Emergency

Natural disasters, terrorist attacks, economic collapse, war, disease, starvation: we don’t want to think about it, but we’re all susceptible to such catastrophes. And the list can go on: only our imagination sets the limits to what kinds of disasters can strike at any moment.

In this sense, there’s always a potential apocalypse to worry about.

And because of the amount of disasters in the recent past – 9/11, the Boston Marathon bombings, tsunamis, hurricanes and financial meltdowns – many people fear that anything can happen.

This uncertainty makes many people want to prepare for the worst. Many of them become survivalists, or people who actively prepare themselves for large-scale emergencies.

But since no one can ever know when or how disaster will strike, a proactive survivalist needs to be prepared and trained for every potential kind of disaster.

Let’s say your city is ravaged by an earthquake or hurricane. In this case, being able to survive without electricity and water would be crucial. You would need to know how to make a wood fire, and have stocked up beforehand on hand crank-powered flashlights, water purification tablets and first-aid supplies.

Or consider what happens if war broke out. How would you escape? You’ll need to know how to drive whatever vehicle you have available, be it a car, boat, motorcycle, or – if you’re rich – a helicopter.

And no matter what kind of disaster strikes, it’s always good to know how to perform basic medical care, like stopping bleeding, caring for burns and splinting broken bones, because injuries are always a possibility. And when disaster strikes, there may be no doctors to call.