Basic Survival Guide During Home Evacuations
There are many man-made and natural disasters that can lead to you having to evacuate your home. If this happens, you need to be prepared with an evacuation plan to ensure that your entire family is evacuated safely. It’s also wise to know basic survival measures to take to stay safe while you’re out of your home, especially if you have to remain outside. That’s why we’ve put together a basic survival guide to help you prepare for home evacuation emergencies.
5 Basic Evacuation Preparedness Tips
- Make any necessary provisions for your pets and animals to ensure their safety. You also want to make sure you have enough food and water for them during the emergency.
- Pack all of your necessities in an easily accessible place. Your packed bag should include enough food, water and necessities to last at least seven days.
- Prepare your home for an emergency by having a plan of action for shutting off utilities. If not, your home could become a victim of an electrical fire, gas leak or water flood.
- Pack all of your important documents in one place, with your other emergency supplies.
- Keep you vehicle gassed up and ready to go at all times.
Tips for Keeping Safe While Outside
If you have to evacuate your home during an emergency, there’s no guarantee you’ll find shelter immediately. Things around you will be very chaotic, causing many people to panic, especially during bad weather. You need to be prepared to survive the struggles of being outdoors until you can find shelter for you and your family. Here are three tips you can follow to help you with this. Add these to your survival guide evacuation plan:
Hypothermia
If you’re evacuated during a snow storm or other freezing weather conditions, hypothermia needs to be a major concern. The best way to avoid hypothermia is to exercise. Hypothermia causes your blood vessels to constrict. This reduces the amount of warm blood supplied to your skin, keeping your internal organs warm. So, no matter how tired you get, you need to keep moving to keep your blood flowing.
Lightning
During a massive storm, lightning can strike, causing another natural disaster to be weary of while outside. About 600 people get struck by lightning each year, killing about 60 annually. To stay safe, stay far away from tall objects that could fall on you. You also want to stay clear of metal objects that could harm you as well. If things get really scary, squat down with only the balls of your feet touching the ground. Keep your eyes and ears covered to minimize the frightening sounds and light.
Major Wounds
If you or someone in your family gets a major wound during the crisis, you can apply temporary treatment measures until help arrives. Simply apply direct pressure to the wound by holding your hand down on it. Elevate the injured area above the person’s heart in order to slow down the flow of blood. If the wound continues to bleed after 30 minutes, use clothing to wrap it in a pressure dressing. Don’t make the mistake of removing the dressing to inspect the wound. Just leave it there and wait for help.
Author Bio
This survival guide was written by Kiesha Joseph of The Daily Bread. Turn to a leader in emergency preparedness tools for supplies and food storage. Click here to order your emergency survival guide tools today.
A Note from Prepper Recon
Thanks so much to Matt and Kiesha over at Daily Bread Food Storage for today’s post. That was great advice and a great article!