If you're like me, Plan A is hunkering down and waiting out a disaster or bad situation. You want to be home where you're comfortable, where you know the territory, where all your supplies are stored. The last thing in the world you want to do is to take off and leave behind your gardens, maybe some livestock, and your huge stash of ammo.

But in the immortal words of the Rolling Stones, you can't always get what you want.

Sometimes the situation is so dire and so sudden that you have no choice but to drop everything and run.

And if you don't have an evacuation plan, it's high time you made one. My new 80-page PDF, The Bug Out Book, can help.

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Why would you need to evacuate?

Even the most dedicated bugger-inner and hunker-downer will have to admit there are a few situations in which leaving is the only answer.

Wildfires, mudslides, chemical spills, and industrial accidents are all reasons you might have to flee your home and often, without much in the way of warning.

Any disaster that is likely to cause complete destruction, pollutes the air with something toxic, or has the potential to kill anyone in the area means that, whether you like it or not, you'll need to evacuate.

Floods

Hazardous substances

Fires

Nuclear accidents

Hurricanes

Public safety threat (a mysterious package that could contain a bomb)

Tsunamis

Terrorism

Volcano

War

Riots