Forest fires have grown very common today and the need to survive it more crucial. If your home is in the path of a forest fire then you need to act very quickly to stay ahead of the consuming flames. Learn more about how to react in a situation where you have to evacuate and act fast to save your home and yourself.

Surviving Forest Fires
Follow these steps to move ahead of the flames:

• Throw away outdoor furniture and inflammable material
• Prepare to evacuate
• Turn off the gas valves
• Switch on the lights indoors because forest smoke can reduce visibility
• Wet the roof, yard and house to prevent the fire from spreading further
• Use towels to put out fire next to you
• Know when to fight fire and when to run from it
• Move away from the flames to avoid inhaling forest fire smoke
• Keep the escape routes open (go against the wind and downhill because fire spreads faster with the flow of the wind and uphill)
• Wet a cloth and cover your face and nose to move through fire
• If your hair or clothes catch fire stop, drop and roll to put out the fire

Though forest fires are a necessity in the environmental cycle, it can pose great risk to one’s health and life.

A derecho is like a tornado except that the winds in this case go straight up instead of going up in circles. It is accompanied with violent showers or thunderstorms. Its wind velocity or speed is almost more than 57 miles per hour and many people get injured by the derecho when they are outdoors.

How to survive a derecho?
Follow these steps to survive a derecho:

• Get indoors to the basement of your house to survive a derecho
• Avoid boating, water sports during a derecho because it can overturn boats with the high waves and violent winds
• Mobile homes need to moved to a safer location
• Avoid barns and shelter with glass windows where you could get injured by the falling debris and shattering glass
• Avoid driving during a derecho as vehicles are likely to overturn or get crushed by the falling electric poles, trees and debris
• Stay alert of a derecho that is coming through radio and news to stay prepared

Take cover in a room preferably without windows. A severe thunderstorm is occasionally followed by a derecho and a warning is always sent out by meteorologists. A derecho has strong winds which can uproot trees and poles that can damage homes. So avoid camping if a derecho warning has already been released.

Preparing to survive a calamity can actually help you save a life. Floods are very common in the United States and countless people are at the risk without being least aware of it or ways to tackle it. Knowing what to do can help save a lot of time till you find your way to safety.

How to survive a flood?
Listed below are ways to respond to an ensuing flood situation:

• Staying alert via news and radio channels helps you prepare for an incoming flood situation, evacuation procedures, etc
• Never try walking through flood waters because even a six inch high flood has such high currents that will topple you over
• Use a wooden stick if you have no other way but to walk through flood water
• Don’t try driving in the flood
• Get out of your car and find higher ground if the car begins to fill with water
• Get out of the water quickly because it is contaminated with gasoline, dirt, raw sewage, etc

Water pressure can make the roads and buildings very weak so stay wary and alert of their condition. Disinfect the clothes and objects that may have come in contact with the flood water and remember life is the biggest asset. So fight to save it.

Parks that entertain activities such as camping have introduced many rules to avoid open fires and accidents. These rules are meant to safeguard people and the environment.

Open Fire Safety Tips
Listed below are some open fire safety tips:

• Before starting the fire clear the ground of dried leaves, grass, etc that can catch fire easily
• Learn how to put out fires quickly – shovel to throw dirt, fire extinguisher and water
• Do not start a fire if its too windy as neighboring areas can also be affected
• Do not wear loose clothes or don’t sit or stand next to fire if you are wearing loose clothes
• A dying fire starter can cause an explosion so light woods instead
• If someone’s hair or clothes catch fire, he or she should stop, drop and roll to put out the fire
• Children should be accompanied by elders especially next to places where fires are lit and the stop, drop, roll technique should be practiced with them

Check local and state laws for other situations where there can be an open fire.

Surviving volcanic eruptions isn’t as easy as told. No shelter is another challenge to bear with but certain tactics should see you through safety. Things go wrong only when you don’t know what to do and run helter-skelter in panic.

How to survive volcanic eruptions when outdoors?
Follow these steps to survive volcanic eruptions:

• Move up to a higher place because lava and flood will travel through low lying areas
• Never try to outrun lava because you wouldn’t succeed
• Look for objects that can help you shield against the lava
• Also look for floodwater and mudflows during eruptions and climb to higher ground to save yourself from drowning or being carried away
• Try using a respirator or cloth to breathe because volcanic fumes are lethal and can kill in merely 60 seconds or less
• Poisonous gases will collect near the surface of the earth so keep your head up and away from the ground
• Get medical help to treat injuries

Knowing how to live a volcanic eruption can save your life than running away from it which will anyway consume you in no time. So keep your guard and look for safe and higher spots to rush to during one.

The rain can dampen your spirits as much as it can dampen any of your camping trips. But knowing what to do exactly can make you survive the rains and have more fun in the trip actually.

How to camp in the rain?
Follow these steps to enjoy camping in the rain:

• Choose the highest spot to camp or put your tents and preferably amidst trees
• Set up the tent normally as you would
• Without touching the tent tie a tarp over the tent or tents and raise it in the middle to allow water to drain naturally
• Dig a moat around the tent and target the fall of the water from the tarp to the moat and also dig a canal to drain off the water away from the tent
• Keep the coals burning with a foil tent over it while the rain subsides
• Tents are designed to keep rain out but when touched during rain you can get soaked right through your sleeping bag so avoid touching its walls, etc
• Dry the tent before taking it down to increase the durability and life of the tent

If you cannot dry the tent before taking it down, fold it and dry it immediately once you reach home in your garage or outside.

Spring rain can give an added benefit of not having to water your lawns at all but consider these side effects – flooding, mosquitoes, mudslides and lightning. How are you to keep safe and protected from all these pitfalls of spring rain which are incessant and generous in so many ways.

Spring Rain Survival Tips
Follow these steps to stay protected and safe during spring rain:

• Avoid getting wet by going out
• Carry a waterproof backpack to stack essentials
• Know the landmarks or buildings where you can get shelter during aggressive downpours
• Carry an umbrella or a poncho with you always
• In case of thunder and lightning stay away from pools and/or lakes
• Do not go out into open terrain to get struck by lightning
• Change your shoes and clothes if you get wet
• Avoid crossing flowing rivers by foot or in a car
• If you are treading the mountains take the right gear
• Avoid eroding slopes

The soil, slope and vegetation determine the safety of your home. Consult a professional for these problems during spring rain:

• Rocks appearing on the slope
• Change in vegetation
• Erosion
• Pooling water
• Cement cracks
• Sudden shift in levels
• Basement requirements on the basis of the water table
• Landscaping
• Drains and gutters that lie blocked

This could be the most harrowing time for you. Snow can lead to a blizzard and you could be as bad as in a situation to be stuck in your car during a blizzard. The roads are impossible to tread on so stay put inside and keep warm and alive till help arrives.

What to do when stuck in a car during a blizzard?
Follow the steps below to keep safe and alive till rescue arrives:

• Stay inside the car because getting out would only mean getting lost
• Call 911 from your mobile phone (give them your location details if you can)
• Keep the car windows slightly opened to allow fresh air inside
• If the car pipe is NOT blocked by snow and only id you are sure that it is not you can run your car (if it is blocked by snow and you run the car it can lead to death caused by carbon monoxide poisoning)
• To avoid frostbite wiggle your feet, clasp your hands and move as much as you can to get warmth
• Most of the heat is lost from the body is lost through the head so keep wearing a hat on your head to keep warm
• Keep a flashlight switched on in one of your car windows so that the rescue team finds it easy to locate you and your car

Never rush out for help because you find any. The driving snow can only make you feel more disoriented and you may also get lost instead of really finding a way.

Snorkeling can be fun for both adults and kids. Anyone who already knows how to swim can master snorkeling in the wide oceans. Though teaching a child snorkeling will take some effort, time and patience; you would be surprised to notice that their curiosity to explore the depths of the ocean helps them grasp the art of snorkeling even more quickly.

Snorkeling Safety Tips
Follow the steps below to teach your kids the art of safe snorkeling:

• Purchase the kids his or her own fins, mask and snorkel
• The snorkel should be self-draining
• The mask should fit well and not leak
• Put on the mask before the child goes into water so that he or she gets used to of wearing it throughout
• Then put on the snorkel and teach breathing techniques through the mask
• Make them get used to the fins by making them swim with it in the pool or bath tub
• Teach kids snorkeling in a swimming pool
• Teach your kid the art of emptying water from the mask while in water (tipping the bottom part of the mask while pushing the head back)
• Show how to blow excess water out from their snorkel (blowing hard)

The more you get used to the mask, fins and snorkel the easier it gets to go snorkeling. Legs for example, have a different motion while wearing fins and kids need to get used to that as much as adults.

Dehydration can kill someone within a span of less than four days. So during emergencies getting water is more important that getting secure, safe and clean water. Contaminated water kills and sickens millions of people today. Therefore, building an emergency water filter can save your life and others during a crisis situation.

How to build an emergency water filter?
To build an emergency water filter follow the steps below:

• Arrange for charcoal from somewhere
• Crush the charcoal into fine pieces
• Get a container or make one such as can or bottle
• Pierce the bottom of the container with a number of holes
• Start making your five-layer filter
• Cover the bottom layer with leaves, grass, cheesecloth or coffee filters (should b nearly one-sixth of the height of the container)
• Add another layer of soil or sand and pack it down which should again be one-sixth the height of the container
• Add another layer of charcoal
• Add a layer of soil or sand but do not pack it down this time
• Add a final layer of coffee filter, leaves or grass
• The container being now full pack down the top two layers so as to form space for raw water to be poured into it
• Pour raw water inside the filter
• Drink the filtered water that trickles out from beneath

In emergency situations, such filtered water is ideal to drink. However, you can also add purification tablets to do away with the bacteria and viruses which are not confirmed to disappear with this process of filtering.