There are a few essential steps that you need to take when preparing for a survival situation.
First and foremost you need to learn what to do.
This can involve being taught what to do and how to do it by signing up for a survival course. Type survival course into your favourite search engine and you should be able to find one in your area.
The other way is to buy a few books, read up on the essential skills, teach yourself and practice, practice, practice.
Of the many books that I have on the matter, the ones that I recommend the most are:
Stay alive : a handbook on survival by Maurice Dunlevy
ISBN: 0-642-05818-0
This book is written for the Australian environment and contains pictures of edible Australian bush food. It is also the ideal book to have with you as the copy that I have is printed on polypropylene which makes it virtually water proof and a little bit harder to accidentally rip one of the pages.
Sadly this book has been out of print for a number of years, though you may be able to find a copy at a second hand book store.
Australian Bush Survival Skills: A Complete Guide to Surviving in the Wild by Kevin Casey
ISBN:0-958-76281-3
Another book that deals with things in Australia.
It has also been out of print for more than a few years, though you should still be able to find a copy somewhere.
How to Survive on Land and Sea by Frank C Craighead Jr and John J Craighead.
This is also an out of print book and whilst it is written for a US market, the techniques and tips are able to be used any where.
Whilst there are bound to be new or more recent books available, these are the ones that I have had with me and referred back to ever since I first became interested in survival preparedness.
Whilst these books are a great resource to have in the unlikely event that something does happen, they won’t replace the knowledge and experience that comes with actually practising what is in the book.