10 essential things everyone should know if S’pore ever has “natural disasters”

Last Updated on 2016-05-19 , 1:54 pm

Preparation
Yes, preparing for the natural disaster. You have to prepare food and other stuffs to make sure you and your family can survive for a minimum for 3 days before rescue starts. During a natural disaster, you can’t expect rescue operations to start immediately, rescue starts always after the disaster struck, so prepare everything that you need to survive.

Radio
We’ll need a radio when a disaster strikes because you have to tune in to listen to important messages issued by the authorities, to know whether it is safe to continue with your normal daily routines or not.

Tornado
If you’re at home when a tornado warning has been issued, just go to your household shelter to hide, and if you do not know, household shelter is the storeroom that every family is using to keep their stuffs inside. If you’re in your car, buckle up your seat belt, cover your head and try to hide away from the windows.

Thunderstorms
When you have thunderstorms that brings strong wind, hail and lightning, seek refuge indoors immediately. If you’re stuck outdoors, go to the nearest shelter, but if there are not shelters in sight, squat as low as you can, balance yourself while you tip-top on the ground, make sure you have as little connection to the ground as possible.

Flash Floods
Flash floods are probably one of the disasters that are most likely to happen in Singapore. You need to seek higher ground when a flash flood is occurring. When a flash flood occurs, do not drive or walk through the rising water, leave your car and run to the higher ground immediately.

Earthquakes
Singapore is always affected slightly when our neighbour countries get affected by severe earthquakes, we will always experience a bit of shaking but we can’t predict the future. Stay away from windows, protect your head and neck with blankets or pillows and hide under a sturdy table when a real earthquake strikes Singapore. If you’re in a car or outdoors, just stay away from buildings and trees until the shaking stops. 

Tsunami
Stay away from ocean or beaches when you hear a tsunami warning, move away as far as possible from any coast and seek high ground. Never try to think that you’re safe if you’re on a high ground but near the coast, tsunamis can sweep almost anything away. Just remember that you have to stay away from the coast AND seek high ground, doing one of these two things will not make you safe, you have to do both.

Wildfire
If you’re living very near to forests or trees, wildfires might actually happen and affect you. Wildfires spread very quickly, you have to close windows and doors to keep yourself away from the exposure of smoke. If you’re in a car and the fire is approaching you, close your windows and try to drive away slowly, if there’s no way out, get down to the floor and hide underneath a blanket or a thick coat.

Elevators
Never take the elevators whenever a disaster strikes or is about to strike. No matter what kind of natural disaster that is going to happen, you must never take the elevator. Power gets cut off by natural disasters, and when that happens, you’re trapped in the lift with no help available.

First Aid Kit
When you’re “too late” to prepare for the natural disaster, you will definitely be injured, and when that happens, you need the first aid kit. Not all families have first aid kits in their household shelters, it’s time to get one and put it in your household shelter to prepare for any injuries. First aid kits are not only essential during natural disasters, they’re essential in our daily life as well!

Top Image: Jordan Tan / Shutterstock.com