Surviving A Disaster, Evacuation Strategies and Emergency Kits For Staying Alive [Paperback]

Tony Nester (Author, Editor), Jim Cole (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 18, 2007

Could you evacuate from your home in 15 minutes with the pertinent survival gear necessary for overcoming a disaster? The most effective means of surviving such an event is to have the essential gear and plans in place beforehand and this only comes from developing a mindset of self-reliance. In his third book in the Practical Survival Series, Tony Nester takes you through the scenarios, planning, and emergency kits for surviving natural and manmade disasters where you are forced to evacuate your home. Surviving A Disaster covers methods that have worked for real-life survivors and delves into the practical skills that can be used for preparing your family and surviving on the run. You will learn how to formulate an escape plan for your specific region and what an evacuation entails along with a straightforward approach to assembling emergency kits for the home, office, and vehicle. There is also a special section on preparing children for a crisis and what their personal survival kits should contain. The strength of this book rests on field-tested strategies and pragmatic tips taken from actual first responders and survivors.

Editorial Reviews

Review

In Surviving A Disaster - Evacuation Strategies and Emergency Kits for Staying Alive Tony Nester addresses the issue of preparing to bug out if necessary. Tony spent a good deal of time interviewing those who have lived through recent disasters and reaped the lessons learned that are incorporated in his recommendations. His spare, concise and succinct style stuffs a lot of useful information into this compact book. It s all meat, no fluff. Tony s focus is on preparing to evacuate in case a disaster hits, or is threatened, and you must leave home. If you are prepared to leave in a hurry, you are also just about prepared to stay if it becomes a shelter in place situation, which he also touches on. The suggestions and gear and supply lists Tony provides are totally practical, and for the most part, not expensive or difficult. He s essentially prepared you an easy to follow, concise road map to disaster preparedness for you and your family. Get this book, do what it says and you ll be prepared and way ahead of 99% of your neighbors. When disaster strikes, you ll be out the door with your emergency supplies and belongings in 15 minutes while everyone else is in a panic. Reviewed by Doug Ritter of Equipped To Survive --Equipped To Survive Foundation Website

About the Author

Tony Nester is the founder of the highly-respected survival school, Ancient Pathways in Flagstaff, Arizona. He has taught courses for Military Special Operations Units, the National Transportation & Safety Board (NTSB), and served as a technical consultant for the movie Into The Wild. Tony is the author of three previous books on survival along with being adjunct faculty at Northern Arizona University. He has been featured on NBC News, the Discovery Channel, the New York Times, and writes a popular monthly column for Outside Magazine.

Product Details

• Paperback: 64 pages
• Publisher: Diamond Creek Press; 1st edition (December 18, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0971381127
• ISBN-13: 978-0971381124
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #225,697 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A very good introduction to preparing for evacuation., June 13, 2008

By 

L. Smith "loganenator" (Davis, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Surviving A Disaster, Evacuation Strategies and Emergency Kits For Staying Alive (Paperback)

A very good introduction to preparing for evacuation.

First off you should know what this book is and what it isn't (especially since the publisher does not include the "search inside feature" on this book). This book is: a very good introduction to evacuation preparedness for the suburban and perhaps small urban reader. It covers the basics, is written in a manner that is very approachable and very brief (57 small pages with pictures and only 12 references in the bibliography). It is a substantial step up from the typical FEMA advice found on ready.gov. I gave my copy of this book to my parents to get them started on the basics of being prepared. This book is very good for advising tools and planning of short term emergencies primarily requiring an evacuation of some sort (aka "bugging out"). Other books providing more detail and thorough analysis of long-term situations turn off most readers wanting an introduction to this topic. Preparedness is basically insurance and folks don't typically want to read a large book on their insurance plan.

This book is not: an after the fact reference guide for detailed advice on how to survive during a long term emergency. This book primarily does not address sheltering in place ("bugging in"). Further, this book is not a technical manual detailing anything. For these reasons I believe many people were misled by the title and disappointed as some of the reviews illustrate. I think the title of the book should be more aptly include "prepare" in the title (for example: "preparing to survive a disaster").

I recommend this book only to beginners seeking a basic introduction to preparing tools and strategies for an emergency evacuation. It is a very good introduction in this sense and I feel confident in using it for advice to give my parents, much better than the government FEMA manuals. Any one seeking more thorough and detailed advice on longer-term preparedness, survival training and sheltering in place should look up Cody Lundin's "When All Hell Breaks Loose: Stuff You Need To Survive When Disaster Strikes". Those seeking a technical reference "how-to" manual for use before, during and after a disaster (e.g. how to dig a well) should look up Matthew Stein's "When Technology Fails: A Manual for Self-Reliance & Planetary Survival".

Good luck! Those who fail to prepare, prepare to fail. The last thing you want to worry about in an emergency is water, clothing, food and money. Do yourself a favor and read this book! :)

Cheers

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hurricane Evacuations, June 11, 2008

By 

J. Nichols (Houston, Texas United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Surviving A Disaster, Evacuation Strategies and Emergency Kits For Staying Alive (Paperback)

The subject of Nester's concise little volume is preparing for emergency situations which require movement to or from home. I am recommending this book and the FEMA website to co-workers for hurricane evacuation preparation.
My hands-on experience with disaster evacuations came from the 2005 evacuation of Beaumont during hurricane Rita. At that time, I was living in Beaumont, and recovering from surgery. I was not remotely prepared for the evacuation. The one thing I did right was to leave early. I was 300 miles away when Southeast Texas became snarled in a massive evacuation traffic jam. It was two weeks before I was allowed back in to inspect my apartment, and three before I moved in. I was very fortunate compared to many in the community who returned to devastated homes and businesses.
While Nester's book is centered around what he personally knows best, wildfire evacuations, it doesn't take a lot of effort to adapt his ideas to other circumstance. Nester's "get home bag" works for the big city commuter just as well as in the high desert . His list of items to be carried in a vehicle is about as sensible as anything I have come across. The reader should be able to figure out that his circumstance warrants a square of bottled water instead of a six gallon can of the same.
If you want to learn about wilderness survival, this is not the right book. If you want to traumatize yourself with apocalyptic horror stories, this book is not for you either. If you want to get the no-nonsense short course for coping and equipping for real-life family emergency evacuation situations, you will want to read this book.
This is the first book authored by Nester which I have read. Nester is supposed to be updating an earlier wilderness survival manual. I do not read a steady diet of survival literature, but I intend to read that book when it comes available.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent introductory level disaster survival book, May 31, 2008

By 

OW "John Galt" (Earth) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Surviving A Disaster, Evacuation Strategies and Emergency Kits For Staying Alive (Paperback)

This book is concise and to the point. It is an excellent choice for those who need initial guidance in answering the "why" and "what" questions of surviving a disaster. The author provides a few disaster scenarios, outlines different levels of survival kits and describes some of the tools and equipment that can be used in a survival situation. This book is extremely short, but long enough to drive the point home. I am a card carrying Eagle Scout and a combat tested Marine, and I found this book informative. I also coerced my wife to read it and she no longer thinks that I am insane for storing survival kits and water in our home, vehicles and places of work. Buy one for yourself, buy one for your family... and start forming your survival plan; don't wait for the earthquake, hurricane, forest fire or other disaster. If you need comprehensive "how-to" survival information, check out one of Cody Lundin's books, a great complement to this book.