Emergency survival guide

If you have been watching news on TV lately, you must have noticed the floods in the continental USA. Just now, I’m reading a story on CNN about residents of a small town in Illinois struggling with water as they use sandbags to make barriers for protection. One thing I’ve noticed is, that the reporters are talking about drinking water shortage. What an irony, water allover but you can’t drink it. Or can you?

Fortunately, you can. But with a little help of the Katadyn Pocket Water Filter. Here’s the official description of this product: Tough enough to handle heavily silted water, the Katadyn Pocket Microfilter has a cleanable ceramic filter element that filters down to 0.2 microns, removing all known disease-causing bacteria and protozoa from your drinking water without the use of chemicals. Designed with few moving parts and an easy-maintenance design, it’s the water filter of choice for traveling professionals and those who can’t afford the Giardia diet plan deep in the backcountry. New features include a round pump handle for comfortable use and a bottle clip on the outlet hose.

That means you can go out, put this filter’s pump into any source of water, pump it and on the other side there comes out pure drinking water. Perfect for an emergency situation like these floods. Can be also used outdoors or when traveling. And you can pump up to 15.000 gallons of water before filter replacement. Yes, these babies are quality made Switzerland products you can rely on.

I have purchased one for myself and I will make another review when I get it. Meanwhile, you can

Purchase Katadyn Pocket Water Filter today (free shipping)

Although you might think, that food is essential when in an emergency situation, it’s one of the least important survival needs at the beginning. An average person can survive months without any real food at all. When water is not available in sufficient quantities, you have to resist the temptation to eat, because the hunt for food requires a lot of body’s water.

But if there is plentiful of water and if you’re hungry, here is a list of animals, vegetables and other things you can eat:
- INSECTS: yes, they are eatable and are easy to catch, but don’t forget to cook them first. Avoid fuzzy insects though, they might be poisonous.
- FROGS, SNAKES, LIZARDS. All these are very nutritious. Snakes and lizards are harder to catch than frogs though. Be sure to skin all the reptiles and cook them thoroughly.
- most FISH are good to eat, as there are all BIRD EGGS.
- RABBITS and DEER can be caught. Although quick, they lack of stamina.
- If you know how, try setting a trap to catch them.
- Avoid mushrooms, because many are toxic. Eat only those you really know that are not lethal.
- Avoid plants secreting milky sap, they might be poisonous
- Cattails are good to eat
- Most ROOTS and SEEDS are good to eat
- You can make TEA from many grasses, by extracting the nutrition of them

Well, here’s a quick list. If you’d like to go more into detail of which animals and plants are eatable, buy or borrow a book in your library. It may save your life.

It’s important to have water, food and clean air when there’s an emergency. If there is a member of the family with special needs, your medical kit should cotain that medication. You should also keep important family documentation in a safe place.

But let us review the recommended supplies which you should include in your basic emergency kit:

- WATER (1 gallon of water per person per day for drinking and sanitation)
- FOOD - at least a 3 day supply of non-perishable food
- BATTERY POWERED RADIO - for weather report and other emergency broadcasts. I recommend a CRANK radio (so you can power it up yourself)
- FLASHLIGHT (can be a radio-combo) with extra batteries
- FIRST AID KIT
- WHISTLE to signal for help
- DUST MASK (or a cotton shirt to filter air)
- WRENCH or PLIERS for turning off utilities
- CAN OPENER

You should also consider warm clothing like a jacket, long pants, a long sleeve shirt and quality shoes. Don’t forget a hat, gloves and a sleeping back plus a warm blanket for each person.

If you live in place with a constant cold weather, it’s difficult to maintain your basic water, foot and shelter needs. It’s essential to have good clothing so you can protect yourself from damages related to cold. There are many accessories to help you like lightweight protectional gear, goretex outerwear and quality shoes. A windbreaker is also recommended. Always keep in mind to minimize your warmth output from your body. For example over 40% of your body heat goes out through your head. So be sure to protect those areas.

Here are a few basic principles to keep you warm in cold weather:
- Keep clothing clean
Sanitation is alway important, but also clothes matted with dirt and grease lose their insulation value. Heat can escape easily through crushed or clothing or filled up air pockets
- Avoid overheating
When you overheat, your body starts to sweat. This sweat decreases the insulation quality of your clothes. Always adjust your clothing so that you don’t sweat too much. Open your jacket a little bit or remove an inner layer of your clothing.
- Wear loose clothes in layers
If you’re wearing your clothes too tight you may restrict blood circulation that could trigger cold injuries. It can also decrease the volume of air between the layers - reduced insulation value. So always wear many layers of clothes and wear them loose.
- Keep clothing dry
If possible, always wear water repellent outer clothing. This will keep snow and frost from your inner layers. But your clothes may get wet from time to time. Dry them hanging them on your rucksack when there’s sun and wind out there.

Remember, a cold weather environment can be very harsh. Give a good deal of thought to selecting the right equipment for survival in the cold. If unsure of an item you have never used, test it in an “overnight backyard” environment before venturing further. Once you have selected items that are essential for your survival, do not lose them after you enter a cold weather environment.

Our body is losing water through sweating, urinatig and defecating. We lose about 2 to 3 litre water per day in a normal climate. Heat exposure or intense activity will increase the water output. Anway, it’s essential that you replace this water.

Here are some dangerous things that could happen to you if you don’t intake water.

• at 5% of water loss you became thirsty, irritable and weak
• at 10% you will have headaches, will be unable to walk and there will be some tingling sensations in your limbs
• at 15% your vision will be blurred, you will urinate painfully and have a swallen tounge.
• over 15% water loss will result in death.

That’s why it’s very important that you prevent dehydration. You can last at least for a week with only 0.5 Litre of water per day if you stay inactive and cover yourself from the sun or freezing temperatures. But when there isn’t an emergency situation, the regular water intake should be 2 to 3 litre per day.