If you are a Brit, you will undoubtedly be aware that we faced a seemingly apocalyptic event over the past week or so. In case you’re unaware and need to be brought up to speed with regards to the cataclysmic event that struck old Blighty, be forewarned: the following photograph will strike fear into your heart:
Yes my dear friends, a few inches of snow. I truly have no idea how we survived ;)
Jokes aside, this country does not know how to handle snow. Supermarkets ran out of food. The roads were closed, flights delayed, trains were cancelled. And as always, the government ran around like headless chickens.
In case you’re wondering, yes children stayed home from school. Commuters were met with crazy traffic jams, people were stuck on the highway for literally the whole night because no one knew how to handle a few frozen puddles (I take that back since there wasn’t even ice – just flurries).
All this due to “adverse weather” where the highest level of snow that fell in the country had to be recorded in centimeters instead of feet (in case you’re curious – highest recorded snow fall was in Drumalbin, Scotland – 50 cm/1.64 feet).
What would be considered a joke to any Canadian here wreaked havoc on the entire economy, causing the loss of over a billion dollars every day.
For me, this chain of events was both extremely amusing and deeply disturbing. As a reformed Canadian, I need not explain how I am no stranger to snow. Seeing the level of dysfunctional screeching here in the UK, while not altogether unexpected, was still an eye opener.
We are products of our environments and when outside/unknown variables hit us, humans rarely react with a calm, measured response.
It’s very easy for me to be dismissive and scoff at the locals and their inability to handle a few stray snowflakes, but objectively, I do understand their perspective. On our forum I often run into posts by Zackmars who lives in an arid environment (relative to me). I have never lived somewhere where water was anything but plentiful, and I know the idea of running out of water would freak me out, yet he is so relaxed by his lack of water resources (once again, relative to me). Crazy.
It’s an interesting thing to muse about and stops me from being too judgmental. Humans react predictably in unpredictable & illogical ways when confronted by change.
Cold weather doesn’t phase me. I chilled (literally) in a house with sub-zero temperatures in Canada during a winter storm for a few nights and treated it as a holiday. To be in an environment with no power and sub-zero temperatures would be worrying for a lot of Brits, but I learned to adapt to the weather. If we’re ever without heating in freezing weather again, no matter where in the world we are – we’ll be ready.
For shits and giggles, below are some photographs of a Canadian winter ;)
Needless to say –
– I do not miss shovelling snow a couple of times a day to keep the driveway clear.
And yet this type of snow would probably be mocked as “nothing” by a Canadian further up north (Quebec, thinking of you!). All relative, which makes it interesting to think about.
Now I’m turning the discussion over to you.
What hurdles does your environment regularly throw at you? How would those around you react to that type of weather versus the opposite adverse weather conditions? How would you personally react? Are you prepared for anything – or just the most likely environmental disaster that could happen in your area?
For you – what would be the most difficult environmental condition to overcome? What do you have no practice in, yet feel like you could fare fairly well with getting through?
Looking forward to reading your comments.
I live in Nome, Alaska for the first twenty years of my life. When I turned 21 this past March, I moved down into the lower 48 so I could be with my fiancee. Having said that, it gets freaking cold. I woke up one morning to find that the extra water supply we kept around was frozen and useless, leaving us without water for the day until I managed to thaw via extensive use of a heating device applied directly to frozen piping. I remember we had issues like that right up until we got a device that we attached to our supply tank and pipes that kept them from freezing after temperatures of -40 degrees Fahrenheit at times. I’m sure I’m exaggerating, but, ya know.
Eek, exaggeration or not, that must have been annoying!
Being an expat Brit, now living in Spain I always struggled to understand how the UK infrastructure fell to bits everytime it snowed a little. That was until I moved to Spain and realised the Spanish infrastructure has the same meltdown after a heavy downpour of rain! Something us Brits are more used too!
Haha yes, we are definitely forged by our enviroment. How do you like Spain?
Here goes another example of hysteria, one that should concern any prepper: http://www.edp24.co.uk/news/crime/armed-police-surround-building-in-norwich-city-centre-1-5480414.
I’m Canadian but I can’t mock the Brits for it, I have snow tires, shovels, heavy work gloves and since the day I got my license I’ve spent 3 or 4 months every year driving in snow. Canada has the infrastructure in place to deal with snow, plows, salters etc.
If I moved to the west coast of North America I’d have to learn a different skill set for dealing with potential earthquakes or if I moved to the areas where there is a desert climate, still another set.
Aye, our enviroment dictates our comfort zone with regards to extremes. I just can’t help but be exasperated when people freak out over a few cm’s of snow after spending 6 years in Canada.
Thanks darling x
Let’s not call this hysteria, but overstatement. Two things the English really prize are adjectives and overstatements. We lived in the UK for a couple of years, and I had a daughter in primary school. Any little achievement she made was (over)cheered.
I found that attitude to be common in most western countries to be fair. The perpetual need to give ribbons to everyone or they will feel “left out”. Eugh.
Indeed. Color belts were introduced in Japanese martial arts so that we believe we are making some progress. Many (all, some, ?) Dojos in Japan have white/black belts, and you actually start learning when you are granted a first grade black belt (shodan). It is our fault to be so childish in the West.
They’re a bit tougher up in Caithness and Sutherland counties in North Scotland. They go out and get their messages/shopping when the wind is 70mph. Tough folks up there.
I can’t imagine what 70mph wind feels like, never been that far North but I would be really interested to see how they deal with “things”.
:) Some people really need to gor a backbone. Its winter, deal with it!
Yup. Admittedly, I say this after spending 6 years in Canada so I am used to cold weather. My fellow Brits seem to complain about the smallest drops in temperature..
I believe that large metropolitan areas (i.e., Seattle, Los Angeles, New York City, Boston, Chicago, Mexico City, etc.) will always fare the worst no matter the disaster (or SHTF event). In crowded metro areas they simply don’t have the basic resources to supply the massive populations: no gasoline storage facilities, no food processing plants/warehouses/distribution centers, and a multitude of other facilities that provide our daily needs. All these are located away from the cities because they need space to operate and space within the cities is prohibitively expensive…dedicated to office space, retail shops, apartments, strip malls, condos, a few gas stations, etc.
Large cities are dependent upon trucking, rail lines, highways, etc. for their supplies. Not only store supplies but the piping/pumping needed for water and sewage disposal as well. Earthquakes can easily disrupt that…as can volcanic eruptions, hurricanes, storms, flooding, wildfires, etc. What will happen if the grid goes down, or the roads become impassable, or planes and helicopters cannot fly because of volcanic ash clouds, or an area becomes inaccessible due to landslides, or sinkholes and chasms suddenly appear, or any number of other possibilities (like extended darkness on the land)?
When (not if) a major disaster or cataclysmic storm arrives, the folks crowded in cities who are without access to a steady supply of groceries or gas (for generators or for bugging out of the city) are going to suffer the most. Where will they find enough water, fuel for heat and cooking, etc.?
After three days, when the gas pumps run dry (assuming electricity is available) and the grocery shelves are empty (assuming the stores are even open and haven’t been looted), THEN people in cities will panic. How will they get out if the freeways are jammed with cars that have run out of fuel? Hospital generators will eventually run out of fuel as well…what if there are no new deliveries? Will emergency responders and local law enforcement be able to contain the panic? I think not. It’ll be every man for himself–won’t that be fun–NOT!
Those in suburbia will also find themselves running low on supplies (eventually) and have to deal with hordes coming from the nearby cities. The hordes can walk 20-25 miles in a 10-hour day. Best not to be living in Suburbia even IF you’ve got lots and lots of ammo to defend yourself and loved ones.
Rural folks will have a brief respite before having to deal with the hordes, but the hordes WILL come. Why? Because city folks ALWAYS think there is LOTS of food in the countryside. After all, isn’t that where the farmers live?
Within a couple of days of the disaster, the hordes WILL start to appear, and country folk will either be overrun (or if reasoning still exists) country folks will be forced to share their meagre supplies and THEN have to teach soft-handed folks how to dig, plant, and harvest/store whatever crop seeds are available to grow in their area. There won’t be enough to keep everyone alive, so the “strong” or the “well-armed” will outlast all the others.
Don’t think it can’t happen because it hasn’t happened in the past.
Hopefully it will not come to pass but I expect your analysis is spot on.
You asked multiple questions. Live in a metropolitan desert.
1. last night we had a light rain. 7 p.m. Drove 5 miles to the girlfriend’s place for dinner. Guy going 50 mph in a 25 zone. Guy driving on the wrong side of a four lane road. Two people ignored the “turn only” signs and went straight. Only one person passed over the Gore line to cut me off (Gore line is a solid white line that tells people that they can not cross the line). Normal driving in LA and not related to the weather.
2. Although the major challenge will be fire, there isn’t much a person can do to avoid.
3. Boston is like Los Angeles. Remember the bombers. The police imposed a curfew. I laughed. Not at the misfortune of those killed and injured. I laughed at the curfew. I said it would lifted in hours. People just don’t keep food in the house. When close to 1/4 of the meals are takeout and it is the weekend, the curfew will be lifted so people can eat. Do you think that LAPD has water or food stored for the police so that they can be out in force for any length of time? Absolutely not. Not even ammunition is stored in any of the 18 police stations for fear that the employees will steal it.
4. I did volunteer communications for the County. There are no water or food supplies stored. There is simply a plan that if electricity is available when shtf, the priority will go to bakeries, of which there are few.
Some great points BDC, I guess all metropolitan areas face a level of cognitive dissonance when it comes to dealing with unexpected events. I always wonder how curfews can ever be enforced, its not like they patrol every street…
Are we not having a social collapse in slow motion. For the last two years the mortality rate in the U.S. has gone up rather than down. The incidence of fatal auto accidents has gone up not down! The birth rate is the lowest in history. One in nine of the drivers on the road in N.C. do not have a valid drivers license. As it is dark and rainy late some day see what percentage of people are driving without headlights. What is the cause of all this- absence of God in daily life? The ubiquity of drugs, legal and illegal? One in 5 Americans is on some sort of mood altering drug- think that is correct. Perhaps all the debt is also a symptom, half of all Americans can’t handle an unexpected $400. bill. Maybe the stuff is already hitting the fan, it is so finely aerosolized we don’t see it!!! We have jobs but no one to take them! Maybe its all the entitlements– who needs work? How many can pass a random drug test?
We are definitely living in strange, uncertain times. Our lack of comfort with independent living is going to prove problematic should any micro crisis occur. Hope for the best, plan for the worst.