Two turns onto the same bridge are not two ways out. A closed crossing removes every route that uses it. Traffic backs onto every road around it, and the school pickup, the medical trip and the neighbor bringing an elderly relative home all go with it. Ready Iowa tells households to learn multiple routes out of their neighborhood. Most families have one and think they have two.
Today’s SITREP teaches a local area study: a written, dated check of your own neighborhood that ends in decisions your family can use. USGS topographic maps are free. Pima County warns that federal flood maps miss local drainage hazards. A map is a starting point; it does not tell you a road is open today. You have to go look.
The X is relying on an untested route and help nobody has agreed to provide.
Three moves this week. Make one dated neighborhood map, 30 minutes with Section I of the Neighborhood Watch Plan and the walk-around checklist: public exits, shared crossings, nearby hazards, two meeting places, every unknown marked and assigned to a person. Test a different route, one that does not share the bridge, the low crossing or the locked gate with your usual one, and keep a paper copy. Agree on help before you schedule volunteers, and keep it to observing and reporting; nobody stops a car or demands identification.
This SITREP is free for everyone, and the Neighborhood Watch Plan, the walk-around checklist, the Quick Start and the rotation workbook are free for one week at SurvivalDispatchStore.com. 🗺️