Emergency Shelter
Emergency shelter: a storm shelter, a safe room, or a safe place.
A shelter is any place or structure that gives protection. While it can be a tent, a cave, a lean-to, or an underground shelter, hopefully in a crisis, it can still be your home. Not all disaster situations will render your home unable to give you emergency shelter.
But if your home has been destroyed, then temporary shelters like tents, or community centers would be necessary.
Sheltering in Place
Sheltering in place is when you make a shelter out of the place you are in. In case of terrorist activities, leaving your area might take too long or put you in harm's way. In such cases, it's safer to stay indoors than to go outside.
Preparing to shelter in place:
Choose a room in your home or business to use as a shelter. The best room would be a room with as few windows and doors as possible. A large room with a water supply is best, something like a master bedroom that is connected to a bathroom. For a chemical attack, this room should be as high in the building as possible to avoid gases that sink. This is different than the sheltering techniques for severe storms, when the shelter should be down in the home.
Have the following items on hand (ideally in the shelter room, to save time):
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Food and bottled water: a gallon of water per person in plastic bottles, as well as ready-to-eat foods that will keep without refrigeration. If bottled water isn't available at the time, the water in a toilet tank is suitable for drinking.
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Flashlight, battery-powered radio, and extra batteries for both.
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Duct tape and scissors.
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Towels and plastic sheeting.
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A working telephone.
How will I know if I need to shelter in place?
YOu will hear from the local police, emergency coordinators, or government officials on the radio and television if you need to take shelter. If your children are at school, they will be sheltered there. Unless you are specifically instructed to do so, do not try to get to the school to bring your children home.
What do I do?
If a shelter-at-home alert is announced, act quickly and follow the instructions of your local emergency coordinators. Every situation can be different and local emergency coordinators might have special instructions for you to follow. In general, do the following:
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Get inside as quickly as possible.
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If there is time, shut and lock all outside doors and windows. Locking them may provide a tighter seal against chemicals. Turn off the air conditioner or heater and all fans. Close the fireplace damper and any other place that air can come in from the outside.
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Go into the shelter-in-place room and shut the door. Take pets with you, if possible.
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Tape plastic over any windows in the room. Use duct tape around windows and over any vents into the room, including electrical outlets.
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Push a wet towel up against the door and the floor to seal it.
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It is necessary to drink your stored water, not water from the tap.
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Turn on the radio. Keep a telephone close at hand.
Sheltering this way will keep you safer than if you are outdoors. Most likely, you will not be in your shelter for more than a few hours. Listen to your radio for announcements indicating that it is safe to leave your shelters.
