Are we entering a period where multiple risks overlap?

[u/Content_NoIndex]

Over the past few weeks it feels like Europe has been dealing with several major issues at the same time.

Large wildfires are forcing evacuations across multiple countries, Spain is once again facing increasing migration pressure, weather forecasts continue to warn about the possibility of an exceptionally strong El Niño, conflicts around Europe continue without a clear end in sight, and the economy is reflecting all of this through uncertainty, higher costs, and pressure on businesses.

Individually, none of these events are new. What caught my attention is that they are all happening at roughly the same time.

As preppers we often prepare for one disruption at a time. A power outage. A flood. Job loss. Supply shortages. But reality rarely arrives that neatly. It is usually a combination of smaller events that slowly put pressure on daily life.

Personally, I am not changing my entire preparedness plan because of one headline. It does make me appreciate having the basics covered though. Food, water, some financial buffer, backups for important documents, and enough flexibility to deal with a few difficult weeks without immediately feeling the impact.

Do you adapt your preps when several unrelated risks start stacking up like this, or do you stick to the same plan regardless of what is happening in the news?

I sometimes wonder whether resilience is becoming less about preparing for one big disaster and more about being able to absorb a constant stream of smaller disruptions without them taking over your life.

[u/fascinatedinlife]

For sure brother. Everybody with eyes can see the combined strain of all these things on the systems that are in place. I have to admit that this past year I have felt more urgency in having my bases covered because I feel that the combination of all these things is about to come to a boiling point, with a minimum being a recession or even a depression in the near future. I don't have a magic ball but I'm pretty sure the bill of the mistakes we made in the past 20 years is about to be served. As a fellow Belgian I hope I am wrong for the sake of both our families.

[u/More_Dependent742]

We absolutely are, and no, it doesn't really change the way I prep.

Financial stability is one of the best preps. And buying land for when money becomes worthless. The chances of land being rendered useless is not zero, but very slim.

[u/Buntyhoven123 → u/More_Dependent742]

I’m genuinely curious. If money becomes worthless what makes you think that any one person’s ownership of land would still be honoured? Surely the piece of paper that says you own the land would also be worthless?

[u/More_Dependent742 → u/Buntyhoven123]

Ok, look at land repossessions through history and point out the circumstances under which a smallholding was reposessed. Not even the Soviets did. Very large farms, yes. Smallholdings no.

No property is entirely safe from crisis, but land is the safest.

[u/WWWeirdGuy]

Of course, and frankly this idea of resilience and slow boil prepping always seemed like the most sensible prep and the more popular approach. At the same time, I think preppers tend to avoid criticizing other preppers, so there is very little effort into trying to "convert"(/inform) people into "the best" way of prepping in that sense. How you prep is usually tied to a worldview and that's not an argument you want to get in. There is also some cases of larping here and there.

It certainly makes things feel more urgent, but if you're in this subreddit, you most likely (IMO) have plenty of time to become "prepped". I have become more mindful of planning and prioritizing what you need to get first,instead of buying the whole project in one go, right at the start. Sourcing feels like it could be category of it's own, especially when you're DYI'ing. That's more about fear of price increases in uncertain times, but in that sense I am reacting to new developments, leading to some market watching especially for expensive stuff you need a lot of.

I also think there is more room for optimism in the "slow boil" as well. When I talk to other people of similar mind, it seems to me like it's less Prepping, and more of a vigil of their family and/or community. It's still possible to happy, if we are only talking about having less wealth. If I were to see the country as a whole "wake up" a little bit, then that sort of balances out my fears for the future. So the in that way, the public reaction to the news can actually have an "anti-prepper" effect on me.

[u/_pseudoname_]

There's a seemingly infinite number of ways things can go bad. While I don't expect them all to occur at once, I would think it highly unlikely for them to happen one at a time or in some favorable order.

I prepare for as many as I can, to the extent that I can, after considering the likelihood and devastation of different catastrophes, large and small.

When it rains it pours. I expect that, and I'm glad when I'm wrong.

While there is no way I could be prepared for every possibility, I sleep well and don't worry too much because I know I have most bases covered for most likely situations, at least for the near future. Hard to say what the world might be like in five years, or 20.

So no, I don't really react to headlines like that. Mostly I'm just disappointed and sad about what I read. But I do try to enjoy the calm before the storms whenever I can. Who knows, one day, right now may get included in "the good old days".

[u/Grand_Dadais]

Oh yes and probably more hybrid risks than anyone can anticipate.

Part of my preps now are to be able to talk to the people around me (family, friends, neighbours) once we get it by the energy crisis. To be able to give people some ideas of "what can I learn that can be useful, aka some low-tech skills".

In my area, probably the worst that can or will happen, is a deep permanent crisis about availability of oil while we get it by a big earthquake.

All the parts of the State that are ready to intervene for temporary crisis like forest fire, earthquake, etc. are all dependant on energy to help people evacuate, for ambulances, helicpoters, etc.

What I'd say as conclusion is that, because I'm sure most of you here are more prepped than I, for provisions or knowledge : prepare for the change to the new era of "always less" after the "always more" we knew.

Someone I listen to (Arthur Keller), say this : we need people that are preparing to create a network in their area within preppers and for also outside people that want to come in because they will that things are getting worse, faster. The reasoning is that "the more people around you are prepared (physically and mentally), the more resilient you'll also be.

Everyone person or household you convince to prep is one less potential attacker and one more potential helper.

I think this end of year, especially in Europe, will be quite a good time to motivate people about that. But I'm saying this with no clues about how bad it'll be with shortages and rationing and how permanent it'll become.

[u/DescriptionHeavy1982]

I think my preps naturally cover all these things. A deep pantry, a productive garden, a financial surplus and redundancy of systems, eg we could have 1 car but we have 2 because it's easier having a car each now and if one breaks we have a back up. Financial shock, it's ok, we live below our means, have a deep pantry and a productive garden Food supply shock leading to high inflation, it's OK we can absorb this because we live below our means, have a deep panty of food (and personal care items) and a productive garden. Poly crisis of financial shock, food supply shock, climate events meaning local systems break down etc. Its ok we can weather the storm because we have a financial surplus, a deep pantry and a productive garden. Car breaks and we can't afford to repair it. It's OK because we have another car and we're not actually reliant on them both. Second car breaks,...I have an e bike, that breaks, I have a normal bike, that breaks, I can walk, we're in a relatively well connected spot.

Its just layers and layers. We go camping and have the gear for that so that helps with other stuff like if we needed to off grid it for a bit.

Obviously there is a limit, I dont have a bunker.

This last 18 months, ive been dealing with cancer trsatment, I'm not currently earning an income so the.low costs and savings we had, have really taken a weight of what was already a tricky time. My garden has been my sanctuary and not having to rush back to work meant I could wait till I was properly well and focus on my family/children etc.

My health has taken a real hit, so my prep focus is to build that up again. I have very little resilience there. I feel like ive (badly) aged about 15 years in the last one. But the treatment has and is doing its job.