What could lead to SHTF

[Socalman]

What situations do you think could lead to a SHTF situation in California?

I am in the SoCal area, near Pasadena and the following is something I think could lead to SHTF.

It is mid August and tens of thousands of acres are burning in Colorado, Texas and other areas of the mid west. Thousands of homes have been destroyed and FEMA is doing the best it can to help.

Late August or early Sept. another large hurricane hits the east coast or gulf coast. FEMA, already stretched thin by the wildfires does it best to help those displaced. FEMA resources are now at a critical low level.

A large earthquake in the range of 7.5 or above hits the Socal region. Freeway bridges buckle. Some water and gas mains are severed. Runways at LAX and other large airports are damaged and will not be repaired for 7 - 10 days.

People get to their local stores to buy food and water and in hours the shelves are barren. Due to the inability of large trucks to move about freely the stores can not be restocked from the local warehouses. Gasoline supplies are gone. FEMA has little to offer to California and what they have will be difficult to deliver.

People begin to get hungry and groups of gangs begin to increase their home invasion robberies in an attempt to feed themselves and their families. Many local police and sheriff can not even get to work.

Society as we know it has begun a (what I hope and believe will be temporary) breakdown.

Are you ready?

Your thoughts?

[bill_k_lopez]

I think you've been watching too much Doomsday Preppers......


Is it a good idea to be prepared for a natural disaster, of course it is.

Do I think society is going to fall apart over something that small - no.

[monkeylice]

FEMA has proven itself time and time again to be worthless in critical situations. A good recent example of this would be how they handled Katrina. FEMA is pretty good at handing out blankets to residents of trailer parks that got hit by tornadoes about three days after the fact, and that's about it. No one should even factor them into consideration in crisis situations.

The Marines at 29 Palms and Pendleton, however, would be an invaluable asset when it comes to implementing temporary infrastructure and making sure people get fed. Even if local food warehouses were depleted, we're sitting at the bottom of America's Breadbasket. There is food to be had all year long throughout central Cali.

Marines would be even more invaluable if SoCal somehow became isolated from the rest of the country and entered a state of martial law. If it came down to that, I don't think people in (sub)urban areas would have to stand off very long. In a state of martial law, a few companies of Marines would probably be enough to put down a good-sized uprising of hungry proles from the ghetto.

[Socalman]

I think you've been watching too much Doomsday Preppers......


Is it a good idea to be prepared for a natural disaster, of course it is.

Do I think society is going to fall apart over something that small - no.

Watched it once, didn't care for it.

I do not think we need to be ready for a year, but I do think a few weeks is not out of the question.

[Sonic_mike]

Well one shtf scenario at least in SoCal is when Neil came find any
More paper tags from fancy dealers to put on his Porsche.

[Oceanbob]

Really the only 3 things I can think of here in Southern California.

1. A massive earthquake. (most likely)

2. A rogue nuke detonation (unlikely but possible)

3. Return of the Black Plague (airborne) (unlikely but possible)

I'am good for several months at home.

Be well, Bob

[wtkaiser]

I knew a survivalist for many years before he passed on, and we argued about this for hours, maybe days, if you add them all up. It's my position that the huge majority of people are so unaccustomed to fighting anymore that they would be willing to accept almost anything rather than arm and rebel. I cannot think of a situation that would get the majority of the populace off their collective bird-dog butts and into the fields ready to shed blood. If a calamity were to happen, they'd just die. There would certainly be survivors, but most people just can't see the need for fighting. It is the price we pay when we allowed the police and military to be armed and not the people.

[njineermike]

I knew a survivalist for many years before he passed on, and we argued about this for hours, maybe days, if you add them all up. It's my position that the huge majority of people are so unaccustomed to fighting anymore that they would be willing to accept almost anything rather than arm and rebel. I cannot think of a situation that would get the majority of the populace off their collective bird-dog butts and into the fields ready to shed blood. If a calamity were to happen, they'd just die. There would certainly be survivors, but most people just can't see the need for fighting. It is the price we pay when we allowed the police and military to be armed and not the people.

QFT!

[IrishPirate]

either of these would do it...

[HK4113]

Toilet paper supply dwindles to nothing, people a ripping leaves off of trees to wipe. All the trees die, no oxygen is produced and California turns into a desert wasteland.

[IrishPirate]

3. Return of the Black Plague (airborne) (unlikely but possible)

if you're talking about the Bubonic Plague that ravaged people in the middle ages, that never went anywhere. It's still around and infects a few hundred people each year. Most rats are still carriers, and every now and then some slaughtered meat tests positive (usually pigs). It's fairly easy to treat with antibiotics. If someone tried to weaponize it, the panic of the uninformed would kill more people than the actual disease (especially since it's transmitted by bites and not inhalation).

Yersinia pestis is the bacterium that causes "the plague" and it's responsible for Bubonic Plague (infects the lymph system), Pneumonic Plague (infects the respiratory system), and Septicemic Plague (infects the circulatory system). Pneumonic and Septicemic plagues are both very rare and would be the better choice for a weaponized plague....though both are still treatable with antibiotics.

[Hilldweller]

More freeway construction?

[kb58]

1. A massive earthquake. (most likely) Agreed

2. A rogue nuke detonation (unlikely but possible)Terrorists go for drama, which to me means sneaking a nuke in on a ship into Long Beach, which would be pretty easy, especially if it's set off before being unloaded for inspection. Agree that it's #2.

3. Return of the Black Plague (airborne) (unlikely but possible) Yes and now. We're "upwind" (west coast) so if it's an airborne pathogen it'll tend to head east, but very unlikely. However, an airborne flu-like deadly desease, I'd say this is tie for #2... maybe even higher as the population increases.

[gh0stface]

Shtf?
A massive earthquake could cause local shtf, but I don't think it last for long. Wildfires, on the other hand, could cause large scale problems. Power outages, a flu epidemic or pandemic, and floods could cause shtf situation. Depending where you live, shtf situation will not last that long. We do have to be weary of Katrina-like response to neutralizing and stabilizing a shtf situation. Look at the difference between the Witch Fire and Katrina. New Orleans has never really recovered; while San Diego really hasn't skipped a beat.

[Anonymous21]

There are two major things.

1. earthquake

or

2. Economic collapse/dollar collapse