Planning for an Emergency

• Disaster Planning for you and your family

Your Mind is Your Best Chance of Surviving an Emergency

• Prepare yourself
• Assess the situation
• What do you have on hand to take care of yourself and your loved ones
• Depending on your circumstances and the nature of the emergency you must decide your options of Fight or Flight
• You should understand and plan for both possibilities.

First Decision

• Fight or

• Flight

Family Communications Plan:

• Your family may not be with you when disaster strikes.
• Have one person that everyone will call.
• Have a plan on how you will contact one another in an emergency.
• Review what you will do in different situations and different emergencies.

Small Crisis and Large Crisis

• You may want to have two points of contact.
• If it is a small crisis such as a fire in your home a neighbor may be a great point of contact.
• If a larger situation like a hurricane your plan needs to include a point of contact on the other side of the country that would not have been impacted by the emergency.

Point of Contact at a Distance

• It may be easier to make a long-distance phone call than to call across town, so an out-of-state contact may be in a better position to communicate among separated family members.
• You may have trouble getting through, or the phone system may be down altogether, but be patient.

EMERGENCY SUPPLY KIT

• Be prepared to improvise and use what you have on hand to make it on your own for at least three days, maybe longer.
• While there are many things that might make you more comfortable, think first about fresh water, food and clean air.

Multiple Emergency Kits

• In one, put everything needed to stay where you are and make it on your own.
• The other should be a lightweight, smaller version you can take with you if you have to get away.
• One bag to be left in your vehicle.
• One for your suitcase.

Small Carry Bag for Travel

• You need to have a small bag to keep in your suit case for hotel emergencies.
• You need to have some basic first aid and medicines, leather gloves, lock picks an door latch tool. Whistle, Permanent Black Marker, Knife, Leatherman Tool, Light Sticks, Duct Tape etc.

How to Survive a Hotel Siege

• Avoid big hotels
• Terrorists tend not to waste time on small targets; they're trying to maximize the body count and hit targets of maximum symbolic value at the same time.

Two Mindsets

• In a small hotel you are a greater target for kidnapping, robbery or individual attacks or crimes.
• But less of a target for mass attack or suicide bombers as they want large numbers of casualties.
• Normally the general security is not as comprehensive.

• In a large hotel you are safer from small crime but more at risk to random attacks like a suicide bombers or Mumbai type attacks.
• You can also be more of a target if the hotel name is symbol of America.
• I was told that terrorist would not attack the Marriott in Beirut because they had the only movie theaters in Beirut.

Order Room Service When Possible

• Minimizing your time in public areas and your exposure to restaurants located off the lobby reduces your risk of attack.
• The lobby is the most dangerous place in a hotel; which are prime targets for suicide bombers precisely because they're open to the public and entirely unsecure.

Make Two Plans the Moment You Arrive

• Figure out how you're going to escape, and figure out, alternatively, how you're going to survive a siege.
• If escape isn't an option - say, you believe that men are roaming the floors with automatic weapons - try to figure out what you're going to use to fortify your room.

Do you Need a Weapon

• I have found that you can find hardware stores in every city.
• They are an excellent source of improvised weapons.
• You can find Roofing Hachets, machetes, flare guns, pesticides and drain cleaners that can be used as weapons.

Results of Improvised Weapons

• Autopsy photo of the results of a 12 gauge flare gun shot to the head.
• Burns resulting from having drain cleaner thrown on them.

Weapons that Can be Aquired When Traveling

• You can find the 12 gauge flare gun inserts on line or at gun shows. Take the insert and buy the flare gun and bullets at your destination.
• You can take a Visine bottle and enlarge the hole in the bottle with a needle and then refill the bottle with formaldehyde and use it like Mace or a chemical agent.
• It can be carried without being noticed as a weapon.

Be Ready to Leave

• Know where your shoes are, as well as your passport and money, Also, identify a lamp or other piece of furniture that could be used as a weapon of last resort.
• Always travel with a flashlight, utility knife, matches, and a few energy bars.

How to Survive a Terrorist Attack

• Radiation Exposure A radiation threat or "Dirty Bomb" is the use of common explosives to spread radioactive materials over a targeted area.
• If not directly exposed to the blast you must attempt to keep the radiation from your body.
• Do anything you can to keep the thickest things you can between you and the fallout. Hiding inside a cupboard is better than nothing.

Chemical Attack

• A chemical attack is the deliberate release of a toxic gas, liquid or solid.
• If exposed:
• Cover your nose and mouth with fabric, wet fabric if possible, this will filter out a portion of the deadly spores.
• Leave area of attack immediately.
• Take shallow breaths or if possible, hold your breath until you leave the area of attack.
• Wash skin with soap and water.
• Run your eyes through warm running water for 10-15 minutes. Await medical treatment from response teams. If you begin developing a fever, seek medical attention immediately.

Nuclear Attack

• An explosion with intense light and heat, a damaging pressure wave and widespread radioactive material that can contaminate.
• It is estimated that a “Briefcase Nuke” would instantly kill everyone within 5 miles of the blast and radiation will kill everyone within 25 miles.
• Radiation contamination would be 25 to 50 miles wide for 200 miles the direction of the wind.

Explosion

• Be aware of signs of an imminent explosion.
• Move quickly to maximize your chance of survival.
• Find cover behind large solid objects.
• Lower your body to the ground, lying flat on your stomach if such a position is possible given your circumstances.
• Cover your head with your hands and keep your face as close to the ground as possible, avoiding the temptation to get up and see if the emergency has passed.

• Remain in your covered position throughout the initial blast wave of the explosion and expect to experience a momentary loss of breath as a great deal of oxygen may be displaced, varying in intensity by the force of the explosion.
• Check yourself for any major wounds before attempting to leave the site of the emergency. To survive the explosion is only part of your more general concern for your long-term health.

Biological Attack

• Unlike an explosion, a biological attack may or may not be immediately obvious.
• Four things you must remember are;
• Detection
• Protection
• Decontamination
• Medication

Survive a Plane Take-over

• Look at who is boarding your plane.
• Watch for Red Flags - someone wearing an expensive suit but a military watch, extremely nervous passengers, people with neither carry-on bags nor luggage, someone wearing military boots with normal clothes, strange behavior.
• Tell someone in charge it could save your life.

Remain Calm

• Don’t be unnerved by scare tactics.
• Control your breathing and heart rate. Try to stay calm.
• The terrorists will herd everyone to the back of the airplane. because they are afraid of passengers rushing and overpowering them.
• Do not go to the back of the plane.
• You must take back the aircraft.

Assess the threat

• Assume leadership, designate help and take action
• How many hijackers and how many weapons?
• Where are they located on the aircraft?
• You are all leaders. What do people do when a leader gets up?
• They follow.
• Tell someone to help you. “You two guys grab him while we get the other one!”
• You must take back the aircraft at all costs.

Hostages

• What about hostages?
• Would you risk the life of an airline stewardess?
• How about your wife or child?
• Could you rush the terrorists if they have your eight-year old boy and they say that if anyone moves they will cut his throat?

Fighting Back

• You must fight back because if you do nothing you are going to die anyway.
• In a hijacking the passengers are divided up into hostages and victims.
• Terrorists kill hostages to scare you and control you.
• So if you have a loved one who is taken hostage their best chance of survival is you fighting back.

Prepare in advance

• Look for ordinary items that can be used as weapons. Prepare in advance.
• Always bring along a hardcover book, a newspaper, keys and a pen and ask for a blanket and two unopened soda cans.
• Keep a fairly heavy bag under your seat.
• These ordinary items are weapons that can save your life.
• When the terrorist comes down the aisle as soon as he passes you throw your blanket over his face so he cannot see.

Put them Down for Good

• Then knee him in the spine, pull him down and strangle him with the blanket until you get another passenger to help you restrain him.
• Don’t stop until you know that he is no longer a risk.

Strike with Large Mass Knees and Elbows When under high stress your brain does not function on small motor skills. You need to use your major muscle mass to increase your chance of survival.

Carry Items that will Protect your Arms if you have to fight

• With your carry items a book case makes a great place to put some needed items for travel and defense.
• This case contains a Tactical Pen, Tactical Sure Fire light, baggage strap, seatbelt extender, Sock and a book.
• After removing items the leather book case can be put inside your shirt as body armor.
• None of the items have ever raised concern while going through security.
• Remember to know what the laws are where you are traveling and don’t take any item that will get you arrested.

Luggage Straps

• Luggage Straps can be carried on board a plane and are a great defensive weapon.
• They can be wrapped around your arm to protect you in a knife fight and can also be used to tie up the terrorism when you have subdued them.
• Seat belt extensions will work the same way but with a metal buckle.

A Blanket can be a Good Weapon

• Wrap the blanket around your forearm and you can block knife slashes.
• Hold the blanket out and catch the arm of the terrorist as he slashes at you.
• Then hold the knife arm wrapped up while other passengers take the terrorist down.

A Heavy Book

• A hard cover book can block any stabbing attack.
• A heavy book can smash a hijackers nose, collar bone Adam’s Apple or back of his head.

Cans of Soft Drinks

• Always ask a stewardess for two unopened cans of soda.
• A full soda can thrown at someone’s temple can kill him.
• They can smash a terrorist’s nose, knee cap or head.
• If everyone throws a full soda can at a terrorist he can be stoned to death.
• A full soda can inside a sock or wrapped inside a blanket can be swung as a deadly mace.

News Papers and Magazines

• A newspaper folded once or twice and stuck inside your shirt is body armor strong enough to stop most knife stabs.
• A rolled newspaper becomes extremely hard and can be used to smash the nose or stop the heart by hitting the arteries on the side of the neck.

Pen or Flashlight as a Weapon

• Stab a pen into the terrorist’s eye, hand, throat, anywhere.
• Stick him and stick him until he is the victim.
• Tactical Pens are great for this.
• The Sure Fire Dual Action puts out 200 lumens of light to temporarily blind the assailant while the crenellated Strike Bezel® and scalloped tailcap provide two sets of hard-anodized aluminum "teeth" as a last line of defense.

Car and House Keys

• Keys can be stabbed through a terrorist’s ear into his ear drum, gouge out his eyes, or even cut his throat.
• Any thing that cuts the face has a psychological effect on the person being cut.

Use what you have.

• A leather belt wrapped around your arm can stop knife cuts or the belt can be swung as a flail. Smash the buckle into a terrorist’s face.
• Belts can quickly strangle terrorists and can also tie them up when they are disarmed and unconscious.

High Heels work well on eyes

• Women can take off their high-heeled shoes and punch them at the terrorists who will be knocked out.
• Holding the shoe you can use the heel as a dirk to jab into their eyes.

Carry On Bag Under Seat

• A heavy bag kept under your seat can be used to block knife slashes, smash a terrorist or can be thrown into the aisle to trip him.
• Backpacks work well as you can use their straps to hold onto.

Air Marshall

• An undercover Air Marshall may attempt to take back the airplane.
• If that happens keep your head down or you could be accidentally shot and killed.

Be Prepared to assist if things go badly

• Be prepared to recover and shoot the Air Marshall’s gun if he is injured or killed, otherwise the terrorists have another weapon.
• One of the Terrorist may drop their weapon also.
• If you do help be sure to get on the ground when the SWAT team gets there as they are trained to shoot people standing with guns.

Take your time and Aim

• When firing a gun the most important thing is aiming.
• Do this quick exercise: hold your index finger up to a spot on the wall.
• Close one eye and then the other.
• Looking with one eye your finger will appear to jump while with the other eye it will stay on target.
• The eye that does not jump is the one you should aim with. Keep your eye on the front sight and align that with your target.
• Bottom right is the proper sight alignment.

Fight Back, Keep Your Head

• Ultimately, the only way to survive a hijacking situation may be to fight back.
• By remaining calm, keeping a cool head, being a little creative and very brave, you can save your life and the lives of others.

Public Transportation:

• Do not go to the scene of a terrorist attack to watch.
• Do not remain in the area after an incident.
• Most Terror attacks are now followed up with a secondary incident designed to kill as many police and rescue personnel as possible.
• We have seen secondary explosives designed to be triggered by the frequency of the Federal Responders radios.

On a Bus or Train

• Be alert for unidentified packages or someone hurriedly getting off and leaving a package.
• If this happens try to throw the package out a window if you can't get off .

An Explosion

• If there is an explosion and there is no cover fall face down with your feet facing the coming explosion.
• Pull your elbows into your sides to protect vital organs and cover your ears.
• This will change you from a five or six foot tall standing target into a tiny six inch box on the ground. The blast may miss you entirely or flying shrapnel may hit the soles of your shoes.
• At worst you can you lose your feet but you will survive.

Smoke or Chemicals after Explosion

• Keep low to breathe the best air possible.
• There could be chemicals or Biological agents that were dispersed with the explosion.
• Smoke inhalation is the number one cause of death after an explosion.
• Carry a Emergency Breathing Mask.

Leave the Subway for ladder to street

• If you are on a Sub Way that has been attacked try walking down the tracks until you find an emergency ladder leading up to the street.
• Beware of any exposed electrical wires.

Assess Your Injuries

• If you are on a Subway, Train or a Bus that has been attacked first assess your own injuries then, if possible, help those around you.
• If you think that there may be a secondary attack or device, get out of the area.

Stop the Bleeding

• In most cases direct pressure will temporarily stop the bleeding or at least control it until First Responders arrive.
• Carrying some basic first aid products such as QuickClot or the new Velcro tourniquet can be a life saver.

Start the Breathing

• The second most important factor is to insure that they are breathing.
• There are several emergency breathing and tracheotomy kits.
• As a policeman I carried the key chain kit.