Hazards, Skills and Solutions - New Zealand specific hazards, useful skills to have, and possible solutions to those hazards.

 It has been a long time since my last post on here.

If anything, the world at large has become even more hazardous, with more threats today than ever before. Natural hazards and man made threats are now coming at us thick and fast.

This post is to give a brief round up of the hazards we face right now, the skills - as preppers - that we need to learn in order to get through the problems that we are facing and (hopefully) a few solutions - or ways that we can either combat these problems OR help to reduce their affect on us.

Some of these hazards and examples of equipment that preppers should have (or could have) to have a better chance of survival have already been covered in the post - link showed below - so please follow the link - or cut and paste it into your search engine.

https://hbprepper.blogspot.com/2024/01/the-preppers-next-door-why-we-prepare.html

The writer is based in Hawke's Bay, but the dozen hazards I'm about to list are New Zealand wide and not Hawke's Bay specific.

1. Earthquakes - New Zealand, being situated as it is on the edge of the Pacific Ring of Fire is subject to earthquakes almost continually, but some are so faint that we do not notice them. As preppers, our biggest worries, where earthquakes are concerned, are the Alpine Fault and the Hikurangi Slow-Slip Fault. The Alpine Fault runs the length of the South Island's west coast and the Hikurangi Fault runs down the east coast of the North Island. Either of these faults is capable of a high magnitude 8 or 9 plus earthquake in our lifetime. We are told by seismologists that this is not just a possibility, but mathematically inevitable. Therefore a large earthquake should rate high on our list if hazards to prepare for.

2. Floods - Floods are the most common cause of Civil Defence emergencies in New Zealand. Heavy rainfall, rising rivers and coastal storm surges rate high on our list.

3. Severe Storms / Cyclones / Tornadoes - We could include these along with FLOODS as they generally result in flooding but they rate a separate listing because of their devastating winds. Some coastal areas have experienced Tornadoes (also known as Twisters), but severe storms and cyclones are more common. Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023 for example caused widespread destruction across New Zealand's north island in particular due to wind damage, flooding, and land slips - which combined to take out power and other infrastructure, particularly roads and bridges - resulting in loss of life, livestock and property and isolating small rural communities.

4. Landslides/Landslips - Can be caused by earthquakes, storms or severe or prolonged rainfall. Can be a significant threat causing loss of life and isolating communities. Decades of clearing hilly areas of trees has exacerbated the problem.

5. Tsunami (local and distant) - Large powerful and prolonged waves of water created usually by earthquakes devastate coastal areas. Areas of extreme risk are East Coast, North Island due to the Hikurangi Fault line and West Coast South Island due to the Alpine Fault - but any low lying coastal settlement could be at risk. New Zealand could also be at risk from Pacific Rim Quakes or Volcanic activity - even from far away such as along the coast of South America.

6. Volcanic Eruption and Ashfall - New Zealand has multiple volcanoes. Auckland is built on a vast volcanic field. Ash from volcanoes within New Zealand and from Volcanoes in other countries can affect air travel but can also affect other areas of infrastructure over large areas. Lahars and Lava threaten immediate localised areas.

7. Wildfires (Rural/Urban) - Rural areas are at risk of forest and scrub fires. Urban areas are also at risk due to the urban sprawl (houses and other building built in close proximity to the next, making it easy from fires to jump from one building to the next). Large fires over a wide area can result in a drop in water pressure making firefighting difficult or impossible. Also in some cases the emergency services are inundated with calls and can not be everywhere at once. The Hawke's Bay earthquake of 1931 saw more damage done by the resulting fires than by the earthquake itself. 

8. General Infrastructure Failure - Power, Water, Internet/Communications, Transport. Assorted disasters can leave homes, settlements and cities without vital infrastructure for several days or weeks. This could be caused by anything from natural events such as storms and earthquakes to man made events such as cyber attacks, war or civil unrest. There are wars currently between the USA/Israel and Iran - Russia and Ukraine (with the backing of EU and UK) - Continuing border skirmishes between Pakistan and India - The constant threat of invasion of Taiwan by China - Plus other minor wars in Africa. And then there is the ongoing threat of terrorism.

9. Pandemic or Health Emergency - Large scale communicable disease outbreaks or Pandemics (actual health emergencies not the fake or over hyped ones) - could prove to be a significant risk to life. We should also recognize here that in any SHTF event where there are no longer functioning hospitals or general health care facilities, a simple scratch could turn septic resulting in life threatening risks.

10. Supply Chain Disruption - Food, Fuel, Fertilizer and Medical Supplies are already becoming in short supply - in part due to the Iran war and the on again, off again blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. But any regional or international crisis could affect our Global, Just in Time, supply chain.

11. Government Overreach - Government Lockdowns, Mandates, Martial Law can and have (during covid for example) affected our freedom of movement and freedom to meet/freedom to worship. The WEF and other 3 letter organizations have been pushing to limit our movements and freedoms for the last couple of decades in particular, whilst at the same time pushing for open borders and inviting invasion by stealth of people from third world nations who neither share our beliefs nor our way of life. This is to destabilize our society using "diversity" and "racism" buzz words to make us feel guilty if we argue against it. THEY want us to live in 15 minute cities and to ban (or make difficult) car ownership to restrict our movement and make us easier to control. The UK government are also imposing a new 20% surcharge/tax on airlines and airports. I mention this because what happens in the UK or the USA usually comes to NZ eventually. The result being that these extra costs will be passed on to the traveler/tourist thus making travel even more expensive (on top of increased prices due to fuel shortages) - eventually only the extremely wealthy 1% will be able to afford to travel while the rest of us get herded into 15 minute Ghettos.

12. Financial Collapse/Control - Central Bank Digital Currencies are being pushed by many nations currently - some have already moved to limit the use of cash or to ban it outright. Digital I.D.'s are part of this process. The UK are pushing ahead with digital I.D. even though they have no mandate from the voters to do this. This change includes the use of programable money - with time or use restrictions built in. This could limit what we are allowed to spend our currency on and could also restrict the ability to save or stockpile a "nest egg" therefore leading us to live from hand to mouth with more reliance on government hand outs. Disobey our mandates and we cut your digital currency limiting your ability to access food and social services. If this goes through we could become little more than slaves.

I would also like to add one more hazard from my personal point of view and that is Moral Decline and the attack on Traditional Christian Values. You do not have to be a devout Christian to appreciate the good things that Traditional Christian Values have given our society. It seems to me that the further we drift from these values (and from God himself) the worse things become. The push for open borders in the UK and Europe has resulted in an influx of other religious groups - in particular Islam - which have through the "diversity is our strength" banner allowed the infiltration of religious ideals that are contrary to those we have lived by and enjoyed for hundreds of years. This will affect all countries eventually. Islam is NOT compatible with ANY other religion - although some Muslims would dispute this and say that Islam is tolerant of other religions. Christians are being slaughtered in certain African countries today, where Islam is the predominant religion - right now. So I would dispute the tolerance of Islam. Stoning to death is acceptable for any Muslim who leaves Islam and joins another religious group. Female Genital Mutilation is still widely practiced. Old men are allowed to get married to child brides. I shouldn't need to bring up the Muslim/Pakistani rape gangs in the UK....but feel I have to mention it as a warning to us all. At the extreme end of Islam, people who won't renounce their own God and convert to Islam should be put to death. At the more lenient end, people of religions other than Islam will be allowed to practice their religion IF they pay a tax to the Muslim faith. It's not just the threat of Islam though it's also about overall moral decline - the easy access via the internet to pornography - the lack of self respect and therefore the decline in respect of others such as our elders / parents etc. In some states of the USA the powers that be have more or less decriminalized shop lifting. What next? In the UK it looks like some foreign guys who beat up police women at a UK airport could end up walking free, without conviction. Conversely, British citizens concerned about illegal immigration are imprisoned for posting on social media. Right is wrong, evil is good. It's a slippery slope and we, as a society as a whole, are already on it.

OK rant over - those are the hazards we face, as I see them. What useful skills can we acquire as Preppers to mitigate these hazards?

1. First Aid and Trauma management - Attend First Aid, CPR and Trauma Management courses. At the very least read first aid/medical books - have a good first aid book on your shelf but read it all the way through and make your own notes - familiarize yourself with it BEFORE you need to put what you learn into action. Do NOT be the only person in your household / group to have medical/First Aid training - teach others, spread the knowledge. If you are injured who will tend to you?

2. Water Purification/Filtering and Collection - If mains water is down or contaminated where will you get your water from? Rainwater harvesting, local streams, rivers, ponds, lakes, dig a well? Learn ways to filter and purify water to make it suitable for drinking. What are the limitations of commercially bought filters? Not all filters are equal. Which filters work for taking bacterial contamination out of the water supply? Which (if any) work for viral contamination? If you boil water what will that make safe and what will it not make safe? How do solar stills work? What other ways can I distill water? What can I use to chemically treat water to make it safe to drink? 

3. Food Preservation and Storage - Learn canning/bottling, dehydrating, fermentation, smoking, vacuum sealing or other ways to prevent/reduce oxygen degrading your long term food supply.

4. Growing your own food - Gardening / Farming / Animal Husbandry. When the SHTF and the supply chain has broken, the just in time delivery system crashes - the supermarket shelves are empty and no one is going to restock them. Growing/Raising your own food is Food Insurance. Reading "how to books" and watching YouTube videos are helpful, but there is no substitute for practice. Buy some seeds and start growing something now, before a SHTF event forces you to. It's far easier to learn now without the pressure of having to do it later in order to live. Remember to buy heritage seeds not hybrid seeds. Heritage seeds are the true form of the plant. Hybrids have been crossbred so any seed from them will not give you a true copy of what you have grown from the original commercially bought seed. It could revert to something that doesn't even resemble what you thought you were growing. Buy heritage seed and then when your plants mature, don't harvest them all, but leave one or two to "go to seed" and then collect the seed for planting the next year.

5. Fire Building and Fire Management - Other than matches and lighters other ways for creating fire/a spark are - Ferro Rods and strikers, Bow Drills or other Friction methods, Magnifying glass and sunlight, battery and wire wool (touch the wire wool to both terminals of the battery and it will heat up and glow). Fires are used for warmth, for cooking food and boiling water, for signaling, for keeping predators away. We also need to be able to control fires by using fire extinguishers, fire blankets, fire beaters, water, buckets of sand or soil - or any other non-flammable dense material that can be thrown over the fire to starve it of oxygen.

6. Security and Defence - At home learn how to secure your home. Take a self defence class/learn a martial art, if you intend to buy and use weapons for defence, be sure to train with them and be of a mindset that you are 100% prepared to use them if necessary. Brandishing a weapon at someone who wants to do harm to you when you don't have the nerve, nor the intention, to follow through and use it , with intent to inflict maximum damage - all you are doing is handing THEM a weapon to hurt you with.  A secure perimeter such as a high solid fence or wall and a lockable gate is a good start. In New Zealand it is not allowed to top the wall or fence with spikes, broken glass, barbed wire or other sharp materials - BUT, in a SHTF situation where there is no law and order I would go ahead and do it anyway. Alarms, cameras and motion detection security lights can also act as a warning system to you and a deterrent to would be burglars and home invaders. Increase the safety of the structure of your home by firstly replacing any hollow core exterior doors with solid wood or steel. Add secure locks to doors and windows, replace door hinge and latch screws with 3 inch screws that will go all the way into the stud and not just into the flimsy door frame. Security film can be bought to go over windows so that even when the glass is shattered it will still hold in place (for a while). Door bars can also be added to reduce the chance of a door being kicked in. Steel bars or mesh over exterior windows adds security but also becomes a potential fire hazard blocking your exit in case of a housefire. The long and the short of home security is that if a person or persons are determined to get in, they will eventually gain access to your home. The new locks etc. will delay them, which buys you time to get organized to repel them, or to get everyone in your family into a safe room where you can lock yourselves in and phone for help or to give you time to make an escape via another door or window. 

7. Shelter Building / Repair - Do you know some basic woodworking skills? After an earthquake would you be able to make repairs to your damaged home - do you have the skills, the tools and materials to hand? Repair existing structures.......build emergency structures/shelters with tarps or in the wild make a debris hut. Do you have alternative structures that will shelter you from the elements? (Caravan, camper, tents etc).

8. Foraging, Hunting, Fishing - Can you recognize edible plants or fungi from poisonous ones? Do you know how to make animal traps or weapons to hunt with? Have you ever gone fishing? All these skills can be learned - in person/first hand by going on a course, or by using reference books or watching "how to" videos. Again, it is better to learn these skills now, when there is no pressure on you, rather than wait until things get desperate and you are under a lot of stress.

9. Basic Mechanics/engine maintenance. - Fixing vehicles, machines, engines, generators. Can you do basic plumbing? Can you do basic electrical repairs? Do you know how to wire a plug/replace a fuse?

10 Navigation without GPS - Do you know how to use a map and compass to get from A to B? Do you own maps of your area and a compass?

11. Scavenging - after a SHTF event when the shops and usual supply companies have been picked bare it may be necessary to scavenge for items in places that you are not usually allowed to go during "normal times" and you may have to gain access to these areas/buildings by using means that were formerly deemed criminal. Where would you go? What would you be looking to obtain? Do you have the tools to gain access? Do you have a plan to scavenge safely?

12. Essential Community and Mental Skills - Networking/Diplomacy - build a community of like minded people into a mutual assurance group to share resources and skills to increase the chance of survival. Critical thinking/Situational Awareness - Analyze threats, remain calm under pressure.

Other skills - Knitting and sewing - repair old or make new clothing. Waste disposal - develop sanitary systems. Primitive Tech - make cordage, pottery, tools and weapons.

During any emergency situation, communication and information gathering is vital - you can find tips on communications equipment/methods of communication on the hbprepper.nz website. It's a free resource with no sign up, no logging in, no annoying follow up emails.

So, there you have it. Without going into too much detail I have listed the hazards that we face and the skills/solutions needed to get through hard times. Go one line and research the skills and solutions for yourselves and make a plan that fits you and your family. Everyone's situation is slightly different so making an individually tailored plan for your family is important. YouTube is a good learning tool, or try some of the free downloadable PDF files at our website https://hbprepper.nz/