Disaster Preparedness

The Will to Survive When in a survival situation your will to survive is always the deciding factor. Alone or with a group of fellow survivors, you will be faced with the hazards of fear, despair, loneliness, and boredom. In addition to mental stress an injury, pain, fatigue, hunger and thirst may greatly tax your ability to survive. Remember the keyword S-U-R-V-I-V-A-L: S – Size Up The Situation. Take into account yourself, the environment you are in, and potential search and rescue operations. Yourself - Hope for the best and be prepared for the worst. - Remember your survival training and be confident in your abilities. - Seek safety and make yourself comfortable. - Inventory your equipment, state of health, food, and water. - Remain calm. Think things over and form a plan. - Think about where you are and where you want to go. The Environment - Find out where you are by using your knowledge of the area, landmarks, compass or GPS readings, your maps. - Note the landscape. Try to obtain...

Ten Earthquake Survival Tips by Doug Copp Everyone who simply “ducks and covers” WHEN BUILDINGS COLLAPSE will be crushed to death – every time, without exception. People who get under objects, like desks or cars, are always crushed. Cats, dogs and babies naturally curl up in the fetal position. You should too, in an earthquake. It is a natural safety/survival instinct. You can survive in a smaller void. Get next to an object, next to a sofa, next to a large bulky object that will compress slightly but leave a void next to it. Wooden buildings are the safest type of construction to be in during an earthquake. The reason is simple: the wood is flexible and moves with the force of the earthquake. If the wooden building does collapse, large survival voids are created. Also, the wooden building has less concentrated, crushing weight. Brick buildings will break into individual bricks. Bricks will cause many injuries but less squashed bodies than concrete...

Fit to Survive: The Importance of Being Strong By James Wesley, Rawles (SurvivalBlog.com) I have been an athlete all my life in one form or another. I hear many survival and preparedness enthusiasts’ talk about fitness, health, and well being (being in sound physical condition) but I have yet to see a thorough guide to becoming “fit” for a survival scenario. I have heard Crossfit mentioned a few times on this web site and while I agree that Crossfit is a decent program to get someone “fit” it is not the end all solution to everyone’s needs. Crossfit is merely a re-hashing of things that have been around for a very, very long time but have been given a new face. We have all seen “fitness” fads come and go, from Richard Simmons to Jazzercise to P90X to the newest “Cave Man” Training, and yet we are still getting more obese and more out of shape as a nation year after year. The...

Water Supply Water is one of your most urgent needs in a survival situation. You can’t live long without it, especially in hot areas where you lose water rapidly through perspiration. Even in cold areas, you need a minimum of 2 liters of water each day to maintain efficiency. More than three-fourths of your body is composed of fluids. Your body loses fluid as a result of heat, cold, stress and exertion. To function effectively, you must replace the fluid your body loses. So, one of your first goals is to obtain an adequate supply of water. Securing a dependable supply of drinking water may be your greatest challenge. Indeed, the entire world seems to be entering a crisis mode — one-fifth of humanity has no access to safe drinking water and it’s only getting worse. For most everyone reading this, however, there’s still plenty of easily accessible water, but water main breaks, flooding and contamination may change things abruptly. In addition, more regions...

How to Survive in Your Vehicle when you are Stranded by Scott McGee Chances are you will never become stranded in your vehicle for an extended period of time. That doesn’t mean, however, that you shouldn’t be prepared in case this situation does actually occur. You should have several supplies readily available in your vehicle, and you should be aware of several precautions to take in case you do become stranded due to inclement weather or some other variable. There are several different items that you should always keep in your car in case of an emergency. These include the following: blankets, cell phone, jumper cables, shovel, cat litter or sand, road maps, ice scraper, high calorie canned food, dried food, can opener, bottled water, extra cups, compass, tools, flashlight, extra batteries, brightly colored cloth, extra clothing, matches, lighter, candles, coffee cans, toilet paper, and several bottles of rubbing alcohol. You can use the sand or cat litter to help your tires find traction if...

Walk! by Snolden @ SurvivalBlog.com If you value your existence and your life, then walk! Most people do not walk any further than a few hundred yards a day. A mile is a “long walk” for most folks. A good portion of the rest walk or run several miles as a work out, but that is with 6 ounce sneakers, shorts and an iPod as their only loadout. During a survival situation, you will be subjected to environmental conditions that your body cannot adapt to unless you have experienced it before. The environment that you find yourself in can affect your decision making. Cold, hot, humid or other; these conditions will prevent you from living. You may have to carry a lot of things a long way to make do. You must condition yourself to this level of exertion. So, go for a walk. Please use common sense and know your limitations. For those with physical limitations, you will have to toughen your mind...

SURVIVAL STRESSORS Any event can lead to stress. Often, stressful events occur simultaneously. These events are not stress, but they produce it and are called “stressors”. In response to a stressor, the body prepares to either “fight or flight”. Stressors add up. Anticipating stressors and developing strategies to cope with them are the two ingredients in the effective management of stress. It is essential that the survivor be aware of the types of stressors they will encounter. a. Injury, Illness, or Death. Injury, illness, and death are real possibilities a survivor may face. Perhaps nothing is more stressful than being alone in an unfamiliar environment where you could die from hostile action, an accident, or from eating something lethal. b. Uncertainty and Lack of Control. Some people have trouble operating in settings where everything is not clear-cut. This uncertainty and lack of control also add to the stress of being ill, injured or killed. c. Environment. A survivor will have to contend with the stressors...