Fr. Z's Blog

I can hear it already: “There’s goes crazy ol’ Father Z again! Every time there is a big disaster, he posts about prepping!”

That’s right.

That’s because it could happen to you.

Natural disasters happen. Man made disasters happen. They can happen where you are and to you.

Do you have any sort of plan? Taking care of yourself and your loved ones is not something you want to be sloppy about.

I read in one story about the devastation caused in the Philippines by the super typhoon

Typhoon Survivors Hunt For Food ‘Like Zombies’

The zombie thing is a bit of a joke in pop culture. This isn’t a joke. Nope. Not funny at all.

Survivors of the super typhoon that has devastated several islands in the Philippines have begun scavenging for food and looting shops in order to stay alive, witnesses say.

Shopping centres and grocery stores in hard-hit Tacloban have reportedly been stripped of goods as rescuers’ efforts to deliver food and water are hampered by severed roads and communications.

“Tacloban is totally destroyed. Some people are losing their minds from hunger or from losing their families,” high school teacher Andrew Pomeda, 36, said as he warned of the increasing desperation of survivors.

“People are becoming violent. They are looting business establishments, the malls, just to find food, rice and milk. I am afraid that in one week, people will be killing from hunger.”

Witnesses described how survivors are forming long queues at aid stations, waiting desperately for handouts of rice and water.

Some sit and stare, covering their faces with rags to keep out the smell of the dead.

One woman, eight months pregnant, described through tears how her 11 family members vanished in the storm, including two daughters.

“I can’t think right now. I am overwhelmed,” she said.

During a visit to Tacloban, President Benigno Aquino acknowledged that looting had emerged as a major concern after only 20 out of 390 of the city’s police officers turned up for work following the typhoon.

“So we will send about 300 police and soldiers to take their place and bring back peace and order,” he said.

“Tonight, an armoured vehicle will arrive and our armed forces will display the strength of the state to put a stop to this looting.”

Aid agencies have warned that many of the 480,000 people whose homes have been destroyed by the bludgeoning force of the cyclone face a desperate battle to survive.

“Everything is gone. Our house is like a skeleton and we are running out of food and water. We are looking for food everywhere,” said Jenny Chu, a medical student in Leyte.

“Even the delivery vans were looted. People are walking like zombies looking for food. It’s like a movie.”

Nancy Chang, who was in Tacloblan City on a business trip from China and walked three hours through mud and debris for a military-led evacuation, said: “It’s like the end of the world.”

[…]

The rest is horrible.

“It’s like the end of the world.”

TEOTWAWKI can happen to you.

Having a plan and a ready stash of potable water, grab-n-go food, clothing, a back up of necessary meds, and… yes… weapons and ammo for hunting and for protection are bare necessities.  After a while money won’t be worth much, compared to, say, a can of pickled okra.

I say, spend some money now for things that have real value, including items that can keep you and your loved ones healthy and alive in time of need.

“But Father! But Father!”, you might be howling. “GUNS? For protection? You are a fear-mongering war-monger.  People are nice when we are nice to them.  Besides, Pres. Obama will send the government to help us! And you hate Vatican II!”

Sure when the food runs out, people will be nice.

I rather think that people will get strange.  Wait until all the people who are on (often over-prescribed) drugs for their depression or for their other mental states… come off their meds way too fast and get a crazy.  People who are hungry and thirsty and frightened for their children can get pretty desperate.  And dogs get wilder fast and form packs.

You can always trade ammo.

We are all nine meals and three days of water away from looting and violence.

Look. Aside from EMPs from attacks or CMEs, when tornadoes rip through places like Joplin, Missouri, I think about readers here. There are floods, earthquakes, … lots of bad things happen to real people.  They can happen to real people like you and like me.

You might want to read the Deep Winter series.  Lights Out and One Second After also present scenarios that provoke thought.  There are lots of books in this genre.  This genre of writing is not great literature, but it drills into the sorts of things that could happen to you and me.