An “extreme civil emergency” is a situation where there is no electricity, no re-supply of local stores, no fossil fuels available, phone/internet/communications not working. If no help is coming or it will be long in coming, any rescue will be up to “We the People” in our own communities. Don’t wait for the government to “tell” you what to do. Work with your neighbors & civil society organizations (religious/civic groups, schools, fraternal lodges etc) to secure basic needs, preserve public order, & protect the common good for the duration of the emergency. United we stand, divided we fall. There is a lot to do, & much of it involves manual labor. Working together with others will make the work go easier & smarter. Many hands make the work go lighter. Procrastination is the thief of time.
COMMUNICATE! Set up community bulletin boards, organize meetings. Positive action that promotes security & wellness is the best antidote to fear, panic, & other negative reactions to stress. Bring back the “town crier”. Get there the “firstest with the mostest”.
VULNERABLE POPULATIONS. If you have friends/family in nursing homes or hospitals, you may need to go & get them. Check on vulnerable people/elderly in your neighborhood. Organize shelters in community buildings and/or provide volunteer support to the staff of nursing homes & hospitals to help them cope with the radically changed circumstances.
WATER. The City’s water system will go down without fossil fuels & electricity. Store water! Collect rain in buckets, kiddie pools, trash cans, fish tanks, ice chests, fridges/freezers, whatever – dig holes in the ground, line with plastic, boards, bricks, whatever, to hold water. If you live within 2 miles of the river on low ground, try digging a 20-30 ft deep well. Purify surface water by letting it settle & filtering through cloth (if muddy), then siphon the clear water into a pot & boil it for 10 minutes (rolling boil, not simmer).
SEWAGE & GARBAGE. The sewage system requires electricity & fuels. If the electric/water/fuel systems go down, stop flushing toilets. If households keep flushing, the system will choke/back-flow. Make a composting toilet out of a bucket & toilet seat. Put dried leaves/grass in the bottom of the bucket, add more dried material (paper, leaves, shredded cardboard, grass, etc) after use. Urinate into bottles or jugs, try not to mix urine with feces (this will help reduce the smell). When bucket is full – dump into a hole & cover with dirt or if you are an experienced composter, dump into a compost bin & cover with lots of organic material. Do this away from any water sources. If you dilute the urine – 1 part urine to 10 parts water – you have a safe & nutritious fertilizer for growing food, if you can rise above the ick factor. As to trash – there is no garbage anymore. Everything is useful. Recycle, reuse, make it over, make do, waste not, want not.
FOOD. If the electrical & fossil fuel systems go down, & the transportation system isn’t working, grocery stores will empty quickly. Do not depend on the government to haul in food – in a crisis this big, that won’t happen. Work with your neighbors to find food. Within 60 miles of OKC, there are millions of lbs of wheat, soybeans, & other raw food products. Go now, in whatever vehicles you can fuel, & buy/trade to get wheat, soybeans, oats (whatever they have on hand) from the grain elevators (the tall grain storage cylinders you see in rural areas). If no fossil fuels available – make bicycle carts or handcarts & organize teams to go there & haul food back. A neighborhood of 3000 people needs 100 carts that haul 250 lbs each. Remove chaff & dust by tossing wheat in air when wind blows. Make a grain grinder with three, 3/4" diameter steel pipes, 30 in long. Wrap each pipe with duct tape to prevent slipping, then bind them together with duct tape. Cut top out of a large can. Put 1 in grain in the bottom of the can, place on smooth hard surface like concrete. Sit with can between feet, wear gloves, move the pipes straight up & down about 3 in each time, rapid strokes. Sift to separate into flour & cracked wheat. Start gardens everywhere, if in the right growing season; if not, get ready to plant. Plant dried beans, unpopped popcorn, potatoes/sweet potatoes, seeds of winter squashes, cukes, pumpkins, watermelons from grocery stores. Cut off tops of carrots, place in saucer of water, grow greens. To build a garden fast - remove lawn turf, build 6 inch sides for 4 ft wide beds, make them as long as you want. Scoop soil from pathways into beds. Fill with straw, leaves, dirt. Organize community kitchens since cooking fuel will be scarce. Build outdoor bread ovens, solar ovens. Start compost piles. Container garden on pavements. You can grow almost anything in 6 in of soil. Grind popcorn for meal. Dandelions, purslane, chickweed, pig weed, lambs quarters, rose petals/hips = food.
HYGIENE. Wash hands often. Make a hand-washing solution – put a little liquid dish soap in an empty squeeze bottle, fill with water, shake. Pour solution on hands to wash. Wash dishes carefully; if water is scarce, wipe/scrape them clean, then wash. Water gardens with the wash water. Never drink or brush your teeth with unpurified water. Disease prevention and careful attention to sanitation is essential.
HOUSING. Consider combining households with friends/family. It will be hard for 1-3 person households or families with small children to do all the work necessary to maintain an individual household in these circumstances. Living in larger households for the duration of the emergency will help keep your quality of life from crashing completely. As a practical matter, mortgage/rents are “on hold” for the duration. If the courts are closed, & the financial system isn’t open, no one can be legally evicted or their house foreclosed. If you have friends/family in rural areas, you may be better off going to them. If you have no transportation, walk or ride bicycles. Start soon.
SECURITY. Start neighborhood safety/help patrols. Organize opposition if anyone takes advantage of the situation. Resist attempts to interfere with necessary survival projects. Be wary of the tendency to resort to bad behavior/habits when under stress.
SEASONAL ISSUES. In winter, shelter with neighbors if you have no fuel for heat (more people = more heat). Cover windows to insulate. Do not use charcoal briquettes inside – they give off deadly carbon monoxide! In the summer, keep hydrated & stay in the shade!
NETWORK. In an extreme civil emergency, Mutual Aid will open reading rooms. Info will be available to help us survive. Bring your own paper & pencils/pens to copy plans & useful information. Volunteers/teachers needed. Look for us!