milk for making yoghurt, taking porridge to work, use in cooking if we don't have much fresh milk etc. It's very useful stuff. Nothing to do with nuclear war, which I don't believe is on the horizon.

Oat milk has quite a long shelf life. I normally have two cartons in case a vegan pops in for coffee and two long life milks as its handy for sauce making. That being said my only oat milk left has gone off so I'm a pretty slack pepper. I have decided I will have hot berry cordial in a emergency. Really I think I can live without milk in a emergency