Surviving

[Miss Chicken]

I have just been rewatching the BBC TV show "Survivors" (the original series not the remake) and the show has made me wonder about many things.

In it the whole world has been hit by a virulent form of pnuemonic plague that has killed of the majority of the world's population. One character says that she heard that only 1 in 10,000 people survived, while another suggests that at most 10,000 people have survived in Britain (which would mean that the survival rate was about one in 5000 or so).

How do you think you would go at surviving in such a world? Where would you go? What provisions would you accumulate?

 

[Gary Mitchell]

You'd need lots of weapons for defense and some friends who are farmers.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

I work in a supermarket, so I'd probably just go raid it and bring all the stuff back home.

seriously though, I freely admit I would not be able to cope with a situation like this. I've never even *held* a gun, let alone owned or used one. And I tend to panic when faced with tough situations.

 

[Miss Chicken]

In this situation I think I would be actually lucky that I live in Tasmania.

Only about 50-100 Tasmanians probably would survive (as Tasmania only has a population of 500,000). There would be little chance of extra people coming from anywhere else.

Clean fresh water away from any chance of contamination from industry would also be easy to find. Fish from such streams would be safe to eat.

There are no dangerous predators besides dogs that would turn feral.

Tasmania is compact. The longest drive you would likely to have to make is about 5-6 hours.

Plenty of lifestock and farming equipment.

I could go on. The worst thing about Tasmania would be a lack of expertise in the very small population left behind. I would probably stock up on a lot of self help, farming, medical books etc.

 

[Captain_Nick]

Yeah, that's the great thing about this country, the middle of nowhere is only four or five hours out of each capital city. (Tasmania being a notable exception..)

I'd load up the car and head out to Birdsville or Innaminka and wait till it all blows over.

 

[Gary Mitchell]

I would probably stock up on a lot of self help, farming, medical books etc.

These might help:

 

[Miss Chicken]

Good ones

I wonder which would be easier - to lead a nomadic life, or to settle down and farm, or just to live of what can be scourged.

 

[JonathonWally]

Arm myself to the teeth and build a giant wall around my property as New Jersey descends into the 5th circle of hell.

 

[Miss Chicken]

In my scenario there would only be about 800-1600 people left out of the population of New Jersey. Would that be enough people to turn New Jersey into the 5th Circle of Hell?

 

[JonathonWally]

In my scenario there would only be about 800-1600 people left out of the population of New Jersey. Would that be enough people to turn New Jersey into the 5th Circle of Hell?

It's more than enough when you take into consideration the kind of people who populate this state.

It's also home to the largest port that services the entire northeast, and is one of the largest in the country. Port Elizabeth which is why the mob, teamsters, and unions in NJ are so powerful, but that's another topic.

 

[scotpens]

I Tasmania is compact. The longest drive you would likely to have to make is about 5-6 hours.

But what happens when you've used up all the gasoline?

I wonder which would be easier - to lead a nomadic life, or to settle down and farm, or just to live of what can be scourged.

In the ensuing post-apocalyptic chaos, I think I'd rather join a gang of ruthless bandits and raiders who prey on the weak and the innocent. Up until that Mad Max dude shows up, anyway.

BTW, I assume you mean “scrounged,” not “scourged” -- unless you plan on whipping up some food!

 

[Miss Chicken]

But what happens when you've used up all the gasoline?

It would take quite a while to use up all the gasoline.

It would also be easy enough to find horses. Tasmania is also compact enough to mean that you could get to everywhere within a week or two on horseback.

In the ensuing post-apocalyptic chaos, I think I'd rather join a gang of ruthless bandits and raiders who prey on the weak and the innocent. Up until that Mad Max dude shows up, anyway.

BTW, I assume you mean “scrounged,” not “scourged” -- unless you plan on whipping up some food!

Yes, I meant scrounged.

I am sort of wondering how many people you would need left for there to be chaos. If only 1 person in 10,000 lived there would easily be many years of resources for everyone.

 

[MANT!]

I have experience with several disciplines that would be helpful..

Light farming and ranching...including animal husbandry

power generation and delivery..(my father and I modified and set up a useful water powered generator on his 5 acre ranch some years ago..the hardest part was hooking up the inverter to the house supply)

electronics....

Weapons...

light mechanical work

structure building...


SO I could set up a little commune in the foothills of Northern California...but I would have it well armed..

 

[Udat]

I would probably just end it, god I`d be the only gay man in the world. I couldn`t do it.

 

[auntiehill]

Sadly enough, my hubby and I had a long discussion about this after watching the remake of "Survivors" a few months ago.

We live a very large subdivision, with public pools, two huge grocery stores, and towards the back of the township are many HUGE million dollar (and up) mansions. We decided our best bet was to go towards the back of the neighborhood, get in one of these mansions with the walls and gates, and head out to the grocery stores to stock up.

We also have ranches nearby, so we could always find cows, chickens, etc fairly easily. There's also a neighborhood stable, so we could use the horses for transportation if we needed.

And, we live in Texas. Finding weapons would be easy.

The only problem would be worrying about any other survivors who might not want to be friendly.

 

[Udat]

Auntiehill sounds like your going to war. I`ll stick with you.

 

[ShamelessMcBundy]

I would probably just end it, god I`d be the only gay man in the world. I couldn`t do it.

I'd make it a point to survive.

 

[Miss Chicken]

Sadly enough, my hubby and I had a long discussion about this after watching the remake of "Survivors" a few months ago.

The remake is next on my list of shows to watch.

I hadn't watched the original for about 30 years. I was surprised at how well I remembered what was going to happen. I am still onto the first season which, if I remember correctly, is the best season.

 

[MetalPants]

1. First, find out if any of my family has survived the apocalypse.
2. Raid stores and empty houses for food, weapons, ammo, medicines, and chemicals.
3. Set up rain catch and water purification systems.
4. Learn as much as I could of local geography, including the locations of any cattle ranches and small gardens.
5. While scouting, gather books-particularly any how-to.
6. Scavenge any solar panels and create some way of creating electricity.

 

[propita]

The greater Fresno area has about 500,000. By Miss Chicken's estimate, that'd be only 50-100 people. Lots of agriculture, but it all needs to be tended to--and irrigated.

I think leaving for the mountains would be better, but below the usual snowline. Cleaner water, game, and can come to town to get supplies and seeds a couple of times. Take some horses, cattle (lots of them around here), and some sheep and goats, along with some dogs (sentry duty) and cats (rodent patrol).

And lots of books about surviving, repair, farming.

They have a summer class in farrier skills (horse shoeing). But it'd probably be too late for that.