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The key thing to consider in a crisis is this :-
"IS YOUR JOURNEY REALLY NECESSARY ?"
Great Aunt Hetty's Christmas Blowout can survive without you, whilst only the most foolish and legally blameworthy of bosses would expect you to cross deep floods or get through a snowstorm. If the Police advise people to stay put, do so, unless the following threaten you :-
- Starvation from a shortage of food (shortages of booze and fags don't count).
- Risk of death to people in your care from being without their medicine or medical care (e.g. diabetics without insulin, heart disease patients without medication).
- Risk of death by drowning, freezing, chemical poisoning or explosion (in most cases, this would be an official evacuation).
- Risk from staying where you are in the face of uncontrolled fire, riot or invasion.
Remember - by leaving your home you will be leaving your base and may be going into danger as a consequence.
- Are you travelling by car ? If so, then make sure that your car and you yourself are up to the task. If you can, take someone else as a map-reader and another eye for dangers. :-
- Check Your Car : Your fuel, oil level, coolant level, battery acid level (unless sealed), windscreen wash level, tyre pressures and heater or air conditioning. Carry a spare gallon, spare oil, spare wash-water, spare antifreeze/summer coolant, spare tyre, tyre-changing tools, tyre pump, spare bulb set, first aid kit and fire extinguisher. If the road has been blocked by mud or snow, carry snow-chains or carry a hatchet to cut branches to help un-ditch the car. If the road is liable to be blocked by fallen trees and you have a chainsaw, carry two-stroke mix, spare chainsaw oil, a chainsaw sharpening file and all necessary protective clothing. That way, you may get through when others cannot.
- Check Essential Supplies : Carry in the car a flask of hot drink, a small stove and fuel, torches, waterproof clothing, rubber gloves and gumboots, something to cook food in or heat water in. Add a day's food, possibly as sandwiches, breakfast bars, high-energy food such as chocolate, some kind of re-heatable food (canned bangers and beans is one easy choice) and so on. Ensure that a blanket and some warm spare clothing are in a pack in the car and carry a survivable bag. Make sure, if you have a mobile to hand, that it is fully charged. It may be that you can drive to a point at which you can access a working mobile phone relay tower and contact assistance that way.
- Check your Route : Examine carefully the maps you have of the area around your home, so you can rapidly change planned routes at the first signs of obstruction. Be prepared to return on foot, if for some reason you are halted by deep snow, deep water, deep mud or other impassable obstruction. If you know the area, you will know which roads are liable to be blocked by drifts, which slopes might landslide and those low-lying areas prone to flooding.
- Are you travelling by boat ? If so, then make sure that your boat and you yourself are up to the task. You will probably do better sailing with a companion. :-
- Check Your Boat : If a motor-boat, assume that conditions will call for at least twice as much fuel as you use normally. Check the engine oil, the coolant and battery (unless an outboard motor) and ensure that you have at least one working compass. If your boat is big enough to be fitted with marine radio, make sure it is working. The same for sonar and any radar reflector and sailing lights. If you have Global Positioning System, then make sure you ready it as best you can. Make sure that you are carrying tools and spares for any running repairs and that you have flares with which to signal for assistance if necessary. If your boat is fitted with sails, then assume you will have to sail at least partially-reefed or with reduced sail.
- Check Essential Supplies : Carry in the boat a flask of hot drink, a small stove and fuel, torches, waterproof clothing, rubber gloves and gumboots, something to cook food in or heat water in. Add a day's food, possibly as sandwiches, high-energy food such as chocolate, some kind of re-heatable food (bangers and beans is one easy choice) and so on. Ensure that a blanket and some warm spare clothing are in a pack in the boat and carry a survivable bag. Make sure, if you have a mobile to hand, that it is fully charged. It may be that you can sail to a point at which you can access a working mobile phone relay tower and contact assistance that way.
- Check the Weather : Sailing in the dark or in thick fog at sea or in inland waters is extremely dangerous, even if you have a GPS system, small boat sonar or other technical aids. Storms and heavy rain present their own hazards to small-boat navigation. If you possibly can, put into shelter when the sea state and the sky indicate approaching storms, darkness or thick fog. There is a serious risk in areas such as the English Channel, the Clyde and Forth estuaries, the Thames Estuary, the Irish Sea and the Minches, of being run down by tankers, container-ships and other large ships.
- Check your Route : Examine carefully the maps you have of the land and sea on your proposed course; winds, tides and unusually strong currents may force you to change course in dangerous waters. Know the safe anchorages at various states of tide and wind directions. Your survival depends on careful preparation to an even greater extent than somebody in a car. Whilst reefs can be predictable (except in tidal areas), large ships most definitely are not. There is also some collision risk from submarines in waters where they operate near the surface, e.g. the Clyde estuary, the northern Irish Sea and the Minches in Scotland and the southwestern part of the English Channel.
Operating in flooded areas can be very dangerous, because trees, hedges, abandoned vehicles, loose driftwood and field-walls, can be hidden by muddy waters. Assume strong currents will be present above any normal watercourses and beware of submerged bridges and fallen power and telephone cables.
- Are you travelling On Foot ? : This will always call for more stamina and you must accept that you will take twice to four times as long to cover the distance as would be needed in fine weather with a clear road. ALWAYS AIM TO TRAVEL THE SHORTEST POSSIBLE DISTANCE ON FOOT. For example, to camp in a barn a few hundred yards uphill from your house where it is in a flood area may be best, simply because you can recover useful resources from your property and carry them up to your refuge.
- Check your Equipment : Carry in your pack a flask of hot drink, a small stove, matches and fuel, a torch, and something to cook food in or heat water in. Add a day's food, possibly as sandwiches, high-energy food such as chocolate, some kind of re-heatable food (bangers and beans is one easy choice) and so on. Ensure that a blanket and some warm spare clothing are in a waterproof bag and carry a survivable bag. In wet or cold weather, wear weatherproof clothing and gumboots or walking boots. Make sure, if you have a mobile to hand, that it is fully charged. It may be that you can walk to a high point at which you can access a working mobile phone relay tower and contact assistance that way. For the same reason, if you have a pocket projector for flares, keep it within easy reach on your pack. Carry a walking-staff to test uncertain ground before walking over it and the staff can help you cross ditches.
- Check your Route : Examine carefully the maps you have of the area around your home, so you can rapidly change planned routes at the first signs of obstruction. You may have to return if for some reason you are halted by deep snow, deep water, deep mud or other impassable obstruction. If you know the area, you will know which roads are liable to be blocked by drifts, which slopes might landslide and those low-lying areas prone to flooding. You can use a plastic bag sealed with duct tape to protect your map from water damage whilst travelling.
- Pace yourself whilst travelling : When you leave, tell others your route and any possible alternatives - if need be, draw an illustrative sketchmap. You can mark on it the grid-references where you might halt if stopped by weather conditions. Be prepared to rest and to take refreshment - without a car, you are your vehicle, needing to rest and to feed. Walk around areas of mud, snowdrift or flood - going through them may tire you out or kill you. Keep your boots clear of caked snow or mud with a stick or walking-staff. If you can, use a compass to set a course across open ground. Rest if possible out of the wind, even if a wall is the only protection. DO NOT take shelter in a cave or under a tree in a thunderstorm - anything upstanding, like a tall tree or a crag, attracts lightning. It is better to lie flat in your survival bag until the storm passes.
- Casualty Evacuation by Helicopter :
Whilst it is possible for two or more people to carry out a casualty on a stretcher, evacuation by vehicle or by helicopter is preferable. If helicopter evacuation is necessary, be prepared to mark out a landing circle well clear of trees and on firm ground. Use soot on snow, white or coloured paint on grass. A pilot will need some kind of wind direction indicator; a small, smoky fire downwind of the landing circle / pad can help.
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