(Continued from Part. 2)
Another way to reduce the impact of surprise in an emergency is to be able to detect the potential signs that something may be happening you need to be concerned about before it reaches the critical stage. Outside of sudden events like explosions and earthquakes there are almost always early indicators that something may be going wrong around you. A slight whiff of smoke, the creak and groan of a roof support, wildlife acting strangely or a look of concern on the faces of facility security personnel as they hurry by may be signs that you need to raise your alert level and begin focusing on an egress strategy. Besides the obvious approach of not having your head buried in your cell phone all of the time there are a number of exercises you can undertake to improve your powers of observation:
- 3 Ways to Sharpen Your Powers of Observation – wikiHow
- Increase Your Situational Awareness: 10 Exercises & Tests — The Art of Manliness
Your physical condition can also have a big impact on your tendency to panic and your ability to get safely out of an emergency situation. If you’re out of shape, injured, sick or have a medical condition you may be more focused internally on yourself and not on your surroundings, reducing your situational awareness and your ability to plan for emergencies. Your body chemistry may also be impacted, which in turn could amplify or skew your body’s panic response. Your physical condition can also slow you down or impact your ability to move, maneuver and clear obstacles, reducing the odds of getting clear of the situation in a timely manner. If you have a treatable medical condition, get it addressed and under control, and if you’re out of shape start working on improving your physical condition. You should focus initially on cardio-type exercises, since being able to move quickly may be the difference between life and death.Continue reading“Surviving the Disaster Golden Hour – Part 3, by J.M.”