Ready EMERGENCY
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Skill cards

Short, self-contained how-tos for jobs that come up in every long emergency. Each one prints on a single card — print the set and keep it with the go-bags.

Use the water heater as an emergency water source

30–80 L of clean water · needs: hose or jug, screwdriver · 15 min

  1. Kill the power first. Electric heater: switch off its breaker. Gas heater: turn its control to OFF. A heating element in an emptying tank burns out — or worse.
  2. Close the cold-water inlet valve on top of the tank (stops contaminated mains water entering your clean reserve — do this the moment supply fails, even if you don't drain yet).
  3. Open any hot tap in the house to let air in, or lift the tank's pressure-relief lever.
  4. Find the drain valve at the tank's base. Attach a hose or hold a jug under it; open with a screwdriver or by hand.
  5. Let the first 2–3 liters run to waste — they carry the tank's sediment. Then fill containers.
  6. The water was potable when it entered. If the outage has been long, mains were damaged, or you are unsure: purify (2 drops bleach per liter, wait 30 min — or boil 1 min).
  7. Refill and re-power the heater only when mains supply is back and stable — never switch on a heater with an empty tank.

Water from the tank may still be scalding hot for hours. Draw carefully.

DIY oral rehydration solution (ORS)

Treats dehydration from diarrhea, vomiting, heat · needs: water, sugar, salt · 3 min

  1. Start with 1 liter of clean water (boiled and cooled, bottled, or chlorinated).
  2. Add 6 level teaspoons of sugar.
  3. Add ½ level teaspoon of salt — measure, don't pour. LEVEL spoons, scraped flat.
  4. Stir until fully dissolved. Taste it: like slightly sweet tears — no saltier than tears. Too salty? Pour half away, top up with water, re-taste.
  5. Dose after every loose stool: adult — one large cup (250 ml); child — half to one cup; sip steadily, don't gulp.
  6. Vomiting? Wait 10 minutes, then one spoonful every 1–2 minutes. Tiny volumes stay down.
  7. Make it fresh every 24 hours. A squeeze of orange or a mashed banana adds potassium and makes children accept it.

Too much salt is dangerous, especially for children. When commercial ORS sachets are available, they are always the better choice. Full guide: dehydration.

Blackout-proof the fridge & freezer

Buys 1–2 extra days of safe food · needs: bottles, blankets, tape · 10 min now, 5 min at outage

  1. Today, before any outage: fill empty bottles ¾ full and pack the freezer's dead space. A full freezer holds cold 48 hours; half-full only 24. The frozen bottles are also future fridge-coolers and drinking water.
  2. Put a thermometer in the fridge if you have one; freeze a cup of water and rest a coin on top — a sunk coin later tells you everything thawed and refroze while you were away.
  3. When the power dies: agree as a family — doors stay shut. Tape a "CLOSED!" note over the handles; the reflex to browse is strong. An unopened fridge is safe ~4 hours.
  4. At the 3–4 hour mark, open the fridge ONCE, decisively: move milk, meat, and leftovers either into the freezer's cold mass, or into a cool box packed with your frozen bottles. Close.
  5. Eat in order: fridge perishables first, freezer as it thaws, pantry last.
  6. Drape blankets over the freezer (not the compressor vents while power is on) and keep it in the coolest spot away from sun.
  7. After power returns: anything above 4°C for 2+ hours (1 hour in a 32°C+ room) — out. Ice crystals still inside = safe to cook. Coin sunk in the cup = the freezer thawed; discard and restock.

Taste and smell prove nothing. When in doubt, throw it out. Full rules: food safety.

Seal a room — dust storm or chemical release

Target: under 3 minutes · kit lives IN the room: pre-cut plastic, wide tape, towels, scissors, radio

  1. Everyone into the chosen room (interior, few openings; upper floor for chemical — many vapors sink). Count heads. Bring water and the radio if not already stored there.
  2. Close the door. Windows shut and latched.
  3. Turn OFF the AC and any fan that moves outside air (do this at the unit or breaker before sealing if the controls are outside the room).
  4. Wet a towel, roll it, jam it along the gap under the door.
  5. Tape the pre-cut plastic sheet over the window frame — tape all four edges flat, no gaps. Second sheet over any vent or extractor.
  6. Tape over the keyhole, letterbox-style gaps, and around the door edges if tape remains.
  7. Radio on, phone charging off the power bank. Stay sealed until the official all-clear — a passing plume usually takes under a few hours.

A family in a normal room has many hours of air — do not ration breathing, do sit calmly. If anyone gets drowsy or breathless with no other cause, unseal and ventilate. Drill this twice a year: safe rooms.

Cool one room without AC

Heat wave + power failure · needs: water, sheets, cardboard/foil, any fan · ongoing

  1. Pick the room: lowest floor, thickest walls, least sun. Move the family in — cool ONE room, not the house.
  2. Kill solar gain: block every sunny window outside the glass if possible (shutters, board, foil), else cardboard/blankets against the inside pane. Keep blocked all day.
  3. Keep the whole house sealed while outside is hotter than inside (roughly 10:00–22:00).
  4. Night-flush: when outside air finally cools below inside (late night), open windows on opposite sides of the house for cross-flow. Close and re-block everything at first light.
  5. Cool bodies, not air: wet cloths on neck/wrists/forearms, feet in a basin, spray-and-fan the skin. In dry air, hang a wet sheet in the breeze path or in the doorway.
  6. Fans move heat INTO people when air is hotter than ~40°C — past that, use fans only on wet skin, or not at all.
  7. No cooking indoors in daylight; lights and devices off — every watt is heat.
  8. Sleep low: mattresses on the floor of the cool room; floor level runs several degrees cooler than bed height.

Check the vulnerable hourly. Confusion, staggering, or hot dry skin = heatstroke — act now.

Splint with household items

Immobilize a suspected fracture · needs: rigid object, padding, 3+ ties · 10 min

  1. Gather: something rigid (rolled magazine or newspaper, folded cardboard trough, wooden spoon pair, umbrella, broom handle), padding (towel, clothing), ties (scarves, torn sheet strips, belts, tape).
  2. Splint the limb in the position found — never straighten a deformed limb.
  3. Check circulation past the injury BEFORE: press a nail — color should return in 2 seconds. Note warmth and feeling.
  4. Pad the rigid piece, then place it so it spans the joint above AND below the break (forearm: elbow to fingers; lower leg: above knee to below ankle).
  5. Tie snugly at least above and below the break — never directly over it. Knots on the splint side, not the skin.
  6. Arm: add a sling (triangle of cloth, or pin the sleeve to the shirt) and tie the sling gently to the chest. Leg: tie to the good leg with padding between as a second splint.
  7. Re-check circulation AFTER and every 30 minutes: fingers/toes turning cold, blue, or numb → loosen the ties one notch.
  8. Remove rings and watches from the limb now, before swelling. Cold pack (wrapped) 20 min on/off for pain.

Open fracture, deformed thigh/pelvis, or any numb cold foot/hand → evacuate urgently: fractures.

Jump-start a car

Dead battery · needs: jump leads + a running donor car · 15 min

  1. Park the donor car nose-to-nose or side-by-side, close but not touching. Both cars OFF, in Park/Neutral, handbrakes on. Unplug dashcams/phones.
  2. Open both bonnets. Identify terminals: + (red cover) and − (black, usually strapped to the body).
  3. Connect in THIS order: red clamp → dead battery +.
  4. Red clamp (other end) → donor battery +.
  5. Black clamp → donor battery −.
  6. Black clamp (other end) → bare metal on the dead car's engine block or chassis, away from the battery and fuel lines — NOT the dead battery's − post (avoids sparking over the battery, which can vent hydrogen).
  7. Start the donor car; let it run 2–3 minutes at fast idle.
  8. Start the dead car. No luck: wait 2 more minutes and retry. Clicking only after several tries → the problem may not be the battery; stop.
  9. Disconnect in reverse order (black off metal, black off donor, red off donor, red off revived car), keeping clamps from touching anything.
  10. Drive the revived car 20–30 minutes minimum to recharge. It may need a proper charger or a new battery.

Never jump a cracked, leaking, bulging, or frozen battery. Batteries vent explosive gas: no smoking, no flames, no clamp-sparking over the battery.

Siphon fuel safely (emergency transfer)

Move fuel from one of YOUR vehicles/cans to another · needs: 2 m of hose, approved container · 15 min

Never start a siphon by mouth. Swallowed or inhaled petrol causes chemical pneumonia from even a small aspiration. Use one of the two mouth-free methods below. Work outdoors, engine off, no phones in hand, no flames within 10 m.
  1. Park the source vehicle on ground higher than the receiving container — fuel only flows downhill. Set the container on the ground (not in a boot: static).
  2. Feed the hose into the tank until you hear/feel it in fuel (many modern cars have anti-siphon screens; if the hose stops at ~30 cm, this method won't work — stop).
  3. Method A — jiggle valve hose: if your emergency kit hose has a brass jiggle valve, submerge that end in the fuel and shake the hose up and down until fuel climbs past the crest and flow starts.
  4. Method B — two-hose air pressure: feed a second, short hose into the filler beside the first; seal the filler mouth around both hoses with a rag pressed tight; gently blow air through the short hose (your mouth touches only the clean short hose, never the fuel one) — pressure pushes fuel up the long hose until the siphon self-sustains.
  5. Keep the outlet end below tank level the whole time; raise it above tank level to stop the flow instantly.
  6. Fill the container to 95% max (fuel expands in heat). Cap tightly, wipe spills, wash hands.
  7. If fuel gets in your mouth despite everything: spit, rinse repeatedly, do NOT induce vomiting, seek medical advice — especially if any coughing follows.

Petrol is for your own vehicles and approved red cans only — never store it indoors or in the sun, never in drink bottles (children die this way every year).

Car kit for extreme heat

Summer here makes a breakdown a survival event · check the kit monthly June–September

  1. Water beats everything: 4 L minimum, 8 L for desert trips — rotated monthly (heat degrades bottles; keep them shaded in the boot, wrapped in a towel or cool bag).
  2. Shade kit: windscreen reflector, two light cotton sheets (drape over windows/bodywork to make shade), sun hat per person, umbrella.
  3. Electrolytes: ORS sachets taped to the water. Heat-proof snacks only: nuts, dates, dried fruit — chocolate and gels become soup.
  4. Phone lifeline: car charger + power bank kept charged (check monthly — heat murders idle batteries), paper map as the no-battery backup.
  5. Breakdown drill in heat: pull fully off the road, bonnet up (universal distress), hazards on, stay with the car — shade side, or under your rigged sheet-shade beside it. The car is visible; a walker in 45°C is not, for long.
  6. Never sit in a closed parked car "for the AC" while broken down: cabin temperatures pass 60°C within an hour. Windows cracked wide, or shade outside.
  7. Ration effort, not water: drink steadily (the "save it" instinct kills), do any pushing/digging at dawn or dusk only.
  8. Half-tank rule all summer — fuel = AC while you wait for recovery.

Never leave a child, elder, or animal in a parked car. Not for one minute. Full list: car kit checklist.

Hand-wash laundry with minimal water

Outage/rationing routine · needs: 2 basins or a bucket + lid, soap, line · 20 min active

  1. Triage ruthlessly: underwear and socks wash daily; shirts air out and go again; trousers wait a week. Wash small loads often, not mountains.
  2. Basin 1 — soak: warm-if-possible water + a little grated soap or detergent. Push clothes under, walk away 30 minutes. Soaking does most of the cleaning free.
  3. Agitate 2–3 minutes: knead like dough, or put the lid on the bucket and shake/roll it (a clean plunger makes a fine washing machine).
  4. Scrub only collars, cuffs, and stains — with a brush or by rubbing fabric on fabric.
  5. Wring hard, THEN rinse in basin 2. Wringing first carries less soap over, so one rinse is enough.
  6. Roll items in a dry towel and twist — pulls out most remaining water, halves drying time.
  7. Line-dry in the sun: UV disinfects. Dark/delicate colors inside-out or in shade.
  8. Reuse: soak water → next load's soak or toilet flushing; rinse water → tomorrow's soak water. Nothing pours away clean.

Sickroom laundry washes separately, hottest water you can manage, and the washer's hands get soaped after — sickroom rules.

Make char cloth

Turns a spark into an ember every time · needs: 100% cotton cloth, metal tin, fire · 20 min

  1. Find a small metal tin with a lid (mint/tobacco tin, food can with foil lid). Punch ONE small nail hole in the lid.
  2. Cut 100% cotton — old t-shirt, denim, canvas — into 5 cm squares. Synthetics melt; they will not char.
  3. Pack the squares loosely in the tin, lid on, and set it IN or ON hot coals (a working fire, or even a gas ring outdoors).
  4. Smoke will jet from the hole — that is the cloth's gases cooking off. Wait until the smoke stops (5–10 minutes typical).
  5. Pull the tin off the heat and let it cool completely before opening — oxygen hitting hot cloth turns your product to ash.
  6. Result: uniformly black, intact squares that hold together. Brown patches = under-done (cook again); crumbling ash = overdone (shorter next time).
  7. To use: lay a square on your tinder nest, land one spark from a ferro rod or flint onto it — it catches a dull red ember instantly. Fold the nest around it and blow gently to flame.
  8. Store squares in a zip-lock in the fire kit. Bone dry = works for years.

Do the cooking outdoors — the off-gassing smoke is flammable and unpleasant. Fire safety rules as always: fire-making.