A professional doomsday prepper has opened the door to his fallout shelter to share how he is preparing for World War III. Derrick James, who owns and operates his own doomsday prepping company in Maine, has been interested in prepping for a world-ending catastrophe since childhood and actively stockpiling food since 2007. He’s prepared for a worst-case scenario in the US, filling his shelter with months of nonperishable food, giant water tanks, walkie-talkies, gasoline, solar panels, and blankets.

James’s shelter is even prepared to clean his own water, keep the lights on in a blackout, and receive updates from the US government without needing to rely on the internet. The doomsday prepper also shared several tips for those hoping to survive what he believes is an imminent war, including having an emergency go-bag, securing passports, and having cash on hand. As the conflict between Israel and Iran remains in flux amid ongoing peace talks, James warned that anyone who started preparing for a nuclear war shouldn’t get complacent – a new crisis could break out at any moment.

‘Every event that we have lived through – whether it is COVID, the Iraq war, or hurricanes – brings in a new wave of preppers,’ James said. ‘Then the threat will go away and most people forget about it until another event comes along,’ the 50-year-old prepper continued. ‘My advice is to take a deep breath, come up with a plan that you can stick to, and don’t stress yourself out. We are living in a fragile society, and things could unravel very quickly,’ James explained to SWNS. The doomsday prepper’s shelter included multiple radios, power packs, and emergency equipment, as James warned that getting new gear could become virtually impossible in world war.

However, he noted that stocking a shelter full of food is a bigger priority than finding drinking water in an emergency . His shelter included barrels of rice, beans, wheat, berries that could feed him for months. James also had shelves full of canned meats like tuna fish, jarred foods like peanut butter, and ready-to-eat meals that were full of calories and had long shelf lives. James put building a 90-day supply of food at the top of his list because, in his view, food will be hard to gather in large quantities if a global emergency strikes.

‘Anytime you get a food crisis, food is harder to come by. If you have food for 30 to 90 days, you can weather any storm that comes your way,’ James said. Although fellow doomsday preppers typically cite water as the top priority, since the human body can only go three days without water, James warned that global food supply chains will collapse quickly in a world war. ‘The first thing for many people, honestly, could be having a week’s worth of food in their home. Many people don’t even have that,’ James told the Are We F#ed? Podcast . James said stocking up on clean water and water filters is still the second most important tip for doomsday preparations.

He noted that this step would look different depending on where a person was living, explaining that people in cities may have to purify water that they find by emptying pipes or toilet tanks. Once you’ve secured food and water, James said it’s important to invest in a hand-cranked radio, ham (amateur) radios, and walkie-talkies. The prepper explained that cell towers and the internet could very likely be knocked out in a world war, meaning people will need ways of communicating and receiving information that don’t rely on network signals. ‘Being able to have access to an evacuation order is important, whether it is a natural disaster or a war,’ James said.

‘Virtually every person has a cell phone, I still see cell phones as an important survival tool – I suggest people have the means to power those when the grid goes down,’ he explained. As for your fuel and energy needs, having a supply of gasoline for a vehicle, propane for heat, portable generators if there’s a blackout, and even solar panels to store reserve power can all help keep your shelter running if power goes out nationwide. If you can no longer stay in the shelter you’ve prepared for doomsday, James had three final tips on what you’ll need while fleeing the destruction of World War III. The first is a go-bag, a backpack full of emergency supplies and vital documents that can be grabbed instantly as you evacuate your home or shelter.

However, one of the major issues people have while creating a go-bag is finding out that critical forms of identification, like a passport. James urged everyone to make sure passports and other travel documents are up to date, should they need to evacuate on a moment’s notice. ‘More people are pursuing a second passport if it is available to them, a lot of countries now offer them in terms of heritage,’ James added.

‘This won’t be an option for some people, but it is a growing topic in the prepping community. I’m in Maine, if something happens, I’m closer to Canada, it would be faster to go to Canada than to get to any other state,’ he detailed. Lastly, as more and more people strictly use credit cards and digital payment apps, James recommended having multiple forms of currency available, including paper money for more than one country.

‘You need to protect your finances and make sure you have cash on hand. You need to diversify into things like silver, gold, and even crypto can be good if it is stored offline,’ James explained. ‘If another country is part of your plan B, make sure you have currencies in those countries. A global war could mean that banks freeze, ATMs go dark, and the dollar collapses,’ the doomsday prepper warned.