New Preppers: The Time-Distance-Options relationship

The Vikings, Nazi Blitzkrieg and Tamerlane's sweep through Asia all shared one characteristic, they were executed so swiftly that the victims were caught unaware and unprepared in their fields and hamlets.

Self-defense circles have a saying "Get off the X". Moving away from the threat has two benefits. The first benefit is that a moving target is harder to hit. The second benefit is that doubling in distance from a threat who is shooting cuts your odds of being hit by at least 75%. Doubling that distance again reduces the risk by almost 95%.

Putting distance between yourself and the primary threat buys you time to consider other options.

Different threats have different distance scales. A gang-banger doing a mag dump might cease to be a threat if you can put 50 yards between him and you. An accomplished shot with a rifle can put a kill-shot on you from 200 yards.

A flash-flood might require that you move 50 feet to get out of the channel. A tsunami or a hurricane quite a lot more distance.

Three miles might be enough to get your out of Flint but you might need more than ten miles to get to a safe neighborhood from Downtown Detroit

A medical analogy

You can bleed-out in less than a minute if you cut a major artery like your femoral artery. If you don't IMMEDIATELY address arterial bleeding you will not live long enough to worry about water purification or food or vitamin deficiencies or fending off the ravening savages or dealing with the legal system.

Identify the major hazard and get off the X speedy-quick using the most expeditious means.

Once you have Distance and/or Time, you have the luxury of choosing options.

Hat-tip to B for beating me to the punch in the comments of the previous post.