When a natural disaster hits, the luxuries of life disappear. The power goes out, water systems fail, and modern conveniences vanish.
Years ago in the Philippines, I lived through 24 hours that included a typhoon, multiple earthquakes, and a volcanic eruption that dropped feet of ash across a city. That experience taught me a hard lesson: you need to be prepared to manage these types of situations. I also realized most people are unprepared to deal with natural disasters.
As backcountry hunters, we already have the skills and tools to manage ourselves when natural disasters strike. We’re used to living with the resources on our backs.
Today, I’ll show you how to survive natural disasters using the backcountry skills you already know.
Why Backcountry Hunters Are Prepared for Natural Disasters
When you hunt in the backcountry, you already know how to survive with scarce resources.
This mindset translates to disaster preparedness. While your neighbors panic, you know how to manage yourself with minimal resources.
Backcountry hunters have the skills and tools that become critical when natural disasters strike. You know how to build shelter, purify water, and stay warm without modern conveniences.
Your hunting equipment doubles as disaster gear: tents and tarps become emergency shelter, water filters and Steripens purify contaminated water, and layered clothing systems and sleeping bags keep you warm when the power goes out.
These skills make you a force multiplier in your community during disasters. You can help yourself and your neighbors survive.
How to Survive Natural Disasters: The Three Survival Priorities
Learning how to survive natural disasters starts with knowing your survival priorities.
Shelter comes first. Water is your second priority. Warmth and clothing are your third.
Master these three elements with the gear and skills you already have, and you can survive any natural disaster.
Shelter: Your First Priority for Backcountry Natural Disasters Survival
Shelter protects you from the elements. When natural disasters damage homes, your hunting gear becomes emergency housing.
Your tents and tarps create shelter for yourself and your neighbors. You can set up improvised shelters for neighbors whose roofs have holes or damage. You know how to rig rain barriers and create protected spaces.
When hurricanes, earthquakes, or floods damage buildings, your backcountry shelter skills become lifesaving. You know how to choose safe locations, set up quickly, and create protection from wind, rain, and temperature extremes.
Water: How to Survive Backcountry Natural Disasters When Systems Fail
Water is your second survival priority. When natural disasters hit, water systems fail. You can’t trust municipal water supplies during floods, earthquakes, or major storms.
Your backcountry water purification skills become critical for survival.
Purifying Water During Natural Disasters
You already know how to purify water. You use Steripens, pump filters, and other purification methods in the backcountry.
During natural disasters, collect water from any available source, then purify it. Use your Steripen to kill bacteria and viruses. Run water through your pump filters to remove contaminants.
If you don’t have electronic purification, you can filter water with different types of pumps. Proper purification prevents illness; you won’t get sick, become dehydrated, or make your situation worse.
Helping Your Community with Clean Water
Your neighbors likely lack water purification equipment. You can purify water for neighbors who don’t have the knowledge or tools.
Show them how to collect and purify water safely. Share your filters and purification methods when possible. Clean water prevents illness during disasters when medical systems are already overwhelmed.
Warmth: How to Survive Natural Disasters with Your Backcountry Clothing System
Your third survival priority is managing temperature. Power outages eliminate heating systems precisely when the weather creates the most stress.
Your backcountry clothing system and sleeping gear are the solution.
Using Your Layered Clothing System
You already know how to layer clothing for warmth. Apply the same principles you use during cold-weather hunts when disasters knock out power.
Your base layers, insulation layers, and outer shells keep you warm without electricity. You know how to add layers when temperatures drop and remove them to prevent overheating.
Sleeping Bags and Ground Pads Save Lives
Your hunting sleeping bag becomes your most valuable asset during power outages. You have sleeping bags that keep you warm in extreme conditions.
Use your sleeping bag inside your home to stay warm without electricity. Ground pads provide critical insulation from cold floors. Cold conducts through the floor faster than through air, making ground pads non-negotiable for warmth.
These tools keep your family warm when heating systems fail during winter storms, earthquakes, or other disasters.
How to Survive Natural Disasters: Becoming a Community Hero
Every year, hurricanes, earthquakes, and flooding devastate communities. I always wonder where the hunters and anglers are to come and help.
But you already see people using their skills during disasters. People on snow machines save folks during winter storms in upstate New York. People with boats and jet boats save people during floods.
You become the hero in these situations because you have the skills and equipment to not only save yourself but also be a tremendous asset in your community.
Don’t let a hurricane, earthquake, or flood catch you unprepared. You have the skills. You have the equipment. Put them to work when disasters strike your community.
by John Barklow, a Special Operations Survival Instructor and consultant who has spent decades teaching military personnel and civilians survival techniques in extreme environments.
