Water

www.brexitsurvivaljournal.comWater

Water is essential for drinking, cooking, washing, flushing toilets and laundry. People need a litre (about 2 pints) of water a day, just for drinking.

No Power – No Water

Depending on where you live, if the power supplies go down, you may have interruptions in water supply (if you live on a hill and water is pumped). If fuel supplies are restricted or chemicals cannot be imported, the water provided may not be of drinking quality.

Bottled Water

You may wish to store some bottled water in the house, in case supplies are interrupted. You may also wish to get a supply of water purification tablets in case the tap water is not of drinking quality. Alternatively, you can boil it, if there is power. You may also want to filter the water, using a sieve and kitchen roll.

It would also be useful to include bottled water in any emergency bags you make up in case you have to leave the house. Large bottles of water are more economical to buy, however, smaller bottles will be easier to transport in bags if necessary.

Other Supplies


If supplies go off, you need to plan what to do for flushing toilets (don’t flush for pee, only for the brown stuff). If extreme measures are called for, then line your toilet with a black plastic bin bag and dispose of it every few days. You may have to put off washing laundry and having baths or showers. A bucket is useful for carrying water. A washing up bowl is useful for washing dishes with a limited supply or if the power is off for the dishwasher.

If you have a garden, you could plan to store water in a rain barrel, for emergency use. A large water butt can hold 200 to 300 litres of water. This may sound a lot but just flushing the toilet may use up 70 litres per person per day for older toilets and half that for low flush toilets. For a two person household that means 70 to 140 litres of water a day, just for flushing the toilet. That would soon empty one water butt. If you have an older toilet, you can add a water saver to the cistern, to reduce the amount of water used in one flush.

If You Have To Leave

www.brexitsurvivaljournal.comLeaving

If you have to leave home, you need a plan of where to meet and where to stay. Leaving may occur when some people are away from home – at work or school or it may be in the middle of the night.

This is never good and can be worrying, especially if you  have no way of contacting absent family members.

Preparation

Again, preparation is the key to reducing worry and panic as far as possible.

Local

Decide ahead of time on a local meet up place, such as a cafe or a friend’s house. Decide on another fairly local place in case that one is not available for some reason. This should be a place that you all know and where you can regroup. Write the address and phone numbers down and make a copy of the information for each family member.

Regional

In case a local meeting place is not feasible, decide on a regional meeting place that everyone should try to get to. This of course will be more difficult, especially if transport is affected, however, it gives everyone a place to try to reach. Add phone numbers of the place to the contacts list.

Main Contact Person

It can be handy to have a contact person who is not too close in your local area and / or one who is far away. They can act as an office, to take messages, pass them on, etc.

Secret Family Password

This can be useful if you think people may be in trouble or a way of saying that you are under duress. It needs to be something that can pass as a real question or piece of information, yet is only used in an emergency,such as asking about a non-existent family pet.

Emergency Bag

Having an emergency bag with washing, first aid and a few food supplies is useful if you can always have it with you. Perhaps in your hallway to grab as you leave, or in the car boot or a small bag inside a school bag or an everyday bag that you carry with you at all times outside the house. Keep the list of addresses and contacts inside the bag, so it is always available.

 

Stay At Home

www.brexitsurvivaljournal.comHome

For most people, staying at home is the easiest and safest option in troubled times and it is assumed that this is where you will be.

If you want to stay within your home and not have to go outside to get supplies, you will need to make sure you have enough stuff to last you for about 3 weeks at least, possibly even 6 weeks. You may not use your emergency supplies all the time, you may just need to call on them when there are shortages and then stock them back up again when fresh supplies come in. But isn’t it good to know that you will be able to feed yourself and your family and have some comforts if necessary?

Hopefully, any troubles will be over and supplies will be back in local stores again, within about 6 weeks, though there may be shortages and some items may take a lot longer before supplies are available whenever you want them.

Shelter

Your first priority will be shelter. But with Brexit, hopefully, this will be your own home and with any luck you will have your normal utilities, water, electricity and a cooking stove.

If you need to move out of your home, other preparations will be needed ahead of time, this is dealt with later.

Staying in your own home is the best bet in most cases but you will need to prepare in case any of the utilities (like water, gas and electricity) are interrupted, as well as store food that your family can eat: and store drinking water.

Cooking

How do you cook meals at present?

  • don’t – eat takeaways or eat out
  • electricity
  • piped gas
  • cylinder gas
  • solid fuel stove
  • couple of different methods

Your Plan

Think of how you could manage to cook if the power goes down, or the gas or fuel are delayed. If you have only electricity for cooking, for instance, you will need to think of another way of being able to cook. Maybe you have a coal fire? Maybe you need to buy a portable camping stove? Think about what you need to DO in order to be able to cook. Perhaps you need to stockpile some more gas cylinders or more coal?
What is the Plan……………………………………………………………………………….
When will you do this? ……………………………………………………………………….
What is the Budget? ………………………………………………………………………….

Take Action

The Important Stuff

There is a journal available with check sheets that you can fill in and use to save recipes and stuff ahead of time. Knowing what’s important allows you to budget for any expenditure and find a place to store stuff, keep it fresh and rotated and keep everyone up to date on the plan and how to work it.

Having A Cunning Plan

When an emergency is announced, the shops are besieged, everyone runs round like a nest of ants that has been dug up, saucepans or bathtubs of water are stored and very few eat properly. A few days later the water is emptied out, the bread is stale and everyone goes back to their ordinary lives, apart from the few who got caught out and those who were really prepared.

Which Do You Want To Be?

www.brexitsurvivaljournal.com

Prepared

The prepared person has a plan that everyone knows, has stores of food that they and their family like and will eat, that can be used if necessary and that will not be wasted if they are not needed just now. They have clean water, medical supplies, ways to keep their pets safe, a working car and a safe home to go to if they have to leave.

Unprepared

The unprepared person ends up cold, hungry, sitting in the dark or maybe a local community hall, without their pets or medications and no clean clothes.

You need a plan that will:
● Help you keep in touch;
● Keep you sheltered;
● Keep you fed and watered;
● Keep your pets safe;
● Keep your transport working where possible; and,
● Keep your medications current and more……

But It Will Only Work If You Take Action!

Survival Problems Elsewhere

This page contains affiliate links

www.brexitsurvivaljournal.comSurvival

Problems have happened in many countries, from fire, flood, hurricane, political unrest…. to earthquakes, tsunamis and volcanoes. Citizens have not asked for problems but they are the ones who have had to deal with them. For instance:

1 August 2019 Whaley Bridge Derbyshire, England

Residents have been asked to leave their homes as quickly as possible, because the Toddbrook reservoir dam wall, further up the Goyt valley has been damaged and could collapse, sending a wall of water down the valley. Residents have had a reminder to take pets and medication with them and if possible, to arrange to stay with friends or relatives. The Brexit Survival Journal includes information on what to have ready for immediate evacuation.

Greece (May 2010)

The government decided that the citizens were going to be their backup bailout plan for the country’s debt. Once the government announced it was going to take 10% of the citizens’ bank funds, panic and protests ensued. There was a mad run on the ATMs as people scrambled to pull their money out. Because of the surge of withdrawals, the ATMs ran out of money and the government closed banks temporarily to keep people from taking out all their money.

Hurricane Katrina in the USA (August 2005)

If people were not stranded by the flood waters, they were stuck because they had no fuel to get out of town and there were no fuel stations working, because there was no power.

Earthquakes in California in the USA (July 2019)

California experienced two large earthquakes and many smaller shocks in July 2019. There is a 5% chance of an even bigger quake happening and some people are concerned that it may trigger “the Big One”, on the San Andreas fault. Luckily, there were no fatalities in the two quakes, however, fires were started from ruptured fuel lines.

The Great Storm of 1987 (UK)

The weather service didn’t see the great storm coming and the worst storm in 300 years hit a totally unprepared southern coast of the UK, leaving 18 dead, trees uprooted, roofs blown off, power lines down.

Workers Strike Northern Ireland 1974

Electricity and town gas were both turned off, groups closed streets and roads, no cars or buses could get through. Farmers sold milk from the back of vans, shops ran out of food. Meals could be cooked on coal fires if you still had one after the push to install central heating to avoid smog issues.

Disasters Everyday

There are many disasters and emergencies around the world, possibly every day. Emergencies can happen at any time. A power line down and local electricity won’t work, no ATMs for cash, no fuel available at petrol stations, perhaps no means of cooking, even if only for a short while.

Prepare

It’s only sensible to prepare for emergencies if at all possible. One may not happen and that’s good, however, being stuck with no food, heating, lighting or warmth, especially if you have young or elderly to care for, is no joke.

Brexit Survival

Surviving A Short Term Emergency With Brexit

● No matter whether you voted leave or remain;
● No matter whether you want “Leave Means Leave;
● No matter whether you want a second referendum; or
● Leave now without a deal

You Need To Prepare!

 

www.brexitsurvivaljournal.comWhat Is Brexit

The United Kingdom split almost 50:50 in the 2016 referendum on whether the UK should leave the European Union or stay. There was a small majority in favour of leaving. There has also been a lot of acrimonious debate since. That means that whatever happens with Brexit, almost half the country is going to be disappointed with what happens, whatever it is. There is a brexit timeline available to check if you want.

What Does Brexit Mean

BRitish EXIT: the term Brexit has been coined to stand for BRitish EXIt from the European Union, the community it has been a part of for 47 years.

www.brexitsurvivaljournal.comWhile the government is putting billions of pounds into preparing for Brexit, it is possible that not everything will be covered, especially if the exit is a no-deal scenario. There will be people upset with the situation, whatever happens on 31st October 2019, the Prime Minister’s proposed EU departure date, When people are upset with politics, difficulties and commotion can happen and that can lead to shortages of food, medications and fuel, political disturbances and power cuts even if only in small areas. If you are in one of those areas, life may become uncomfortable for a while. Economically, financial exchange rates can also change, affecting the prices of imported goods, especially oil.

This site is NOT about the Brexit debate. It is not taking sides one way or the other. It provides good plain commonsense on making preparations for keeping yourself and your family fed, warm and sheltered for a short period after any final Brexit decision (one way or the other). Whether the UK leaves or stays in the EU, there may be some upheavals in some areas. If it leaves, there may be shortages of items that are imported or that need to be moved around the country.

Emergencies

Emergencies can happen anywhere, anytime – a power station going down, a flood, a storm, blizzard, wildfire. Any or all of these might make life hard for a while.

Even if you live in the calmest, safest part of the world, a tree can fall, lightning can strike, your electrical power can go down, such as the huge power outages in England and Wales on 9 August 2019, when two power suppliers lost power simultaneously, a strike or a problem elsewhere can affect supplies to your local shops. It doesn’t have to be Brexit related. Life is a risk. In August 2019 a dam threatened to burst in the Midlands area of the UK and many residents had to be evacuated from their homes at very short notice.
Even without Brexit, it’s important to plan to make yourself and your family self-reliant in the event of a major disaster. In a time of crisis, you don’t want to have to go cold, go hungry, scramble to stay alive, have to make do without your medications, or to have to depend on others to help you out.

www.brexitsurvivaljournal.comDisaster Announced

When disasters occur, normal routine is totally thrown out even if only in a small area. If that area is where you live, then there may be widespread shortages. Not just food but also power, water and medication.

Before a disaster strikes, such as a storm or hurricane, there may be news flashes to let people know it’s coming. Then you’ll see pictures of empty shelves in the shops because people who didn’t plan ahead rush out in an effort to take care of themselves and their loved ones. If imports and transport of goods are limited, then what is sent to the shops my be prioritised, for instance food may be seen as more important than cleaning items.

That mad rush will only result in a few days’ worth of supplies and these may not stay fresh. And long term power outages ( like after major hurricanes), or storm damage can make it difficult for people and supplies to get out or in to affected areas.

Short Term Emergency

A short-term emergency disrupts normal life temporarily. It could be a flash flood, a storm, a forest fire, or an uncertain political situation. Any of these could lead to food shortages, maybe a need for shelter and a lack of other necessities, such as clean water, warmth and electricity.

Any of these could happen at any time and if you want to survive as comfortably as possible, you need to know exactly what to do if disaster hits and where to go if your home isn’t safe or habitable. It’s always useful to be ready for whatever happens.

You can prepare for a bad few days or weeks by making sure you have emergency food and household supplies, such as cleaning items, available in your home in case supply lines are disrupted. You could also have emergency bags ready and waiting with at least three days’ worth of food, water, clothing and the means to provide or make a temporary shelter, in case you need to leave temporarily.

Not For Preppers

This is NOT a prepper’s site, as is normally thought of; it is NOT helping you prepare for the complete end of civilisation as we know it, however, it is certainly a preparation site, getting ready for disruption. There is a workbook available, related to this site, that will help you prepare for a short disruption where things will eventually get back to normal. It contains lists of items you may wish to stock up on plus space for you to add your own items to obtain. It also contains some easy emergency recipes and about 20 pages for you to add in your own easy cook / no cook recipes. The journal also prompts you to consider your options for cooking, warmth and fuel. Preparing ahead of time can help you survive more comfortably and means you should not need to go outside at times when things may be disturbed. Most emergencies arrive quickly but they also don’t happen that often, so you get time to prepare for something happening (even if you won’t always know what).. Let’s get started.

TinsTuesday

Try buying a few extra tins of stuff you would normally buy and stash them away in a spare cupboard somewhere. #TinsTuesday

#WashupWednesday

Make Wednesday a day for adding washing and cleaning items like soap, shapoo and toothpaste to your emergency stash. #WashupWednesday