Disaster Tip of the Week: Choosing Your Bug-Out-Location

Last week I talked about the first steps on deciding on what to include in your Bug-Out-Bag (BOB). As I mentioned one of the most important things about deciding on what to put into your BOB is how far away or how long it will take you to get to your Bug-Out-Location.

How you choose your Bug-Out-Location will depend on a number of factors, such as:

• Can you afford to purchase your own location
• Do you have a trusted group of people that can purchase a location together
• Is it easy for you to get to
• Can you get there if you had to walk
•  Is it safe from the same or other potential hazards

If you’re lucky enough that you can afford to purchase your own location or to get in on one with some other people you will want to look for a location that is preferably in a different region from your main living location. The best site will be property you can purchase that also has access to water, hunting, wood, and enough space to grow your own food. Also take into consideration the security of the location as well.

If others can find it or know where it is, and you have supplies stocked up there is the chance that they could be gone before you get there or even worse taken over and occupied.

Again, consider how long it would take for you to get to the location. If you’re traveling alone and have the knowhow to survive the more remote and further away you can make your location. If you have a family that you need to take care of you MUST consider locating your Bug-Out-Location closer and will likely have to make it more accessible.

What if you’re not lucky enough to be able to afford your own property? The first thing I would do is find a relative or even a friend who lives either in a remote rural location. At the very least find a relative or friend that lives outside of the region in which you live that will not be impacted by the same event that would cause you to leave and seek shelter.

Once you choose the relative or friend, talk to them about your plans, and as a start offer to set them up at your location if something should happen to cause them the need to leave their location. Once you agree to work together in this respect, you can work together to get supplies and set up your Bug-Out-Location.

Another option you have especially if you live in an urban environment is to know where evacuation points and evacuation shelters will be during an emergency. Typically they will be in large schools, but not always. If you must, get involved with your community, or call your local Emergency Operations Center and ask them where the shelters are and which you should report to if a disaster occurs.

Know where these locations will be, and devise a plan to get to the shelter or evacuation points. If you’re in a situation where you need to utilize this option make sure you’re one of the people who get there early. Getting to them early is particularly important if the plan is to use these shelters as a staging point to get people onto other methods of transportation to relocate them out of the area. Make sure you’re on that bus, train or other means of getting out.

As a last resort you can always use the option of Bugging-In which is when you choose to stay put and wait out any event. Not the best option especially in a fire or flood situation and you’ll be taking your life into your own hands.



Disaster Tip of the Week: The Most Important Thing You Should Consider When Creating a Bug-Out-Bag or BOB

Go to nearly any preparedness website or survivalist message board and you’ll read and hear talk about Bug-Out-Bags or BOB’s. The most common theme is other people asking what others carry in their BOB’s or even people showing off photos of their BOB’s. You can even find short and long lists of what people carry, down to the types of bags an individual might prefer to carry.  

One of the elements missing from these discussions is the right way of how to develop a Bug-Out-Bag from the start. The first and most important step in developing your Bug-Out-Bag is deciding where you are going to Bug Out to, also called a Bug-Out-Location or BOL.

Why is this so important? Because you should base the packing of your Bug-Out-Bag on how long it will take you to get to your Bug-Out-Location and by the method in which you plan on traveling to your Bug-Out-Location.  For some, this means traveling all the way on foot, and for others by vehicle or other means. If you don’t have your own Bug-Out-Location you can and should start with how long it would take you to get to a designated evacuation site or shelter.

If you pack only take three days worth of food or supplies into your bag and it takes you five days to get to your location you obviously will not have enough.

Some other things you should consider before packing your Bug-Out-Bag will be:

• Who will be travelling with you, and how fast or slow will they be traveling
• Will you be able to head directly to your Bug-Out-Location, or will you need to take detours for security reasons
• Will you be traveling all the way or part of the way by vehicle or other means
• Is your Bug-Out-Location stocked with supplies or do you need to bring them
• Are others going to be meeting you or expecting you at the Bug-Out-Location
• Is there a time frame in which you must be at the Bug-Out-Location  
• Can you carry the supplies you need to get there

Once you have all this information you can then begin to build your Bug-Out-Bag properly to your specific needs regarding water, food and other supplies you will need on your trek.