5 Reasons the Government Should be Thankful for Preppers

Who will you rely on when the SHTF*?

Preppers. Government. Not exactly oil and water but let’s face it, there’s a little tension here. These two don’t mix much. In fact, a lot of Prepper community websites include anti-government opinion articles and conspiracy theories. Many Preppers believe in and unreservedly exercise their right to free speech and some don’t spare the government in their critiques. The government (for purposes here, I’m talking about all levels from county and town up to the feds) seems to shy away from promoting the Prepper lifestyle, even though government disaster and health preparedness websites offer much the same advice. There are lots of complex reasons for this. Bureaucrats may simply get nervous about associating with the negative vibe of doomsday predictions that many people attribute to Preppers.

Well, it’s time the emergency managers and public health officials in government give the Prepper community another look—and embrace it. Prepping overall is a positive force that lines up with government goals to promote disaster preparedness and resilience. We need more Preppers in the U.S. Here’s why:

1. Disasters keep coming and they are costly.

According to a National Academy of Sciences report in 2012, the year 2011 was a record-breaking one for costly disasters, exceeding $55 billion in damages. Before 2012 was over, Superstorm Sandy hit, turning it into another record-breaking year, with that one storm eclipsing all of 2011’s economic damages with $66 billion in losses. The New Madrid Seismic Zone is overdue for a magnitude 6 or 7 earthquake — a 90% chance in the next 50 years — that would devastate eight midwestern and southeastern states. The Cascadia Subduction Zone has a 10% percent chance of a 9.0 magnitude earthquake with accompanying catastrophic tsunami hitting the northern California, Oregon, and Washington coasts in the next 50 years. I won’t even mention ebola, pandemics, and terrorism—you get the idea.

2. Help won’t arrive right away when the SHTF.

In a no notice, catastrophic disaster like a New Madrid or Cascadia earthquake, governmental assistance, especially national teams and assets like the Department of Defense will travel from central bases and regional centers. It will take about three days before they’ll be able to provide support in hard hit areas where there won’t be power or communications. If the airports and roads are broken up and littered with debris, even helicopters will struggle to land and if they could, trucks wouldn’t be able to get in to load up and distribute teams, equipment, and goods. People in the affected area must be able to rely on themselves and their neighbors to get through the first days and possibly longer without outside help.

3. Most people aren’t prepared.

Academic studies show that most Americans underestimate their risk of getting hit by a disaster. When people don’t think they are at risk, they may not buy adequate insurance for their home or business and aren’t as likely to have a disaster plan and emergency supplies. When people aren’t prepared to take care of themselves, they will be more likely to need governmental assistance after a disaster. Emergency managers have always faced a conundrum: they want to have the public perceive them as responsive and helpful, while at the same time not wanting to create a sense of dependency on responder assistance. Firefighters combat this complacency by aggressively leveraging their superhero status to promote fire prevention and smoke detectors. Preppers could be the new Smokey the Bear!

4. Vulnerable populations require first responder attention.

After a disaster, first responders will necessarily focus resources on helping people with access and functional needs and other vulnerable populations — the elderly, people with physical and mental disabilities, children separated from family, etc. About 20 percent of the U.S. population has access and functional needs. The more those who are able-bodied are prepared to take care of themselves and others around them, the easier it will be for responders to target their efforts to those most in need. In reality, the “first” first responder after a disaster will probably be a neighbor or passerby. A Prepper neighbor would be a godsend for an elderly person living alone. Better yet, a person can have access and functional needs and be a Prepper as well.

5. Preppers help others and share their expertise.

The volume of tips and ideas for preparing yourself and family for disaster that Preppers exchange via websites and newsletters probably eclipses the official government public service messaging on the topic. It’s a cliché, but a relevant one — you can’t buy that kind of marketing. They answer questions live in chat rooms and distribute how-to videos on Youtube and Vimeo. Those chat rooms won’t be live when the SHTF, though, so all of us—yes each and every one of us—need to be Preppers at some level before a disaster hits. Obviously, not everyone has the resources or geographic benefits of growing our own food on an isolated compound independent of the grid and replete with underground bomb shelter. That’s the platinum level for Preppers. The rest of us still need to do what makes sense for our situation to be prepared as best we can. There is even an Apartmentprepper blog for citydwellers. The help is out there; no excuses.

So, you might ask what does this have to do with the government? That’s the point really, it doesn’t have to do with the government. Being prepared is about you and me. As much as we like to think of our community firefighters, police officers, and National Guard troops as superheroes, they can’t be everywhere as quickly as we might wish during disasters. Preppers are spreading that word, helping save taxpayer money, and helping you be more self reliant. Let’s all thank them by prepping ourselves.

*SHTF: Prepper speak for “Sh!t Hits the Fan”. Click here for More.

Photo credits: Matt Hobbs http://publicdomainarchive.com; National Archives