SURVIVALIST #27: Urban Assets for Survival

In the beginning… in the end. The part in the middle is the most intriguing and beguiling story of the survivor. To prepare adequately for a fallen society, or to escape the fury of Mother Nature, unlimited scenarios are dissected to the lowest possibility. The survivalist then develops an action plan, prepares accordingly, and executes. This is the cornerstone of preparation where drastic environmental changes reduce the probability of living to its lowest percentage.

In the urban interface, the paramount approach to survival is teamwork and network. The urban sprawl in any part of the world is a place of commerce, a hub of social interaction and exchanging of ideas. It is the pathway to education, a transportation portal, a beacon of achievement in human endeavors, and the centrality of governing. Its infrastructure is designed to support the masses by ensuring comfort to the best of its ability, while providing security and sanctuary to diverse groups of individuals. In times of crisis, city officials initiate action plans that have been written in advance to ensure the best possible outcome.

USAF Colonel John Boyd introduced a process of observation, orientation, deciding, and acting, called the OODA Loop. This process is a flow of information that can be interrupted by outside stimulus that may cause a bad decision that restarts the process. If a decision cannot be reached, action is never obtained. To increase the percentages for survival, preplanning and skills streamline the process reducing the possibility of mistakes. Regardless of natural disasters, hazardous material release, social unrest, terrorism, grid shutdown or epidemics, in the urban interface a simple decision tree to follow is protect/shelter in place, evacuate, or a combination of both.

To begin with…
Have a map. This crucial item will identify key areas for shelter, routes, rallying sites, control and check points. Always get an overview of the area, orient the map north at all times and most importantly, DO NOT LOSE the map!
• Plan routes by obtaining an overview of the area being traveled.
• Determine key strategic locations for safety and security, food distribution, information gathering and sharing, medical and personal care.
• Identify key features: waterways, parks, airports/airfields, and railways, above and below ground.
• Locate support structures: churches, government buildings and operations, resource distribution centers, marinas, storage, stadiums and hospitals.

Support structures provide critical elements of safety, security, shelter, food, communication and reorganization.
• Churches/mosques primary objective is to provide solace and religious items. They can provide limited food, water, shelter, communication and safety in numbers.
• Government buildings and operation sites provide food, water, shelter, safety in people, security, communication, and real time information.
• Resource distribution centers will be chaotic with possible looting unless security measures are implemented. The centers will provide food, water, hygiene and personal care items, limited communication, and limited information.
• Hospitals: location of trained medical providers with the caveat of “the most good for the most people.” Resource intensive care will be diverted to savable lives.
*note: “safety in people” in this article refers to protection by number of people in an area, not from security personnel.

Course of Action: Shelter in place
Choosing to shelter in place may be the best option during events of unknown airborne contaminations, natural disasters, or social unrest. This course of action is based upon the risk of movement is greater than the risk to stay.
Shelter selection
• For security in numbers go to churches, airport terminals, train stations, bus terminal, government buildings and operations, stadiums, malls, civic centers and city hall.
• For protection with security go to government controlled areas.
• For protection against unknown airborne contaminants stay indoors of a non-contaminated structure. Close windows and turn off any electrical unit circulating outside air to indoor.
• For protection against ballistics select solid material construction. Have a way to restrict entry into the shelter and a rapid means of egress.
• For earthquake indoors-select sturdy furniture to crawl underneath, if outdoors-go to open areas away from buildings and powerlines and drop to the ground. Prepare for aftershocks and Tsunamis.
*Cement parking lots provide excellent field of view, stopping power against ballistics but conducts heat away from the body and exposed to airborne contaminants.

Course of Action: Evacuate
The choice to evacuate may have been implemented by the government or groups of people. This course of action is based upon the risk of staying in place is greater than the risk to move.

Choice of movement
Movement by Mob in the urban interface in one direction may get you very close to a target area. Once the mob has reached a key juncture in your evacuation route, disengage from the mob by moving diagonally or down narrow alleys that funnel the mob. Feign fatigue or vomiting to drop back and then move onto to the next location. The dangers of moving by mob consist of becoming a victim from opposing forces or falling prey to the mob.

Movement by bicycle is the most agile mover in the urban interface and in some cities can be rented directly from a rack. Mountain bikes are durable and some have inner tubes that can be used as an arm sling, tourniquet, or improvised water bladder. Tires from the bike can be burned to produce heavy black smoke for signaling and camouflaging movement. Some bikes may have small tool kits underneath the seat.

Movement by rail is not a new party trick. Since the 1830s, movement by rail began to replace the waterways and people would move officially and unofficially by rail. The railroad remains the central seat for interstate commerce and is a viable mode to evacuate the urban interface both above and below ground.

Movement by waterway is an effective mode of movement but carries many dangers. Attempt to move by vessel: SUP, Kayak, boat-motorized or sail.

If a person chooses to move by direct entry
• Wear a personal floatation device
• Move face up with feet pointing downstream
• Moving water causes hypothermia faster
• Avoid fallen trees- trees are strainers that will entangle and drown the person
• Do not touch animal and insect life in or around the water
• Know how to eddy out of the water and back to shore
*Do not attempt waterway movement unless trained

Escape and evade
Use any and all methodology to move to safety. Use gross migration or individual movement techniques. Blend in with the environment and the people. Do not stand out.
• Don the appropriate appearance. Keen observation of the terrain and people is the best way to adapt the best garment, when to move and how to move. Not all escape and evade scenarios require night time movement and paramilitary clothing.
• Climb over objects by staying low and not upright over the object i.e. window sills, low walls
• Move by sewers and tunnels-shopping malls have large tunnels for storm drainage
• Eliminate excessive use of light and control noise
• General rule: go opposite direction of the masses, look for the void

Course of Action: Combination of shelter and evacuate
A combined approach for survivors in the urban interface is different from the public safety format. The public safety format is a division plan for those that can leave an area and those that cannot. An active shooter is the most prevalent event where this course of action is applied. In the active shooter event, victims that are not at the point of impact have the option to run, hide or fight. Not all victims will run and not all will hide but all are encouraged to choose a course of action.

The combined approach for survivors is weighing the risk/benefit of the action. The survivor has chosen the course of action of movement but the current conditions are not appropriate for the best possible outcome. Thus the survivor remains in place until a point in time that the risk of movement is less than staying in place. Applying the combined approach to urban survival may evolve around several factors.
• The survivor is entrapped by the event, the environment or debris
• The survivor may have injuries that may incapacitate or limit mobility
• The survivor has an injured person/s
• The survivor is the leader of a family, friends or a group that requires detailed planning
• The survivor has little to no information on current conditions and chooses to wait
Staying in a confined space for an extended time frame will affect mindset and determination. Other dangers like dehydration, malnourishment, infections, breakdown of skin tissue, rodent and insect infestation begin to occur and present as plaguing problems.

Finding Resources
If there are no personal defense items, acquire them. Upgrade at all times.
• Wooden baseball bats or crow bars. Wooden baseball bats are more effective at shattering glass than aluminum bats. When swinging at glass, be very careful that the momentum of the swing does not carry the hands through the glass resulting in cuts and lacerations. Maintain the hands above the point of impact.
• Look for eye protection. Much of the environment will have dust or unknown substances that will burn the eyes and mar visual acuity.
• Look for hand protection. The small bones of the hands are often injured or broken. Obtain leather gloves to provide protection against minor scrapes, padding and insulation. Keep the hands operational!
• Look for back packs that free up the hands and distributes the carrying weight evenly. Avoid back packs that will stand out in the environment i.e. a tactical bag during a festival.
• Communications and technology- leave information or extract information from locations that are still in operation. In addition to pen, paper and duct tape; Cell phones, smart watches and tablets are still viable tools. Near support structures, Wi-Fi capabilities may still operate. Each device can take pictures, record videos, take notes and provide light. Sources of free Wi-Fi include coffee shops, truck stops, hotels/motels and restaurants.
• Food sources- There are many edible plants in the urban interface; look at balconies for plants/vegetation. Apartments, high rise buildings, YMCA, community gardens, parks, marinas and schools will have plants/vegetation.
• Hygiene-Truck stops and the YMCA will provide showers for a small fee. Public showers near beaches are usually easy to access from the main road and are free.
• Caching gear at airport terminals, bus depots, train stations, malls and public storage facilities are excellent areas to store gear prior to an event or inversely used to scavenge for resources.

In the end, the world is the same as it always was. Calamity, warfare, famine, strife, social unrest, and terrorism are the complex arena where living is pitted against the perils of survival. Survivors, as actors on the world stage, will decide the outcome by matching wit, preparedness, stamina, and execution against unsurmountable dangers. Each choice and every decision is woven into the fabric of tomorrow. Without the hope of a better tomorrow, the final option is to let the duress of the time break the will of mankind and let the soil of Mother Earth embrace us.

Special Insert: Geocaching network
There is a game played around the world called geocaching. This is an extensive network that works with specific apps, satellites, “hides” and explorers. At first glance a survivalist may discard this site but an in depth look will reveal much more. “Geocachers” as they are called have a propensity for finding unique areas and ways to hide items or lists. Here are some reasons to explore.

• Unique locations of a hide-exploring in or around the hide may reveal secluded areas, water sources, key terrain or other pertinent information to the area.
• Unique information on local wildlife and vegetation/fruits that go un-noticed by the local people.
• Unique structures off the beaten path, entry way to a subterranean site, etc.
• Clever ways to hide things in plain sight.
• A way to communicate in archived format or real time.
• A rallying point of like-minded individuals.
• Actual practice in the art of stealth by attempting to retrieve and hide the prizes in plain sight of “muggles.”
• Fitness!

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Original article by Met Clark, published in Survivalist Magazine

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