My wife and I live in southeast Louisiana in a town of approximately 70,000 people. We are located approximately 15 miles from downtown New Orleans. Interstate 10 runs through the middle of our town.
In 2008, I learned the hard way, that sometimes, “bugging in” is a much smarter than bugging out or evacuating from your home and stockpiled supplies, especially if you are a senior citizen. This is a very difficult decision to make and should NOT be made lightly.
Two main factors that should be part of your decision should be your physical condition and health situation.
As Hurricane Gustov approached southeast Louisiana, we were told that it was mandatory that we evacuate. The government told us that if we did not evacuate we could NOT expect ANY governmental services, police, fire, EMS or anything else for an unknown period of time. Also that the electricity would probably go out and that it would stay out for an undetermined amount of time before the electric lines could be repaired.
So almost a million people of southeast Louisiana evacuated, my wife and I included.
We left the security of our home. We left almost all of our supplies. We left almost everything, got in our two vehicles, which held a minimal amount of supplies and got on the Interstate 10 highway system early in the morning. We did what we were told to do.
Then we sat in stop and go traffic for hours and hours not getting to our destination till late that night. It took us eight (8) hours to go twenty (20) miles. We found ALL of the interstate exits blocked for over 100 miles. There were NO bathroom facilities along the way. People were stopping their vehicles on the side of the interstate and urinating anywhere they could. Many vehicles ran out of gas or over heated. There was NO assistance for them. If you did not plan ahead, you did not have anything to eat or drink.
When we returned home, two days later, we found no damage to our home. We did not flood. The electricity was still on. We also found that many homes, luckily not ours, had been burglarized or as the police called it “Looted”.
Many Louisiana citizens decided, in their cars, that day, waiting for hours on the interstate that they would NOT evacuate ever again. Yes, I know we were lucky that nothing had happened to our home. However, we have been prepping for a very long time and had everything we needed to survive is in our home.
Would we have been better off staying at home where we could have defended our supplies and home in case someone came to “Loot” our belongings and survival supplies?
I am NOT advocating that you “Bug In”. That is a very personal decision that you must make with your family. However, I think you should very carefully consider the pros and cons of “Bugging In” or “Bugging Out”! DO NOT make this decision lightly. Also, DO NOT let someone else, other than your family; make the decision for you, such as the government. You know you capabilities and stored supplies.
The only thing I might add is if you decide to bug in then if possible have an alternate location closeby in the event you get run off your bug in location. I would never have all my supplies in one location within your bug in location. Caches scattered around your location gives you more options and protects you from having everything taken at once.
Excellent share Coach, and we totally agree! We’re “well” into our 60’s and don’t plan to go any place, and that’s OUR choice. As for multiple storage locations, for us that’s somewhat up for debate. We have our RV that we keep pretty well stocked during non-freezing seasons, and can hitch up to go camping for a couple of weeks or so if we needed to. But we don’t have the option of multiple locations once we get these other two properties sold. “IF” we decide to go camping, we have multiple places to go “gorilla” until we can return to our Roost. We’re of the opinion that if you’re threatened by hurrican, tornado, fire or flood…chances are your preps will receive some damage. That’s just a fact we’re willing to acknowledge. That’s why fireproof file cabinets, fireproof safes, vacuum sealed clothing & foods, as well as some sort of “root cellar” made from an old frig or freezer that you can anchor to a concrete floor or build into an embankment of your property…if you can is an option we’ll be doing when we get moved to the Roost. We’re in process of purchasing a small parcel across from the Roost that has a creek running across the back of it, and it pools at one end to form a small “pond” (if you will) which will give us access to water. There’s also an extremely large culvert that has been built to direct this creek away from nearby roads etc. which we believe will be an excellent “hideout” if we need to run from a tornado or something because it’s within running distance LOL and we call it the Roost because it sets on a small “knoll” so we have a pretty good view of everything around us. Just our opinions…:-)
We live in a rural area also. We have about the same set up land wise. What I’ve done is take a Bearcat into the woods and have placed several caches with food and such. We are in our sixties and think it will be easier to run and hide than to try and defend. We are prepared to do both though. We aren’t worried to much about natural disasters are concerned except maybe wildfires getting out of hand which doesn’t happen now.
What we are afraid of is having everything taken by force and being left with nothing after they leave (if we are still alive).
I do like the idea of having a travel trailer and that is something I need to look into. Just placing one way back in the woods would be a viable option around here.
We are blessed with three acres of mostly rock that no one else wants, a good well, 6,000 gallons of above ground water storage, an extremely solid adobe house large enough for us and our entire local family (nearly 20) for any short term emergency, a good generator with weeks if not months of fuel, well developed gardens, strong, secure facilities for our chickens and goats-to-be and food for my wife and I for at least 2-3 years. How could I throw that in the truck and haul it with me. And yet, I still don’t feel as prepared as I need to be. Infrastructure is high on my list and I’m spending my ‘semi-retirement’ still working paying jobs so I can afford to upgrade and continue building.
The one thing I don’t feel especially led to do is stock up on firearms and ammunition, and I feel that the Lord directs me. One of my sons and my son-in-law are well stocked in that department, however, and will be here with us if the need arises.
I pity those in highly populated areas and can imagine their frustration when considering ‘bugging in’. One of my sons was living in Houston when Rita was bearing down, sent his wife and children out of town. They got 19 miles in 21 hours. In January of the next year they came here (SW desert).
Coach, thanks for the insight into what it entails to “bug out” in a disaster. The closest I came to that was traveling up I-95 in Florida when there were wildfires and the interstate was closed because of the smoke. The interstate was a parking lot. I know what you mean, “no restrooms”. I guess I never though of what it would be like, me living in an area that has never had an incoming disaster that we knew in advance was coming, but now I see. Thanks.
And to Randy. It seems you are on top of things. I applaud you. Could someone tell me why the people that seem to be the most prepared, are the ones that think they are so unprepared? I’ve seen this many times.
John R, the people who appear to be the most prepared also are constantly learning and searching out information. It’s kind of like – the more I learn the less I know. We are thinking about every eventuality and the skills or supplies we don’t have to meet that challenge.
Yes, I have beans, bullets and band aids, gardens, a paid for little 3 acre homestead that has a trout stream, I have the skills to raise almost any critter, milk, butcher, etc. But I learn something new almost every day doing this blog.
BUT I’m on social security and if the checks stop coming the tax bills will still come. And there are all the “what ifs”…
Hope that helped explain it. :-D
I heard someone say they wished they could go back to when they were 8 years of age. At that age, they knew there were things they didn’t know, but they didn’t care. Is this the problem with the grownups now days? They don’t know about prepping and don’t care? I read a survey from Nat Geo yesterday. It came down to, 49% of the people think they are as well prepared as the rest of the people, but they could only survive for 3 days in an emergency. Do people really think that the average person can only survive for 3 days? Is there that much sand for them to put their heads in?
Bev, the hardest question I have is if the economy goes south and Social Security is no longer paying, is our banks still going to be in operation to be able to repo homes. I am on SS and I still have a mortgage. Isn’t refinancing so easy? I figure the tax man will still be around, but I don’t know how determined he will be. What do others think?
John R…so “right” about the dreaded “tax collector”. In the Bible they hated them. We’re “sorta” of the opinion that we may have to defend our homes & property from them as well. A normal employee as a “tax collector” that sets in an office & you go to them, or one that rides around in a vehicle to “assess” your property; is probably not going to want to face the business end of your defense mechanism :-) Just thinkin’…..
to Dan; to us, having our travel trailer/RV is a must. Not only do love to travel, but it just sort of “feels” good to know we pretty much will always have a roof over our heads and the taxes are cheap.
WE, do you think if our economy is so bad that we no longer get our SS, will there be a county government? Will there be money to pay the tax collector? In a bad economy, most people think there will be no law enforcement. If no cops, there aint no way someone is going to go out in the county to kick someone out of their home, I think. What say you?
Our county elections are coming up and my youngest son used to work in the tax assessor’s office. He was thinking about running for assessor this year, but decided to put it off for a while. Maybe I should encourage him…
If we look at the Great Depression with 30% unemployment – yup, the tax collectors were right there.
Great Recession that we are just pulling out of – yup, the tax collectors are right here.
The fall of the Soviet Union in the late 80s and early 90s – yup, the tax collectors were still there.
It is a great way to shift wealth and property to those who have money and those who don’t will even have less. JMHO and what I have seen from history and current history. :-(
We’re prepared to protect our property … from all enemies, both foreign and domestic.