What is the first thing to be done during an emergency situation?

 1. Prepare the essentials kit (better have two kits)

• First aid kit.
• Canned food and drinking water in plastic bottles (you can also have a can of coffee and a pack of tea, a box of salt).
• Transistor receiver and electric flashlight.
• Spare batteries for receiver and flashlight.
• Matches in a sealed box, a lighter and paper to start a fire.
• Tools and utensils. At least a jack knife, spoons, forks, two or three bowls and mugs, a can opener, a light tourist hatchet.
• Medicines used by family members for medical reasons on a regular basis (unless the instruction does not require storage in the refrigerator).

It would be nice to keep another bag with such a kit in a car trunk.

Keep family documents and money in a place that can be easily accessed by you.

Decide which clothes you might need and prepare a set of clothes and shoes for each family member in case of an emergency as well as waterproof clothing and shoes for summer and for winter. It's a good idea to have a tent and sleeping bags.

2. You should find out:

• Where you will hide in case of danger.
• Which way will you evacuate if you cannot stay in place.
• What other escape routes are there if the first one is blocked.
• How will you evacuate: by car, boat or otherwise. What to do if a car breaks down at the wrong moment.
• What things should you have in an easily accessible place if you have to hide in a house or other shelter.
• What things will you take with you when evacuating.

3. Don`t take nothing in excess

Note: it is better to take more food, drinking water and medicines, two or three essential kits.

4. Prepare a place for the prompt collection and storage of valuables you will leave during the evacuation in advance

5. Be ready to receive disturbing messages

Be ready for this as soon as you receive the first warning alerts. It is a monotonous howl that lasts for three to five minutes continuously. Its meaning is as follows: everyone turns on the radio or televisions and tune them to the local wave in order to receive messages on what is happening.

6. Adjust your personal action plan with an emergency situation and check the essentials kit

Follow the news, go through your personal emergency action plan in your head and see how it might work in the emergency situation. Simultaneously, check the completeness of your essentials kit and figure out what other things you might need. If mass media is broadcasting instructions by emergency services, follow those instructions and adjust your own plan with them.

7. Having received disturbing information, do not overload communication lines

In an impending emergency, try not to call your relatives, friends, and acquaintances. During an emergency, you can only call the emergency services, notify them of the injured, report any new emergency or threat. Don`t make unnecessary calls.

8. Train and instruct your family members on a daily basis

It is better, if in everyday life, you will try to intelligibly instruct your family and friends about the dangers inherent to the area where they live, and how they should behave when civil protection authorities and mass media warn about an impending disaster. The instructions issued by the various emergency services will help you to do this. By gently and persistently bringing such instructions to people's minds, sooner or later you will ensure that in moments of real danger you will not need to call anyone to warn them.

9. Don't leave your home unless absolutely necessary

When it is reported on an impending disaster, do not go anywhere unless absolutely necessary. Too many people have died in vehicles swept away by floods, caught in wildfire or blizzards. If you still have to go, turn on the radio. Listen to the news.

10. Be careful when returning to a house located in an emergency area

Do not enter a house. It is possible that the building was damaged in a disaster and could collapse. It is the responsibility of emergency services to inspect buildings in the emergency area and decide whether people can return to them.

If you do have to enter a building, do not, under any circumstances, use a torch or candle. Do not smoke.

Make sure that there is no smells of gas or chemicals in or around a house. If you smell suspicious odours, notify the emergency services.

Stay away from torn wires (including telephone wires). Any such wire is a source of mortal danger.

Do not rush to consume your food stocks, check them first as they may be contaminated (if not by chemicals, then by mold) or spoiled (for example, if they were in the refrigerator, and there was no electricity).

Do not rush to consume tap or well water. Be sure to follow emergency instructions regarding drinking of water or (if necessary) decontaminating it.

If you find yourself near a rescue site and your help is not needed, then just leave.

Do not go anywhere, unless in an emergency. Roads can be damaged or blocked. For example, there were cases when trees broken by the wind collapsed and crushed passing cars, or deep holes suddenly formed on the road. Bridges are especially dangerous after a natural disaster.

If you do have to drive, be extra careful and do not accelerate. If you come across damage on the road that poses a danger to drivers, report it to the emergency services as soon as possible.

11. Make sure that your family is out of danger

During a disaster do not use the phone, but as soon as it is officially announced that the most difficult time is over, immediately contact your family. Not receiving news from you, they can contact the emergency response headquarters, and you will be included in the list of missing people. As a result, your discovery will take time and effort, which may not be enough to find those who urgently need help.