110 deaths, list of victims who died in hurricane Sandy in 2012
On the night of October 29, 2012, America’s most populous metropolitan area was struck by the most devastating natural disaster in its history, causing 110 citizens …
About the author
Since graduating from the Cornell School of Architecture in 1964, Robert Brown Butler has been involved in every aspect of architecture for nearly fifty years. From 1967 to …
Acknowledgements
This book was largely inspired by my experiences in two disasters, Snowstorm Alfred in late October 2011 and Hurricane Sandy in late October 2012, which gave me …
Advisories, see weather advisories
Air, breathability
What would you do if you suddenly found yourself choking on the air you breathe? Where would you go? What would you reach for? Where could you find or buy what …
Air conditioning, in heat waves
Before warm or dry weather begins, make sure any window-mounted air conditioners fit snugly and operate efficiently. Close any floor heat registers close by. If your air …
Alcohol, isopropyl
Having a well-stocked first-aid kit and plenty of isopropyl alcohol on hand and knowing how to use them can be a lifesaver …
Alfred, NY snowstorm in 2011
The night of October 29, 2011, when Alfred unloaded 11 inches of wet snow on the deciduous trees still laden with autumn foliage around my house. More than twenty …
Alpha ray, nuclear fallout
Alpha rays are the weakest. Most cannot penetrate human skin, but are hazardous if they enter your body though your mouth or lungs …
Aluminum foil, also tin foil, uses
This versatile material has many uses: bottle stoppers, candle reflectors, drinking cups, food wrappers, curtains, shingles, even nuclear fallout protectors, as you can see on …
American flag upside-down, distress signal
U.S. Code of Laws §106 says: The flag should never be displayed with the union down, except as a signal of dire distress in instances of extreme danger to life or property …
Ammonia, cleaner
Never mix ammonia with chlorinated bleach. This produces chloramine, which if inhaled can kill you …
Animals
In disasters pets can be an asset. Dogs can keep prowlers away, cats can keep rats at bay, and both can be a soothing presence if you may be wrought with anxiety. For …
Anthrax, biological agent
Many agents break down quickly when exposed to sunlight and other environmental factors, while others such as anthrax spores are long-lived. To prepare for such rare …
Architecture, construction for disasters
The many different disasters that may afflict you have another element in common: coping with them is largely an architectural matter. For what good is it to have …
Ash, volcanic
The ash alone can damage lungs, clog vehicular carburetors and radiators, ruin electronic equipment, and collapse roofs. If the volcano’s cone is clad in snow or …
Ashes, from a fireplace
If you remove ashes from the fireplace, shovel them into a small garbage can or metal container with a tightly fitting lid. . Never use plastic or cardboard because the coals …
Asteroid, stellar object
An asteroid is a chunk of rock or metal that orbits the sun, usually between Mars and Jupiter. If one enters the earth’s atmosphere, it becomes a …
Atlanta, GA, site of massive traffic jam in 2014
In late January 2014 icy weather in Atlanta, Georgia, so paralyzed traffic that some drivers were trapped in their traffic lanes like prisoners in cells for 22 hours …
Atom bomb, nuclear device
The worst explosion of all is a nuclear blast. This creates a huge fireball so intensely bright it can blind you for life if you look at it. The blast also emits clouds of …
Auger anchor, holder of small buildings to ground
A few auger anchors with cable tie-downs as sketched on the right can help in a stiff breeze; but if the part of the home that holds the bolt that holds the cable that holds …
Avalanche
Once it starts sliding its tons of snow, ice, rock, trees, and other debris can dislodge further areas below and pulverize everything in its path …
Avalanche transceiver
This device emits a beacon that if you are buried signals your location to rescuers. Some allow you to send and receive messages. When outdoors in avalanche country, wear …
Barricading, to keep shooters from reaching you
Barricade the entry by pushing heavy furniture —desks, tables, file cabinets, photocopiers— hard against the door. Even if the killer can bust his way through …
Barter
If a disaster precipitates a monetary crisis, the value of a dollar may plunge. Then you may need to barter to obtain what you need until things return to normal. Tradeable …
Bathing in a disaster
Better is to sit in the bathtub and have close by a small pot and two buckets of very warm water. With the pot scoop some water from a bucket onto your head and work …
Bathroom
If you want to use an existing toilet, select one for communal use. While its tank is full, reach under it and turn off the water supply valve (it’s an oval handle on a thin …
Bathtub
Close each bathtub drain and seal it with duct tape (or it may slowly leak) as appears at right, and fill the tub with water. You can drink this water the first day and afterward …
Battery
Rechargeable batteries cost more, but they pay you back over the long haul. Any battery loses its charge faster when old and cold. You can re-energize a rechargeable battery …
Bedding, also sleepwear
In a disaster a clean, dry, warm, soft berth is one of the quickest cures for bewildered brains, lost composure, frayed nerves, and exhausted muscles. Plan on three blankets …
Beekeeper suit
This full-length suit of white fabric can protect you not only from stinging insects but dust, toxic chemicals, nuclear fallout, volcanic ash, and germs from dead bodies …
Being careful in a disaster
The consequences of mistakes so innocuous in normal times —water dripped on the floor, a broken glass, a blister, hair singed by a candle— can be frighteningly …
Beta ray, nuclear fallout
Beta rays are a hundred times stronger. They can burn your skin and penetrate 1/8 inch into your flesh, and if you breathe them or eat food exposed to them they will …
Bhopal, gas disaster
Witness the Bhopal gas tragedy of December 1984, when 16 tons of a poisonous gas escaped from a Union Carbide pesticide factory and spread over an area exceeding …
Bicycle, or bike, use in disasters
If you don’t have a car, consider a bike. Carry a waterproof knapsack on your back, saddlebags over the rear wheel, and a trailer behind, like the one below. If you flee …
Big Sur, CA, site of wildfires
When a wildfire torched 60,000 acres (that’s 940 square miles) in Big Sur when I lived there in 1970, I saved a house by starting a backfire on the house’s lawn and …
Biological agent
These disasters can cover large areas and are often bewildering because it takes time for authorities to determine what happened —which may not occur until they detect a …
Blackout, also power failure
If you regularly use the garage to enter your house, carry a key with you or hide one just outside (but not in an area that could be flooded) in case the garage door won’t open …
Black water, an impure water
Black water contains toxins. This includes all floodwater which is usually a stew of greases from streets, feces from farmlands, runoff from fertilized crops, chemicals …
Blizzard busters, snow removers
I have scraped more than 1,500 inches of snow from my driveway and I have never used a snow blower. I’ve managed well with the blizzard busters that appear in figure 111 …
Block-and-tackle, pulling device
This brute puller helps you move heavy items laterally or away from the direction you pull, as appears on the right. Add a Add a come-along above, a trailer hitch, and …
Bowline, useful knot
Tie the bowline to make a loop that won’t slip. In the dining fly on the previous page, bowlines were used to tie the upper ends of the four ropes to the four corners of …
Breadcrumb trail
So you can find your way back to your car if necessary and others can find you, leave a breadcrumb trail. If trees are around, every fifty yards or so break a branch on a bush …
Breezy Point, fire during Hurricane Sandy in 2012
During hurricane Sandy a surge on Breezy Point flooded a utility transformer, causing it to explode, which started a fire that burned 126 homes to their soggy foundations …
Brown water, an impure water
Brown water is toilet waste. Also known as effluent or sewage, it contains urine, fecal bacteria and other disease microbes. Its smell will warn you away from it …
Bug-out bag, see personal relief kit
Buildings, repairing after disasters
If your home or workplace is so damaged that it is uninhabitable, you must first decide whether the whole building should be demolished, or whether parts or all of it are …
Burying the dead
In a major disaster in which many people die, emergency services may be so overwhelmed that they cannot speedily dispose of dead bodies. Then they may create …
Camouflage, of belongings from outsiders
Camouflage involves making your encampment look shabby or blend into everything around it, at least from where prowlers may approach, and otherwise keeping …
Campfire, making and use
If you’re roughing it in the rubble, you will likely need a campfire to cook food, purify water, keep warm, and make life bright at night. Here is a recipe for making one …
Camping in disasters
Whatever materials you will build with, begin working well before sunset. Water nearby is the prime essential. Close to this find an open area that is nearly but not perfectly …
Candle, disaster light source
You could mount a tin foil reflector on one side of a candle as appears in figure 52 on the previous page. As the candle burns down you slide the reflector down. If you’re …
Car kit, also roadside emergency kit
This is a small trunk (perhaps 14 inches high, 18 inches wide, and 30 inches long) in which you keep fairly large items for your car or truck. The best are made of …
Car pack, portable carry-all
This is a small knapsack that holds a number of items you may need outside the car if you work nearby or leave to seek help. This container should ride on your back so …
Carbon monoxide, deadly gas
For every one who dies, possibly hundreds more are sickened with headaches, speech disabilities, blindness, seizures, fibrillation, memory loss, and neurological damage …
Carbon monoxide alarm or detector
A carbon monoxide alarm detects carbon monoxide (CO), a colorless, odorless, deadly gas (i.e. from leaky furnaces and gas stoves) …
Ceiling, cleaning after disaster
for large areas you’ll need scaffolding that will bring your eyes inches from the ceiling so you can see what you’re doing and your arms won’t tire so fast. Going back to my …
Cellphone
These allow wireless communication almost anywhere, but their coverage patterns may be spotty in rugged terrain and rural areas, and during a power failure they won’t …
Chainsaw
This tool can cut a leg as well as a branch. First study the operating manual, or you could earn the red badge of carelessness, or even suffer the fate of one victim in our grim …
Chamber pot, use in disasters
Vintage models have a wide round rim that’s comfortable to sit on, a bowl deep enough to contain urine without splashing, a secure lid that stifles the smell, handles that …
Cheesecloth, versatile gauze
You can use this gauzy fabric to make teabags, fish and mosquito nets, face masks you can breathe through, curtains that will allow air to enter but which passing strangers …
Chemicals, toxic or hazardous
Usually the first sign of danger is that you feel strangely sick, dizzy, nauseous, feverish, or faint and others nearby are similarly overcome. The room may look a little hazy, a …
Chemical cartridge respirator
This fits around your nose and mouth and has one or two cartridges in front that filter a number of chemicals, gases, and vapors from the air you breathe. Some hardware …
Chernobyl, Russia, nuclear meltdown in 1986
In April 1986 at the nuclear reactor at Chernobyl, Russia, an unexpected power surge led to a reactor vessel rupture and a series of steam explosions which caused the reactor …
Chicago fire
The fire's spread was aided by the use of wood as the predominant building material, a prior drought, and strong southwest winds that carried flying embers toward the …
Children, care of
In a disaster, children require extra attention because the experience can leave them frightened, confused, and insecure. Grownups can help them by being alert, well …
Chimney, also flue
It is also a myth that you should clean a chimney once a year. This varies depending on how often you use it, how green is the wood you burn (green wood creates more …
Chlorinated bleach, also bleach, cleaner
The best germ killer is chlorinated bleach. This kills 99.9 percent of bacteria, viruses, and mildew. A table on page 167 lists the effective bleach-to-water ratios for purifying …
City, difficulties in disasters
The biggest challenge in an urban disaster is that due to a large population living in a small area, more people may vie for a smaller supply of life-sustaining goods and …
Civilian Marksmanship Program, weaponry use course
If you have a firearm, know how to carry, shoot and store it. This involves studying books, taking courses (the Civilian Marksmanship Program can help here), and …
Cleaning after disasters, see repairing
Clothes, proper wear
In a disaster this is your first shelter. In cold weather this includes a scarf, parka, gloves, socks, boots, maybe thermal underwear. In warm weather count on short, tee shirts, …
Clothes washer and dryer
If seriously damaged by impact, fire, or smoke, replace them. If flooded, sanitize them as follows: 1. Clean the outsides of each, then lay it on its side and look underneath to …
Clove hitch, useful knot
Tie the clove hitch to secure a rope to a post or spar. You can quickly make the holding end longer or shorter by loosening the knot slightly and feeding the rope in from one …
Come-along, hand-operated winch
To operate this hand winch, hook one end to something immovable and the other end to what you want to move, then pump the handle up and down …
Comet, stellar object
A comet is a mass of rock, ice, and frozen gases that usually orbits elliptically around the Sun. A comet is usually bigger than an asteroid and typically has a luminous …
Communication devices
When a disaster drives you deep into your safe room or similar sanctuary, you’ll need to listen to the latest news broadcasts, updates, advisories, and weather forecasts as well …
Community Emergency Response Team (CERT), rescue training program
A comprehensive way to prepare for disasters is to enroll in a local CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) training program. Its logo at the top of the page has …
Condy’s crystals, see potassium permanganate
Cookware, use in disasters
If you have the items appearing in figure 38 on the next page you can serve breakfasts, lunches, and dinners whose delectability will be limited not by the severity of a …
Corners, important structure in safe rooms
If two rebar ends must meet at a corner, reinforce them with L-bars: L-shaped rebars with 16-inch legs that tie to the rebar ends on each side, as sketched in figure 30 …
Cot, lightweight canvas bed
In many a disaster the king of beds is the cot. Each is portable (15 to 20 pounds), it makes a sociable sofa between sleeps, you can store plenty of gear underneath …
Counteractant, smoke cleaner
You can also buy products known as counteractants that are formulated to eliminate smoke odors from carpets, tapestries, curtains, drapes, furniture, and even …
Creosote, buildup in chimney flues
It is a crumbly substance resembling black popcorn that clings to the walls of fireplaces and flues. Shine a light into these areas. If you see this, scrape it off as best you can …
Crosscut saw
Though not everyone would need this tool, it was worth its weight in gold after the night of October 29, 2011, when winter storm Alfred unloaded 11 inches of wet snow on …
Dead or deceased, dealing with
They may create offensive odors, be visually revulsive, obstruct normal activities of the living, and attract carrion feeders. Outdoors their decomposition can pollute surface …
Dike, also sandbag dike, how to build
If you need to protect a building from flooding with a sandbag dike, build one as follows: 1. Locate the dike on solid terrain, fit it into natural contours, shape it short …
Dining fly, campsite shelter
This is a large (say 12 x 15 feet) tarpaulin whose highest corner overhangs the firepit so it will keep rain off the fire while allowing its smoke to rise to the highest corner and …
Disabled, care of
With such people a tiny favor can go a mighty long way. Below is a list of such tiny favors you can do for others who are less fortunate than you …
Disaster amulet
A picture of this appears on page 10…
Disaster assistance, public ~ for victims
To apply for disaster assistance, a victim typically visits a disaster application center, often known as a DAC, that has been established in your area by FEMA in …
Disaster equipment closet
Though the safe room is your sanctuary in a disaster, it is not where you should keep many of the tools you may need afterward. Better is a sizable closet near the garage …
Disaster equipment tool kit
Many tools that you would keep in the disaster equipment closet are small enough to fit into a toolbox, as listed below. Then you can carry them all to where you would use a …
Disaster preparation and recovery program for businesses
Prepare with them a detailed disaster preparation and recovery program for your business that clarifies the nature of possible disasters that could happen (i.e. define …
Disaster safety assessor
As the disaster draws near you must decide whether to leave or stay. A good way to get a handle on this is with the disaster safety assessor on the left. The top corner …
Dishes, washing in disasters
During a disaster the biggest battle of sanitation is waged around the kitchen sink. Here three times a day brigades of bacteria feast on the leftovers of their larger but …
Distiller, for making pure water
By envisioning the process of distilling —rising steam, cool surface, condensation, descending pure water— you can create a life-sustaining appliance out of junk …
Diversions in disasters
Figure 81 shows jigsaw puzzles, legos, games, books, and other disaster diversions for young and old …
Documents, see personal documents
Doors, how to open in a fire
If you are in a room whose door is closed and smoke is seeping around the door, keep it closed. No smoke around the door? Feel the knob and the top and bottom of the …
Doors, how to lock during a shooting
Near the entry door keep a 2 x 6 of the right length whose top you can wedge under the door’s knob to keep someone from opening the door. A lightweight hardback …
Dressing meats for eating
Almost any mammal from mice to moose is edible except skunks, armadillos (they carry leprosy), and porcupines (unless you excel at dressing meat). Within 15 minutes after …
Driving, in disasters
So what’s the best vehicle to have? A picture is worth a paragraph of words, as appears above. Part of owning a useful vehicle is knowing where to drive it, which varies …
Drought
In these disasters the biggest threats are heat exhaustion and dehydration due to high temperatures. To minimize these possibly dangerous discomforts well before they …
Dry ice, food preserver
If you are desperate to get dry ice for your fridge, here are some specifications. 50 pounds of dry ice (about 9 x 10 x 10 inches in size) should keep a full 18 cubic…
Dust mask, also particulate respirator, respirator
This cup-shaped porous material fits over your nose and mouth. It has a metal strip over the bridge of your nose that you can pinch to close any openings around the mask …
Earthquake
When the tectonic plates that form the earth’s crust slip, massive tremors radiate through the earth’s mantle. The primary tremor, moving at perhaps 13,000 miles …
Earthquake-resistant construction
You can minimize this damage by securing cabinets, mirrors, and pictures to walls and holding tall furniture in place with the connectors that appear in figures 104 and 105 …
Effluent, also sewage, plumbing drainage
If the building has a septic system and the ground over the tank and leaching field was flooded, make sure the septic tank still isn’t full, as follows. Walk downhill from …
Electric range, cooking source
Useless when the power fails …
Electric wire, use in disasters
This is one of the unsung heroes of disaster preparedness. A 50-foot roll of the kind of cable electricians install in your house can be used for much more than conduct …
Electrical master switch, for disconnecting electrical system
The electrical master switch is inside where your electrical primary cable enters the building. It is typically a wide black “snap switch” that is fairly hard to turn …
Electrical outlets, cleaning after flood
If a flood submerged it, the submerged outlet boxes likely have silt in them. Here, if you want to save a chunk of money, put on your rubber gloves and rubber-soled …
Elevator, avoidance in disasters
Don’t think of using an elevator. (1) They won’t work if the power fails. (2) Life-snuffing smoke and hot gases often rise through the shaft in a fire. (3) The cab could stop …
Emergency Alert System (EAS), radio and TV warning system
This national warning system quickly informs the public of a national emergency through local radio and TV stations. On radios the message may begin with “We …
Emergency contacts or addresses, list
Every home and workplace should have a list of emergency addresses and phone numbers near each phone. In a disaster these sources may be swamped with …
Emergency escape plan
Sketch a plan of each floor, including the walls, windows, doors, and stairs. Dimensions needn’t be accurate. Label the rooms, then with colored pens or pencils mark two …
Emergency responders, also rescuers
If your evacuation is on land, a party of trained rescuers will arrive with whatever tools and medical supplies they need to help you. First they will stabilize any injuries you …
Emergency services or response plans
Local governments and public utilities have emergency response plans if a nuclear reactor fails. The plans typically define two nuclear emergency planning zones …
Escape chair, to evacuate a disabled person down a chair
If a mobiley impaired person lives or works on an upper floor, see that s/he has access to an escape chair. This wheeled seat allows its passenger to be evacuated down …
Escape hood, respirator
This shrouds your head and has a transparent face, neck seal, and motorized cannister filter mounted on the front or back. This will protect you from most chemical and …
Evacuation in a disaster
Know where you will go before you leave. Make reservations or contact the person or place you will (presumably) drive to. Know the primary and alternate routes, and …
Exhaust pipe, clearing of snow
To Get out and look at the exhaust pipe. Is it blocked? Unblock it with your hand, foot, a shovel —whatever it takes to keep your car from filling with deadly …
Explosion
If an explosion occurs near you, crouch quickly behind a wall or similar barrier and cover your head with anything you can find —waiter’s tray, coat, desk blotter …
Facade, assessing damage after a disaster
Walk around the house and sight across the surface of each facade. Any bulges or indents? This is a quick way to see if any serious damage has been done to the …
Family Contact Card, use in a disaster
This “disaster dog-tag” is about the size of a business card folded over, and it will help everyone in your family reunite if disaster strikes if they aren’t together —say if …
Faucet with hose threads
By installing hose threads on one bathroom faucet on each floor, you can connect a hose to this little hydrant indoors and fight a fire in a nearby room. You can also …
FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency)
A declaration of a major disaster authorizes the President to send funds to state and local agencies through the auspices of FEMA to provide aid and relief to …
Fender washer, superior connector in disaster-resistant construction
When fastening each object to the wall, use a 3 inch long by 5/16 inch diameter lag bolt inserted through a fender washer, a big a big washer with a tiny hole. Picture …
Fighting, to subdue a shooter
If you come face to face with the shooter and are sure you will be shot if you do nothing, fight for your life. Even if you die, any way you can slow the killer down …
Filters for respirators
An effective protection against many of these toxins is a respirator fitted with filters about the size of tunafish cans. Though a dozen or so are available, each will …
Fire
We’ve all seen news videos of flames billowing skyward from a furiously burning building. But long before any flames may sear you to a crisp you could inhale deadly …
Fire extinguisher
Try to practice using a fire extinguisher in advance, because when the flames are leaping higher by the second is no time to learn how to use one. A good classroom is the …
Fireplace, source of heating and cooking
When the power fails this provides light at night, you can burn paper so you heat and clean at the same time, and in front of it you can dry wet clothes and build your …
Firewood, use in fireplaces and woodstoves
Some texts say curing six months is enough. Truth is, it takes a year and six months for wood to season enough to ignite quickly. If it is green you will split it and re-split it …
First-aid kit
Every home, apartment, vacation residence, workplace, car, and truck should have a small but versatile first-aid kit on board. Almost every item it contains you can buy …
Fish, preparing for eating
If the fish has no scales (i.e. catfish and bullheads) slit its body from vent to chin and skin it. If it is too slippery to handle well, run a finger-thick stick into its mouth …
Fish net, how to make
Try a hair net or coarse-mesh sieve for small fry. For larger fare use cheesecloth, bridal veil fabric, insect screen, or part of a badminton net. When you’ve caught a fish, kill …
Flare gun, rescue tool, weapon
Or fire a flare (smoke in day, incendiary at night). Never fire a flare directly at an approaching vehicle or helicopter; and at night don’t shine a spotlight at one that …
Flash flood
Flash floods are far more dangerous because they can arrive without warning, sometimes on a perfectly sunny day with not a distant cloud in the sky. Then a dry …
Flashlight, disaster light source
Another hands-free model is a baseball cap with bill-mounted LED lights. These have a tiny switch and a button battery built into the hat. Also useful is a hanging …
Flatness test, method of assessing damaged construction
If any part of the roof is sloped, step back or forward until you can just sight across its surface and see if it is perfectly flat like it ought to be. Similarly, walk around the …
Flexible connection, for plumbing in earthquake areas
Have a plumber or the gas company install flexible connections as in figure 106 that will keep your water and gas pipes from breaking in a quake. If you have propane …
Floating cars in floods
A car or truck from the doorsills up contains much less solid than void, so it will float like an inner tube if its body is only a few inches deep in water. If you enter deeper …
Flood or flooding
Floods are devastating not only because they may inundate square miles of landscape, but also because of two other ingredients they contain. One is silt. Floodwater …
Flood advisories
If a hurricane, severe thunderstorms, heavy rains, spring thaw caused by warm weather, or other forecasted event could cause flooding around your house and land , the …
Food, preparing and eating in disasters
If a disaster is on the way, don’t wait till the last day to buy food, or you may find only cans of creamed corn on the shelves. Buy it early, store a months’ supply in a …
Footwear, also boots and shoes
Best are ankle-high lightweight boots with wide lugs that easily shed mud. Have high rubber boots for slogging through mud & water, insulated boots for bitter cold, and …
Forest fire, see wildfire
Foundation, checking for stability
Rest your eyes on the foundation. First look for any cracks in the walls. If they are concrete block and you can see them, kneel at a corner and sight along a horizontal …
Fowl, also birds, dressing for eating
2. Remove the feathers. (A) Heat a pot of water to 150˚ and add a teaspoon of dish detergent to dissolve the oil in the feathers. (B) Immerse the bird in the scalding …
Freight blanket, versatile disaster fabric
A freight blanket not only is a good bed mat in an emergency, it makes a warm overcoat if you need one quickly, and it can make kneeling on your knees a comfort instead of …
Frostproof sill cock, see spigot
Galveston, Texas, hurricane surge in 1900
The worst surge ever in America struck Galveston, Texas, in September 1900 and left several square miles of the city under 15 feet of water and washed more than three …
Gamma ray, nuclear fallout
Gamma rays are the strongest. They can pass through most materials including your body, but brief exposure is virtually harmless. They do their greatest harm to your …
Garage storm shelter
These shelters are sheet steel containers about 4 feet wide, 6 feet long, and 5 feet deep that are installed in the floor of a garage, and they contain benches that seat up to …
Gas mask, respirator
This rubberized mask protects your face and eyes and has a sealed cartridge mounted at your chin. The best models have an NBC (nuclear, biological, chemical) filter …
Gas line, explosion danger
If a gas line dips (runs down and up again) when it passes through a crawl space or other unheated area where the temperature falls below freezing, the water vapor in …
Gas line shutoff valve
It is usually near where the gas line enters the building or in a metal box a couple feet below the ground near the street. Indoors, this valve usually is a rectangular stub…
Gas stove, for cooking and heating
This works when the power fails, unless the gas is supplied by a public utility and the disaster severs the supply main. Better may be a gas stove with a periodically …
Generator, of electricity onsite
Why pay a thousand dollars or more for a cubic yard of material that ravaged the environment in its making, costs several hundred dollars more for an electrician …
Gloves , use in disasters
Have several pair as appear below: leather for heavy work, cloth for light work, latex with high cuffs for washing, fur-lined ones for cold. Have extras in case they get …
Go bag, see personal relief kit
Going to the bathroom
Here are a few ways to go to the bathroom in reasonable comfort if the power is out. If you want to use an existing toilet, select one for communal use. While its tank is …
Government, role in disasters
When disaster strikes a region of the United States, if the afflicted states, counties, and communities of the region do not have the resources to respond to the disaster …
Grass seed spreader, to spread sand on snowy or icy surfaces
Instead of slinging sand with a shovel which leaves lumps in some places and nothing in others, use a two-wheeled grass seed spreader. They spread the sand evenly and …
Gray water, an impure water
Gray water is used bath water, dishwashing water, muddy creek water, rain puddles, and the like. Roof runoff is gray water because it may contain tannin from wood …
Guests, caring for in disasters
If you are a guest … Don’t try to be involved in everything. Ask if you can help, then stay out of the way. Don’t allay your anxieties with excessive talking, and allow your hosts …
Hail, storm of ice pellets
If you are caught outdoors, seek shelter quickly. If you can’t find anything to protect you, cover your head with something, even if only clumps of grass or a flat rock …
Halifax, Nova Scotia, explosion in 1917
The resulting explosion sent a 60-foot tsunami across the water that tore ships from their moorings, lifted the Norwegian freighter and threw it ashore, flooded …
Ham radio, disaster communication
This network of amateur radio operators is known for providing useful information during disasters. To learn more about this method of communication, visit www …
Happy Land nightclub, NY fire in 1990
Some who died on the lower floor were found slumped in their seats at the bar with cigarets and drinks in their hands —because they inhaled a colorless, odorless …
Hard hat, also protective headwear
A football, motorcycle, or lacrosse helmet is stronger than a hard hat & will protect your head more from the sides. But this gear is costly. Scout for them at garage sales and …
Hearing protector
Earmuff protectors with spongy doughnut pads that enclose your auditory canals will reduce a siren’s wail to a whimper while letting you hear someone talking nearby …
HAZMAT, hazardous materials
In the United States some five million facilities make, use, or store hazardous or HAZMAT materials. Even greater is the number of pipes, ships, trucks, and trains …
Heat source, to cook and keep warm
In cold weather you need heat to keep warm, and in any weather you need it to cook food. Have more than one source, since none will work in every disaster. Here are …
Heat wave, prolonged high temperatures
In these disasters the biggest threats are heat exhaustion and dehydration due to high temperatures. To minimize these possibly dangerous discomforts well before they …
Helicopter, also helo, aerial rescuer
If your rescue will be by helicopter and you can walk or hobble, as the helo approaches, move to a clearing with no overhanging branches or other obstructions that could …
HELP flag
When mounted on a car as appears on the right this distress signal can be seen a hundred yards away. It is made in Peru, Indiana that is, by Orion Products, which …
Hiding, to avoid a shooter
HIDE if you cannot run away but can conceal yourself so the shooter can’t see you or will have trouble finding you. Hiding also includes barricading an entrance between …
Hose, location and use
The hose should be rubber, not vinyl which tends to kink, and the couplings should be nickel-placed, not plastic which can crack if a car rolls over them. Aside from water …
Spigot or frostproof sill cock
Mounted on opposite sides of a house should be two frostproof sill cocks (spigots that won’t freeze in cold weather) next to hose racks coiled with 75 feet of hose. The …
Hose rack, firefighting tool
Hose racks coiled with 75 feet of hose. The one you see in figure 76 is mounted just inside the garage, which makes it easy to use in inclement weather …
Hotel, type of burning building
Before entering your room, turn around and locate the nearest emergency exits. If you are with another person, go together and talk the situation over as you look around …
House and grounds, preparing before a disaster
Though many items below are normal house maintenance, keeping them working properly can yield big dividends if a disaster suddenly bangs on your roof and …
Hubcap test for flooded roads
If the road ahead is flooded, stop and look carefully at any other vehicle entering or in the water. How high is the water against its tires? Up to the hubcaps? Below this …
Hurricane
As the storm moves inland, its copious rainfall combined with local topography can cause widespread flooding in lowland areas and devastating landslides in hilly …
Huscaràn, volcano in Peru, site of landslide in 1970
Then a mile-long, 3,000-feet-wide mass of rock, glacial ice, and snow cascaded downhill at speeds up to 180 miles an hour for 11 miles and buried 20,000 people who never …
Hypothermia, dangerously low body temperature
First you shiver, which is your body’s way of keeping warm. But as your body gets colder, this defense no longer works and you begin to feel warmer, and the colder …
Ice storm, disaster
This weather coats everything with thick layers of ice, which combined with high winds can snap trees, bring down power lines, collapse buildings, and immobilize whole …
Infants, care of in disasters
Mother’s milk is especially desirable during disasters because it is naturally clean and requires no refrigeration, bottles, or water for preparing formula. The La Leche …
Insurance, disaster coverage
Regarding the part of the house that was damaged, the standard advice is, “Contact your insurance agent.” We soon found there is more to this adage than meets the eye. Early …
Internet, use in disasters
For roads farther away, if you have internet access you can find the quickest and clearest routes almost anywhere before you slide behind the wheel or while you’re en route …
Iodine tablets, water purifier
As effective is 8 drops of iodine (which you can buy at a drug store) in a gallon of water. Either method also absorbs up to 98 percent of the radioactive iodine in water …
Ionization smoke alarm or detector
A good way to sort this out is that a fire makes three things: flames, smoke, and carbon monoxide. Ionization alarms are best at detecting flames (i.e. paper burning in a) …
Japan, Tohoku earthquake in 2011
Tsunamis can spawn further disasters. In March 2011, the huge waves caused by an earthquake off the coast of Japan not only killed 18,000 people and destroyed crops …
Kerosene, heater or lantern fuel
Kerosene lanterns aren’t such a hot idea either: they are smelly, need plenty of ventilation, and their surfaces are dangerously hot —as evidenced by one victim in …
Kiev, Russia, site of fallout after Chernobyl meltdown in 1984
After the nuclear meltdown at Chernobyl, Russia, in April 1986, the city of Kiev 60 miles away hosed down its streets to clean them of fallout and reservoired the runoff in …
Kitchenette for safe room
Another possibility is a large walk-in closet off the master bedroom. This is already used for storage, and you could locate nearby a petite stove-sink-refrigerator unit like the …
Knots, three useful ones
Know how to tie the above knots: clove hitch, tautline hitch, and bowline. When you are roughing it in the rubble these are some of the handiest fasteners you can have …
Lake Geneva, landslide and tsunami
A mountainside slid into the upper end of the lake and created a huge wave that rolled down the 40-mile long lake and was still 26 feet high when it drowned the town at its …
Landslide
A landslide is a downward movement of a fairly dry mass of earth that is triggered by such terrestrial agitations as an earthquake, erosion, volcanic eruption, blasting, and …
Lantern, disaster light source
Center one on or above a table so several eaters or readers can sit around it. With the advent of LED lights, why fuss with messy mantle models that can ignite flammable …
Latrine, emergency toilet
In hard times this may be your only choice. It certainly was common before plumbing was invented. If so … 1. Select a secluded place where the ground is soft and a user …
“Leave or stay” decision tree
The agony of all this is that usually you must pass through this gauntlet of decisions when you don’t have adequate advance information to make the best choice. Make all …
LED puck light, emergency flasher
This is a hockey-puck-size flashing light that is visible from a half mile away. A larger look at this clever device appears on the right. Destined to replace the present …
Letter that could be dangerous
If a puff of dust rises from a letter you open, delicately set the letter and envelope in a sealed plastic bag, thoroughly wash your face and hands with warm soapy water, put …
Life-straw personal water filter
Anyone who’s ever seen a lifestraw personal water filter will never forget it. One appears on the right. This plastic tube is about one inch thick and seven inches long, looks …
Lift-and-crib operation, for rescuing trapped victims
If you are trapped under debris, they may employ a lift-and-crib operation to extricate you. This involves levering the entrapping debris upward or sideward and sliding …
Lighting
When darkness falls on Disasterville, you’ll want some kind of illumination to see around and avoid stepping on nails, live wires, glass, snakes —you name it. Even …
Lightning
If you feel your hair stand on end —lightning is near. Crouch low with your hands on your knees (if you are struck, the current will more likely pass through your limbs …
Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC), hazardous material information center
These organizations collect information about explosives, flammable substances, toxins, poisons, biological agents, and radioactive materials made in their jurisdiction, any …
Loma Prieta earthquake, CA in 1989
Think of what it was like for 42 people who were driving on the Nimitz Freeway along San Francisco Bay the afternoon of October 17, 1989 —when suddenly the pavement …
Lysol, disinfectant
A solution of 1 part Lysol to ten parts warm water kills bacteria, mold, and mildew if you wet (not soak) the area with a sponge; but wear goggles and arm-length rubber …
Mammals or meat, dressing for eating
2. Often it’s a good idea to skin the animal before opening the body cavity. If the fur smells or is dirty, scrub with 1 tablespoon of bleach and 2 of dish detergent per gallon …
Map, road
A good plan is to know four different escape routes: i.e. north, east, south, west; or NE, SE, SW, NW —you get the idea. Obtain a local roadmap and mark these routes on it …
Mass care facility, public shelter
This may be a public auditorium or other large building, or a tent city with rows of canvas tents mounted on wood platforms. Before you go there, try and find out what …
Matches, fire starter
Safety matches have half the ignition chemicals in the head and half in a sandpapery striker patch on the box. Keep the striker patch dry or the matches will be worthless …
Meteor, stellar object
Our planet is occasionally visited by stellar objects. In November 1954 a grapefruit-size meteorite crashed into a house in Oak Grove, Alabama, and struck Ann Elizabeth …
Mobile home weaknesses
If you live in a mobile home, a violent disaster may make you pay dearly for your inexpensive accommodations. These dwelling’s shells are thin and light, their narrow …
Moisture damage in buildings
The reason you’re seeing this damage in a disaster handbook is because the rotted wood framing on the right will hardly support its own weight —and if a disaster agitates …
Mosquito
Some lay their eggs in cold water in the fall that freezes in winter, then when the ice melts in the spring the eggs hatch. This is why Alaska has so many mosquitoes that …
Mosquito netting
In insect-infested areas this screenlike fabric can protect your face in the day and your body in bed at night. A 4 x 6 foot sheet sells for about 6 bucks, it weighs next to …
MRE (meals ready to eat) full meal kits
Buyable online, they are precooked, easy to open, and can be eaten after boiling in water for five minutes. If kept off the ground in a dry cool place they can last three to five …
Mudslide
A mudslide typically originates in steep clayey soil that has become saturated by heavy rains and/or melting snowpack in which the earth flows like pancake batter downhill …
Multistory buildings, dangers in disasters
Apartments and businesses above the third floor can be traps if the power fails. Elevators and plumbing won’t work, the heating and air conditioning won’t work, and if the …
National Weather Service
The central office prepares detailed weather forecasts for the nation and issues notices a few days in advance of any weather event it believes could pose a significant threat to …
Neighbors, assisting in disasters
Disaster research indicates it is not ambulances, firetrucks, and police cars that save the most lives during disasters: it is neighbors who are nearest those who need help. But …
Northeast Blackout of 2003
For many citizens the most common “disaster” is a blackout —like the Northeast blackout in August 2003 that left 55 million people without power for up to three …
Notation, used in this book
If you are reading a passage on page 114 that says something like “If you have pets, have what they need as listed at M on page 173,” go to page 173 to where you will see …
Notes, as help messages
Or blaze a tree and on the bare wood write the date, time of day, and a note. Or wrap a strip of duct tape around each tree and write on the tape. Or put a strip of tape on …
Nuclear blast
The worst explosion of all is a nuclear blast. This creates a huge fireball so intensely bright it can blind you for life if you look at it. The blast also emits clouds of …
Nuclear fallout, also radioactivity
This matter radiates from “ground zero” and is absorbed by rain and carried by prevailing winds miles away, subjecting everything in its path to radiation. The …
Nuclear power emergency, also nuclear reactor failure
Local governments and public utilities have emergency response plans if a nuclear reactor fails. The plans typically define two nuclear emergency planning zones: Zone …
Outsiders, or strangers, protecting from
Whether in times of turmoil or tranquility, it is always wise to be careful —lest you tempt borderline personalities who would prey on the unwary, or desperate people …
Package that could be dangerous
If you receive a package that could be dangerous as appears in figure 127 above, don’t open it —throw a blanket over it and take it quickly outside and place it on the …
Pantry of disaster foods
On the opposite page appears a pantry of foods you should stock up on well before a disaster comes knocking on your door. Most of them you can eat everyday, but don’t …
PAPR respirator, respirator
Another full-face mask is a powered air-purifying (PAPR) respirator. This has a large visor over the eyes that offers wide visibility and a battery-powered fan that pulls …
Paracord, strong light rope
A strong and economical rope made today is 550 pound paracord. Singe the ends of paracord and they won’t unravel …
Pepper spray, cannister and use
Better may be a cannister of pepper spray. A 4-ounce container emits a cone-shaped fog 5 to 10 feet long for up to 30 seconds that will blind and choke the victim —if it isn’t …
Periodic testing of disaster equipment
Often harder than occasional practicing is periodic testing. The local fire department does this once a week. You should check your equipment like this too. Especially …
Personal documents, important ones to keep in a safe place
Not everyone will need all the documents listed below, but you should protect the ones you have from being destroyed in a disaster. Especially important are documents that …
Personal Locator Beacon (PLB), rescue locator
Chief of this tribe is the personal locator beacon (PLB). These vary in size from cigarette-pack to paperback-book and weigh from about 1/2 to 21/2 pounds. They …
Personal needs in a disaster
Let’s home in on what you and everyone else in your party will need to survive and be reasonably comfortable until the worst is over. This includes what you will wear …
Personal relief kit, also go bag or bug-out bag
The idea behind this collection of necessities is that wherever you go, it goes, then if you’re suddenly trapped in a disaster you’ll have what you’ll need —for days if …
Pets, caring for in disasters, see animals
Phone call threat
If you receive a threatening phone call, get as much information as you can, try to record the conversation, and call the police …
Photoelectric or smoke alarm or detector
Photoelectric alarms are best at sensing smoke (i.e. a smoldering mattress or burning plastic). You really need to know what you’re doing when you buy these things …
Plan shapes, efficient ones for safe rooms
If you need 144 square feet, don’t make it 12 x 12 feet; make it 8 x 18 feet. The shorter span is the direction the ceiling structure runs —and the shorter this is the stronger …
Plane crash, how to survive
Commercial plane crash safety begins a few weeks before you board the plane, when you book your flight. Statistics show that you have a slightly greater chance of survival if …
Plastic sheet, use in disasters
In imaginative hands this material can be made into rain hats, raincoats, tablecloths, clothes (hold the pieces together with duct tape), windows, roofs, tarps, and dozens …
Plumbing, use in disasters
If the power fails, the pump can’t reraise the pressure in the tank and you don’t get more water —but you also have a tankful of pure water you can use while the power is out …
Plywood, for shuttering windows
Or cut pieces of 3/4 inch exterior-grade plywood (not sheets of OSB because rain ruins it) and have them ready to fit if a disaster threatens. Installing plywood panels is not …
Police note, left in door
Write a police note saying where you will go so they can contact you if necessary. Put the note in an envelope, label the envelope POLICE, and place it between the door and …
Potassium permanganate, also Condy’s crystals
This is an oxidizing agent that looks like purple sand. Sprinkle a few grains into a quart of water until it is light pink, and the water will be pure of bacteria and viruses …
Power failure, see blackout
Practice in advance
The more you practice this book’s advisories in advance, the better you will perform them when a disaster catches you unaware. It’s also more fun to do this when you …
Public volunteering to help disaster victims
If this interests you, contact your local Red Cross, Salvation Army, United Way, Catholic Charities, Adventist Community Services, and similar organizations and ask how you …
Public shelter, see mass care facility
Radio, battery-powered
These devices often are a disaster victim’s prime source of information, as many AM and FM stations announce business closings, blocked roads, and other disaster-related …
Radioactivity, see nuclear fallout
Recovering after a disaster
After the power is back on and the roads are clear, you can safely return to your home if you aren’t already there, and begin to return things to nearly normal. Before you …
Refrigerator, food preserver
Here are four ways you can double and even triple the time your refrigerator will keep your food cold without using dry ice: 1. Cover its top and sides with blankets …
Repairing buildings, furnishings, cars, etc. after disasters, see cleaning
Respirator, filterer of impure air
The truth? There are many kinds of respirators —but none will remove every toxin you could inhale. Worse, few retailers carry any. You can buy them online, but this is one …
Roadmap of hurricane evacuation routes
Obtain a local roadmap and mark these routes on it (for a published example see figure 5 on the right). If you are incapacitated, someone else —even a hitchhiker— can use …
Rope, types and uses
Have several kinds, as appear below. A “nice to have” item is 100 feet of 1/2 inch nylon rope for pulling heavy weights with a car or truck …
Rubble rake, to reach distant objects
Cut down a thin sapling up to thirty feet long, trim the minor branches until you have only a shaft and a few stubs for handles, and fasten the thin end firmly to the handle …
Running, to avoid shooter
RUN as fast as you can in a direction away from the shooter if you safely can. This should be your first option because runners have the highest chance of survival in a …
Safe room, disaster shelter
If a safe room must be built like a bank vault to protect you, a good way to build it is the way bank vaults are built —of thick reinforced concrete. Since this construction is …
Safety devices, equipping a home with
Figure 9 shows where to install smoke and CO alarms in your home. Each unit typically contains a 9-volt battery that keeps the unit working if the power fails, and most have …
Sandbag dike, see dike
Sandy Hook Elementary School, site of shooting
In December 2012, Adam Lanza took (some reporters said stole) a .223-caliber Bush-master rifle, a 10mm Glock handgun, and a 9mm Sauer handgun from his mother …
Sanitation, also cleaning, in a disaster
In prolonged disasters two big killers are food poisoning and bacteria-caused illnesses. Hence every cookware, surface, and utensil you use to prepare and eat food must be …
Saws, crosscut, tree, wire, chainsaws
Tree saw: This “Armstrong Sawmill” with its lance teeth cuts trees and branches up to 5 inches thick. Buy one with an 18 to 30 inch blade. Wire saw: This flexible 27-inch …
SCBA (self-contained breathing apparatus) supplier of oxygen
This is used by firefighters and scuba divers (note the acronym) to provide a constant supply of oxygen. It has a snugly fitting facepiece that instead of containing a filter …
Send-for-help devices, tracking transmitters for locating disaster victims
These electronic tracking transmitters are used to locate lost aircraft, sinking boats, and people in distress. When manually activated by a survivor or automatically activated …
Septic system, preparation for disasters
You may need to know where these systems are if your plumbing fixtures don’t drain properly. If you don’t have a site plan of these systems, your local building …
Shelter
This book emphasizes repeatedly that more important than having everything you may need in a disaster is having a safe place to store and use it all. For what good would it …
Shelved items hold-down
In earthquake country, secure shelves of containers with bungee cords to minimize falling and spills, as appears below …
Ship sinking, how to escape
Immediately after boarding, find the life vests. Lift one up and determine how to put it on. Next, find a lifeboat. Note how it suspends from its davits (the curved supports …
Shutters, over windows
Mount easily operable storm shutters on each window or cut pieces of 3/4 inch exterior-grade plywood to fit over your windows as described at A on page 16. As this text …
Simpson strong-tie, also hurricane tie, strengthener of wood framing
These fasteners are especially effective in hurricanes, tornadoes, and earthquakes, which are some of the strongest forces that can damage a building. Admittedly it is hard to …
Siphon, tube for collecting liquid
The picture below shows how to siphon a liquid from a container. Insert one end of a 1/2 inch diameter (outer dimension) clear (so you can see the liquid flowing inside) …
Sleep in disasters
If you must sleep on the ground … Have some kind of soft insulation underneath that smooths any bumps and keeps you insulated from the damp cold ground. A few …
Sling shot
A quiet way to kill small game, especially rats and pigeons in urban environs. A bag of pea gravel or ball bearings from wrecked machines offers cheap and plentiful …
Smoke
Smoke, being lighter than air, initially collects on the ceiling, then as its underside lowers toward the floor it first hides any EXIT signs mounted high on the walls, then you …
Smoke alarm or detector
A quick way to install the right alarm in the right area in your home or workplace is to go from room to room and think flame, smoke, or CO? In each bedroom you’d likely …
Snakes, in disasters
An edifying tale I once heard about venomous snakes is the following. Maybe twenty years ago in a rustic bar outside a small town in Colorado I was sitting beside a snowy …
Snow, also blizzards
If the power fails and your heating won’t work, you can freeze to death in your home. Even after the storm passes, melting snow and ice can cause floods. People usually …
Snow shovel, large
I do this with a giant snow shovel I made of a 48-inch-wide piece of sheet metal mounted on a 2 x 6 shaft with a 1 x 4 crosspiece on top. I walk down one side of the …
Snowplow, use
Keep the plow in the garage so it will be dry when you need it, mount it before the flakes fly, and face it toward the door so you won’t back out over the snow and pack some …
Solar battery charger
You can re-energize a rechargeable battery with a solar battery charger. You have one for your car, you can wire the charger to a vehicle cigaret lighter receptacle you can buy at …
Solar stove, also solar cooker
But a parabolic dish theoretically focuses the sun’s rays onto a small area which becomes very hot. To test this theory, I made a parabolic dish by dividing its circular shape in …
SOS, distress signal
If you are stranded in a remote area, try to find a clearing nearby and stomp a large SOS in the snow. If you have potassium permanganate or other dye, sprinkle a big SOS on …
SPOT satellite messenger, rescue locator
A similar device is the SPOT satellite messenger. Its satellite coverage area includes most of the western hemisphere except extreme northern and southern latitudes. With the …
Spring, source of pure water
During hurricane Sandy I suddenly remembered where an old spring was deep in the woods near my house. I paid it a visit. The water trickled in from one side of its stone …
Stellar object from space
This created a blinding fireball that was seen for miles around, scattered meteor debris over an area 600 miles long, and initiated a shock wave that on reaching the earth’s …
Sterno, fuel or stove
This petite heater and a can of its fuel can be taken anywhere. Slip a can into a pocket along with a “church key” can opener, and you can have a stove anywhere you find an …
Storm sewer, danger in floods
Stay 30 feet from the end of culverts since water swirling into them can suck in pets, children, even adults. Tell yourself that two-thirds of the people who die in floods …
Storm window or storm shutters
If more than 7 feet above the ground outside you must install ladders or scaffolds. In short, this seemingly simple “Sunday chore” for laymen is typically a time-consuming …
Stouffer Inn, NY fire in 1980
When a woman saw smoke seeping around a closed hallway door she shouted, ”Get out of here!” When someone pushed the door open, flames billowed inside. Some victims …
Stove, for cooking and heating
Gas stove … This works when the power fails, unless the gas is supplied by a public utility and the disaster severs the supply main. Better may be a gas stove with a …
Strangers, protecting from, see outsiders
Surge, huge wave
As a hurricane moves over the ocean, its high winds push the water before it into a vast dome of water that may be 20 feet high and 100 miles wide. This massive volume is …
Survivalist, doomsday disaster preparer
Many survivalist manuals would have you believe that in a disaster you must know how to use weapons to protect you and your loved ones from roving marauders who …
Swimming pool
If you have a swimming pool and heavy rains could fill it, drain the water to a foot below the top. Don’t empty it; you may need the water for cleaning, flushing toilets, and …
Tautline hitch, useful knot
Tie the tautline hitch to keep a rope tight while allowing you to easily adjust it. In the example above, the three knotted loops that wrap around the main line can be slid up …
Tee shirt sling, sling made of tee shirt
If you need a sling, you can make one from a tee-shirt as at left. Slip your head through its neck and the injured limb through its sleeve with the other sleeve bunched on …
Telephones, use in disasters
Since phone lines are separate from electric lines, a corded phone will work if the power fails (cordless and speaker phones won’t) unless the phone company’s power line is …
Television, also TV, use in disasters
You’ll often see on-the-scene reporting of what is happening. The Weather Channel gives weather forecasts and reports disasters. But most TV sets won’t operate during …
Terrorism
Explosions typically result from industrial events or terrorist acts … It makes little dif-ference to victims that one is an accident while the other is a premeditated act of war …
Thoreau, Henry David
Frontispiece quote: “Consider how slight a shelter is absolutely necessary.”
Thunderstorm
If you are at home and the sky fills with dark clouds flashing with lightning and rumbling with thunder and the wind picks up, quickly move any cars into the garage …
Tin can stove
Slip a can of sterno into a pocket along with a “church key” can opener, and you can have a stove anywhere you find an empty tin can like the two on the right …
Toilet
Do not flush the toilet with pure water, as this is too precious a commodity to waste here. Otherwise everyone uses the toilet pretty much as normal. Flush the toilet every …
Tornado
In flat open country the funnel can be seen from afar, but in wooded areas it may descend on its victims before they have a chance to seek shelter, the only warning …
Traffic information websites
Three traffic information websites are www.traffic.com (you type in your origin and destination addresses), www.beatthetraffic.com (you type in the zip code of the area …
Train wreck, how to survive
If a crash occurs, duck quickly and hold onto an armrest or anything sturdy you can find. If thrown to the floor, grab a seat leg if you can to keep from sliding. Since trains …
Transportation in disasters
Consider a vehicle with a fuel-efficient engine and four-wheel drive, all-weather tires, a boxy interior with fold-down seats, roof rails on top, and a trailer hitch in back so …
Tsunami, huge wave
As the wave nears shore, the surf may recede for several minutes with an ominous low sucking sound and expose the ocean floor for hundreds of feet from shore. Unwitting …
Ultraviolet germicidal irradiation, method of purifying water
Filter water from a creek or puddle, pour it into a common 16-ounce clear plastic bottle and place it on a sheet of black plastic for six hours in the sun. Repeat with sixteen …
Utility cutoffs, electric, water, gas
If you fail to turn them off, your later discomforts may include an electrical short-circuit that burns down the building, a flooded basement, or a ruptured gas line that causes …
Vehicle, car or truck, preparing before disasters
In case a disaster catches you unaware on the road, keep a few dozen tools and other items in an emergency roadside kit and a car pack as described below and as appears …
Ventilation
A safe room needs ventilating, so if several people must stay inside a few days they won’t deplete the air of oxygen. One way to do this is to mount in opposite walls short …
Volcano
If one of these mammoth cones is near you, here are a few precautions to take if it starts rumbling or puffing smoke. Since ash usually spreads in a long narrow plume in the …
Walking stick, use in disasters
Thin, strong, chest height. This can steady you when you’re traveling through rough terrain —such as descending a slippery staircase at night when the power is out …
Washing dishes, see dishes, washing in disasters
Washing clothes, see clothes, washing in disasters
Water
Even more than food you need water. Your body needs it more, and much of your food is inedible without it. Plan to have two gallons per person per day for drinking …
Water damage in buildings
Next, look around the foundation’s base and see if any earth has washed away, an all-too-common occurrence in floods. You also won’t need me to tell you to make a note …
Water heater
Empty the hot water heater … First turn off the gas or electricity that heats the tank, then set a container under the drain spigot at the base of the tank and, as with …
Water pressure tank, operation and drainage
If the power fails, the pump can’t reraise the pressure in the tank and you don’t get more water —but you still have a tankful of pure water you can use. All you do is set a …
Water purification, methods
Add chlorine to rinse water … Add 8 drops of chlorinated bleach per gallon of fairly clear water; if murky add 16 drops. Mix, cover, and let stand for 30 minutes. The …
Water supply shutoff valve
Is near where the main water pipe enters the building. Its round handle, known to plumbers as a handwheel valve, looks like the a hose spigot outside your house. If you …
Weather advisories, disaster warnings
These are issued at six-hour intervals at midnight, 6:00 a.m., noon, and 6:00 p.m., Eastern Daylight Time; they describe the present position, forecasted movement, and …
Weather warnings
These are issued when a hurricane is expected to strike your area within twenty-four hours, when a strong thunderstorm may reach your area within a few hours, and …
Weather watches
These are issued when a developing weather event is possible but not imminent. Listen for further information and be prepared to act quickly if warnings are issued …
Wellington, WA, 1910 avalanche
If ever there was an instructive avalanche, the one that buried the village of Wellington, Washington, in March 1910 tops the list. After the town had received 11 feet of snow …
Widowmaker, broken branch in tree
You want visual proof? Look at the tree below. Three widowmakers lurk high in its branches that could kill or main an unobservant person venturing below at the …
Wildfire, also forest fire
First dismiss the idea that wildfires occur only in large forests. As proof, witness this account that occurred in Oakland, California, in October 1991. “In a vacant lot a …
Wind, power of
A 50 mph wind blows against a two-car garage door at a pressure of about 670 pounds, at 100 mph at a pressure of 3,000 pounds, and at 150 mph at a pressure of 7,000 …
Windows, protection
If winds threaten, duct-tape big Xs on the windows, draw any drapes, blinds, or curtains over the windows to help contain any flying glass, and insert wedges around sliding …
Winterizing your car
Winterize vehicles as follows … • Have the maintenance schedule in the owner’s manual checked by a dealer or mechanic. • Make sure that each car has a …
Wire, use in disasters, see electric wire
Woodstove
This hearth is less costly and more efficient than a fireplace, even one with an insert. Best is a cast iron model with glass doors in front so you can enjoy the flames inside and a …
Workplace, also place of work
Every business, library, church, health club, or other building you often visit should have a disaster plan for its employees and visitors. Although these facilities vary greatly in …
Yakima, WA, volcanic ash fallout in 1980
The eruption of Mount St. Helens in May 1980 covered 100,000 square miles with volcanic ash including four inches that fell on the city of Yakima, Washington, 110 …
Yard tools, lineup of and use
A lineup of these handy items and how they may be used appears below … Leaf rake for gathering light debris … Crowbar for levering things or prying them apart … Axe …
