9 Places to Avoid After SHTF

Knowing where to stay away from can be just as critical as knowing where to go after an SHTF event. When you and your family’s life is on the line, staying away from trouble spots that expose you to unnecessary risk has to be a priority.  What we are facing is a total societal collapse. While the unprepared denizens of your city become threats to themselves due to ignorance, a collapse prepper always thinks through their actions beforehand and evaluates their environment knowing that one poor decision could be their last. Today, we are going to cover 9 places you must avoid when the shit starts to hit the fan…

And for those who would prefer to see the video, it is available right here…

1. Ground Zero

This one should be obvious, but sometimes we all need a little reminder. Ground Zero doesn’t necessarily have to refer to a nuclear detonation, and here we are using the term to designate the area where whatever event that happened has had its maximum impact. This will definitely be an area you will want to avoid. Different hazards will exist depending upon the type of catastrophe that has occurred. Biological, radiological, or chemical contaminants could be at high levels. Gas, water, or electrical breaks could become the source of new hazards as the aftershocks of a collapse event continue to mount. Collapsed or unstable structures significantly increase the risk of injury and can cause further chaos in the area. Gas tanks, air tanks, natural gas lines, or even unexploded ordinance will make Ground Zero the number one place you don’t want to be immediately after the collapse event. But for some, even knowing this danger they will still want to go try and rubberneck at whatever has happened. Often, the normal pathways in and out of the area will be clogged with people coming in and standing around surveying the disaster. If anything flares up or there is any aftershock in the disaster zone after the initial disaster, your odds of getting out safely become worse, and the chances of a fatal error are increased. When everyone else is running to look at the mess, you go the other way.

2. Crowded Areas

People tend to group together and follow the herd when they are scared, and that can put you in a bad situation. Joining groups of people headed for commonly believed places of safety is rarely the best option for you. Even if there was some sort of government assistance or emergency services still functioning somewhere, these will only be temporary after a true collapse event, and you do not want to be there in the crowd when the supplies run out or the bad news is handed down. Crowded public spaces can lead to stampedes, panic, and difficulties in evacuation during a disaster. Many people may feel stronger and safer because of their numbers, but at the end of the day they are all out for themselves individually. In very short order, a crowd of desperate people can become a leaderless, confused, and enraged mob. Having a few people around may be advantageous if you’re under attack. Typically, though, you will gain nothing by being just another body in the middle of a riot zone. If you do happen to find yourself in a crowded place after SHTF, try to make for the crowd’s fringes in case you need to escape. One of the fundamental rules for collapse prepping is avoiding the masses of desperate and angry survivors who will be left adrift from life after a collapse event. Avoid the crowds at all costs.

3. Emergency Shelters

Shelters should be considered as locations of last resort for people after a collapse event. This goes along with our number two place above in that a crowded shelter will quickly become the epicenter of rioting, violence, and looting once reality begins to set in for the people there. Even depending on the shelter’s proximity to the disaster zone and the general security of your location, a shelter will not be your best option. First, as we witnessed with Katrina, a shelter can also become an easily identifiable target of opportunity for those looking to take advantage of others. The criminal types, already closely associated with chaotic environments, will be some of the first to adapt to the new lawless reality of a post-collapse city. Security-wise, if the others there in the shelter with you are all upstanding citizens with families they want to keep safe, people will all kind of look out for each other, at least in the early parts of the disaster. But, once the true scope of things becomes well knowm, the drive to survive and protect one’s own will consume that community goodwill rather quickly. The “thin veneer” of civilized behavior will fall quickly in the face of our reawakened animal natures in a crisis. What we have seen with other disasters like the various regional wars around the world are people not vested in the community but encouraged by the chaos and lack of law and order to indulge their criminal tendencies. During Katrina, for instance, there were several instances in the shelters of crimes such as robbery, assaults, and even rape. Consider whether you are safer there or on your own when considering a shelter. You may have to surrender things to enter the shelter, and possibly submit to some other authority. While it may seem attractive in those first panicky hours of a disaster, stay calm and remember that you have prepared for this and are quite capable of managing your own safety.

4. Hospitals/Pharmacies

You might think a hospital would be the place to be  after a disaster. Obviously, if you are seriously wounded or in need of medication, that’s where you would want to go, but otherwise, avoid such location after a collapse event. Every person injured in the initial disaster or aftermath will be seeking medical care here. The hospital will likely be overwhelmed with patients, so any care will take hours before it is administered. Hospitals must triage patients after a disaster, so a cut, even a deep one, might be left to wait while more severe cases are tended to. Like the first point we covered earlier, when you can avoid crowded areas, do so. You have to also consider the fact that, once people begin to get angry about not receiving care, they will begin to get violent, and such a mindset will spread quickly.

What applies to hospitals on day one also applies to pharmacies and such shortly after the initial madness. At some point during the first days after a disaster, people will begin to realize they don’t have enough of their prescription drugs to get them through. In the case of a collapse event, there will be a realization that resupply is never coming, and people will get the idea to go get what they need by any means necessary. The inventory of critical life-saving drugs will rapidly decline. This will lead to desperation for some. Others who are less scrupulous may see this as an opportunity to acquire drugs to sell or trade to the desperate who are in need. Such predatory practices are going to become real common, real fast. Also, sicknesses don’t simply stop when a more significant disaster strikes, so add to this mix of people who need cold relief or fever-reducing medicines to the desperate people at the pharmacy. As a collapse prepper, you will already have made sure to create a well-stocked first aid kit, some basic training on administering first aid, a good manual or two, and as long of a prescription of critical drugs and alternative drugs as you require. Avoid pharmacies and the desperate masses that will be there. Violence will always erupt where there are more people than the resources can sustain.

5. Grocery Stores/Gas Stations

This will be just the same as with pharmacies above. When a collapse event occurs, many people will immediately try and hit the grocery and convenience stores. First, before the event is really fully underway, there will be the panic shoppers who are realizing the seriousness of the situation and looking to grab whatever they can get their hands on, but the store may not even be able to conduct transactions. If the power is out for any extended time, stores will not have an operating point of sale, so it’s possible they will not be doing any business at all. They’re not going to give the food away, and they aren’t going to sell it either. So, that panicking crowd goes home empty-handed or turns into a mob. That’s when the reality sets in and that “thin veneer” of civilized behavor falls rapidly away. This new wave of desperate and panicking people will just overwhelm the employees and loot the place. Whether the group at the grocery store is the first kind or the second, you don’t want to be a part of it. And, if you are prepped correctly, you don’t have to be. 

Similarly, gas stations end up with long lines of panicking people queued up to drain whatever fuel the station has. Some people will use whatever container they can find to get additional gas. This creates a new safety hazard as well as drawing the ire of others. Gas stations will be flash points after SHTF, where peace becomes conflict real fast. It’s best to avoid them if you can. As a prepper, avoid letting your gas tank fall below the halfway mark and get in the habit of backing into spaces. In an emergency, you will find it much easier to get out if you are facing forward versus being beholden to someone letting you back out and be in front of them when they’re trying to flee themselves.

6. Gun/Sporting Goods Stores

You probably won’t find many regular gun enthusiasts or hunters at a gun store after a disaster. They probably have all the guns and ammo they need on hand, and are sitting on it somewhere guarding their own supplies. However, you will find a bunch of people who suddenly realize how unsafe their environment has become and will likely continue to be in the future. Many desperate, scared, and angry people will be looking to get their hands on the kind of safety that a firearm can supply. In some states, that may be an easy process. In others, it may require a waiting period or a background check that can take several days even when systems are running. While there are probably enough armed individuals there to prevent anything from getting out of hand, at least in the early days, I wouldn’t count on being able to make any purchases. As a collapse prepper, you need to have done a review of your anticipated security and hunting needs. That doesn’t necessarily have to include a gun, but acquiring one easily after a disaster will be difficult, I promise you. Like the saying goes, “better to have it and not need it than to need it…” 

You have to make sure to think ahead as a collapse prepper. It is all well and good to be a traditional sort of prepper and have a huge stockpile of supplies at home… but what if the disaster is significant enough to have destroyed your home? If you need to buy a tent because your house is destroyed, or a camp stove or water filter or whatever you might need in a post-collapse environment, you probably aren’t going to get it ahead of the tens of thousands of other people looking for the same thing. And you really don’t want to be out there among the desperate masses trying. As a collapse prepper, think ahead and get your preps ready in multiple places around the city and surrounding areas before catastrophe strikes. Having a storage unit on the other side of town can be a good idea. Keeping emergency kits in your vehicles and even small survival caches buried out along your planned bug out route will help as well.

7. Private Land

In a true SHTF scenario, people’s anxiety and stress rise significantly, even those who are prepared for it. They go into a full-blown alert status and combat-zone mode. They will specifically be on guard against people coming onto their property. It doesn’t mean they are bad people, it is just that they will most likely recognize what has happened and will be ready to neutralize threats without out waiting to find out if they even are threats. They won’t want you anywhere near their land or homes. I get this one from people quite a bit. Those who live in the city think they will flee to the countryside, and they expect to be welcomed with good ol’ country hospitality. Anyone who has actually spent some time living in the rural areas can tell you why that’s a bad idea. Hospitality is for peacetime, and the post-collapse world will not be a peaceful one. Property owners are going to shoot first and then… probably shoot again before asking any questions. 

As a collapse pepper, you will have already recognized the need to bug out or evacuate from urban areas. When you do so, stick to public areas whenever you can. If you are challenged on someone’s land, make sure you do not threaten by appearance or words, and either back away or verbalize your intentions to pass through and guarantee you will disturb or touch nothing. But part of collapse prepping is avoiding all that completely. You need to make plans and know your primary and alternate bug-out routes and your bug-out locations like the back of your hand. Do several practice runs with different routes and destinations, as well. Know where you are going at all times, and steer clear of other people’s land.

8. Main Roads

This presents a bit of a problem for some locations. Since you shouldn’t travel across other people’s property and have to stick to public roads, how can you also avoid them? That is an issue, but you want to avoid main routes because they are going to quickly become major choke points. Traffic gets snarled, and then, even though you may have a full tank of gas and an eagerness to get out of the urban sprawl, you may be stuck, fending off desperate people wanting to tag along for the ride. After a collapse event, roads and freeways could be damaged and impassable. There is also the possibility in the early days that remnants of government or military services might try and shut down the roads under a martial law type situation. No matter what it is, if traffic isn’t flowing and you can’t get out safely, you are going to have to find another way. You must escape the disaster zone. Staying within the confines of a ruined urban area is a non-starter and a quick path to not surviving long.

This is where much of that practice and preparedness knowledge comes into play. You should have a very good working knowledge about getting around your city, knowing all the routes, even those that are typically less traveled. In cities, you will often see streets packed with traffic, but two blocks over in either direction, you will find locals making good time. Even on the outskirts the knowledge will be invaluable as you will be aware of all the ways in and out of the city, such as forestry roads, ATV trails, and more. As a collapse prepper you should make sure to choose a vehicle based on the requirements for your bug out plan and intended routes. Usually, small SUVs are a great choice, with higher ground clearance, four-wheel drive, and rugged tires. They will also have the extra storage space to carry more gear and supplies.

9. Industrial and Commercial Zones

While these areas may seem attractive due to their low population density, such areas often contain hazardous materials, chemicals, or flammable substances that can leak or catch fire during disasters. Fires and explosions in industrial facilities can release toxic fumes or result in large-scale environmental contamination. The potential for uncontrolled releases of dangerous substances can lead to both short and long-term health problems for those exposed. Your ability to pass through these areas may be determined by the type of collapse event you are facing and your own visual assessment of the threats. Don’t enter these areas if you see smoke, debris, or fallen buildings. If everything appears normal, use abundant caution and realize that the regular safety mechanisms to prevent deadly chemical leaks may be offline. This is another one of those areas where you should have prepared by doing research and scouting to determine exactly what types of facilities are in your city, where they are located, and what kind of threat they could represent. When it comes to public transport facilities, recognize that if the train station or airport was crowded before, it might be impossible after a disaster.

All in all, the most important aspect of preparedness for the first few hours after a collapse event is going to be your plan for bug out, and the means and routes you set up to enable it. Staying in the city, even if your city wasn’t particularly hit hard in the disaster, is a grave mistake. This is collapse we are talking about here. There will be no return to normal, no going back to the way things were, and no chance of order being restored. This is the end of the world as you know it… and the birth of a new one. And, like all birthing, it will be bloody, painful, and dangerous. Be ready for it.