Surviving bad weather situations


		Surviving bad weather situations
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Thunderstorms &
lightning strikes

Don't invite possible injury & worse!

Avoid these outside areas:
High places, isolated trees, open areas, beach & rivers.
Swimming pools, patios and open sided shelters.
Mobile phone towers, light masts, flag poles & cyclone fencing.

Avoid these inside areas with conductive links:
Phones, faxes, PC modems & TV's.
Taking showers, washing hands & doing the dishes.

WARNING:
If the time between the lightning flash and the thunder is
LESS THAN 30 SECONDS, SEEK SHELTER.

How far is that?
If you count the seconds .. one hundred, two hundred,
three hundred ... after seeing the flash until you hear the thunder, you can work out the distance to the lightning strike.
3 seconds is about 1 km. 30 seconds is about 10 km.

Bad weather driving

Put the 'bullet-proof' attitude in the back pocket
and consider these life saving ideas:

Drive with anti-skid brakes (ABS), or better still a car
with all wheel drive for another margin of safety.

If you do not have such features, or are a bit more cautious,
at least slow down a bit. You might even consider
stopping on the side of the road until the worst is passed.

Similarly, if the sunrise (driving east) or sunset (driving west)
is limiting your clear view of the road ahead, again why not
pause for 10 minutes or so. Clean the windscreen if you
need something to do, until the sun is no longer a problem.

Black ice dangers

If travel takes you to the colder parts of the world, take care
about 'black ice'. It's an almost clear, thin ice that seems to form
first on bridges possibly because there is cold air flow above
and below the roadway. The thin ice is so slippery that virtually
all traction and steering control is lost.

Other useful stuff .... "getting a drink of water in the wilderness"

Still

Bush still

Gather and put green shrubs in a clear plastic bag,
add a rock in one corner and a plastic tube & seal it.
Position the bag in the sun as shown.

The system acts like a small still so the moisture in the plants
is released and trapped by the sealed bag. The moisture condenses on the inside of the bag and runs down to the corner near the rock and can be sucked out using the tube.

Tubes that might be scavenged from a car include
the radiator overflow hose or second choice, part of the windscreen washer hose.

(Take care, the overflow may have anti-freeze and the washer hose may have soap in it. If really desperate, use urine
to flush out the hose .... alternatively, be patient and drink directly from the plastic bag).


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