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1Avoid danger

• Any post-disaster area will be full of potential hazards, so stay alert and move around carefully.

• Keep well away from damaged power lines: high-voltage electricity is very dangerous and can cause electrocution and fire.

• Leaking gas pipes are also a danger. If you smell gas, you should leave the area immediately.

• If sewage pipes are damaged, there is the risk that raw sewage could spill out in the open, leading to the rapid spread of disease.

• Buildings that are unstable due to a natural disaster could topple at any time. Keep away from tall buildings and structures.

Cold exposure

• If the weather is very cold and you cannot find shelter, you are at risk of developing

frostbite( p. 55) and / or hypothermia( p. 54).

• Symptoms of frostbite include“ pins-andneedles,” followed by numbness. Skin may

be white, mottled and blue, or black.

• Symptoms of hypothermia include very cold skin, shivering, apathy, poor vision,

and irritable behavior.

• For either condition, put the victim in a sleeping bag or wrap her in a survival

blanket( covering the head too). Frostbitten fingers may be tucked under the armpits for extra warmth. Give warm, sweet drinks.

Keeping warm Wrap the victim in a survival blanket, and cover her head if she is not wearing a hat.

• Prolonged exposure to strong sunlight can lead to sunburn( p. 50), heat

exhaustion( p. 51), heatstroke( p. 52), and resulting illness.

• Move the victim of any of these conditions to a cool place.

• Cool sunburned skin with cold water and give the person cold drinks to sip.

• Symptoms of heat exhaustion are headache, dizziness, nausea, and rapid

pulse. Give the person an isotonic drink or a weak salt and sugar solution( p. 51).

• Symptoms of heatstroke are headache, dizziness, flushed skin, and, in serious

cases, unconsciousness. Remove the victim’ s outer clothing, lay him or her down, then cool the skin by repeatedly sponging cold water over it.

• If you had to evacuate your home but did not manage to reach either

your chosen place of evacuation or a local emergency shelter, you will need to find some form of shelter for your family.

• If you are in a town, try to find an empty building to take shelter

in. Avoid buildings that look as though they may be structurally unsound, especially following an earthquake.

• If you are in the countryside, look for a manmade structure, such as

a bridge, barn or shed. As a last resort, trees will at least protect you from extremes of temperature, wind, rain, or snow.

• Use the bedding supplies in your disaster emergency kit( p. 225) to

keep warm at night.