Emergency — act now
Breathe out slowly once. Find your situation below. Do the numbered steps in order. Details can wait.
If phones work, call for help first. Speak slowly: WHERE you are, WHAT happened, WHO is hurt. Do not hang up until they tell you to.
Our numbers
- Earthquake
- Home fire
- Wildfire
- Attack / explosions
- Chemical / smoke
- Dust storm
- Flood
- Heat emergency
- Gas leak
- Severe bleeding
- Choking
- Not breathing — CPR
Earthquake — shaking now
DROP. COVER. HOLD ON.
- Drop to hands and knees where you are.
- Get under a sturdy table. No table: crouch by an interior wall, cover head and neck with your arms.
- Hold on until shaking stops completely. Do NOT run outside during shaking.
- In bed: stay there, cover head with a pillow.
- After: expect aftershocks. Put on shoes. Check for gas smell and injuries. Leave the building if it is damaged, using stairs, never lifts.
Fire in the home
GET OUT. STAY OUT. Seconds count — take nothing.
- Shout “FIRE!” to wake everyone.
- Smoke? Crawl low — the cleanest air is at the floor.
- Touch each closed door with the back of your hand. Hot door: do not open, use another way.
- Get everyone out, close doors behind you, meet at your meeting point.
- Never go back inside. Call the fire service from outside.
- Trapped: close the door, block the gap with cloth, go to the window, shout and wave.
- Clothes on fire: STOP — DROP — ROLL.
Wildfire approaching
Leave early. Fire moves faster than you think.
- If told to evacuate — or you feel unsure — GO NOW. Do not wait to see flames.
- Wear long sleeves, sturdy shoes. Take go-bags and people, nothing else.
- Drive away from the fire and away from its downwind path. Lights on, windows closed, air on recirculate.
- Cannot leave: shelter in a building or car far from vegetation. In a car: park clear of bushes, engine off, lights on, stay inside below window level with engine air recirculating.
Attack, shelling, or explosions
Get down, get inside, get away from windows.
- Explosions close by: lie flat NOW, mouth open, cover head. Wait for the pause.
- Move to the safest spot: basement, stairwell core, or an interior room on a low floor. Away from windows and outside walls.
- Stay there. Sit against a solid wall. Count everyone.
- Do not watch from windows or film from balconies.
- Listen to local radio for instructions. Only move when it has been quiet a long time or authorities say so.
- Never touch fallen munitions or strange objects — they can still explode. Mark, remember, report.
Chemical release / toxic smoke
Get away from the smell, get inside, seal the room.
- Outside near the source: move away crosswind (wind on your cheek, not your face or back), uphill if possible.
- Get indoors. Close every window and door.
- Turn OFF air conditioning, fans, and vents.
- Pick an interior room (high floor is better for heavy vapors). Seal door gaps, vents, and windows with tape, wet towels, plastic.
- Breathe through a wet cloth if air stings.
- Chemicals on skin: remove clothing (cut, don't pull over the head), rinse skin with lots of water and soap.
- Listen to the radio. Stay sealed until officials say clear.
Dust storm
Get indoors before the wall of dust arrives.
- Indoors: shut windows and doors, seal gaps with damp towels, turn off AC that pulls outside air.
- Caught outside: cover nose and mouth (N95 or damp cloth), shield eyes, put your back to the wind, get behind solid shelter.
- Driving: do NOT drive into the wall of dust. Exit the road fully, stop, handbrake on, ALL lights OFF, foot off the brake. Wait it out.
- Asthma in the family: inhaler within reach before the storm hits.
Flood / flash flood
Go up, not out. Never enter moving water.
- Move to higher ground or an upper floor immediately. Do not wait for the water to reach you.
- Never walk through moving water — 15 cm can knock you down.
- Never drive through flooded roads — 30 cm floats a car. Turn around.
- Car trapped in rising water: get out immediately, move to the highest ground you can.
- Avoid wadis, underpasses, and storm drains during and after rain.
- Treat all floodwater as sewage: keep out of mouth and wounds.
Heat emergency — person overheating
Confused, staggering, or fainting in the heat = heatstroke. Cool them NOW.
- Call for emergency help — heatstroke kills.
- Move them to shade or the coolest room. Strip outer clothing.
- Cool aggressively: soak with water, fan hard, ice packs to neck, armpits, groin. Immersion in cool water is best if possible.
- Conscious and able to swallow: small sips of water or rehydration solution.
- Confused, vomiting, or unconscious: nothing by mouth. Recovery position. Keep cooling until help arrives.
Gas leak (smell of gas)
No flames, no switches, no phones inside. Air, off, out.
- Do NOT touch light switches, lighters, or phones — any spark can ignite gas.
- Open windows and doors as you leave.
- Turn off the gas at the cylinder or meter valve if it is on your way out.
- Get everyone outside. Call the gas company / emergency services from outside.
- Do not go back until it is checked. Never turn gas back on yourself.
Severe bleeding
Press hard on the wound and do not let go.
- Call for help. Put on gloves if instantly available — don't delay for them.
- Press directly on the wound with both hands on a cloth pad. Hard. It should hurt.
- Keep pressing. Do not lift to look. Add cloth on top if soaked.
- Wrap a tight bandage over the pad when bleeding slows.
- Arm/leg wound still spurting through pressure: apply a tourniquet 5–7 cm above the wound (never on a joint). Tighten until bleeding stops. Write down the time. Never loosen it.
- Keep the person warm and lying down.
Choking
Coughing? Encourage coughing. Silent and can't breathe? Act.
- Ask “Are you choking?” If they can cough or speak, let them cough.
- Cannot breathe/speak: give 5 sharp back blows between the shoulder blades with the heel of your hand, leaning them forward.
- Still blocked: 5 abdominal thrusts — stand behind, fist above the navel, pull sharply in and up.
- Alternate 5 blows / 5 thrusts until the object comes out or they collapse.
- If they collapse: start CPR (below). Call for help.
- Baby under 1: 5 back blows face-down along your forearm, then 5 chest pushes with two fingers — never abdominal thrusts.
Not breathing — CPR
Unresponsive and not breathing normally? Push hard and fast in the center of the chest.
- Shake shoulders, shout. No response: shout for help, call emergency services on speaker.
- Tilt head back, lift chin. Look/listen 10 seconds. Gasping is NOT breathing.
- Heel of one hand on the center of the chest, other hand on top, arms straight.
- Push hard, 5–6 cm deep, 100–120 per minute (beat of “Stayin' Alive”). Let the chest fully rise between pushes.
- Trained: 30 pushes, then 2 breaths. Not trained: just keep pushing without stopping.
- Swap with someone every 2 minutes. Do not stop until help takes over or they wake.
- If a defibrillator (AED) arrives: turn it on and follow its voice exactly.
Print this page and keep a copy in the kitchen, the go-bags, and the car. Paper works when batteries don't. Use the print link below.