Real world SHTF: The Countryside is more Dangerous

One of the most commonly accepted misconceptions in the survival and preparedness community is that “once SHTF”, you “gotta get out of Dodge!”
It seems that not many people ask why and just accept this as an unquestionable fact, but those that do usually get a reply about cities being where most people are and therefore where problems will be worse. The logic here would be that more people=more problems. While this may be the case in some specific scenarios, those of us that have dedicated years of our lives to seriously study real disasters tend to have a different opinion, and the answer is: Its not that simple.
The best location to ride out a disaster, large or small, is directly linked to the type of disaster you are facing. In the case of war, widespread terrorism or uprisings, running to the countryside is probably the last thing you want to do.
In the case of an invading force moving across a country, both cities and more rural areas would be equally at risk. Ground troops moving forward will go through all buildings looking for enemies, scouts and spies and no survival retreat with armed occupants will present much of problem to anyone with mortar fire at their disposal. Anything that falls within the enemy occupation territory is at risk.
Different historic incidents such as the Bosnian war, involving an invading, foreign force, or the violence in South Africa, in this case a local threat, targeting farmers after the African National Congress rose to power, have shown us that the countryside isn’t always an idyllic safe place to be in when everything goes to hell.
Currently we have yet another example with Boko Haram militants:

DALORI, Nigeria — Hundreds of women and girls captured by Boko Haram have been raped, many repeatedly, in what officials and relief workers describe as a deliberate strategy to dominate rural residents and possibly even create a generation of Islamist militants in Nigeria.
http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/national_world/2015/05/18/militants-trying-to-impregnate-captives.html
Despite this relative calm in urban areas, Boko Haram killings and kidnappings have not diminished. Recent analysis of the Council on Foreign Relations’ Nigeria Security Tracker indicates that they have in fact increased.
Fighting has instead shifted to rural areas.
http://blogs.cfr.org/campbell/2013/11/19/boko-haram-pivots-toward-rural-areas-in-nigeria/
Boko Haram militants killed dozens of traders at a village market in northeastern Nigeria's Borno state, security sources said.
The attack Friday was the second major assault on the market in Mainok, 65 kilometers west of Maiduguri, the Borno state capital, within five months.
The weekly rural market draws hundreds of people from remote and surrounding communities who come to trade their farm produce and animals.
http://www.voanews.com/content/boko-haram-hits-rural-nigerian-market/2662747.html

In this case, we see how when terrorist organizations aren’t strong enough or big enough, they will fight more of a guerrilla warfare, hiding in the countryside, taking over smaller towns and villages, and only going after bigger cities when they have enough power to defeat the forces located there.
If we think of a post SHTF world in USA where for whatever reason most of the country has collapsed, it is easy to see how most of the security and rebuilding efforts will be focused on the larger cities with the most people while smaller communities and the least populated areas will be left to fend for themselves.
FerFAL
Fernando “FerFAL” Aguirre is the author of “The Modern Survival Manual: Surviving the Economic Collapse” and “Bugging Out and Relocating: When Staying is not an Option”.

3 Easy Steps to Home-made Pepper Spray

Warning: Laws vary from Country to Country, even from State to State. Know and abide by your local laws before making any kind of home-made pepper spray.

In one of the most embarrassing incidents in Argentina’s football history, fans of Boca Juniors Club attacked rival players of River Plate Club as they went into the pitch after half time. They used a home-made type of pepper spray known as “mostacero”, which is typically made by inmates in prisons. This liquid was made using cayenne pepper and acid. While cayenne pepper isn’t among the hottest peppers, the acid in the mix is a particularly evil addition which can cause permanent injury or death. Before you get any ideas, remember that liquids and gases for self-defense that cause permanent injury or death are banned in most countries.
Commercial OC spray is still the best non-lethal defensive tool at hand. Its cheap, you can have it delivered to your door and it works very well within its intended purpose of use. I recommend SABRE RED, as this is the one most often used in Argentina with good results.

SABRE RED Pepper Gel - Police Strength $12.99

The active ingredient in pepper spray, capsicum, is actually the same component found in most hot peppers, so while not as practical as commercial OC spray, a home-made version can be effective as well.
1)The first thing you need to do is to get yourself some peppers, the hotter they are the better. The hotness of the pepper is rated in Scoville Heat Unit. Commercial Capsaicin pepper spray has around 2.000.000 SHU. Ghost Chile Pepper is considered one of the hottest peppers in the world. Usually exceeding one million SHU, its about 400 times hotter than Tabasco Sauce. At the moment the Carolina Reaper Peppers are officially considered to be the hottest in the world. The practical difference in SHU may be marginal so I would suggest going for the one you have available in powder form. You can use dry peppers but this will require processing it into powder.
You will also need alcohol, mineral oil, an empty plastic bottle (small, half liter soda bottle will do) to mix the ingredients and a container to use the pepper solution.
2)Pour the ingredients into the plastic bottle. Use latex gloves, a face mask and if possible do this outdoors or at least in a well-ventilated area. The mix will stain clothes pretty bad as well. Mix 2 tablespoons of Ghost Pepper powder. 1 tablespoon of mineral oil and 7 ounces of rubbing alcohol. Close the bottle with its cap, shake it well and let it rest in a cool dark place for 24 hours.
3)Using a cloth or rag to filter the solid particles, pour it into another container. Make sure you use gloves, mask and eye protection here as well. Once you have the filtered solution look for a spray bottle to keep it handy. Water guns have been recommended at times, but most of these tend to leak very bad so check before using. Small spray bottles work nicely. Lens cleaner bottles are small and throw a jet when pressed hard. Try getting one that throws a jet of liquid rather than a cloud of particles so as to have better range.
That’s it folks. Not as handy a commercial OC spray, but better than nothing.
FerFAL
Fernando “FerFAL” Aguirre is the author of “The Modern Survival Manual: Surviving the Economic Collapse” and “Bugging Out and Relocating: When Staying is not an Option”.

Nepal Quake and Construction Types

http://www.asianews.it/news-en/Earthquake-in-Nepal:-more-than-500-dead-in-the-Christian-community-34216.html

Being Catholic I thought you might find this of interest.

I enjoy your site, have your book Surviving the Economic Collapse beside me as I write, and value your insight. If you are ever of a mind to write any of your observations as to what happens to healthcare in a system under collapse (economy) I'd be happy to have it offered on my survival medical forum.

Reasonable Rascal

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Thanks Reasonable Rascal, that's pretty interesting. It is noticeable that in most cases it was poorly built structures that collapsed most catastrophically. Without a doubt, this raises the number of victims. In more developed nations with proper seismic construction codes the fatality rate would be much lower.

FerFAL

Reply: Can an AED save your life?

Fer,

Just a reminder that here in the US the Red Cross offers a combined CPR/AED course which is well worth the time. The instructional video with the HeartStart is good but the course gives some hands on use of the AED. It would also be good for one to have CPR training if one owns an AED.

Don't be fooled by this call for infrastructure spending, the guy you quoted is a notorious big spending politician. Obama and his buddies supposedly spent $1T on infrastructure which actually went mostly to support their union friends, i.e. teachers unions, bailing out UAW union, and public employees unions among others. Obama has increased our national debt by over $8T since he has been in office so I'm skeptical that he can spend more money wisely.

Regards,  Keith

Hi Keith, thanks for the reminded. Indeed, everyone should check http://www.redcross.org/ for nearby first aid traning. The AED (Automated External Defibrillator) is simple enough to use but you should still get at least a basic CPR class.

I dont actually have a problem with spending as long as its done right and to benefit people, rather than doing it do benefit personal friends or themselves directly. Unfortunately, that happens a lot all over the world.

FerFAL

 Fernando “FerFAL” Aguirre is the author of “The Modern Survival Manual: Surviving the Economic Collapse” and “Bugging Out and Relocating: When Staying is not an Option”.

Mad Max: Fury Road – Just Amazing!!