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by Joe Alton, MD of www.doomandbloom.net, co-author of The Survival Medicine Handbook

There’s a lot of information on the risks associated with storms, hurricanes, and tornadoes, but not as much about their consequences. Just about any storm can cause flooding, and many communities are not prepared to deal with it. As a result, water supplies are contaminated, emergency services are crippled, and important infrastructure can fail.

In Texas and Oklahoma, heavy rains caused major damage and a number of deaths, with more precipitation expected. Floods are not a rare occurrence, with a number of major disasters over the past few years: In 2013, Boulder, Colorado experienced 6 months of rainfall over the span of a week. Flooding in the wake of Hurricane Katrina (2005) was severe enough to cause a humanitarian crisis.

To respond appropriately to a flood, we should understand the various types of flooding and the steps we can take to stay safe.

What is a Flood?

A flood is defined as an overflow of water that submerges land which is normally dry. Flooding may occur from water bodies, such as a seacoast, river, or lake. The water overcomes levees, resulting in the inundation of populated areas. It may also occur due to an accumulation of rainwater on saturated ground.

Some floods develop slowly, while others (called flash floods), can develop in a very short time and rush into areas where it wasn’t even raining. As a result, flash floods often catch the population downriver by surprise, causing severe damage and loss of life.

Types of Floods

There are several types of floods:

Areal Floods

Floods can happen on flat or low-lying areas when the ground is saturated and water cannot run off quickly enough to prevent accumulation. Floods related to rainfall can also occur if waterfalls on an impenetrable surface, such as concrete, asphalt paving or frozen ground, and cannot rapidly be absorbed. In urban areas, it usually takes at least 1 inch (25 mm) of rainfall per hour to create significant ponding of water on hard surfaces.

Riverine Floods

Floods happen in rivers when the flow rate exceeds the capacity of the river channel. This happens particularly at bends in the waterway. The faster the flow rate, the more dangerous it is; people traditionally live and work by rivers due to access to fertile soil and trade routes.

Coastal Floods

Flooding on the coast is commonly caused by a combination of tidal surges caused by winds and low barometric pressure. Coastal areas may be flooded by storm events, such as hurricanes, resulting in waves over-topping seawalls and levees.

Failures of vital infrastructures, such as the collapse of a dam, may cause catastrophic flooding,. This exact event occurred in Johnstown, Pennsylvania in 1889, costing 2,200 lives. Major flooding may also be caused by the effects of an earthquake or volcanic eruption. These events often occur at sea hundreds of miles from the area affected, but result in tidal wave floods called Tsunamis.

Warning Types

Most people have heard of hurricane or tornado watches and warnings, but the U.S. weather service also tries to warn the populace of flooding. In order of imminent danger, they are:

• Flood Advisory: Flood advisories are issued when an expected weather event may cause some flooding, but not enough to be a major issue. Significant inconvenience may be possible and lead to dangerous situations if caution isn’t exercised.

• Flood Watch: Flood watches are issued when weather conditions become favorable to cause significant flooding. Although flood conditions are not imminent, steps should be taken to prepare for such an event.

• Flood or Flash Flood Warning: Flash flood or flood warnings are issued when hazardous flooding is imminent or has already begun. Action should be taken to avoid life-threatening situations.

Many people ignore these warnings at their own peril. If you live in a low-lying area, especially near a dam or river, then you should closely monitor and heed warnings when they are given and be prepared to evacuate quickly. Rising flood waters could easily trap you in your home.

Preparing for Floods

If you live in a floodplain, you should:

• Build an emergency kit with food, water (yes, water), and medical supplies.
• Have a way to communicate with family members.
• Elevate the furnace, water heater and electric panel
• Install special “check valves” to prevent water from backing up into the drains of your home.
• Consider having materials to make waterproof barriers to stop floodwater from coming into the building
• Seal walls in basements

When It Happens

You can’t stop the rain from falling and you can’t stop the tide from coming in, but you can weather the effects of flooding with some sound strategy and a little preparation. Here are some flood safety tips:

Get Out Early

Make the decision to leave for higher ground before extensive flooding occurs. Closely monitor public service announcements for warnings and advice from experts.

Be Careful Walking Through Flowing Water

Drowning is the most common cause of death during a flood, especially a flash flood. Rapidly-moving water can knock you off your feet even if less than a foot deep.

Don’t Drive Through a Flooded Area

As many people drown in their cars as anywhere else. Cars stall and roads/bridges could easily be washed out. Try to figure out now if there is a “high road” to safety before a flood occurs.

Beware Of Downed Power Lines

Electrical current is easily conducted through water. Watch for downed power lines; you don’t have to touch them to be electrocuted; just stepping in the water they’re in could kill you.

Turn Off The Power

If you have reason to believe that water will get into your home, turn off the electricity. Don’t use appliances or motors that have gotten wet unless they have completely dried. You might have to take some apart to clean debris out of them.

Watch Out For Intruders

Critters that have been flooded out of their homes may seek shelter in yours. Snakes, raccoons, and other unfriendly creatures may decide your home is now their territory. Human intruders may be interested in your property, as well.

Look Before You Step

After a flood, watch where you step; there is debris everywhere. The floors of your home may be covered in mud, causing a slip-and-fall hazard. There may be damage to foundations of flooded buildings, even if the water has subsided.

Check for Gas Leaks

Don’t use candles, lanterns, stoves, or lighters unless you are sure that the gas has been turned off and the area has been well-ventilated.

Exhaust Fumes Can Kill

Only use generators, camping stoves or charcoal grills outside. You can easily be overcome by the fumes they emit.

Clean Out Saturated Items Completely

Floodwaters are not clean! Don’t use floodwater as drinking water or to cook food unless you have thoroughly sterilized and filtered it. Make sure you have food storage in waterproof containers.

More Flood Preparedness Tips

by Paul North

Although it may not be the apocalypse, flooding is a serious threat to many areas of the world. Floods can come unexpectedly and wreak havoc quickly so it is important to be as well prepared as possible for them.

They can just as easily be caused by adverse weather conditions, such as the floods in the UK over the last couple of years, or unexpected accidents such as a burst dam. But how do you prepare for the unexpected?

Research your area

Whether it is somewhere you already live, and especially if it is somewhere you are potentially considering moving to, researching the potential flood conditions of an area are essential to determine how at risk you could be.

In the UK you can obtain the flood history of any property from the Environment Agency for free (unless the report takes over 18 hours to put together when there is a small fee associated with it). In the US you can check if your home is near a floodplain by accessing FEMA’s Flood Map Service Centre.

This is particularly useful if you are researching land to build a property on, and you can check as many different areas as you need to.

Have a plan

This may sound obvious but a lot of people who live in high flood risk areas accept this, and yet have no plan in place should the worst happen. Having a carefully considered plan can save you time and money in the event of a flood if you implement it quickly enough to alleviate any damage, or at least of the worst of it.

Sandbags are often used to block doors and create a barrier against floodwater. The best time to get your sandbags is, of course, before a flood has hit so make sure you have a supply of these ready to be used.

You will be able to respond quicker, resulting in less damage, if you have these at hand straight away. If you do not have any sandbags they can be made from old clothes and bed sheets and filled with gravel or even dirt if that is all that is available.

If preventing the flood damage is not possible you should also have prepared to leave your property as quickly as you can, taking important possessions with you. This means having a bag of essentials prepared so you can leave quickly, as well as knowing where anything is that you may want to take with you on short notice and ensuring it is somewhere that can be easily reached as you leave. Remember that you may need to be away from home for days, or even week depending on how bad the damage is.

It is also important to plan and prepare for staying in your home in certain conditions. A flood may wipe out your water and electricity supply, even if the water itself doesn’t reach you. Having a well thought out stock of candles, lamps, drinking water and other supplies could make all the difference between continuing to live comfortably or having to leave your home.

It is also important to have a supply of food in case you are stuck for any period of time. Tinned food is the best as it is not susceptible to flood damage like fresh food and can be kept and stored for long periods of time.

Essential items

As well as the obvious such as food and drinking water, there are several items that will make your life much easier if trapped in a flood. These include waterproof clothes, which will keep you comfortable and dry and waterproof containers for electrical items such as your mobile phones and torches. Torches are of course another essential item, as well as a small kit of medical supplies.

Most homes will have a basic first aid kit but it worth keeping on top of this and making sure this is always well stocked and ready to be used. If anyone in the house takes regular medication that they cannot do without then you should also ensure there is always a good supply of this in the house.

All items, where possible, should be stored on the upper floor of the house as high as possible, in order to keep them away from any potential flood damage.

Insurance

Whilst most people tend to be sensible enough to take out insurance for their home and contents, a lot of insurance policies do not cover floods. Instead of getting caught out, take the time to research your policy and if flood damage is not covered invest in a separate flood insurance policy too.

Although you may not want to spend the extra money if a flood does affect you then you could end up spending far more if you are not covered by a suitable policy. Having insurance in place will make your life easier during what is bound to be a stressful time.

Cleanup

As well as preparing for all eventualities of a flood you should prepare for the cleanup afterward. Cleaning after a flood can be complicated. To begin with, you may need to remove any loose dirt, rocks and other debris from your home.

It can be muddy where the water has been and anything touched by the mud is contaminated and should be cleaned thoroughly or disposed of if this is not possible. Anything that can be salvaged should be cleaned and dried, making sure no trace of the floodwater remains.

You will need to disinfect all surfaces so a good supply of bleach for this is essential, and any rugs, carpets or soft furnishings that have been damaged will probably need to be thrown out. No electricity should be used until it has been checked by a professional, and the foundations should be thoroughly checked for cracks and signs of any long-term damage that may cause problems further down the line.

by Lorenzo Poe

Survival seems to be the current hot topic. Everywhere you look self-proclaimed experts are willing to tell you all you need to survive the upcoming apocalypse of whatever scenario they can imagine. Most of their tips are tied to more and better equipment.

I do think that it is important to prepare for the future, but knowing what to prepare for and how to start are always tricky. I am no fortune-teller just an old country boy who has been around several blocks in my day. I grew up in an area often hit by hurricanes and lived through one of the most active periods on record. While serving in the US Army I lived in the northeast through several winters. I have slept out in tents in 10-degree weather, in tents in 110-degree weather, sandstorms, lightning storms and some disasters of a man-made nature.

I grew up in a rural area as the son of parents who lived through the Great Depression. As such we already lived to maximize the things that we had but whenever a storm approached we had certain things that we had to do in case of power loss. Hopefully, you will find this plan an easy way to prepare.

Most survival guides try to talk you through surviving major apocalyptic events from financial system meltdown to electromagnetic pulse. This guide will attempt to help you make a plan for any disaster you may face.

The most common scenario most of us will face is a 3-day local power disruption.

Whenever there is an indication that something could disrupt power don’t just run out to buy milk and bread. There are several things that you can do at home to help you prepare and make your life better.

I tend to use ‘Hurricane’ as the general cause of short-term power outages but this can be adapted to any anticipated event of short-term duration.

Secure an adequate water supply

You will need a gallon of water per person per day. This is as easy as buying a case of water per person sheltering with you. This is drinking water only for people who are not performing manual labor. Persons performing manual labor will need 1-2 quarts of water per hour in the heat and 1 quart per hour in the cold. This is just water for drinking only; it does not take into account water for cooking or personal hygiene.

Fill your bathtub with water. This water will be used to flush the toilet. Conserve water by flushing only when necessary. Remember “yellow let it mellow, brown flush it down”.

Toilets in America are flushed by siphon. The goose-neck in the toilet keeps gas and odor from coming into the house. Pouring water into the toilet bowl raises the level of the water above the goose-neck and will cause a siphon action to drain the bowl.

You can understand how the siphon works by trying two experiments with your toilet. First, take a cup of water and pour it into the bowl. You will find that almost nothing happens. What’s even more interesting is that you can pour multiple cups of water into a toilet bowl, one at a time, and still, nothing will happen.

That is, no matter how many cups of water you pour in, the level of the water in the bowl never rises. When you pour the cup of water in, the water level in the bowl rises, but the extra water immediately spills over the edge of the siphon tube and drains away.

Now, take a bucket of water and pour it into the bowl. You will find that pouring in a certain amount of water at the precise speed causes the bowl to flush. That is, almost all of the water is sucked out of the bowl, and the bowl makes the recognizable “flush” sound and all of the water goes down the pipe.

What’s happened is this: You’ve poured enough water into the bowl fast enough to fill the siphon tube. And once the tube was filled, the rest was automatic. The siphon sucked the water out of the bowl and down the pipe. As soon as the bowl emptied, air entered the siphon tube, producing that distinctive flushing sound and stopping the siphoning action.

You can see that even with water service cut off you could still flush your toilet. All you need is a bucket containing a couple of gallons of water. It is not an exact science and you should practice prior to any event so you can do it with a minimum of water and maximum of achievement.

Use care because a spill from the toilet onto the floor will waste more water for a necessary clean-up. (Father Fenton, our priest in Afghanistan, lived through Hurricane Katrina just north of Biloxi, Mississippi and told us how several retired priests moved in with him because his house was still habitable.

As luck would have it, his small inflatable pool survived and was available to furnish water for toilet flushing. He said that his home suffered more water damage from errant flushing than from the storm.)

And yes you could simply remove the cover of the tank and pour the water into the tank so that you can use the toilet like normal. There are two reasons I recommend not doing that. First, the cover of your toilet is fragile and can be broken very easily and second, water conservation. Everyone’s instinct will be to automatically flush when finished.

Worse than a ‘slop’ over’ from an over-enthusiastic flush, will be a drain clog. Paper products should not be put in the toilet but into a plastic garbage bag for disposal.

Hand cleansing should be accomplished with hand sanitizer.

Fill plastic bottles with tap water and cram them into your freezer. The more full your freezer is the longer it will stay cold. Block ice will also last longer than cubed ice in an ice chest. A stand alone freezer will keep food frozen for up to 3 days if you leave the door closed. A freezer compartment above your refrigerator will not last that long. Avoid opening the door as long as you can.

After thawing, these bottles of water will be available for drinking.

Gather your food supplies

Once a Hurricane Warning has been issued, its time to prepare your food. Any food items in your refrigerator needing cooking should be cooked now and returned to the refrigerator or placed in an ice chest. Boil your eggs, bake your potatoes, fry your steak.

Leftovers that are in your refrigerator can be placed in an ice chest with ice so that you can keep your refrigerator closed.

The ideal food for short duration power outages are foods that take little or no preparation. Peanut butter sandwiches, spam, deviled ham, and other canned items that are tasty cold straight from the can. And that is how they should be eaten, straight from the can without a plate or bowl.

Water conservation is still the key so avoid dirtying anything that needs washing. Spoons and forks can be licked clean and wiped off then washed later. You could use paper plates and bowls with disposable utensils but chances are that your garbage service will be off schedule so try to minimize your waste.

Providing three meals a day for even short durations will not give you a large variety to choose from when picking foods that can be eaten cold, straight from the can but by adding seasoning and small snacks such as trail mixes and cans of fruit they don’t have to be unpleasant.

As an alternative, military-style meals, MREs, have a device that heats the meals by simply adding water to a heater pack. These meals can be expensive, have a shelf life that is limited to a few years and in my personal opinion, the main meal portions taste terrible cold.

Proper clothing

When you know in advance that a storm/event will likely put you out of power, wash all your dirty underwear. Clothes can and should be worn more than once in these situations but for health and well being change your underwear daily when possible.

The proper clothing for a short duration power outage will simply be your normal seasonal clothing. Keep in mind that in any season you may be spending more time outside so add a season-appropriate hat and sunscreen to your normal wear. Winter or summer you will need Chapstick, Blistex, something. (see Poo Poo Broussard on youtube)

Make sure that you have good quality rain gear including boots for all members of the family.

There are gloves for all purposes and all purpose gloves. My personal choice is leather working gloves for general work, welder’s gloves for work around a fire and good quality wool inserts for my leather gloves for winter work.

A shelter is key to survival

In most cases during power disruptions of short duration, the best choice is to shelter in place. This can be comfortably accomplished in any season with a little planning.

If your power-out event occurs in the summer opening all the windows and doors of your home that have screens will get you by in the same comfort our ancestors had. An alternative would be to set up a screen tent or canopy in the backyard. I also keep several different sprays that kill mosquitoes as well as the Deet types that repel them.

Winter events can likewise be handled by moving everyone into a single room, sealing it from all drafts, and setting up a tent. Insulate the tent floor with blankets and additional blankets can cover the top and sides of the tent. Good quality sleeping bags and comforters can keep you warm to zero degrees. Sharing a sleeping bag or comforter can increase the body heat available to warm the sleeping bag/comforter.

Do not use open flames in or near a tent. A good quality lantern/ oil lamp kept lit while everyone is awake can help warm a small, draft-free room but warm foods, high in calories can warm you from the inside. If you do use a lantern/oil lamp be sure to have a battery-powered carbon monoxide detector.

The trick to sleeping warm in winter is to use the bathroom prior to climbing in your sleeping bag, eating a small, high-calorie snack and dressing correctly.

The correct way to dress for sleeping in a sleeping bag is to strip down to shorts and a t-shirt. Sleeping bags are warmed by body heat. Clothes such as sweats or pajamas trap your body heat close to your body and don’t allow your sleeping bag to function as designed.

Additional things to help are, pick a temperature appropriate bag, wear a knit cap, cover your face with a towel or t-shirt and do not exhale into your sleeping bag. If your feet do not reach the bottom of your sleeping bag, fold the bottom under so you don’t heat that portion of the bag.

Wear warm socks if you suffer from cold feet. I have a pair of shorts, a t-shirt and a clean pair of socks that I keep in my bag. I put them on just before getting into my bag at nights.

Clean clothes and a clean sleeping bag are warmer than dirty ones. A sleeping bag liner can add up to 15* of warmth to your bag. Simply adding a sheet or insulating the bag from the ground can add another 10*. For additional warmth, place a wool blanket or comforter on top of your sleeping bag.

Three to five-day disruptions of power are not insurmountable challenges. With a little planning and almost no skill, anyone can do it. Plan and prepare so that you can do it with as much comfort as possible.

Also Read:

How To Prepare Your Family For Power Grid Failure [The Definitive Guide]

By Joel M. Skousen,

Author, Strategic Relocation North American Guide to Safe Places

Many people new to the preparedness field often get exposed early on to the writings of survival blogger and author James Wesley Rawles (Patriots and Survivors). I have a great deal of respect for Rawles and the work he has done to get America motivated to prepared for very difficult times.

His books and tactics, however, often revolve around a civilian military-style response to both government tyranny and social unrest which is beyond the capabilities of most people. In addition, Rawles now promotes a related concept for retreating called “The American Redoubt” which consists of 3 states and parts of 2 others in the West which he feels are the only areas ultimately defensible, where Americans can and should make a final stand for liberty and survival when things really get bad.

His American Redoubt includes all of Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, and the eastern parts of Oregon, and Washington. He envisions this area as a focal point of collecting fellow patriots who want to survive and forging them into a “Biblically-sound and Constitutionally-sound silver local currency [community] that will give it unity.” These five states he selects happen to be also highly rated in my book on Strategic Relocation, though I expand the selection to include Utah and Western Colorado as well.

But ultimate retreating to the safest areas is not within the reach of all but a few and is not without serious compromise in other important factors. I’ve consulted with people for 40 years and most just can’t just pick up and leave where they live and relocate to one of these 7 states in the far West? Does this mean no one else survives the major wars and social unrest that are looming on the horizon? Not at all.

As a relocation specialist and designer, I found safe retreat locations and helped clients develop high-security homes in every state of the union and you can too. The concept that anyone caught East of the Mississippi River is doomed is only partially valid and highly exaggerated. It is based on the fact that the largest concentrations of people are East of the Mississippi, and that high population densities are your greatest threat in a severe crisis where food and public infrastructure fails—when even good people will be forced to pillage for survival.

To be truthful, the US coastal plains east of the Appalachian chain of mountains is the most dangerous area in America since that is where the overall concentrations of people are the highest and where the level of individual preparedness is the lowest.

The areas west of this first chain of mountains will become the general destination of choice for people fleeing the East Coast. Because refugee flows will flow exclusively westward, Rawles condemns it as unsuitable (at least as to a military-style standoff) clear up to the Mississippi River and beyond.

But for the vast majority who intend to survive without directly military confrontation, there are a much wider set of alternatives. When you understand the principles of retreat location and learn to avoid the flows of refugees (who will take fairly predictable paths out of the major cities), you can find relative safety in many rural forested and elevated areas in the East. It won’t provide the same kind of long-term safety as places farther west, but you can survive. The closer to population centers in meltdown, the greater the risk of having to deal with the more criminal type of looters. And that will happen near any major metro.

But the reality of all this is that few will find the perfect solution. Each person has to prepare as best they can given each person’s limited resources and abilities to relocate. That’s why I concentrate so much on contingency planning in Strategic Relocation knowing that few people can just “up and move” to the safest locations.

Many who have done so have underestimated the costs. I know from long experience that self-sufficiency if very expensive and people underestimate the skills needed and overestimate the savings from self-sufficiency. In short, quickly exhaust their savings and end up moving back to civilization. That happened a lot of people leaving jobs and buying rural during Y2K.

Let me give you an example of the general choices for people on the East Coast. The first line of retreat is that chain of mountains to the West—we’ll call it the Appalachians generally, even though you might know it locally as the Catskills, Berkshires, Great Smokeys or Blue Ridge mountains, etc. These are the most convenient retreat sites for most people because they are closest to the suburban areas in which they live.

Having a retreat within an hour or two has its advantages in terms of access and service of the construction process, but it also has the disadvantage of being closer to the actual threats of social unrest that will flow out of the major cities. These refugee flows will concentrate on low valley roads going through the mountains as people head for other known cities first.

When they find no refuge in those other cities, the concentrations of flows further west will diminish as people drop off due to fatigue, hunger and discouragement and start foraging locally. That’s where the danger of a site close to danger comes in: eventually, desperate people will make it to rural homes and cabins even in the mountains.

Only those, who are located out of these flows, and not visible from main roads will have a chance of evading major confrontations. And, even then, I recommend a strategy of providing concealment underground so as to avoid armed confrontation whenever possible. While I don’t have the space in this article to cover all that I’ve written about as far as retreat areas in the East, I will give a review of the highest rated areas relatively within a day’s drive.

The first range of mountains can give you significant safety, but you can achieve a significantly higher level of safety going beyond the Appalachians to the high plateau regions of Tennessee and Kentucky. This massive and relatively unpopulated area is called the Cumberland Plateau—most of which falls within the state of Tennessee. A narrow section goes north into Kentucky but much of that is part of the Daniel Boone National Forest, where you can only buy land near the edge of the plateau.

Tennessee is where the most land is available on the plateau. This state is a famous battleground state with deep conservative sentiment and lots to offer in terms of lifestyle: great music, horse country, good growing climate and fine people. TN gets my best rating for a retreat state in the East. Land is relatively cheap and there is no income tax. Garden potential is good, there is lots of forest land within a tankful of gas from many large eastern cities.

I consider the Tennessee Cumberland Plateau the “redoubt of the East,” and it is my highest rated area for retreats near the East Coast. In a meltdown of the social order, by the time refugees get through the first mountain range and the numerous mountain rifts that confront them—before seeing the 1000 foot high Cumberland Plateau, they will be highly motivated to stay on the valley floor with its promise of food and civilization (the lure that keeps people on the march).

There isn’t much agriculture on the plateau (though it is fine for growing garden crops) nor large communities so there is little draw for refugees to make the trek up those slopes. What highways do lead up to the plateau cut through steep valleys and gorges and are fairly easy to block off to restrict access.

The two major cities that are closest to the plateau are Knoxville and Chattanooga. Both are very nice cities with fairly good economies that can support those who can relocate but still need to stay in the job market. The southern plateau areas are about an hour from Chattanooga and the northern areas are about the same distance and time from Knoxville. Interstate 40 cuts across the plateau and links Knoxville to Nashville. You should give it a wide berth.

The best area for those coming from Virginia and states to the northeast is the plateau area north of I-40 ranging from the Catoosa Wildlife Area on up to the Kentucky border where the Big South Fork Recreation Area is found. You have to avoid the Oak Ridge nuclear research site on the Tennessee river valley floor (a prime nuclear target during war), but the northern part of the Plateau along highway 27 from Wartburg to Winfield gets you far enough west and east of the threat area to be safe. The northern plateau area has two or three pockets of federal land which makes a nice backdrop for a retreat, especially if you find running water on your land.

The southern plateau south of I-40 has an even larger land area and is only sparsely populated. There is a small town in the middle named Spencer, but I prefer the broad forested lands further south near McMinnville, which the closest full-service valley town to the plateau. Highway 111 and 8 get you down off the plateau to the East or West sides of the plateau for shopping and jobs. Check out this area and you’ll find there is considerable safety in the East. There is hope.

Joel Skousen, is the publisher of the World Affairs Brief, a weekly news analysis and commentary service online at www.worldaffairsbrief.com  Mr. Skousen’s books (The Secure Home, and Strategic Relocation—North American Guide to Safe Places) are showcased on his website www.joelskousen.com