Do You Know These Survival Strategies for Disasters

If you want to survive a natural disaster, you’ll need to beat the odds that offers at least a 50/50 chance to live. Sometimes you are just at the wrong place at the wrong time when an emergency is encountered. It might be an earthquake, flood, winter storm, typhoon, and such.

In recent times we’ve seen floods in Colorado, wildfires in California, tornadoes in Oklahoma, hurricanes in Puerto Rico and Florida, and snowstorms in various parts of the country. There really is no way to prevent a natural disaster from occurring, but that doesn’t mean you have to be left helpless. The number of people who are unprepared and unaware of what to do during these disasters is alarmingly high.

Here are some tips and survival strategies to help you be more prepared for the next disaster:

1. Stay calm
Natural disasters can happen anytime and anywhere and this can commonly result to panic particularly during a very stressful situation. Staying calm and thinking of a better plan is perhaps one of the most important survival strategies. Unpreparedness is the number one reason why most people become tense and panicky, but this can only end badly, resulting in serious injuries or even getting killed. Think calmly while applying each and every basic survival strategy learned in the past to be able to survive.

2. Protect yourself at all times
Natural disasters are not the only enemy during emergencies. Opportunistic individuals are also considered as a threat because they take advantage of the disaster. These people may steal your valuables or even do things that can harm your life. It is important to be prepared at all times by protecting yourself from all the factors that can cause danger during disasters.

Seek higher or safer grounds
Sometimes a natural disaster calls for you to look for a safe and secure area to hide or stay until rescue arrives. For example, when dealing with an earthquake, it is important to consider staying under a solid and stable table or object that can protect you from falling debris. For floods on the other hand, try to stay on high grounds whether it is on the second floor or roof top and wait to be rescued. Aside from a safe location, other measures must also be prepared including preparing necessities such as food, water and first aid materials.

Find a Way to Signal Rescue
Communication is very important especially during a natural disaster. However, there is usually increased difficulty of communication during this time which might take weeks or longer if communication lines are down. Thus, how can you signal for help? If you are trapped in a building because of an earthquake, try to make a noise by hitting a metallic object to signal for help. The vibration of the sound may reach the top surface and be heard by the rescuer. These rescuers are always alert when it comes to sounds as they use this method to find any victims of the disaster. If you are surrounded by flood and are on the rooftop, try to wave your arms at any flying aircraft for help.

Natural disasters can cause the death to thousands of people, so you’ll want to increase your odds of survival with as many survival strategies as you can muster. If you live in an area prone to natural disaster, you should learn some simple strategies for dealing with the kind of disaster most likely to occur in that area.