SHTF flowchart for when its hitting?

[DFWprepper]

Anyone made a flowchart for signs that its officially hittin the fan? Like signs of an EMP, pandemic, etc etc etc? If not can we use this to start listing signs so one can be made?

[bacpacker]

Not me, but that sure is a interesting concept.
Welcome to the forum BTW.

[piranha2]

Yeh, welcome to the forum.

[DFWprepper]

Thanks for the warm welcome guys.

The idea of the chart is for someone that might otherwise go "Should I go into Bug-in/Bug-out mode or just go to work because is this just another false alarm". And if so whats the next thing to do. For example EMP might be the first strike for a nuclear option, where you probably need to get you tail into a shelter. Heres some scenarios I was thinking that's like an alarm buzzer that things are literally "hittin". Please add as you see things:

- Massive outage of power, comms, cars not starting suggesting EMP
- Massive amount of people calling sick in a 24 hour period
- News reporting sudden loss of signal/calls/etc from critical cities
- EBS messages/weatherband alert
- Grounding of commercial airlines
- Run on food, gas, batteries, propane, etc without public knowledge (ie Alas Babylon)
- Failure of resupply within 72 hours of run on supermarkets
- Come-as-you-are recall of armed forces on leave
- Freeze on sales of ammo, primers, weapon sales, etc

etc etc etc

[tc556guy]

Your chart will depend on what your own capabilities and limitations are for a given scenario.

I don't see how it would transfer well from one person to another who may have wildly different resources and family/ work situations

[Vodin]

My thoughts would be this. If and when the SHTF it would be a a quick process faster than it would take to blog really...

Financial: It would be a little slower and we would be able to voice out what is occurring. You would witness Countries defaulting thus causing other countries to default. This would be a dominoe effect and the speed would become pretty quick. Greece and Spain are the 1st 2 dominoes. (You have been alerted Greece has financial issues and is on the brink of falling out of the Euro system. Spain is now needing money. Which makes me ASSUME<- Spain is/was 'linked' to Greece?)

EMP: Would only be announced if the forces in power believe it to be necessary. If they do you will have what 20 min to an hour? If that occurs I will be busy last minute prepping. If I am home, if not there will be issues on the streets pandemonium will set in. If they don't notify (which I think the tact will be) I will continue my day oblivious to the situation.

Natural Disaster: It happens when it happens and we deal with it then.

So in reality from what I WITNESS it has begun with finances. It began when we hit the 1st recession. Hence the cost of items have increased and our income does not increase to compensate for it. Gas in Germany is under $2 per liter and there are ~4 Liters per Gallon. Greece cost per liter is a little above $2. Now come to America. Gas in Colorado is about $3.60 a gallon. Yes granted the quantity purchased effects the cost of the product. But haven't you been hearing about the rise in cost for the past year or two? What is causing it to change?

I think we are in the initial stages of a huge issue. It takes time to rear its head but when it comes down... (If the 'issue' results in a SHTF moment we will see)

[The Stig]

Having a full blown flowchart doesn't seem to have much value IMO. Every SHTF event is so different that you'd either need a massive chart or it'd be a mess of lines and diamonds.

And for some SHTF events it doesn't seem all that helpful. If your house if fully engulfed in flames you don't need a flowchart to tell you to get the hell out of there.

That said, have a bullet point list of different emergencies that are possible in your given area, and your response to each could be helpful for planning and determining holes in your plans.

[bacpacker]

I tend to agree Vodin. Just looking at the financial situation, Greece is having money drawn from the banking system hand over fist. Spain is not in much better shape, Italy is close behind. It's just a matter of time IMO. Here, the issues got started big time in 2007, but the media didn't make it out to be a big deal until 2008. We've just been sliding down hill since. You here all this talk about how great the economy is recovering. I don't see it. Wages are not increasing much at all, job growth is very slow to non existant. Folks are still losing their jobs, just not quite in the numbers as 08-09. The unemployment numbers are skewed lower due to all the folks whose unemployment money is running out and they are dropped from the rolls.

There are a few bright spots here and there in manufacturing, some business coming back from China and Mexico. But it's not nearly fast enough to catch back up. It seems to me that we are just in a slow boil and the water is starting to get hot.

[Grumpy Old Man]

See jerry D Young's list of SHTF scenarios to prepare for in this thread:

http://www.shtfready.com/f12/what-do-you-have-tool-wise-b-o-b-1880/index2.html

He's got the most thorough list of scenarios I've ever seen. And being prepared in general will apply to any one of them. Just my $20.00 ($0.002 adjusted for inflation)

[Vodin]

Ok next signal flare has been popped. Spain is supposedly getting a free loan with no requirements attached. What does this mean? Welp it seems like the domino chain has started.... I am sorry is this a bad post? If so inform me and I will cease and desist.

[izzyscout21]

that's a bunch of 173

[cwconnertx]

Ok next signal flare has been popped. Spain is supposedly getting a free loan with no requirements attached. What does this mean? Welp it seems like the domino chain has started.... I am sorry is this a bad post? If so inform me and I will cease and desist.

It means that mathematics over-rides politics, as the case has always been and always will be.

You can wish for austerity, or for greater government spending, or for pigs to fly, but none of it means a damn thing. In the end, governments have gone so far into debt, it is mathematically impossible to pay it back with a strong currency, so they will print money/loan money/quantitative ease their way out of the debt by inflating the debt away.

Those in the know realized this, there was never going to be any other outcome, in the end, there will be inflation, how well controlled it will be is now the question. German was never going to be able to enforce enough fiscal discipline on the rest of the EU, the debt will be dealt with using monetary policy not fiscal policy. I think the pretenses of conditions on the bailout money are being dropped as they realize its not going to work, the debt is too large to cut spending and pay off. Math prevails.

We are approaching, and may have passed the same point here. We have a little more wiggle room that the EU, but not much more, we are still borderline at the point where we can fix the problem, before the first Bush bailout the debt was quite manageable, but through obama presidency it has exploded, and at this point it is at the point where it might not be possible to get out of.

[ak474u]

I think having my wife in my situation dependent on a flow chart might be a negative in a way, only because even though it may lessen panic and foster a system of reacting in a certain named situation, like others said, the plethora of potential SHTFs out there could leave one scratching their head as to where to start during an un-named event "uh oh, mr. Ak474u didn't mention what to do if an airplane crashed into the building... Now what? I think a general plan for BUG-IN vs. BUG OUT may be a good thing to have, along with where to go. I.e. chemical spill that could result in the need to GTFO NOW but can be cleaned up, and there would be a home left to return to would be different than an approaching wildfire that is gonna take everything you own, which becomes in effect a GTFO/NEVER coming back type situation as would a nuke attack, alien invasion etc. We talk weekly about where to go, what to do/not do, and a Head for the hills I'll see ya when I see ya type event, as well as if I gasoline tanker crashes outside and blows up and you need to go.. (already happened once, we're separated from a major tollway by about 135 ft of parking garage and grass, it was so hot it melted the aluminum windows out of the west side of our building and the trees exploded from the heat)

[tompnoid]

well it would be a local thing where you are we have had catastrophies around here (we had a massive flood last year look up harrisburg flooding 2011) and the police were busy taking care of the riff raff in the projects in the south side of the two local counties. so first thing that happened was a loss of power then police and coast guard and national reserves showed up blocking off roads. and putting in check points. alot of police were busy taking care of thier own homes and familes. everything failed fema came in and some lined up for thier immediate help others left town for a while. this help at all this is the response you should look for.

[Vodin]

Domino 3 is leaning now. Italy has locked down the banks for withdrawals of large amounts of cash. I have not verified this but am currently researching it. Lets see there was Greece...Spain.... and now Italy. Greece started about what 2 months ago and Spain became public about 3 weeks ago...and if there is 'talk' about Italy seems it may be picking up steam. I assume there is no issue in discussing this...even though in my mind it is political.

Here is a blurp on the Italy situation

Worried Monti calls for support from Italy's parties | Reuters (http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/06/12/us-italy-monti-parties-idUSBRE85B1LB20120612)

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-06-12/spain-s-record-yields-show-italy-bailout-risk-as-crisis-spreads

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/12/italy-bailout-may-be-nece_n_1589211.html

[Vodin]

Sadly I am still unprepared for this days events. I keep an open eye for further twists, and I prepare as much as I can with what I have. I have a small business running for the last 14 years. And I have kept this company running where many others have failed. It is a hard task but I have an idea of what can occur if I don't continue doing it.

I urge all of you that see what I am pointing out to push a lil harder with your plans. It will only be for your benefit.

[Vodin]

Welp for those that need a simpler explanation of the Europe Issue and how it relates to America read this

Eurozone Crisis Explainer That Will Finally Make You Care (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/12/eurozone-crisis-explainer_n_1590446.html?utm_hp_ref=europe)

Damn I am realizing why my wife says I am like a 'dog with a bone' when I focus on something....

[Fatty]

thanks for the link, i've been following this crap religiously on drudge for the past week. trying to get the wife on board...slow but possibly surely.

[Vodin]

I don't really involve my wife in the details. She has enough to deal with (she is married to me after all) : ) But she is aware that I am doing what is financially feasible in order to better our situation for now and later. And happily I can say she is not humoring me with my notions.

I don't just rely on one source of slanted views I collect em all and take in the full scope of what may or may not be. But all sides are saying pretty much the same thing. So there is little room to navigate through meaning it something is awry.

[bacpacker]

Same here Vodin. I try to look at some sites from he state, a few from Europe, and others depending on the subject. It really is surprising how different the news is reported here than other places. I agree that getting a mixture of reports on a topic is the only way to get a more full semblance of truth.

The situation in Europe is heating up. Greece's big issues started several months ago, Spain's less than a month ago, and now Italy this week. What next, Portugal or Ireland? How soon will that hit? How bad are they gonna be?

It's just beyond me that it is not bigger news here. And that our so called leaders are not taking heed and doing something to get things in control, at least to some degree, before the same or worse erupts here.

[Vodin]

The Greek elections are occurring this weekend. Golden Dawn/New Dawn is one of parties vying for leadership of Greece.

Greek neonazi leader denies the Holocaust (repulsive) - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXy7f17GXtQ&feature=related)
Golden Dawn&#39;s leader speech... - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=wY3u_tj6UBQ)

Your thoughts?

[Fatty]

My opinion- this is what can be expected when the pendulum gains momentum. Coming to a country near you.

Mean while in New York - N.Y. Democrats Poised to Nominate Former Black Panther, Anti-Israel Radical for Congress | The Weekly Standard (http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/n-y-democrats-may-nominate-anti-israel-radical-congress_646925.html)
Looks promising for a former black panther participant. But as stated, news can have many views...

[Vodin]

All one can say is damn... But here is the further outline France is blaming America for its woes... American Banks are to blame for Frances retirement age. Executive Privilege has been activated on the Fast and Furious files... wow guess they should have done that a little bit earlier.

I think things are becoming nastier in the past week. Granted it grows every day but its been being voiced from all sides now some in agreement.

Looking just at Europe the issues have been occurring in a shorter time span as of late. But its a funny thought it has been almost matched here in America. Our Government is having the same issues.

It is just my analysis according to the sources that I read. All I can say as this it is occurring more rapidly take it how you want to. To me this points more in the direction of a type of SHTF moment. But again I say its just my analysis.

[bacpacker]

Vodin, i trnd to agree with your analysis. Greece has been going in the ditch for several months(years actually) Spain has only started hitting the news ery much in the past 2 months. Now Italy is coming front and center. Here at home, we are seeing stuff happen on many fronts, housing, banking, job loss, goverment scandals of all types. Throw in the wildfires out west, drought in many areas, and the floods in Florida, it makes me scratch my head.

I cant see how any reasonably intelligent person could present any argument against getting your family prepared for what may come next. It may not be you, but may well be family or nieghbors.

[sidewinder]

Everyone should be keeping a close eye on the goings on in Europe especially their money situation..I believe if Europe goes down we will certainly follow in short order..

A crash like in 1929 will not be pretty and infact probably 100 times worse..They are/were also having bank runs in Greece.....

Just today on the news they said about our economy expect the rest of this year to be the same and the next 2 years with basically no growth...It's coming...or at least it ain't going away..depends on if you like your glass half empty or half full..