Different threats will have their own rules on when you should decide to leave your home. Regardless of the trigger, be prepared to evacuate within five minutes. Have your go-bag, the folder of essential documents, and all critical items staged so no thought is involved. You and your family will grab your things and go.

During a wildfire, moments are precious. Fires can move much faster than expected. Know alternate routes out of your home well before a threat presents itself. Understand that other evacuees will use these same routes. Have backup plans to those routes as well. Draw a clear line in your mind where you are evacuating if the fire breaks that point, no matter what. If you decide to stay and face the odds, make sure you have defensible space and an emergency plan if you get overwhelmed by the fire. I highly caution you against this option, and you better have a fast method of escape if you choose it.

When a hurricane is approaching, residents in the warned area typically have enough time to evacuate. Determine in your mind what class is too much for you to weather. If it becomes that class, evacuate immediately. If you don’t have an alternate place to stay, consider booking a hotel well ahead of time. Losing out on a deposit might be much better than having no place to go.

It is best to shelter in place during a tornado as long as you have a home that can stand the test of the heavy winds. Choose an interior room that has no windows. If a tornado is inbound and you have a mobile home or a home that will not stand the force of the wind, know where the closest shelter is. Make sure you have contingent shelters that you can go to in case your primary option is full.

Flooding is another threat that gives you little warning. Forecasts can predict significant events but the exact amounts of rainfall are usually unknown. When deciding if you should leave your home or not, consider if you have high ground where you can get out of floodwaters. If you do decide to evacuate, is it safe to undertake? Roads can become hazardous very quickly. Consider storing a blow-up raft for a catastrophic event. They are not expensive and worth their weight in gold if you had to leave due to flooding. The outside walls of your home are more likely to become compromised from flooding. Consider moving to interior areas.

Social unrest has become a significant issue and is likely to continue to increase. There are three fundamental questions you need to consider when drawing an evacuation line in your mind. How immediate is the threat? How severe or organized is the danger? How long will the threat last? Remember, no matter how tough you think you are, nothing is worth the life of your family. It is better to leave your stuff than risk your family’s life.

The Urban Survival Site has a list of 11 cases that might mean it’s time to bug out. Check them out at: https://urbansurvivalsite.com/events-time-bug-out/

Changing Earth News 15-22

The sun has been slowly waking up. Class C coronal mass ejections are inbound. Should give our magnetic shielding a good test of strength. It shouldn’t cause any significant damage.

A new submarine volcanic island has formed off the coast of Iwa Jima. It has developed in the past, but erosion always dissolves it. Scientists are uncertain if it will remain or not.

· Wildfires:

• Spain – 12,400 acres burned.

• Isreal – 10k evacuated, fire outside Jereluselum

• France – close to French Riviera

• Canada – so many fires, the sky in the day turns as black as night

• Russia – central 600 evacuated

• California – the top five fires in CA as of the 22nd had burned 1,098,000 acres

• Western United States – fires burning in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, North and South Dakota, Nebraska, and south to Arizona and New Mexico.

· Flooding:

• Japan – flooding and mudslides kills 3

• Maryland, Virginia – intense flash floods

• South Western Russia 80 homes destroyed

• Eastern Russia – Amur river valley floods

• Malaysia – 3 killed, 4 missing

• Sweden – record rain

• Crimea – 130% of monthly precipitation in 2hrs

• Ethiopia – flooding – 7 fatalities

• Congo – flash-flooding and landslides – 2 dead

· Hailstorms and floods:

• Turkey

• Austria

• Colorado

• Utah

· Severe Thunderstorm activity:

• Belarus – heavy damage

• Moscow, Russia – hit with a severe storm, roofs removed, trees felled, vehicle damage

· Hurricane activity:

• Fred made landfall in FL – 65mph winds

• Fred hits North Carolina – flooding, mudslides

• Grace hits Jamaica – flooding

• Grace hits Mexico – heavy flooding

· Tornado activity:

• F2 tornado damages 50 homes

• Waterspouts coming off the Black Sea

· Significant Earthquake activity:

• Vanuatu – 6.8 of coast

· Severe drought:

• Lake Mead – water levels sink to record lows, triggering the first declared water shortage for the largest reservoir in America. Lake Mead provides water to four million in Southern US and Northern Mexico.

· Sandstorms:

• Algeria – the sky turns black

· Abnormal snowfall:

• Utah – Snowbird resort

· Volcano watch:

• This week: 26 Active, 19 Minor Activity, 41 showing unrest

• Last week: 26 Active, 20 Minor Activity, unreported

• This week: 24 Active, 18 Minor Activity, 44 showing unrest

• This week: 26 Active, 19 Minor Activity, 46 showing unrest