Is general preparedness enough for modern risks?
Posted by Proof_Junket_5516@reddit | preppers | View on Reddit | 32 comments
Do you think general preparedness covers most situations… or do specific risks need specific prep too?
A basic emergency setup probably helps in most situations. But if you live in a flood zone, wildfire area, extreme heat, heavy snow region… or even think about things like armed conflict or nuclear incidents, doesn’t it make sense to have some scenario-specific items and plans as well?
Curious where people draw the line between “general preparedness” and “specific preparedness”.
preparedbassfisher@reddit
What is general preparedness?
Proof_Junket_5516@reddit (OP)
For me “general preparedness” is more the basic stuff that helps in a lot of situations at once. Things like a 72-hour bag, basic first aid, extra food/water, maybe some backup power, pet supplies, things like that. Then the more specific prep depends on where you live and what risks make sense there. I’m just curious where people draw the line between “prepared enough” and trying to prepare for absolutely everything.
monty845@reddit
I appreciate that many people don't have a choice, and have been living in bad places since before they saw the light... But to the extent you do have a choice, living some place that is not exposed to such risks contributes a huge amount to your preparedness.
If you are choosing some place to live, not living in a flood zone is usually an option. (Make sure to consider the topology for unmarked flood risks/flash flood risk) Wild fire risk can be harder to avoid completely, if your work requires you to be in an area with a significant risk of them, but you can very much mitigate the risk, but living someplace with a cleared defensible space around the building, and good evac options.
Cities are a mixed bag, for minor disruptions, they are often better, since they often get prioritized for restoration/aid. But any type of more extreme scenario, they start to look really bad...
Proof_Junket_5516@reddit (OP)
💪🏼
astilba120@reddit
I have noticed that people in warmer parts of the usa do not have alternative heating or cooking sources like a lot of northern rural yankees do. We have woodstoves, that in itself is a huge insurance against cold and the ability to cook food. A wood burning stove is not just essential to the North. If you live on a high hill, when we had serious flooding, my house and land was not flooded, but there was no access off the mountain, because roads washed out and so did bridges, the prepping came in handy in the way of food and water, but neighbors were left high and dry and hungry. We do not get forest fires here, but in areas that do, evacuation plans and a vehicle to get you out, and time to do it, means life or death. I think northern rural areas have a greater advantage of survival than southern and western areas. Urban areas, you need a bicycle or a moped to get around all the traffic jams, a back pack with a tent to escape, so, there is evacuation for some, and hunkering down for others. I am the hunker down type, just seems safer.
Proof_Junket_5516@reddit (OP)
Yeah I think where you live changes everything. Someone in a cold rural area probably thinks very differently from someone in a city or near flood zones. What feels “essential” in one place might barely matter somewhere else. And I don’t think being a little overprepared is a bad thing either, as long as it doesn’t turn into paranoia.
JRHLowdown3@reddit
The basics are the basics and will get you through the bulk of the scenarios you described, both the mundane ones that really lean towards just "adulting" that everyone likes to act like is some preparedness thing now all the way to more major things.
If you know have a year supply of food for your family at home, job losses don't hurt as much, you dip into your LTS food and save yourself some funds. If you have basic medical skills and supplies you can treat some things at home.
Some scenarios will require some "specialty" type gear- gas masks, survey meters, dosimeters, etc. for CBRN type scenarios, but the basics of things like being able to stand on your own for six month or a year are still important.
Proof_Junket_5516@reddit (OP)
I think that’s the part a lot of people outside the community miss. Good preparedness doesn’t necessarily look dramatic, sometimes it just looks like reducing dependency step by step and building a more resilient lifestyle over time. The interesting part is that many of those habits improve normal life too, not just emergencies.
JRHLowdown3@reddit
Egg Zach Lee.
BallsOutKrunked@reddit
There are people on this sub who, in my view, conflate adulthood with prepping. Keeping your phone charged, your bills paid, some money in the bank, and your gas topped off: these are table stakes. That a lot of folks don't have that taken care of really doesn't make those who do a "prepper".
It's not like there's some agreed upon definition of the word, of course. But for me I'm looking for more than being a responsible grown up.
Proof_Junket_5516@reddit (OP)
I can actually see both sides of that. A lot of “basic prepping” is probably just responsible adulthood and reducing avoidable problems before they become emergencies. But I also think most people only realize the value of those habits once something goes wrong...
Maybe preparedness really starts where normal routines stop being enough.
BallsOutKrunked@reddit
The real preps are the friends we made along the way.
Proof_Junket_5516@reddit (OP)
🎸 Friends will be friends… right till the end… 🤟🏼
monty845@reddit
So many people don't have those those squared away, that it really has become a situation where you do those, add a week or two of food/water, and you are better prepared than 95% of people... maybe even a higher percentage.
That said, having different terms for different levels of prep would be helpful, but any attempt to do so fails to get traction. SHTF is a common one, but people have broadened it to cover everything from a local disaster (or even losing your job) to global nuclear war, so it doesn't really help any more. I liked TEOWAWKI, but that seems to have fallen out of favor.
jazzbiscuit@reddit
General vs. specific looks different depending on your location. I don't have a wildfire evacuation plan or a flood plan because my odds are better of getting smacked by a meteor than a wildfire, and if my house floods EVERYONE needs an Ark plan. I do have a massive blizzard plan - but you probably don't need one of those if you live in Florida.
Even before I started paying attention to "prepping" I always had a couple weeks worth of food and other necessities in my house. Not as a conscious prepping strategy - but it's a long drive to the store and I'm not willing to do that every couple days. Door dash or pizza delivery isn't a thing here either, so I've just always had to make sure I have what I needed. Having a couple weeks of food may be a conscious prep for someone who relies on instant access to a store - for me it's just daily life. But... my massive blizzard plan relies heavily on the fact I probably wasn't planning on going to the store anyway.
DiscussionFinal9684@reddit
Preparedness is simple in its purpose but complex in its application. It addresses a series of problems depending on your analysis of the scenario and the actions you will take once it unfolds.
Taken too far, this can turn an effective plan into a fanciful role-playing game, where you find people armed with equipment that, due to its specificity, has become useless. People who could have spent their time and money on, for example, improving their fitness (something very useful but rarely discussed in prepper circles: can you climb a wall twice your height?)
All this without even mentioning the specific groups within the movement: ham radio operators prioritize communications and power; medics focus on medicine; farmers and ranchers on self-sustaining land; gun enthusiasts, well... Etc.
Don’t prepare for everything, because you’ll end up preparing for nothing. It’s impossible. Consider that a state (the most powerful organizational entity in human history) must still formulate a foreign and military policy doctrine defined by a set of objectives and disregard and/or set aside all others.
And steer clear of anyone who looks like a guy trying to sell you 500 tools, claiming you’ll need them for what’s about to happen. He’s probably just an airsoft enthusiast who’s gotten a little carried away.
Good luck, friend!
P.S.: Sorry if you don’t understand something or if I didn’t express myself clearly. English is not my native language...
Proof_Junket_5516@reddit (OP)
I actually agree with most of this honestly. We probably do need different levels of preparedness depending on the risks around us, but trying to prepare for absolutely everything can easily become unrealistic. A lot of people focus too much on gear and forget that skills, health, location and mindset are part of preparedness too. And sorry if some of my replies sound awkward sometimes 😅 English isn’t my first language either.
mediocre_remnants@reddit
My general preparedness is being able to handle a couple of months without power/water/gas/internet/groceries/etc, in any season. And I went through 11 days without power and water back in 2024 from Helene and we did just fine.
There isn't much that would make me bug out from my home. Wildfire, house fire, or chemical spill (I live within half a mile of a railroad and an interstate highway) are pretty much it. And my bug out plan involves driving to a hotel.
Armed conflict / social unrest? I live in a rural enough area that it won't affect me directly. Nuclear incidents? I'll play that by ear. I wouldn't evacuate unless there's some direct effect at my location. But honestly, it's not worth wasting the mental energy on. I'm not a hobby prepper, it's not something I particularly enjoy or do for fun, so I just focus on the realistic stuff. Things that happen around the world every day.
Proof_Junket_5516@reddit (OP)
I think location is already part of prepping too. Living somewhere less exposed to certain risks probably solves a lot before it even becomes a problem. But I still feel like having a couple of basic “just in case” items makes sense nowadays. Even something simple like a radiation meter doesn’t feel as over-the-top as it used to.
nakedonmygoat@reddit
We all need water, food, shelter, light, and first aid. Beyond that, it gets specific. Do you or a member of your household have a medical condition? Are you responsible for the care of children, the elderly, or someone with a disability? Do you have pets?
Are you urban, suburban, or rural? House or apartment? What kinds of natural disasters and other known threats are there, like being near a nuclear or chemical plant? In what circumstances would you stay put, and what would you need for your comfort if you do? What would cause you to leave, and if you go, would it be in a vehicle or on foot, and where would you go?
Having a robust plan is expensive, which is why most of us do it a little at a time. First make sure the basics for your household's survival and modest comfort are covered for at least two weeks. Then start working outward. Think longer term. Think about specific realistic scenarios. And don't just think natural disasters or civil unrest. What about a job layoff? What about a medical emergency?
One person's prep might not look like the next person's, so aside from the basics for human survival, make your prep work for your specific needs. Don't rely on others to have your same level of risk perception. Many years back there was a guy about 20-30 miles from me who ringed his home with Quick-Dams ahead of a flood. His neighbors mocked him. Guess which was the only house in his neighborhood that didn't flood?
TheMrsH1124@reddit
Ugh this is another bot isn't it, look at the responses
churchillguitar@reddit
Start by prepping for most-likely scenarios in your area. Are you on the east coast of the US? Prep for hurricanes. On the west coast US? Prep for earthquakes. In the Midwest? Prep for tornadoes. In the desert? Prep for drought. Somewhere with wildifires? Prep for that.
Once you are prepared for surviving the most-likely natural disaster, you can then think about the most-likely man-made disaster. Maybe get a Geiger counter in case there is a nuclear fallout scenario, then build a lead-lined bunker, then…
In all scenarios, you need a safe place to hunker down, a bugout plan, food, water, and medical supplies. Depending on your location and time of year, heating or cooling solutions are also important.
I’d say start with a deep pantry, ample first aid and backups of life-saving meds, and a week or 2 worth of clean drinking water for the whole household. Step up from there as budget allows.
TheMrsH1124@reddit
That's a good question. Generally I prep for Tuesday and then add quantity for SHTF. For example, I like having preps for various drugs/antibiotics on hand (since I don't have health insurance, getting a prescription in a crisis is usually very expensive compared to obtaining them in a non-crisis). Water, I prep for several months, using 17 ounce water bottles which are the cheapest source of bottled water AND we use regularly for hiking and in the car etc - so we rotate through our stock readily. Food, I keep a very deep stocked pantry simply because it's how I like to shop and cook - but it would also feed us for months to years. Etc, etc. Even my portable manual washing machine I bought when my washer broke over a weekend and I had to pay a delivery premium to get one within a week.
The only things I've prepped for extreme situations are generally relatively cheap. Solar fans for our bedrooms in case we lose electricity, several hundred pounds of bulk salt, a Sam splint, a solar radio, etc. I don't stash MREs or any other food we don't eat regularly. My biggest purchases have probably been related to creating potable water.
DeafHeretic@reddit
Regardless of the scenario, the preps are:
Shelter, Water, Food, Security, Health/Hygiene, Energy (fuel, electricity, etc.)
Gene-reader@reddit
I prep for hurricanes which covers all Tuesday scenarios that I'm likely to encounter. I'm not prepping for far our scenarios.
Whatever your likely emergency is where specifics will come into play.
For example, I will never prep with portable heaters. If it were ever to get cold here, I would turn off the AC and put on a pair of socks. I guess people out of hurricane zones don't store removable, aluminum window panels but everyone in my area does.
I suppose you will need to find your comfort level at where you draw the line in prepping.
nakedonmygoat@reddit
I thought I was good with just hurricane prep until the Texas Ice Storm in 2021. Now I have a couple of little propane heaters and an electric blanket I can plug into one of my Ecoflow power stations.
Proof_Junket_5516@reddit (OP)
That actually makes a lot of sense. Preparing around the most realistic local risks is probably the smartest balance between being prepared and not overcomplicating life.
I guess preparedness becomes really personal once you move beyond the basics.
stream_inspector@reddit
Water, food, shelter, and a source of heat for cooking and body temp issues, some lights, extra TP and OTC type stuff.
That probably covers many potential issues. I do agree that you should prep based on where you live also - tornado alley? Mud slide central? Earthquake fault ? Hurricane zone ? Take all that into account for sure. My main deal is trees falling during storms and knocking power out for days at a time - so I prep for that.
Proof_Junket_5516@reddit (OP)
Build a solid general base first, then adapt around local risks.👍🏼 Someone dealing with storms and falling trees will prep very differently from someone in wildfire, flood or earthquake zones. And somehow extra TP ended up becoming part of everyone’s universal prep list after 2020
curious_grizzly_@reddit
A phrase used a lot on this subreddit is "prep for Tuesday". If you prep for basic things like job loss, water/power being unavailable for a couple of days, things like that, you'll find you're prepared for a lot of likely scenarios.
Even if all you do is create a basic emergency kit, you're already much better off than having nothing. Add in a week of food and water storage and you're prepared better than a lot of people are. You don't have to prepare for Red Dawn or a nuclear apocalypse, just prep for Tuesday and expand from there, and the rest kind of takes care of itself
Proof_Junket_5516@reddit (OP)
I actually really like that mindset. I think where I start questioning it is when local risks become very specific... Basic preparedness probably covers 80% of situations, but some environments seem to benefit from a few dedicated preps too.
curious_grizzly_@reddit
For sure. In the US someone in the Midwest needs to be aware of tornadoes, along the coast they need to add hurricanes. Each person needs to make their own list for their area, based on probability.