In Time of Emergency Part 12

--Bring outside possessions inside the house, or tie them down securely.

This includes outdoor furniture, garbage cans, garden tools, signs, and other movable objects that might be blown or washed away.

--Board up your windows so they won't be broken by high winds, water, flying objects or debris.

--If flooding is likely, move furniture and other movable objects to the upper floor of your house. Disconnect any electrical appliances or equipment that cannot be moved--but don't touch them if you are wet or are standing in water.

--Do _not_ stack sandbags around the outside walls of your house to keep flood waters out of your bas.e.m.e.nt. Water seeping downward through the earth (either beyond the sandbags or over them) may collect around the bas.e.m.e.nt walls and under the floor, creating pressure that could damage the walls or else raise the entire bas.e.m.e.nt and cause it to "float" out of the ground. In most cases it is better to permit the flood waters to flow freely into the bas.e.m.e.nt (or flood the bas.e.m.e.nt yourself with clean water, if you feel sure it will be flooded anyway). This will equalize the water pressure on the inside and outside of the bas.e.m.e.nt walls and floor, and thus avoid structural damage to the foundation and the house.

--Lock house doors and windows. Park your car in the garage or driveway, close the windows, and lock it (unless you are driving to your new temporary location).

* TRAVEL WITH CARE. If your local government is arranging transportation for you, precautions will be taken for your safety. But if you are walking or driving your own car to another location, keep in mind these things:

--Leave early enough so as not to be marooned by flooded roads, fallen trees, and wires.

--Make sure you have enough gasoline in your car.

--Follow recommended routes.

--As you travel, keep listening to the radio for additional information and instructions from your local government.

--Watch for washed-out or undermined roadways, earth slides, broken sewer or water mains, loose or downed electric wires, and falling or fallen objects.

--Watch out for areas where rivers or streams may flood suddenly.

--Don't try to cross a stream or a pool of water unless you are certain that the water will not be above your knees (or above the middle of your car's wheels) _all the way across_. Sometimes the water will hide a bridge or a part of the road that has been washed out. If you decide it is safe to drive across it, put your car in low gear and drive very slowly, to avoid splas.h.i.+ng water into your engine and causing it to stop. Also, remember that your brakes may not work well after the wheels of your car have been in deep water. Try them out a few times when you reach the other side.

DURING A HURRICANE

--If your house is on high ground and you haven't been instructed to evacuate, stay indoors. Don't try to travel, since you will be in danger from flying debris, flooded roads, and downed wires.

--Keep listening to your radio or television set for further information and advice. If the center or "eye" of the hurricane pa.s.ses directly over you, there will be a temporary lull in the wind, lasting from a few minutes to perhaps a half-hour or more. _Stay in a safe place during this lull_. The wind will return--perhaps with even greater force--from the _opposite_ direction.

SPECIAL ADVICE ON FLASH FLOODS

In many areas, unusually heavy rains may cause quick or "flash" floods.

Small creeks, gullies, dry streambeds, ravines, culverts or even low-lying grounds frequently flood very quickly and endanger people, sometimes before any warning can be given.

In a period of heavy rains, be aware of this hazard and be prepared to protect yourself against it. If you see any possibility of a flash flood occurring where you are, move immediately to a safer location (don't wait for instructions to move), and then notify your local authorities of the danger, so other people can be warned.

CHAPTER 3

TORNADOES

* _When a tornado watch (forecast) is announced_, this means that tornadoes are expected in or near your area. Keep your radio or television set tuned to a local station for information and advice from your local government or the Weather Bureau. Also, keep watching the sky, especially to the south and southwest. (When a tornado watch is announced during the approach of a hurricane, however, keep watching the sky to the east.) If you see any revolving, funnel-shaped clouds, report them by telephone immediately to your local police department, sheriff's office or Weather Bureau office. But do not use the phone to get information and advice--depend on radio or TV.

* _When a tornado warning is issued, take shelter immediately_. The warning means that a tornado has actually been sighted, and this (or other tornadoes) may strike in your vicinity. You must take action to protect yourself from being blown away, struck by falling objects, or injured by flying debris. Your best protection is an underground shelter or cave, or a substantial steel-framed or reinforced-concrete building.

But if none of these is available, there are other places where you can take refuge:

--If you are _at home_, go to your underground storm cellar or your bas.e.m.e.nt fallout shelter, if you have one. If not, go to a corner of your home bas.e.m.e.nt and take cover under a st.u.r.dy workbench or table (but not underneath heavy appliances on the floor above). If your home has no bas.e.m.e.nt, take cover under heavy furniture on the ground floor in the center part of the house, or in a small room on the ground floor that is away from outside walls and windows. (As a last resort, go outside to a nearby ditch, excavation, culvert or ravine.) Doors and windows on the sides of your house _away from_, the tornado may be left open to help reduce damage to the building, but stay away from them to avoid flying debris. Do not remain in a trailer or mobile home if a tornado is approaching; take cover elsewhere.

--If you are _at work_ in an office building, go to the bas.e.m.e.nt or to an inner hallway on a lower floor. In a factory, go to a shelter area, or to the bas.e.m.e.nt if there is one.

--If you are _outside in open country_, drive away from the tornado's path, at a right angle to it. If there isn't time to do this--or if you are walking--take cover and lie flat in the nearest depression, such as a ditch, culvert, excavation, or ravine.

CHAPTER 4

WINTER STORMS

Here is advice that will help you protect yourself and your family against the hazards of winter storms--blizzards, heavy snows, ice storms, freezing rain, or sleet.

* KEEP POSTED ON WEATHER CONDITIONS. Use your radio, television and newspapers to keep informed of current weather conditions and forecasts in your area. Even a few hours' warning of a storm may enable you to avoid being caught outside in it, or at least be better prepared to cope with it. You should also understand the terms commonly used in weather forecasts:

--A _blizzard_ is the most dangerous of all winter storms. It combines cold air, heavy snow, and strong winds that blow the snow about and may reduce visibility to only a few yards. A _blizzard warning_ is issued when the Weather Bureau expects considerable snow, winds of 35 miles an hour or more, and temperatures of 20 degrees Fahrenheit or lower. A _severe blizzard warning_ means that a very heavy snowfall is expected, with winds of at least 45 miles an hour and temperatures of 10 degrees or lower.

--A _heavy snow warning_ usually means an expected snowfall of 4 inches or more in a 12-hour period, or 6 inches or more in a 24-hour period.

Warnings of _snow flurries, snow squalls_, or _blowing and drifting snow_ are important mainly because visibility may be reduced and roads may become slippery or blocked.

--_Freezing rain or freezing drizzle_ is forecast when expected rain is likely to freeze as soon as it strikes the ground, putting a coating of ice or glaze on roads and everything else that is exposed. If a substantial layer of ice is expected to acc.u.mulate from the freezing rain, an _ice storm_ is forecast.

--_Sleet_ is small particles of ice, usually mixed with rain. If enough sleet acc.u.mulates on the ground, it will make the roads slippery.

* BE PREPARED FOR ISOLATION AT HOME. If you live in a rural area, make sure you could survive at home for a week or two in case a storm isolated you and made it impossible for you to leave. You should:

--Keep an adequate supply of heating fuel on hand and use it sparingly, as your regular supplies may be curtailed by storm conditions. If necessary, conserve fuel by keeping the house cooler than usual, or by "closing off" some rooms temporarily. Also, have available some kind of _emergency_ heating equipment and fuel so you could keep at least one room of your house warm enough to be livable. This could be a camp stove with fuel, or a supply of wood or coal if you have a fireplace. If your furnace is controlled by a thermostat and your electricity is cut off by a storm, the furnace probably would not operate and you would need emergency heat.

--Stock an emergency supply of food and water, as well as emergency cooking equipment such as a camp stove. Some of this food should be of the type that does not require refrigeration or cooking.

--Make sure you have a battery-powered radio and extra batteries on hand, so that if your electric power is cut off you could still hear weather forecasts, information and advice broadcast by local authorities. Also, flashlights or lanterns would be needed.

--Consult page 72 of this handbook for other supplies and equipment that you may need if isolated at home. Be sure to keep on hand the simple tools and equipment needed to fight a fire. Also, be certain that all family members know how to take precautions that would prevent fire at such a time, when the help of the fire department may not be available.

* TRAVEL ONLY IF NECESSARY. Avoid all unnecessary trips. If you must travel, use public transportation if possible. However, if you are forced to use your automobile for a trip of any distance, take these precautions:

--Make sure your car is in good operating condition, properly serviced, and equipped with chains or snow tires.