It is important to understand how to prepare for civil unrest so riots and protests have the least possible impact on you and your family.

Civil unrest can happen at any time because it is the natural reaction of a group of angry people.

The anger is sometimes towards the government and sometimes towards a current events situation.

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How Civil Unrest Affects The Economy

Civil unrest does affect the economy but often the full impact is not seen immediately after a riot or protest.

It can take years to surface.

Over time property values decline and jobs are sometimes lost.

What is noticed immediately – especially for towns that attract tourists – is a decline in people visiting.

This affects hotels, restaurants and any business that relies on tourists to turn a profit.

What is also noticed immediately is any damaged or destroyed buildings or businesses.

Depending on the size of the town and the severity of the damage, this can have an immediate and major impact on everyone.

For example, if there is only one grocery store in town and it is burned to the ground, then food supply is going to be an issue for some time to come.

How To Prepare For Civil Unrest So You Can Protect Yourself And Your Family

Knowing that civil unrest can break out at any time and being prepared is the best thing you can do to protect yourself and your family.

What you need to understand is that being prepared does not mean your property value won’t decline nor does it mean your place of employment won’t be affected.

It does not mean life won’t change – at least for the time being.

What it does mean is your family will remain safe, well fed and in the event you need to evacuate you have the ways and means to safely do so.

Here is how to get started.

Have Cash On Hand

It is important to keep cash readily accessible in case the bank is closed and the ATM does not work.

During times of civil unrest – or even emergency situations like evacuations – many places are unable to accept debit or credit cards because of their machines being down.

While I do not suggest carrying a lot of cash on your person, it is a good idea to have a cash box at your home, in your vehicle or someplace where you can get to it should you need to.

Avoid carrying large amounts of cash in a wallet as that is the first thing protesters will take from you.

I also do not suggest putting the cash in your bug out bag because protestors are sure to notice it and consider it a source of supplies.

Sewing pockets inside of clothing and putting cash in there is a way to hide it especially if you are escaping with only the clothes on your back or having to walk through a riot situation to get to safety.

Remember the more cash you have saved up, the easier the current situation and any future problems arising from the civil unrest is going to be.

Keep Your Bug Out Bag Handy

It is essential that every member of your family – including your pets – have a bug out bag they can easily carry filled with emergency supplies.

An everyday carry bag is an easy way to carry a few essential supplies with you no matter where you are, but having a larger bag filled with at least 72 hours of supplies at home or in the trunk of your car is important.

Having your evacuation bag packed and ready to go gives you the advantage in the event you need to evacuate your home because there is no need to scramble for essential items nor a need to stop and buy them for a few days at least.

Be Aware Of Your Surroundings

No matter where you are, it is important to be aware of your surroundings.

Watch for potential signs of trouble.

Are there large groups of people starting to congregate?

Do you see roadblocks, hear lots of sirens or see smoke?

Read the news, even if it is online and if you are traveling be aware of road conditions both where you are and where you are heading.

Being aware of what is happening around you is the best way to avoid potential trouble.

Keep Emergency Supplies On Hand

Stock up on extra food including some MRE’s, extra water and first aid supplies.

Never let prescription medication run out.

Find out when you can refill it and make sure you do so on that date instead of waiting.

Always have an alternative heat source and an alternative way to prepare food just in case the power goes out.

Rotate your supplies on a regular basis so they are not outdated – and potentially spoiled – when you get ready to use them.

In addition to keeping these supplies on hand, understand how to use them because in an emergency situation you simply do not have the time to learn.

Stay Fit And Healthy

Staying fit and healthy is important even if a civil unrest situation never happens, however if it does, being able to get away from the situation might require a level of physical fitness you don’t have.

Can you run?

What about scale a fence?

Do you find yourself out of breath when you walk briskly?

Are you healthy?

Think about all this and then plan to make changes.

While the scenarios I have asked about might never occur, knowing that if they did that you could do them is peace of mind.

Be Prepared To Defend Your Homestead

During times of civil unrest, looting happens.

One of the first items to disappear is food.

When there is no more food in the stores to loot, hungry, angry crowds are going to look elsewhere.

One of those places is other people’s homes.

Are you prepared to defend your home from a crowd of angry people?

Cameras and other security devices are great for alerting you to potential intruders, but keep in mind if they run on electricity or are easily accessible they are going to be pretty useless.

How secure is your home?

What about your barn?

Would your livestock be safe?

Do you have an emergency escape plan to get out of your home and to get your animals out of the barn?

Do you have plenty of gas in your vehicles to distance yourself from the crowd?

Looters often do more than just break in.

When they are done they often set the places they loot on fire.

This is why being prepared to defend your homestead – or in a worst case scenario – escape unharmed is so important!

Have An Emergency Escape Plan In Place

No matter where you are – work, school, in a public place or at home – you need an emergency escape plan!

To get started creating your emergency escape plan, map out several routes to an from the places you and your family frequent.

Once you have these routes down, choose one that is the least frequented route because it is less likely to be populated during any type of civil unrest situation.

Then choose a meeting place for your family.

Remember cell phones might not work, so a predesignated meeting place is best.

Make sure every member of your family knows what to do and which way to go.

This makes it easier to find them should they not show up at the designated meeting place.

If possible, have the bug out bags, extra cans of gas and other emergency supplies stashed at the meeting place so you can either stay there or grab what you need and move on.

Final Thoughts On How To Prepare For Civil Unrest

While it might seem like many of these options are going to affect you, remember it could be worse.

You could be completely unprepared.

The best possible outcome is to escape safely and stay safe until the situation is contained.

Once that happens, you and your family can make a decision what to do next.

Armed Shooter And Riot Tips

Stay Safe by Raising Your Situational Awareness Levels

One of the best ways to stay safe in any situation is to raise your situational awareness levels. Being aware of what is going on around you is one of the most important skills you can develop. It is also important to teach children what to say and do in case they have to deal with a stranger.

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How To Prepare For Civil Unrest So It Does Not Severely Impact You