The Disaster Survival Guide

Jones Marie D.

Description

& bull; Understanding, preparing, and responding to potential disasters, both big and small, is made easier with this convenient and useful guide
& bull; From established author and expert on disaster preparedness
& bull; Incredibly thorough accounting of past disasters, what we can learn from them, and the potential pitfalls after they occur
& bull; Features a guideline for creating a Personal Emergency Action Plan
& bull; Provides resources and list of whom to contact for information before, during, and after an emergency
& bull; Logical organization makes finding information quick and easy
& bull; Numerous black-and-white photographs
& bull; Thoroughly indexed
& bull; Authoritative resource
& bull; Written to appeal to anyone interested in preparing for an emergency
& bull; Publicity and promotion aimed at the wide array of websites focused on preppers and survivalists
& bull; Promotion targeting more mainstream media and websites with a popular topic
& bull; Promotion targeting national radio, including Coast to Coast and numerous other late-night radio syndicates looking for knowledgeable guests
& bull; Promotion to local radio
OUT IN THE STORM

If you are out in the middle of the woods, or hiking up a mountain top, and a storm approaches, obviously the ideal situation would be to get back to camp. Even if you are on a lake fishing, boating, or out playing golf on a Sunday afternoon, a storm can mean flash flooding and lightning.

While you want to avoid being near waterways or areas where flash flooding can send water downhill towards you, you also want to descend from exposed, high places to avoid getting struck by lightning. This applies to locating your camp, too. Don’t pitch tents right next to the tallest trees around, or isolated trees in a clearing. They act as lightning rods!

If you are on a mountain bike, horse or in a golf cart, get off immediately and drop anything metal you may be carrying such as an umbrella, ski pole or golf club. If you are out in the open, find a low spot and crouch with your head low or covered. Don’t sit or lay down because the more of your body that is in contact with the ground, the more chance you have of being injured if a lightning bolt hits nearby. If you are with a group of people, spread out 15 feet apart to avoid all of you getting struck. If you are in the woods, stay put until the storm is over.

If someone is hit by lightning, tend to them immediately for ABCs. Unlike in the movies, a person hit by lightning will not carry and transfer a charge to you. Help them!

Once the storm appears to have passed, wait a bit before going out into any clearings to avoid lightning that may still be lingering. Watch that the area you are in is not in the path of a potential flash flood!

ANIMAL AND PLANT HAZARDS

A walk in nature can turn into a nightmare if you are not prepared for a potential problem. Let’s start with bears. Do you know what to do if you encounter a bear, or even a mountain lion or other large predatory animal, out in the wild? Many national parks and camping areas do not allow you to carry bear spray, which is a type of pepper spray. You have to remember that when you enter the woods and mountains, you are on their territory and need to act with respect.

If you spot a bear or other large animal at a distance, avoid it. The same applies for if you come upon babies or cubs. Stay away. The parent animals can be nearby and look at human interaction with their babies as an act of aggression. Leave the area and try to report the location to the Park Ranger. The closer you get, the more you are actually allowing bears and wild animals to get less fearful of people. In designated sites, park rangers will be on the lookout and have their own methods for dealing with animal intruders.

At a campsite or on the hiking trail, the key is to present yourself as being “big” and making a lot of noise. If a bear is nearby or coming toward you, do not run from it. Stand tall, arms linked with others, and scream, yell, bang on things. Never surround the bear, as this will make it feel threatened and launch an attack. Scare it away. Clap, stomp, wave your arms high to intimidate the bear with your size, and make all the ruckus you can until the bear backs off. If any of you are holding food, drop it or toss it out of the way of the campsite. Do not stop to take cell phone pictures, because the bear may change its mind and attack.

Beware of areas where there are a lot of dead animal and bird carcasses around, as you may be entering a bear or wild animal feeding ground and will be seen as a competing predator. Also, look for aggressive behavior from the start. Bears will snort, paw the ground and pop their jaws as signs they feel threatened or ready to lunge at you. These behaviors may be to get you to back off and leave the area. Do not turn your back and run screaming. Just quietly back up and away until you feel you are at a safe distance.

However, if you do get attacked, the best thing you can do is fight with all your might, protecting your face and neck. Punch, kick, slam your hands into the bears ears, jab at eyes. Do whatever you can to break the bear’s hold on you. If there are several bears, try to climb a tree, use legal bear spray if you have it, pointing the nozzle just above the bear’s head level so that the spray actually falls in its face, which will sting the eyes, nose and ears and send the bear off in the opposite direction. If not, do your best to fight them off while screaming for help.

Bears attack for two reasons: defensively, to protect themselves and their cubs; and offensively, to get your food or to get you as food. Black bears tend to be more predatory and will attack humans moreso than brown bears. Grizzlies are more predatory than black bears. Female bears will be more concerned with protecting their cubs. Know what kinds of animals are common in the area you are hiking or camping. Both black bears and grizzlies will outrun a human, so don’t run away. Often bears do what is called “bluff charging,” which is to charge without actual contact to allow the enemy a chance to back down and leave. Slowly back away if a bear bluff charges you.
Introduction

Part One: The Threats: Natural Disasters

1. The Worst Natural Disasters We’ve Faced

2. Avalanches to Wildfires: The Darker Side of Nature

3. Man-made Disasters

Part Two: Readiness

4. What to Do before It Happens

5. Making a Plan

6. Getting Ready

7. Learning from Preppers and Survivalists

Part Three: Response

8. Should I Stay or Should I Go?

9. First Aid, Triage, and Trauma

10. Travel Safety

11. Personal Safety

12. Wilderness Survival

Part Four: Before, During and After: A to Z

13. Before, During and After It Happens

14. Large-Scale Disasters

15. Dangers in the Home: Domestic and Child Violence, Drug Overdose, and Suicide

16. Lessons from Past Disasters: Harvey, Irma, and the Vegas Massacre

Resources

Appendix: Personal Emergency Action Plan

Further Reading

Index

Sujets

• Natural Disasters
• Emergency Medical Services
• Allied Health Services
• Earthquakes
• Medical
• Médecine
• Hurricanes
• CERT
• Red Cross
• Floods
• Agencia Federal para el Manejo de Emergencias
• Prepper
• List of terrorist incidents
• Tropical cyclone
• PEAP
• Federal Emergency Management Agency
• Cardiopulmonary resuscitation
• Natural disaster
• United States Department of Homeland Security
• International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement
• Earthquake
• Epidemic
• Fire
• Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse
• Parasite (Halo)
• Protected Extensible Authentication Protocol
• Département de la Sécurité intérieure des États-Unis
• FEMA
• Agence fédérale des situations d'urgence
• Hurricanes (rugby)
• Computer Emergency Response Team
• CPR
• 911

Informations

• Publié par: Visible Ink Press
• Date de parution: 01 août 2018
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781578596850
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 18 Mo

Extrait

D ISCLAIMER
S ome of the information in this book includes advice relating to medical procedures such as what to do when choking or how to deal with accidental poisoning, among other issues. However, this is not meant as a substitute for medical advice from a qualified physician. It is meant for educational and informational purposes only. If you have any questions about a medical problem, please seek help from a healthcare professional.
A CKNOWLEDGMENTS
I would like to thank my superwoman agent and dear, dear friend, Lisa Hagan, for making this happen and for always believing in me as a person and a writer. I would also like to thank the amazing staff at Visible Ink Press, starting, of course, with publisher Roger J necke first and foremost. Thank you for allowing me to write this very important and much-needed book and for making it look fantastic long after I turned the manuscript in! Your staff is wonderful to work with, and I am so proud to have my name on your books. Kevin Hile, thank you for being an awesome editor to work with!
Thank you to my mom, Milly, my dad, John, who is watching from the heavens, and my sister, Angella, and brother, John, for being my amazing and supportive family. And thank you to my good friends, my extended kin, and to everyone who has ever purchased one of my books, listened to me on the radio, or watched me on TV and engaged with me to tell me that you enjoy what I do and learn from it. Without you, I am just a writer with no voice.
Thank you to San Marcos CERT, the San Marcos Fire Department, the San Marcos Amateur Radio Club, the Red Cross, Burbank Police and Fire Departments, and everyone who helped train me in disaster preparedness and response over the years.
Most of all, thank you to my sun and moon and stars, my son, Max, who makes all the hard, hard work worthwhile every time he calls me Mom.
C ONTENTS
Acknowledgments
Photo Sources
Introduction
P ART 1: T HE T HREATS: N ATURAL AND M AN-MADE D ISASTERS
The Worst Natural Disasters We ve Faced
Avalanches to Wildfires: The Darker Side of Nature
Man-made Disasters
P ART 2: R EADINESS
What to Do Before It Happens
Making a Plan
Getting Ready
Learning from Preppers and Survivalists
P ART 3: R ESPONSE
Should I Stay or Should I Go?
First Aid, Triage, and Trauma
Travel Safety
Personal Safety
Wilderness Survival
P ART 4: B EFORE , D URING , AND A FTER FROM A TO Z
Preparing for and Surviving Emergencies and Disasters
Large-Scale Disasters
Dangers in the Home
Harvey, Irma, and The Vegas Massacre
Resources
FEMA/Emergency Management Agencies by State
P.E.A.P.: Personal Emergency Action Plan
Index
P HOTO S OURCES
Abasaa (Wikicommons): p. 73 .
Air Accident Investigation Branch, United Kingdom: p. 66 .
Alex Alishevskikh: p. 38 .
Max Andrews: p. 191 .
Boston Post : p. 68 .
Celestis (Wikicommons): p. 92 .
Dan Craggs: p. 88 .
Federal Communication Commission: p. 91 .
Flydime (Wikicommons): p. 52 .
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, NASA: p. 321 .
Mliu92 (Wikicommons): p. 77 .
NASA: p. 41 .
Oxfam East Africa: p. 19 .
Polytechnic University of Milan: p. 49 .
David Rydevik: p. 31 .
Shutterstock: pp. 5 , 7 , 14 , 17 , 27 , 30 , 44 , 47 , 55 , 58 , 63 , 71 , 79 , 81 , 83 , 96 , 100 , 105 , 107 , 110 , 113 , 116 , 118 , 124 , 125 , 128 , 131 , 134 , 137 , 140 , 142 , 146 , 153 , 157 , 158 , 161 , 168 , 170 , 172 , 174 , 175 , 178 , 181 , 183 , 186 , 194 , 196 , 199 , 201 , 203 , 206 , 210 , 213 , 216 , 219 , 220 , 223 , 225 , 231 , 233 , 239 , 240 , 243 , 245 , 249 , 252 , 254 , 256 , 259 , 262 , 263 , 266 , 275 , 278 , 280 , 283 , 284 , 288 , 290 , 293 , 295 , 298 , 301 , 305 , 307 , 310 , 314 , 316 , 325 , 326 , 332 , 334 , 339 , 340 , 345 , 349 , 357 , 359 , 362 , 364 , 369 , 373 , 375 .
Rick Singh: p. 273 .
U.S. Air Force: p. 329 .
U.S. Army: p. 34 .
U.S. Geological Survey: p. 23 .
U.S. National Park Service: p. 343 .
U.S. Navy: p. 10 .
Public domain: p. 121 .
I NTRODUCTION
E very year, disaster strikes. Somewhere in the world, people struggle to survive earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, superstorms, blizzards, and flooding, as well as man-made disasters such as terrorist bombings, nuclear plant meltdowns, and plane crashes. For those of us lucky enough to never have dealt with a major disaster, we still deal with the threat of smaller disasters lurking all around us. From active shooter situations to camping emergencies to bridge collapses, disasters are all around us.
There is an old adage that says, It pays to be prepared. When catastrophe strikes, no matter how big or small, being ready and knowing how to respond can be the difference between the loss of life and survival. Even if our lives aren t threatened, our property may be, and there are many ways to be prepared for protecting what we have worked hard to obtain.
It s only human to not want to think about disasters, catastrophes, and major emergencies, but they do happen. Chances are high we will all be affected at least once in our lifetimes-if not by a nearby volcano bursting a pyroclastic flow or a tsunami hitting our beach community, then at least by other forces of Mother Nature. Such forces, because of climate change, are becoming harder and harder to predict or pin down.
Just as important as learning how to survive the worst is learning how to survive everyday emergencies such as bee stings, snakebites, house fires, gas explosions, poisons and toxins, and perhaps even the errant bear confrontation while camping in the woods. It s all important, and it s all in this comprehensive guide.
Surviving an emergency involves three parts. First, it helps to understand what potential emergency situations we might be exposed to based upon where we live and work and what the past has to teach us about natural and manmade disasters.
Second, we need to be ready, to be prepared, and with so many products and tips and tools at our fingertips, thanks to the Internet and prepper shows on television, we have no excuse for being caught unawares.
Finally, we need to learn how to react and respond when disaster does strike because knowledge is power. We might still panic, but once we catch our breath, the information we ve absorbed about what to do first, where to go, how to get the proper news about evacuations and shelters, and what we need to bring with us should we leave the comfort and safety of our homes and offices could keep ourselves and our loved ones alive. Disaster preparedness is critical, but perhaps even more so is how we respond when it happens and how we plan to stay alive and thriving in the days, weeks, and months to come.
As a trained CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) member, I have the benefit of years of training through the Department of Homeland Security and FEMA (the Federal Emergency Management Agency). I am trained in all areas of preparedness and response and how to work in my home, neighborhood, and community to assist first responders in a disaster. More importantly, if no first responders are available, I know what to do to help my family, my neighbors, and myself. We were once told to have only seventy-two hours worth of food and water stored for an emergency. Remember those days? Now we are told to have a minimum of two weeks worth of food, water, and medications because our infrastructure in a major disaster might be crippled enough that goods cannot get to our ports, across our highways, and into our stores for weeks.
I learned these things via CERT and also Red Cross training, but not everyone has that luxury, although I highly recommend getting this free training if it s offered in your community. That is why a book like this can be a huge help in giving the reader plenty of solid information to put to use if and when it s needed.
If writing this book can help just one person survive a disaster, I as an author and CERT member will be thrilled. My hope is that it helps a lot of people think hard about getting over those Oh, I ll do it next week excuses and preparing NOW for what might be right around the corner. The last thing we want to do is be caught off guard, having promised ourselves and our families we would come up with an emergency plan when we had time.
The time is now.
This book is divided into four sections that cover past disasters and what we learned from them, as well as current threats we face, preparing for any disaster, responding when it happens, and valuable resources to get prepped and ready. Don t have a bug-out bag or emergency kit? Check! Not sure how to get news during a major disaster? Check! Wondering what to do if you re on the road when something happens? Check! From tick bites to nuclear fallout, tornado outbreaks to terrorist bombings, chemical spills to flash floods, and everything in between, this book will give readers plenty of tools to increase your odds of staying safe. Whether you travel or camp or hike or stay home, there is ample information on how to take care of yourself and your loved ones if anything out of the ordinary should happen. Because if watching the news or going on social networking for an hour has proven anything, it is that something will happen.
There are a lot of lists in this book. Lists upon lists. Lists are a wonderful way to convey information in a structured manner for the brain to absorb. Lists are repetitive, and repetition is the mother of, well, of something. So be ready for lists, including some very helpful lists in the appendix section you can fill in yourself.
There is also a lot of sheer common sense in these pages. You may read it and say, Did I really need to buy a book to hear this? But apparently many people still do not use common sense when it comes to the potential for an emergency that could disrupt their normal, day-to-day routines. They want and need to be told exactly what to do over and over again until it sinks in and becomes a habit. The subconscious needs to be programmed before