Les Stroud: The pros and cons of being in a city during an emergency

Photo by LAURA BOMBIER

One of the reasons I have become so preoccupied with self-reliance is my lack of faith in the abilities of most of the people around me, or more specifically how people would behave during a massive emergency.

Not that I have the finances to buy land outside the city, but I am curious about whether during a crisis or disaster - based on my assumptions people would panic and hoard food in cities - if I would be better off totally alone.

To find out, I turned to Les Stroud, host of the hit television series Survivorman and author of Survive! The book is basically a list of tips to get you out of extremely hairy situations.

Below are two questions I put to Stroud via email on surviving in the city.

Q: What are the advantages or disadvantages of being with a crowd - or in a major city - during an emergency?

 A: “The primary disadvantages of a crowd are that supplies become scarce and often quite quickly,” said Stroud. “Panic can be contagious and there is a greater chance that there will be sick or injured to deal with,” he said.

“However the advantages outweigh the situation: emergency help is likely close at hand, rescue organizations are more likely to concentrate on crowded areas, natural leaders will likely be present, more people are available to search out supplies and find reliable supply lines, long distance communication is much more accessible (and) hands are available to deal with the sick or injured.”

Q: Do you believe that people in urban centres are mentally prepared (or have the supplies) to handle a severe natural disaster or sudden shut down of basic services?

A: “Absolutely not.

“We are caught up in the day-to-day reliable living we have known for years,” said Stroud. “The water turns on with a twist, the heat comes on when we set the temperature, the garbage magically disappears at the curb, there is a store on every corner with supplies that never seem to run out. We are lulled into a sense of comfort and reliable survival, so why waste the closet space on a home survival kit?

“That said, I believe the panic and the problems would be relatively short-lived because eventually when facing a severe natural disaster people will begin to use their innate will to live and will become ingenious and leaders will emerge.

"People will get fed up with not having what they are missing, or they will begin to cope with the fact that they are doing without, because, in the end, all we really need is the most simple form of water food and shelter.

After that everything else is a bonus and deep down we know that. It just might take a big disaster to remind us that we are more resilient than we thought.”

So cities are not so bad and there may be hope for mankind. But still, I'm stockpiling enough food and water to last me and my loved ones for 72 hours. (Stroud believes having supplies and water or ways to purify water is also key)

Next step, stocking up on board games to kill time until the dust settles.

Comments

[Todd]

I can't imagine what downtown Toronto would be like if there were a catastrophic event akin to what New Orleans went through or what Japan has recently experienced.

Hopefully we'd behave more like the people of Japan than that of New Orleans (looting not occurring in Japan but commonplace in New Orleans).

[Unshaven]

Well let's hope that the New Madrid fault does not decided to dance any time soon, so we wont have to find out how our fellow citizens will react. Good to know that our police have had recent practice in crowd relations though...

"FEMA buying emergency meals for possible New Madrid Earthquake"

[jl]

I completely agree with him on people being too attached to their "stuff"

[kari laidman]

I have to say that most of us do get caught up on the "luxuries" of everyday living. I don’t think the average person or family in this country could handle living on the basic needs such as food and even that may not be exactly what we are used to eating. Having water and having shelter just enough to stay warm and have a roof over our heads. I think we are very fortunate to have the choice on what to eat, drink, wear and stay warm in a dwelling of our choice. Mind you not everyone has these things but if an emergency were to occur I think it would be an eye opener for many of us.

[wings444]

I have to say that most of us do get caught up on the "luxuries" of everyday living. I don’t think the average person or family in this country could handle living on the basic needs such as food and even that may not be exactly what we are used to eating. Having water and having shelter just enough to stay warm and have a roof over our heads. I think we are very fortunate to have the choice on what to eat, drink, wear and stay warm in a dwelling of our choice. Mind you not everyone has these things but if an emergency were to occur I think it would be an eye opener for many of us.

[Frank]

One thing that would help is to actually test kit. Go without power for a short time (either properly shutting it off within the dwelling or just unplugging stuff) and see how it works, how much you consume, how warm it is, etc. Little exercises like that will help the mental state should anything really bad happen. Likewise, if you store food (canned goods, dried goods, etc.), try to live off of it for a week or so to know what works for you and what doesn't. It makes for some great weekends/vacations!