BASIC LIST OF SUGGESTED ITEMS FOR LONG TERM SURVIVAL

Our extended urban area has a population of about 50k. Thought it might be interesting to see what it will take to keep them for a year using the above prep survival list as an outline.

1. Water stored to last at least 5 days, at one gallon per day per person.

2. A good canteen and basins to catch rainwater. Also have a good supply of water purification tablets or bleach, or plan to boil your water. The surest way to purify water is to boil it for 15 to 20 minutes.

18,250,000 gal of drinking water. Purification tabs or bleach - M's of units. Boiling - most of the local trees, most of the propane.

3. Food, per person, for one year:

Wheat - 300 lbs.
15,000,000 lbs. - $2,100,000

Rice - 100 lbs.
5,000,000 lbs - $500,000

Beans, Peas, Lentils, 50 lbs. each
7,500,000 lbs total for all three - $5,500,000

Honey or Sugar - 60 lbs.
3,000,000 lbs - $1,500,000

Salt - 3 lbs.
150,000 lbs - $18,000

Cayenne Pepper - 1 large can
50,000 cans - $50,000

Herbal Seasonings
50,000 - $200,000

Dried Milk - 80 lbs.
4,000,000 lbs. - $4,400,000

Peanut Butter - 50 lbs.
2,500,000 lbs. - $2,500,000

Dried Fruit
6,250 lbs. @ 2 oz/day - $18,750

Canned food, or dried (ready to mix) food
25,000 lbs. @ 8 oz/day - $25,000

Oatmeal - 50 lbs.
2,500,000 lbs. - $300,000

Alfalfa Seeds - 10 lbs.
500,000 lbs. - $2,500,000

Canned Sardines, tuna, salmon
18,250,000 cans @ 1 can/day/person - $19,000,000

If you have a baby, include formula and baby food.
10,950,000 feedings/year - $5,475,000

If you have pets, you will want food for them as well.
600,000 bags of food - 1 pet @ 1bag/month - $7,200,000

Store food needs in waterproof containers, capable of also protecting against insects and mice. Use Steel garbage cans or plastic 5 gallon buckets. The vacuum sealed method is also very good.

approx:
32,500,000 lbs of grain which need to be insect protected.
5,000,000 units of goods which must be weather protected.

4. Manual grain grinder
There had better be a local mill!

5. Medicines - Assemble a standard first aid kit, with a comprehensive first aid book. Also include things for headache, upset stomach, congestion, colds, and would; disinfectants, prescription medicines; and anything else you use regularly. Include vitamins, apple cider vinegar, honey, garlic, sage tea for colds, mint tea, golden seal, brandy (good as medicine), herbal tinctures, hops, catnip (which helps you sleep), herbs for cooking, including dried garlic and onions, cayenne pepper, cumin, basil, and coriander and salt. After you've been eating rice and beans for a few days, they'll need lots of help to make them taste good.
50,000 times everything on that list.

34. Female needs - (Use cloth pads you can wash)
100,000 cloth pads - 5 pads @ 20k females

35. Baby diapers. (Use cloth you can wash) Older kids can go bare bottom when necessary. Indians used moss and grass when necessary.
40,000 cloth diapers - 8 diapers @ 5k babies

Both the pads, diapers and general clothing for 50k people must be washed. This means more hot water, the ability to wash, and soap, and/or boiling containers.

Human waste? What do we do with 50,000 people's body waste, _everyday_?

Round figure dollar total for the above priced items:

$51 Million - for 50 thousand souls in my local urban area

Doesn't include fuel, transportation, storage costs. This county has about 200k population. The entire county budget is around $200Million per year.

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Some of my price assumptions are probably a bit off, subtract $5M if you think it is too high, but the exercise outlines the magnitude of the problem when preparing even a small civic area.

mitch

-- Mitchell Barnes (spanda@inreach.com), December 23, 1998