Survival Basics Part 1: By Sgt. D

There is a lot of information in this topic. So I decided to break it up into a more easily handled size. Here is part 1.

When I worked in law enforcement I tried to anticipate the things I would need to consider when I responded to an incident. The important thing is to have a plan ahead of time. This plan for natural disasters can be used for large groups of people or just for yourself. From my experience this is a good order in which to consider the different issues. (I am sure others will disagree with me about what should be considered first).

Evacuations:

-Uninjured People
Get those people, including yourself, who are not injured to safe locations to prevent them from getting injured. Uninjured people are much more mobile and easy to deal with than injured people. They require less assistance.
-Injured people
Can they be moved without aggravating their injuries?
How much risk do they face in their current location?

Once you have taken measures to deal with the at the moment life threatening problems, you now need to consider some of the long term survival basics.

Water:


The truth is that you cannot live long without fresh water. The hotter your climate, and the more work that you are doing, will increase your need for water.

In terms of water consider:
How much fresh water do you have access to right now?
Don't forget what is stored in toilet tanks, hot water heaters, and the pipe system of a house or building.
Can you easily access more fresh water?
How long will it be before fresh water supplies will be restored?
What do you have to store water in?
What do you have to make bad water into good water?

This is by no means a complete list, but it will start you thinking about the issues involved with water.

Shelter/Protection:

Do you have buildings, houses, or other places to get out of the elements and to provide a safe place to rest? Finding shelter will help keep people from getting sick or sustaining heat or cold injuries.

This also involves clothing as well. The ability to retain body heat can be a life saver.

These are three very important topics to consider in the first few moments of a survival situation.

We will consider more tomorrow.

There are some great books out there about survival. Once you get motivated about how important this topic is, these books can provide a lot of help in getting ready, and can be a great resource once the situation occurs. Think about having several around.

Plan for survival from all of us at "If It Hit The Fan".