People make a lot of survival mistakes after a natural disaster that can put them, as well as others, at risk. This often happens out of negligence or lack of knowledge about the dangers inherent following these events.
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You want to take the time to learn what to do in preparation for natural disaster events that are likely to occur in your area. But you also need to know how to get through them and what to do after one unfolds so that you make sure you protect yourself and your loved ones.
When you’ve survived a natural disaster…
• You might be feeling overwhelmed with the trauma you’ve just experienced.
• The fear, loss and devastation can take a huge toll on you emotionally. Consequently, you may struggle to remember important actions once the immediate danger has passed.
So, you need to take precautions to understand what steps you should be taking at that time.
Here are 6 survival mistakes to avoid to help you though the challenge of dealing with the aftermath of a natural disaster…
1. Walking or driving through dangerous flood waters
Post-flood waters that have accumulated during a major disaster event like a hurricane can cause many problems for people, whether you’re driving or walking through them.
• One of the most obvious danger people worry about is a downed power line. You don’t want to risk walking in water and getting electrocuted. The water itself is a hazard for walking or driving because you could end up being washed away and drowning.
• Sometimes, in flood waters, there is a lot of dangerous debris. With a tsunami, for example, an entire town can be washed away in a huge wave, with debris such as cars that could crush you or trap you under water.
• There is also the matter of contaminated water. There are water-borne diseases that could pose hazardous to your safety. If you have an open wound, such as a small scrape or nick on your skin, it could enter that way and cause a medical emergency for you.
• Animals are also a concern in flood waters after a natural disaster. You can have snakes, alligators and crocodiles all accessing normal pathways through flood waters. In fact, even though shark memes have taken on a life of their own, after Hurricane Ian, someone filmed a juvenile shark thrashing around in flood waters in their backyard in Fort Myers, Florida and it was verified to be real for once.
2. Returning to an unstable building too soon
Having to evacuate a place that you’re used to being in – whether it’s your home or office – can make you eager to return at the first opportunity. You want to assess the damage and return to a place where you normally feel safe.
But there are consequences that could prove to be unsafe in doing this.
Depending on the type of natural disaster you’ve survived, you might be entering a building that will soon be deemed unstable.
• You risk everything from minor debris falling (such as glass that could cut you) to a full collapse of the building, which could be a fatal decision. You want to make sure that your building has been cleared before you enter it.
• If there’s no clearance taking place, you might want to watch for signs that the building might be unstable. These include things like seeing cracks in the wall. You might see the shape of walls, the ceiling or floors distended or altered in some way.
• If you recognize any differences, call emergency services, and allow them to make a visit to the property to assess the damage and clear it for habitation before you enter or allow anyone else to go back inside.
3. Using gas appliances before damage is assessed
Many people don’t think about certain post-disaster dangers because they’re not visible, so these hazards go the ack of their minds. But…
• …gas lines that are damaged during a survival event can be a very real threat.
Earthquakes and hurricanes, for example, are rigid and might be broken or the connections unleashed during a survival event, leaving you in danger in the aftermath. If there’s a gas leak, it can cause a fire or even an explosion.
Not only can be land rupture cause these problems, but sometimes during periods of high wind and floods, it can cause a tree to fall, which can break a gas pipeline and result in major problems.
Gas is invisible and odorless, which makes it that much more of a threat. However, sometimes you might smell a strong rotten egg scent, and that can help you notify authorities of a gas leak.
• You want to keep all gas appliances turned off and evacuate the premises until an industry expert can get to your location and run tests to see if you and your loved ones are safe on the property.
4. Getting into unsafe confrontations with looters
After a natural survival event, there are often unsavory individuals who go stealing from others. These looters know they can get away with it because police are busy with rescue situations.
These opportunity thieves can be deterred in a variety of ways.
• You can use solar lights and motion detectors to make them choose a different location that may not be as carefully watched.
• You might have warning signs in place about the protection of the property, whether it’s a dog they must watch out for or the property owner themselves. You can also make sure there’s plenty of activity at the home so that people aren’t expecting to come into an abandoned home and take what they want.
5. Assuming the danger has passed before it’s over
Sometimes, one of the biggest survival mistakes you can make after a natural disaster is assuming the danger has passed.
• You might feel an earthquake is over and return to a building, but the aftershocks of the earthquake can still cause damage.
• You might enter the eye of a hurricane and feel as if the threat has passed, not realizing the back of the hurricane is about to pass over you and cause more damaging winds and rain.
• If you live in a tornado area, you might let your guard down when one tornado dissipates and the sirens go silent, but another one could spin up at any time and touch down in your location.
• Wind changes during a wildfire situation can cause people who initially feel safe to be under a direct threat when suddenly the fire is roaring toward them instead of heading in the opposite direction.
• Even a change in weather – such as a light rain, can also cause an ongoing threat for certain situations. If you have had a landslide near you, and it seems as if the immediate threat is over, a rain could cause more shifts and dangers to emerge.
6. Not addressing the mental toll the event took on you
Lastly, a big mistake after surviving a natural disaster is to ignore the toll it took on your mental health.
Going through these events can be traumatic, and you might feel emotions like panic and fear about the future, grief, and loss over what happened, anger, sleeplessness, or even severe PTSD signs, so make sure to get the help you need at to cope and feel safe.
Survival mistakes made after natural disaster events are often related to not being prepared and not knowing how to handle them in the moment.
People often overlook the aftermath, so you need to be aware of these issues so that you can have a well-rounded approach to your survival preparedness.