Crisis Survival Guide — GlobalHelpHub

⚠️ Life safety first

Most earthquake deaths happen in the first 60 seconds from falling objects and structural collapse. The moment shaking begins, your only goal is to protect your head and vital organs.

✅ DO

✓ DROP to hands and knees immediately
✓ Take COVER under a sturdy desk or table
✓ HOLD ON and protect your head/neck
✓ Stay inside until shaking stops
✓ Move away from windows, bookshelves, exterior walls
✓ If outdoors, move to open ground
✓ If in a car, pull over away from buildings and bridges

❌ NEVER

✗ Run outside during shaking — most injuries happen in doorways
✗ Stand in a doorframe (outdated advice — not safe)
✗ Use elevators after a quake
✗ Light candles if you smell gas
✗ Re-enter a damaged building
✗ Drive on bridges or overpasses
✗ Go near the coast (tsunami risk)

💥

During the shaking

0 – 60 seconds

1
Drop to hands and knees — this prevents being knocked down
2
Take cover under a table, desk, or against an interior wall
If no table: face down on floor, hands clasped behind neck
3
Hold on and stay until all shaking stops completely
4
Protect your head and neck with your arms if no cover available
5
If in bed — stay there and pull pillow over your head
6
If outdoors — move away from buildings, power lines, trees

🏃

Immediately after shaking stops

First 30 minutes

1
Check yourself for injuries — treat bleeding first
2
Check others around you — call out if someone is trapped
3
Smell for gas — if detected, do NOT use any switches; leave immediately
4
Shut off gas at main valve if accessible and safe
5
Put on shoes — broken glass covers floors
6
Grab go-bag and evacuate if structural damage visible
7
Do NOT use elevators — use stairs only
8
Move to designated assembly point or open ground

📻

First 72 hours

Survival & recovery

1
Expect aftershocks — often as powerful as original quake
2
Tune emergency radio for official instructions
3
Text — don't call family (texts get through when calls fail)
4
Boil or purify all water — pipes may be contaminated
5
Do not use toilets if sewer lines may be damaged
6
Only use food and water from your emergency supply
7
Check on elderly and disabled neighbours
8
Do not enter damaged buildings to retrieve belongings
9
If near coast — move inland immediately (tsunami risk)

📞

Emergency contacts

International Emergency

USA / Canada

Red Cross Tracing

UNHCR Emergency

🆘 Activate SOS 🤖 Get AI guidance

⚠️ Most flood deaths are preventable

The majority of flood fatalities occur when people try to walk or drive through moving water. Just 15cm of fast-moving water can knock a person down. 60cm can carry a car.

✅ DO

✓ Move to higher ground immediately
✓ Go to upper floors of building if trapped
✓ Turn off utilities at main switches if safe
✓ Disconnect electrical appliances
✓ Move valuables and documents to high shelves
✓ Monitor emergency radio
✓ Wear life jacket if available

❌ NEVER

✗ Walk through floodwater — even shallow water is deadly
✗ Drive through flooded roads — turn around, don't drown
✗ Touch electrical equipment in flooded areas
✗ Return home until authorities say it's safe
✗ Drink floodwater — it's heavily contaminated
✗ Ignore evacuation orders

🚨

Flood warning issued

You have time — act now

1
Fill bathtubs and containers with clean water — supply may be cut
2
Move important documents, medications, and valuables upstairs
3
Charge all phones and power banks fully
4
Gather your go-bag — be ready to leave in minutes
5
Prepare sandbags around doors if you have them
6
Know your evacuation route and destination
7
If ordered to evacuate — go immediately, do not wait

🌊

Flooding is happening

Immediate survival

1
Move to highest point in your building if you cannot leave
2
Signal rescuers from upper floors — wave bright cloth
3
Call emergency services with your exact address
4
If swept away — float on your back, feet downstream, arms wide
5
Grab onto any fixed object — don't fight the current
6
Do not enter floodwater to rescue others — throw a rope instead

🏠

After the flood

Return safely

1
Only return when authorities confirm it is safe
2
Document all damage with photos before cleaning
3
Do not use electrical items until checked by an electrician
4
Wear rubber boots and gloves — floodwater carries disease
5
Boil all water until supply declared safe
6
Dispose of all food that contacted floodwater
7
Watch for mould — begins growing within 24–48 hours

⚠️ In an active conflict zone

The most important principle: movement is dangerous. If you can shelter in place safely, this is usually better than moving during active conflict. Assess carefully before deciding to flee.

✅ DO

✓ Stay indoors, lowest floor or basement
✓ Stay away from windows and exterior walls
✓ Keep lights off at night
✓ Keep phone on airplane mode — check every 2 hours
✓ Display white flag or cloth if moving as civilian
✓ Carry documents at all times
✓ Know location of nearest bomb shelter

❌ NEVER

✗ Move during active shooting or artillery
✗ Approach military checkpoints unexpectedly
✗ Touch unknown objects (IED risk)
✗ Gather in large groups in open spaces
✗ Post your location on social media
✗ Wear military-coloured clothing
✗ Drive at night without local guidance

🏠

Sheltering in place

Safest during active conflict

1
Choose an interior room with no windows on lowest floor
2
Fill bathtubs, containers with water — supply may be cut
3
Stock enough food and water for 14 days if possible
4
Keep phone on airplane mode, check every 2 hours for news
5
Use Signal or WhatsApp for encrypted communication
6
Keep documents in a bag — be ready to leave in 5 minutes
7
Monitor official channels for evacuation corridor announcements

🚗

Deciding to flee

When staying becomes more dangerous than leaving

1
Only move when a clear, confirmed humanitarian corridor exists
2
Travel during daylight only
3
Display white cloth prominently on vehicle and body
4
Carry all documents — you will face checkpoints
5
Keep hands visible at all checkpoints, move slowly
6
Do not abandon your vehicle in the middle of the road
7
Have a destination and backup destination confirmed in advance
8
Contact UNHCR or ICRC for safe passage guidance before moving

📞

War zone emergency contacts

ICRC Emergency

UNHCR Emergency

MSF Emergency

IOM Emergency

⚠️ Hurricane / Cyclone / Typhoon

These are the same weather phenomenon — just different names by region. You usually have 12–48 hours of warning. Use every minute of that time to prepare.

⚠️

48–24 hours before landfall

1
If in an evacuation zone — leave now, not at the last minute
2
Board up windows or apply hurricane shutters
3
Fill bathtubs with water (supply will be cut)
4
Charge all devices, fill car with fuel
5
Store go-bag in interior room on upper floor
6
Bring in all outdoor furniture and objects (flying debris)
7
Stock 7-day food and water supply

🌀

During the hurricane

1
Stay in interior room, away from windows
2
Do NOT go outside during the eye — storm will resume
3
Lie low to floor if roof is threatened
4
Monitor battery radio for official updates
5
Do not use generators indoors (carbon monoxide)

⚠️ Wildfire

Wildfires can move faster than a person can run — up to 20km/h. If you receive a wildfire warning near your area, do not wait. Begin evacuation immediately.

🔥

Wildfire threat — act now

1
Evacuate immediately if ordered — do not try to protect property
2
Wear N95 mask — smoke kills as fast as flames
3
Close all windows and doors but leave them unlocked
4
Remove flammable items from around the house if time allows
5
Fill gutters with water if time allows
6
Drive away from the fire — travel perpendicular if possible
7
If trapped in car — park clear of vegetation, windows up, stay inside
8
If trapped on foot — find a ditch or depression, lie face down

☣️ Chemical spill / Gas attack

Chemical and gas emergencies require immediate action. Symptoms of exposure include: burning eyes, difficulty breathing, skin irritation, dizziness. Do not smell unknown substances — some are odourless.

✅ DO

✓ Move upwind and uphill immediately
✓ Cover mouth and nose with wet cloth
✓ Remove contaminated clothing
✓ Rinse eyes with clean water for 15 minutes
✓ Seal doors and windows with tape if sheltering
✓ Seek fresh air immediately
✓ Call emergency services

❌ NEVER

✗ Run through a visible gas cloud
✗ Eat, drink, or smoke in a contaminated area
✗ Touch a person who has been chemically contaminated before decontaminating yourself
✗ Re-enter a contaminated building
✗ Drive into the contaminated area

🛂 Being displaced from your home

Displacement is a legal and humanitarian status. Knowing your rights and the process ahead helps you make better decisions and access the help you are entitled to.

📋

Your first steps

1
Register with UNHCR as soon as possible
Registration gives you access to services, protection, and documentation
2
Reach the nearest official border crossing or reception centre
3
Say "I am seeking asylum" — these words trigger legal protections
4
Do NOT sign anything you do not understand
5
Ask for an interpreter — you have the right to one
6
Keep all registration documents safely

⚖️

Your legal rights

1
You cannot be returned to a country where you face danger (non-refoulement)
2
You have the right to housing, food, medical care
3
You have the right to free legal aid
4
Your children have the right to education
5
You cannot be detained solely for seeking asylum
6
If your claim is rejected you have the right to appeal

📞

Key displacement contacts

UNHCR Global

IOM Migration

IRC Refugees

Amnesty Intl

📋 Full rights guide → 🏠 Find shelters →

🩺 Emergency first aid

These are the most critical situations you may face in a crisis. Always call emergency services first if possible. These steps are for when no professional help is available.

❤️

CPR — Cardiac Arrest

Person is unresponsive and not breathing

1
Call 112 / 911 immediately or send someone to call
2
Lay person on flat, hard surface on their back
3
Heel of hand on centre of chest (lower half of breastbone)
4
30 chest compressions — hard and fast, 5–6cm deep
5
2 rescue breaths — tilt head, lift chin, seal mouth, blow
6
Repeat 30:2 cycle until ambulance arrives or person breathes
7
If AED available — use it immediately, follow its voice instructions

🩸

Severe bleeding

1
Apply firm, direct pressure with clean cloth — do not remove
2
Add more cloth on top if blood soaks through — keep pressing
3
Elevate the wound above heart level if possible
4
For limbs: apply tourniquet 5–8cm above wound if bleeding won't stop
Note the time applied — critical information for doctors
5
Keep person warm and calm — shock is a major danger
6
Do not remove an embedded object — stabilise it instead

🔥

Burns

1
Cool with running cool (not cold) water for 20 minutes
2
Remove jewellery and clothing near burn (unless stuck to skin)
3
Cover loosely with clean non-fluffy bandage or cling film
4
NEVER: ice, butter, toothpaste, or bursting blisters
5
Seek medical help for any burn larger than a hand

💧

Dehydration / heat stroke

1
Move person to shade immediately
2
Remove excess clothing
3
Cool skin with wet cloths, especially neck, armpits, groin
4
Give oral rehydration salts (ORS) if conscious — not plain water
5
Fan the person to increase cooling
6
Seek medical help if temperature above 40°C or unconscious

📖 Crisis Survival Guides

⚠️ Life safety first

✅ DO

❌ NEVER

⚠️ Most flood deaths are preventable

✅ DO

❌ NEVER

⚠️ In an active conflict zone

✅ DO

❌ NEVER

⚠️ Hurricane / Cyclone / Typhoon

⚠️ Wildfire

☣️ Chemical spill / Gas attack

✅ DO

❌ NEVER

🛂 Being displaced from your home

🩺 Emergency first aid