National Geographic Extreme Weather Survival Guide: Understand, Prepare, Survive, Recover - Softcover

Kostigen, Thomas M.

 
9781426213762: National Geographic Extreme Weather Survival Guide: Understand, Prepare, Survive, Recover
Softcover
ISBN 10: 142621376X ISBN 13: 9781426213762
Verlag: National Geographic, 2014

Inhaltsangabe

Hurricanes, floods, wildfires, tornadoes—weather is becoming extreme, and this book tells you how to plan ahead and prepare, respond to emergencies, and survive the worst-case scenarios. From the risks of building on changing coastlines to the safety kit you should have packed up at home, from the telltale signs of a hurricane on the horizon to how to power up when the grid goes down—this will be the one book to carry with you through all kinds of bad weather.

Divided into four sections (Hot, Cold, Wet, Dry) each chapter includes a level-headed discussion of current weather extremes, facts and details on conditions, and theories for why these changes are occurring; dos and don'ts for inside and outside; and gives at-a-glance guidance for how to prepare for, survive, and recover from every extreme.

Sidebar features include: gears and gadgets; protecting your pet; and firsthand accounts from survivors and the experts who help them. Spectacular photographs of wicked weather plus useful checklists and how-to illustrations make page after page both useful and entertaining, even when you're contemplating the unthinkable.

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Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

THOMAS M. KOSTIGEN is a New York Times bestselling author who has written numerous books on the environment, including The Green Book, You Are Here, The Green Blue Book, and The Big Handout. His journalism is regularly featured in publications worldwide, and he appears frequently as a public speaker, as well as television host and guest expert.

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A hurricane is coming. Do you have a plan? Should you leave home or stay put? Do you know how to access local alerts? At home, are you better off upstairs or downstairs? Is your yard in order? Where would you go if you had to leave home? Do you have what you need to make it through a power outage? What about family members? What about pets? Perhaps you’ve faced such an emergency. Were you ready? Did you even know what to do to be sure you were ready? Many face those questions in the heat of the moment, but it’s best to think the answers through carefully, long before the storm begins. This book tells you how. It will help you understand, prepare, survive, and recover.
We seem to be getting slammed harder and more frequently by extreme weather—with record-breaking temperatures, storm intensities, property destruction, and even fatalities. The news is filled with catastrophic events—Hurricane Sandy brought epic destruction to New York and New Jersey in 2012; monster Typhoon Haiyan wrought havoc in the Philippines in 2013; and a dip in the polar vortex in 2014 made Chicago colder than the South Pole’s summer temperature. In many places, summers are hotter, winters are colder, and new weather records seem to be set all the time.
What’s causing all this destructive phenomena? Why do they appear to be happening more frequently than they used to? Is climate change to blame? If so, how and in what instances? We’ll discover the answers to these questions and more in the pages that follow. What seems to be certain: Abnormal is the new normal—we need to learn to expect the unexpected.
The general mantra for an emergency is to plan and prepare in order to survive and recover. In fact, everyone can take three actions to remain safe during any extreme weather event. The first is to get informed. The second is to make an emergency kit. And the third is to have a plan.
The information in this book goes a long way toward helping you achieve these three steps. Here, you’ll learn how to prepare, survive, and recover for and from just about every kind of extreme weather event—from driving in blizzards and whiteouts to preparing to take shelter from a tornado; from beating the heat to battening down for a hurricane; from building a seawall against floods to following nature’s signals to determine if a storm has passed.
Steps to Safety
First, you and your family need to agree on a basic action plan. An agreed-upon plan will keep you safe in times of trouble. It will also give you peace of mind knowing you can lean on it to help yourself or others in need. Set up a meeting with all members of your household. Talk about how best to prepare and respond to emergency situations. Alert everyone to the types of problems that may arise. Identify tasks for each member of the household, and discuss how you can work together when an emergency arises.
For example, if there is a flood, who’s in charge of moving furniture to a higher, drier place? Turning off the power? Or getting the sump pump going? If a tornado is reported, who’s responsible for making sure everyone is accounted for? What about pets—who is minding them? If a heat wave hits, can elderly family members care for themselves? If not, who will look in on them? Assigning responsibilities such as these ahead of time makes for a well-organized, swift, and safe response to disasters.
Also, it’s important to plan what to do in case you are separated during an emergency. Meeting places need to be chosen—one nearby in case of, say, a fire. And one in a different area in case you need to evacuate your home.
It’s also wise as part of your emergency plan to have emergency contacts saved on your mobile phones and identified as ICE, or “in case of emergency.” Emergency responders are trained to look for these labels on mobile phones.
More tactically, agree on an evacuation plan, and make sure everyone understands what to do. This means knowing what route to take and how to get to your agreed-upon meeting place. Have different options in case you cannot leave in a vehicle, and choose different locations to meet. If you know of a local shelter, you may want to identify that. Then practice your evacuation procedures twice a year. Don’t wait. Start planning and preparing—now.
Don’t forget that technology can be extremely helpful during emergency situations. There are apps that provide weather updates directly to your smartphone or tablet. You can also text to find local shelters. You can use websites (such as the American Red Cross Safe and Well website) to let your family know that you are okay.
Good solid preparation will allow you to maintain control over your emotions when a disaster hits. Staying calm and focused are critical practices that every emergency responder knows can make the difference between life and death. Knowing that you need to stop, drop, and roll if you catch fire, or that you should never take refuge under an overpass during a tornado—these are lifesaving lessons, and having them at hand to follow will muster courage and emotional control when most needed.
Of course, you cannot experience the extreme weather event until it happens, but you can prepare for it by doing drills, talking through plans, and keeping well informed. And you can take steps to mitigate dangers. Many people, for example, don’t check or change their smoke and fire alarms frequently enough—every month is recommended. Nor do people realize that hard objects left loose outside—such as outdoor furniture—can become flying weapons during a storm. Little facts like these could save lives.
With more extreme weather events occurring now than in the past, we have to brace for a new kind of survival. Learning how to prepare, survive, and recover from extreme weather events is—like it or not—an integral part of life in the 21st century.

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Verlag
National Geographic
Erscheinungsdatum
2014
Sprache
Englisch
ISBN 10 
142621376X
ISBN 13 
9781426213762
Einband
Tapa blanda
Anzahl der Seiten
384
Kontakt zum Hersteller
Nicht verfügbar
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