Have a Survival Preparedness Kit
Have a Survival Preparedness Kit You may need to survive on your own after a disaster. This means having your own food, water, and other supplies in sufficient quantity to last for at least three days. Local officials and relief workers will be on the scene after a disaster, but they cannot reach everyone immediately. You could get help in hours, or it might take days. In addition, basic services such as electricity, gas, water, sewage treatment, and telephones may be cut off for days, or even a week or longer. Recommended Items to Include in a Basic Emergency Supply Kit:
Water, one gallon of water per person per day for at least three days, for drinking and sanitation Food, at least a three-day supply of non-perishable food Battery-powered or hand crank radio and a NOAA Weather Radio with tone alert and extra batteries for both Flashlight and extra batteries First aid kit Whistle to signal for help Dust mask, to help...
During a Flood
During a Flood If a flood is likely in your area, you should:
Listen to the radio or television for information. Be aware that flash flooding can occur. If there is any possibility of a flash flood, move immediately to higher ground. Do not wait for instructions to move. Be aware of streams, drainage channels, canyons, and other areas known to flood suddenly. Flash floods can occur in these areas with or without such typical warnings as rain clouds or heavy rain.
If you must prepare to evacuate, you should do the following:
Secure your home. If you have time, bring in outdoor furniture. Move essential items to an upper floor. Turn off utilities at the main switches or valves if instructed to do so. Disconnect electrical appliances. Do not touch electrical equipment if you are wet or standing in water.
If you have to leave your home, remember these evacuation tips:
Do not walk through moving water. Six inches of moving water can make you fall. If you have...
A Flood
A Flood Floods are one of the most common hazards in the United States. Flood effects can be local, impacting a neighborhood or community, or very large, affecting entire river basins and multiple states. However, all floods are not alike. Some floods develop slowly, sometimes over a period of days. But flash floods can develop quickly, sometimes in just a few minutes and without any visible signs of rain. Flash floods often have a dangerous wall of roaring water that carries rocks, mud, and other debris and can sweep away most things in its path. Overland flooding occurs outside a defined river or stream, such as when a levee is breached, but still can be destructive. Flooding can also occur when a dam breaks, producing effects similar to flash floods. Be aware of flood hazards no matter where you live, but especially if you live in a low-lying area, near water or downstream from a dam. Even very small streams, gullies, creeks, culverts, dry...
The Importance of Shelter
The Importance of Shelter
Shelter is necessary to give shade, to repel wind and rain and to keep in warmth. Sleep and adequate rest are essential and the time and effort you put into making your shelter comfortable will make them easier to get. If you are the victim of a plane crash or a vehicle breakdown, either may provide a shelter or materials from which one can be built – but if there is fire or the threat of the fuel tank exploding, wait until it has burned out before attempting salvage. If you are an unequipped victim of an accident, are trapped by unexpected fog or caught by nightfall in terrain where it is not safe to move around, or if exhaustion or injury prevents you from going further, you may have to make do with any natural shelter that you can find for the night, or until you can more fully assess the situation. In this case, virtually any protection...
Animal Products
Animal Products All animals provide skins. Their condition will depend on how carefully they were removed, the way the animal was killed (which may have damaged the skin), the age of the animal and time of year (Mating season, molt and change of season can affect the amount and color of fur in some species). Common defects are due to parasites, disease, malnutrition and scars from fight injuries. SKINS AND FURS Snakes, lizards, crocodiles and other reptiles all provide excellent skins. So do large birds such as ostriches. Some aquatic mammals, seals and their relations, are fur-bearing, like land mammals, and whales and dolphins have strong hides. Sharks also have a hide, instead of scales like most other fish. Birds can be skinned with the feathers attached and used to make warm clothing or bed covers. Skin is a source of food and in circumstances of acute shortage can be eaten, even after being preserved and used for clothing, but it is very...
Insects as Survival Food
Insects as Survival Food The best emergency survival foods are high in fats and protein, easily acquired and prepared for eating, widely available, and numerous throughout the area you are in. In all these categories, eating insects as survival fare has little completion. Gathering insects for survival food can give you the highest return in terms of energy expenditure versus energy gain. As you travel outdoors or lounge in camp, keep a container handy and collect insects as you find them. Over the course of a day you may be able to obtain quite a large number of them in this way with very little extra effort. Even during the winter months in cold climates a skilled survivor should be able to find edible insects if he knows where to look. Look under and within rotten wood, beneath rocks, and in sheltered spots where insects may have laid eggs or spun cocoons. Ants, termites, moths, grasshoppers, crickets, locusts, beetle larvae, caterpillars, spiders and many other...
What to do during a Fire
What to do During a Fire If your clothes catch on fire, you should:
Stop, drop, and roll – until the fire is extinguished. Running only makes the fire burn faster.
To escape a fire, you should:
Check closed doors for heat before you open them. If you are escaping through a closed door, use the back of your hand to feel the top of the door, the doorknob, and the crack between the door and door frame before you open it. Never use the palm of your hand or fingers to test for heat – burning those areas could impair your ability to escape a fire (i.e., ladders and crawling).
Test the door before entering a room! Hot Door Do not open. Escape through a window. If you cannot escape, hang a white or light-colored sheet outside the window, alerting fire fighters to your presence. Cold Door Open slowly and ensure fire and/or smoke is not blocking your escape route. If your escape route is blocked, shut the door...
Brake Failure
Brake Failure If brakes fail while driving, change gear and apply the handbrake. You must do several things at once: take your foot off the accelerator, flick the switch of your warning lights, pump the foot-brake rapidly (it may still connect), change down through the gears and apply handbrake pressure. Don’t slam the brake on, begin with gentle bursts, gradually braking harder until you stop. If there is no time for all this, take your foot off the accelerator and change down through the gears – and grab the handbrake – but DON’T apply maximum pressure until you are sure that you won’t skid. Look out for escape lanes and places where you can leave the road, preferably a soft bank or a turn-in that has an uphill slope. If speed remains unchecked, on a steep hill for example, brush the car along guard-rails or wall to reduce speed. Take advantage of a vehicle in front and use it to stop you – run into it as...
Food Stores
Storing Food Storing food is a good habit to get into, especially if you live in an isolated place, which can become completely cut-off. If you have a year’s food supply in store, and add to it as you use it, you will not only be able to survive the worst but will be able to live at last year’s prices. The stock does not have to be established in one go. Build it up gradually, taking advantage of special offers in supermarkets. Buy an extra tin or packet and put it by. Store your foods in a cool, dry, dark place and off the ground – moisture and heat cause bacteria and molds. If stores are left on the floor insects and rodents will help themselves. Make sure that all containers are insect- and rodent-proof. REMEMBER: Rotate cans, so that the contents do not settle, and separate. Label each can or packet with a color-fast waterproof pen, noting contents and date of storage....
Car Sinking Under Water
CAR SINKING UNDER WATER You don’t have to drive off a bridge to experience the terror of sinking underwater in a car. Flash floods can be just as deadly — a car could start floating away in only 2 feet of water. Either way, once the water starts pouring into your vehicle, you need to keep your cool while acting quickly. First, unfasten your seat belt. That may seem obvious, but you’d be surprised at the number of drowning victims who never unbuckled themselves. Then, before the electricity shorts out, roll down the windows. THAT’S RIGHT, ROLL DOWN THE WINDOWS This may seem a suicidal act as you sit in a sinking car. But the point is to equalize the water pressure inside and outside the vehicle. If your sinking car stays full of air, there’s no way you’ll be able to open the door. If you still can’t get the door open and windows won’t roll down, find a heavy object, a flashlight or the headrest...