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After the bombs/fallout

BygmesterFinn

Active member
Just for curiosities sake, what do you guys plan to do after coming out of your shelter following the blasts and subsequent fallout?
 
Depends on how much radiation there was. I keep stick-on dosimeters in the freezer to put around the house in event of attack. If it looks clear, I suppose I'd begin straight away with dealing with people, any garden planting, and resource finding.

Defense- I live in the boonies upwind from a major target that would be hit even if only five warheads were deployed by each side. Few neighbors, but I imagine that I can put on a show and claim I have nothing of value for them, and they should go to the nearest government-supplied safe zone or FEMA camp. If hostility occurs, I will use the amount of force required by the situation. I'm trained and equipped for war, and have combat experience, so I should be able to hold my own.

Water- I keep 200 potable gallons in the basement, plus the ability to fill a few hundred more if it looks like fun-time is close. There's also a tarped kiddie-pool in the yard for washing water. Wells are accessible nearby.

Shelter- Basement shelter with rapid ability to improve. Unless a firestorm takes out the house, I will survive most fallout that is likely. I have the tools to build a trench shelter if needed, but things are not that bad yet (hopefully).

Food- A years worth of food for the whole family, and seeds to grow 10 acres of renewable crops.

The plan is to survive the people, who should either flee the area (if no EMP effects), be dead or dying (from fallout), or die from violence or want of food and water (EMP).

After the people are no longer an issue, I could look for supply sources and the crop planting can begin in earnest. I guess the particulars depend on just how bad it was.

if the area is survivable, I'm staying no matter what. If the area is not survivable, then I'd probably be dead already.
 
Harbinger said:
and seeds to grow 10 acres of renewable crops.

I was looking at seed storage earlier, it's probably the only thing I'm missing for any long term survival stuff. Looked like even well stored seeds still only have a shelf life of 10 years. Do you rotate your seeds regularly, or got something cool to extend shelf life?
 
hrng said:
Harbinger said:
and seeds to grow 10 acres of renewable crops.

I was looking at seed storage earlier, it's probably the only thing I'm missing for any long term survival stuff. Looked like even well stored seeds still only have a shelf life of 10 years. Do you rotate your seeds regularly, or got something cool to extend shelf life?
Some probably will only last a few years, even well stored, so I plan to buy more when the time comes. I started prepping about two years ago (When I learned the true order of things), and only bought seed within the last year, so I don't have much experience with seeds either. I keep small variety packs of them (like from amazon) in the fridge, in their mylar packaging. I also keep two buckets of crop seeds in a cool, dark closet. In addition, the feed corn for chickens has been reasonably reliable in sprouting in my test batches, so there's an idea too.

I'm not super knowledgeable about it, unfortunately. I do know that you want to make sure you get non-GMO, open-pollinated, heirloom varieties to make sure you can grow more the next season.
 
Is a gas mask or haz mat suit actually worth it? A prepper place opened right by my house like 80 steps maybe and have been looking at their inventory online
 
Harbinger said:
Some probably will only last a few years, even well stored, so I plan to buy more when the time comes. I started prepping about two years ago (When I learned the true order of things), and only bought seed within the last year, so I don't have much experience with seeds either. I keep small variety packs of them (like from amazon) in the fridge, in their mylar packaging. I also keep two buckets of crop seeds in a cool, dark closet. In addition, the feed corn for chickens has been reasonably reliable in sprouting in my test batches, so there's an idea too.

I'm not super knowledgeable about it, unfortunately. I do know that you want to make sure you get non-GMO, open-pollinated, heirloom varieties to make sure you can grow more the next season.

Cheers mate, may do a trip to the nursery soon :)
Steiner said:
Is a gas mask or haz mat suit actually worth it? A prepper place opened right by my house like 80 steps maybe and have been looking at their inventory online

Properly sealed gas masks are useful for a wide range of things, maybe not for the fallout situations though. Gotta make sure you get a full seal over your face for it. Hazmat suits... maybe... depends on the cost really. For fallout, I remember reading somewhere that cheap painters suits are good since you can just dispose of them rather than trying to decontaminate them.
 
hrng said:
Harbinger said:
Some probably will only last a few years, even well stored, so I plan to buy more when the time comes. I started prepping about two years ago (When I learned the true order of things), and only bought seed within the last year, so I don't have much experience with seeds either. I keep small variety packs of them (like from amazon) in the fridge, in their mylar packaging. I also keep two buckets of crop seeds in a cool, dark closet. In addition, the feed corn for chickens has been reasonably reliable in sprouting in my test batches, so there's an idea too.

I'm not super knowledgeable about it, unfortunately. I do know that you want to make sure you get non-GMO, open-pollinated, heirloom varieties to make sure you can grow more the next season.

Cheers mate, may do a trip to the nursery soon :)
Steiner said:
Is a gas mask or haz mat suit actually worth it? A prepper place opened right by my house like 80 steps maybe and have been looking at their inventory online

Properly sealed gas masks are useful for a wide range of things, maybe not for the fallout situations though. Gotta make sure you get a full seal over your face for it. Hazmat suits... maybe... depends on the cost really. For fallout, I remember reading somewhere that cheap painters suits are good since you can just dispose of them rather than trying to decontaminate them.

I work the hospital here and since we are near a chem. weapons depot we have to have chem suits and masks and the ones we have are fairly cheap and just get tossed away. I'm debating starting to gather items and if it ever goes to 2 building a underground shelter on my grandparents property or using their house because its built underground and sheltering in place.
 
I'd say if you're near a major threat of chemical contamination, go for the suit and mask, but only as a means to get you out of the area. Chem/bio weapons are difficult to deploy and are not even a remote threat in the overwhelming majority of CONUS.

I have neither suit nor mask, because I don't think they'd be of use for a nuclear attack, and there are no real terrorism threats where I live. I plan to use an old "improved rainsuit" if I am possessed by some unknown cause to venture into dangerous fallout, and then leave it in the garage before washing and going in the house.

Just remember, if you are going to get the suit and mask, make sure you know how to seal both properly and just as importantly: how to take them off without contaminating your skin. There's a kind of ritual to it, I'm sure its in an army manual somewhere. Helps to have two people.
 
I agree, we had to train sealing everything and taking it off. we had army instructors who lead the course. I'm near the Bluegrass Army Depot which was a nuclear target but I'm not sure about it anymore. we have shelter in place supplies at home and special emergency alert radios for it. It's just hard to plan on a place to go to because anywhere near by here was a target. unless you drove an hour east.
 
Its creepy to even think about that. I mean, you would be or could come out to a whole new and probably devastated world...
 
Steiner said:
I work the hospital here and since we are near a chem. weapons depot we have to have chem suits and masks and the ones we have are fairly cheap and just get tossed away. I'm debating starting to gather items and if it ever goes to 2 building a underground shelter on my grandparents property or using their house because its built underground and sheltering in place.

I would start building that shelter NOW (After you got your utility locates done, if needed. They've got 72 hrs to locate all UG pipes/wires.)
 
As stated by others, our plans depend on how bad it gets. Given our location, we are not under any illusions of being able to survive an all out attack.

In a limited exchange where our city is not hit, we have a basement with a reinforced secure section where we can shelter in place for months, if necessary. The window wells have been completely filled in and reinforced and all external indications of a basement there are gone. I have pre-cut boards to cover all other windows in the basement quickly if need be. We keep a standard radiation detection kit down there, including pocket-pen style dosimeters and a survey meter, so we can keep an eye on fallout levels. Weapons and ammunition of various kinds are stored for security, and we have a large dog who can help with both security and hunting. We have enough Iosat tablets for ourselves and for trading purposes.

We are on well and septic, so we have easy access to fresh water with minimal contamination concerns. We also have two sump pits in our basement where we could collect incoming ground water and purify it if necessary. Beyond that, we live 200 yards from a major creek where we could collect more water if it is not seriously contaminated. We have a wood-burning fireplace capable of heating the entire house complete with one to two years worth of firewood, plus a backup propane heater.

We have fishing, hunting, and camping supplies. Deer and geese are plentiful around us. We have discussed purchasing seeds for local gardening to add to our stock but our knowledge in this area is limited. We have enough canned fruit and vegetables to supplement our diet in the short term, however.

In the case of an all out nuclear exchange, we hope we have sufficient warning to bug out across the Canadian border. I always keep enough gasoline stockpiled to get us there without having to rely on gas stations. We have a 4x4 so going off-road to get around stalled traffic is possible if necessary. Basically, if we can thread the needle between all the targets from Indianapolis to Chicago and get into central Wisconsin without getting taken out by blast or EMP, I think we can survive. This would require a minimum of 6 hours warning, preferably closer to 12. I'm operating under the assumption that the Canadian/US border crossing points near Detroit would be closed by the time we got there, thus opting for the longer trip where we can cross the border in an unsecured area.

Biggest threat to us besides getting taken out in the blast from one of our nearby targets is people. Our thinking is that most people will die off in the first few weeks, and as long as looters don't discover the secured section of the basement, we can wait them out until the situation stabilizes. We have enough like-minded people in our little neighborhood that I think we could eventually secure our area and pool resources to increase survival odds.

At DEFCON 3 we re-assess our supplies and review our contingency plans for DEFCON 2. Gas tanks in our vehicles are never below 3/4.
At DEFCON 2, depending on the situation, we begin preparations for sheltering in place or bugging out.
At DEFCON 1 we either bug out or lockdown inside the shelter, again depending on the situation.

Regardless of DEFCON level, at the first confirmed report we receive of a nuclear weapon of any kind being used in combat, we're getting the hell out of Dodge.
 
To be completely honest, I don't plan on doing much except embracing it :lol: . Look at Fukishima and Nagasaki today, still ghost towns from nuclear bombs set off about, 70 years ago? The possibility of the US surviving an attack from both Russia and North Korea would be close to none (of course depending on your given location within the United States). Now, I've done some research on the nuclear studies going on within Russia. The Tsar Bomba (most powerful nuclear weapon Russia ever detonated) is approximately 3,333 times more powerful than Fat man itself. Now, I'm not saying that the United States can not do better than that, but knowing that type of intelligence, the military better come up with something much greater.

As I look at the article about the Tsar Bomba, This weapon of mass destruction was assembled and completed within 16 weeks of Russia agreeing to build the Tsar. The bomb, when dropped in 1961 by a TU-95, had to use parachutes just to stop it from reaching maximum lateral G's and causing colateral damage to neighboring cities (or countries). But I will drop the link down below for those who want to look up the information

Cheers

http://nuclearweaponarchive.org/Russia/TsarBomba.html
 
conor said:
To be completely honest, I don't plan on doing much except embracing it :lol: . Look at Fukishima and Nagasaki today, still ghost towns from nuclear bombs set off about, 70 years ago?

I assume you meant Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Both towns are currently thriving population centers with radiation levels no different than the rest of the world. With the exception of the memorials there, you would never know they had been destroyed by atomic weapons. Disinformation like this is dangerous.
 
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