“Recently, there has been a lot of talk about war scenarios. We need to prepare for war, but we may never see it in our lifetime, but the things, the supplies that we recommend to have in general, are also useful in case of other natural disasters, say.
Whatever disaster or emergency occurs, the scenario will be one of three: take cover (e.g. storm, explosion, weather hazard), wait (e.g. snowfall, disease outbreak, nuclear accident) or evacuate (e.g. fire, flood, war).
The essential elements of preparation are the same in all cases,” says Donatas Gurevičius, head of the Civil Protection Department of the Vilnius Fire Rescue Board of the Fire Protection and Rescue Department (PAGD).
We should take care of reserves not only when war threatens
Stocks at home and items in the departure bag, alternative power sources such as generators, as well as water supplies are useful even without waiting for war. They also come in handy due to climate change, often during recent natural disasters.
“This summer, we had situations where, due to storms and uprooted trees, there was no electricity in various areas of Lithuania for a while, and the possibility of egress from certain settlements. Therefore, even without imagining the worst scenario, which may never happen, we invite you to think about simpler events when you may suddenly have to evacuate,” urges D. Gurevičius.
Even without imagining the worst scenario, which may never happen, we invite you to think about simpler events when you may suddenly have to evacuate.
According to him, it may be necessary to do this even if a natural disaster does not necessarily occur.
“When an explosion occurred in one of the 30 apartments in an apartment building in Viršuliškių St. in Vilnius in January, the residents of the entire apartment building ended up outside. Even in such an unusual, rather rare and incredible case, as well as due to a fire, in the case of a quick evacuation, the things prepared in advance ease the inconvenience we may experience,” the interviewer assures.
The ability to quickly evacuate is an increasingly necessary habit
A representative of the PAGD Civil Protection Department is convinced that the ability to suddenly evacuate is an increasingly necessary habit that we may not have formed before, but it should be cultivated from a young age.
It is useful to have it after developing it in the family, knowing where the items needed for evacuation are placed, discussing in the family who will take them, having alternative sources of electricity, leaving the comfort zone and thinking that the electricity may not be available for a few hours, but for a longer time. If we live in an individual house, it is important to think about how we would have to survive if there was no electricity or water, say, for a couple of weeks.
“A power generator is usually the item that, even after storms like the one we’ve had this summer, becomes the best-selling item. If we do not prepare ourselves in advance, we will have to stand in queues at fuel stations, because everyone will need fuel at the same time, at ATMs, because everyone will need cash at the same time, at food or other goods stores, – warns D. Gurevičius.
The most ideal thing is to check in advance what the nearest shelter is, where we live, study or work.
– We also tried this before COVID-19, when the quarantine was announced. Let’s remember how we all rushed to the stores, bought goods for quite a long time, because we were not ready. Or when the war in Ukraine started, we all rushed to pack our backpacks to leave.”
It would be good to inquire about the shelters in advance
When asked what we should do in the event of an air hazard, say in the event of a war, the head of the Civil Protection Department says: “If you are outside, you should go inside the building if you have the luxury of time. If you only received a message, you need to find the nearest shelter marked with a special sign.
The shelter network, prepared in advance by the municipalities, is indicated on the LT72 map. Sometimes the shelter can be a basement that is not necessarily open to the public. If explosions are already heard, cover can be a ditch, a curb or another structure that allows protection from the blast wave.”
The interlocutor adds that it is ideal to check in advance what the nearest shelter is, where we live, study or work.
“If you happen to have received a message, grab your essentials immediately and, if you have the luxury, go to the nearest cover. By preparing in advance, you may realize that your home is the safest place and you don’t have the luxury of going to a publicly announced shelter, so you also need to do that homework in advance and find a room in your home where you can hide from secondary dangers, ie shards, broken glass, etc., because usually we won’t have time for that and it will be difficult to start thinking after the disaster.
It is often a room with a second wall outside the building. Well, let’s say if we imagine an apartment building or a residential building, it is often a toilet or a bathroom that has no windows and has a second wall. It’s best to go to such a room if we don’t have time to run to the basement or several hundred meters to another room,” the interviewer shares important information.
He adds that in extreme situations it is important to read messages and grab the most important things. You may not need everything, but it’s a good idea to take the most important things with you, with the idea that you might not have to return home.
The most important thing is not to forget drinking water, a radio, a mobile phone, some kind of charging device, such as a portable external battery, so that we do not lose connection.
You should also make sure that you will be warned about the disaster in time – activate warning messages on your phone, find out where the warning sirens are.
It is important to have a clear plan of action and work as a team
The interviewer emphasizes that it is important to have a clear action plan and act as a team during emergency situations.
“You should agree in advance who will make up your team. It can be family members, relatives, or even neighbors – it all depends on the individual situation. You should agree with each other how you will behave in different situations, where you will meet if you are in different places, where you will hide or evacuate, how you will get there, who will take the departure bag if you do not have one – exchange contact information.
This will be your family plan. It is very important to agree on the steps in advance, because in the event of an emergency, the telephone cannot always help with communication. For example, a team member may lose the phone, leave it at home, the battery may die or the mobile connection may not work at all,” the interviewer shares important information.
We only hurt ourselves and get into even more discomfort if we don’t prepare for emergency situations in advance.
According to D. Gurevičius, it is not uncommon for people to say that they will prepare for a threat when it is real: “Unfortunately, just like the disaster in the apartment building on Viršuliškių str. in the event or in the event of some kind of snowfall or storm, sometimes we don’t have the luxury of doing that because the time of day might not be right, and maybe that warning might not be right.”
According to D. Gurevičius, the head of the Civil Protection Department, we only injure ourselves, we end up in even greater discomfort if we do not prepare for emergency situations in advance, and he actively encourages us to prepare and develop this skill from an early age.
You can find all the information on how to prepare for and how to deal with disasters on the website Lt72.lt
Source: www.15min.lt
