Chapter 1Fundamentals
Chapter 1 · Start here · 16 min read

Fundamentals: mindset and priorities

Most emergencies are not won with expensive gear but with the right decisions in the first few minutes. This chapter gives you the mental framework to avoid panic, put the urgent first, decide whether to stay or go, coordinate your family, and find out in time what is coming. Everything else in the guide builds on this.

The essentials · if you only have a minute
  • Stop and think before you act. Use STOP: Stop, Think, Observe, Plan. Haste causes more casualties than lack of equipment.
  • Prioritize in this order: get out of immediate danger, control bleeding and breathing, protect yourself from the weather, get water, communicate, and finally food.
  • If authorities order an evacuation, evacuate. If they ask you to shelter in place, go inside, stay inside, and stay informed.
  • Have a written family plan: two meeting places, an out-of-state contact, and a phone list on paper.
  • Send text messages, not calls, when the network is overloaded. A text gets through when a call won't.
  • Have three ways to receive alerts: cell phone alerts (WEA), NOAA Weather Radio (your county's SAME code and your NOAA station's frequency, look them up at weather.gov), and your city or county alert system.
  • In many parts of the U.S., the number one risk is moving water. Never cross a flooded road: turn around.

In this chapter

1.1The mind decides: survival psychology3 min read1.2STOP: Stop, Think, Observe, Plan2 min read1.3The will to live1 min read1.4The "Rule of 3" and Its Nuances1 min read1.5Order of priorities1 min read1.6Stay or evacuate?2 min read1.7Family emergency plan3 min read0/51.8Alerts: how to find out in time2 min read1.9Skills worth learning1 min read0/41.11Common mistakes1 min read
Chapter sources (1)
  1. 1.Survival, FM 21-76 (1992), actualizado como ATP 3-50.21 — Departamento del Ejército de EE.UU. (capítulos sobre psicología de la supervivencia y sigla SURVIVAL). 2.Wilderness Safety: Lost? Now What — San Diego Mountain Rescue Team — https://www.sdmrt.org/safety/lost-now-what 3.Water — Ready.gov (FEMA) — https://www.ready.gov/water 4.Family Emergency Communication Plan — Ready.gov/FEMA — https://www.ready.gov/plan 5.Make a Plan — Cruz Roja Americana — https://www.redcross.org/get-help/how-to-prepare-for-emergencies/make-a-plan.html 6.Alerts — Ciudad de San Antonio — https://www.sa.gov/Government/Emergency-Crisis-Response/Alerts 7.Emergency Notifications — Condado de Bexar — https://www.bexar.org/693/Emergency-Notifications 8.Wet Weather Safety (HALT, bexarflood.org) — Condado de Bexar — https://www.bexar.org/2149/Wet-Weather-Safety 9.NOAA Weather Radio All Hazards y lista de códigos SAME — NOAA/NWS — https://www.weather.gov/nwr/ ; https://www.weather.gov/ source/nwr/SameCode.txt 10.Watch vs. Warning y Turn Around Don't Drown — National Weather Service — https://www.weather.gov 11.Stop the Bleed: Training — American College of Surgeons — https://www.stopthebleed.org/training/ 12.First Aid Classes in San Antonio, TX — Cruz Roja Americana — https://www.redcross.org/local/texas/take-a-class/first-aid-san-antonio-tx 13.Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) — FEMA / Be Ready Utah — https://www.ready.gov/cert ; https://beready.utah.gov/get- involved/cert 14.State of Texas Emergency Assistance Registry (STEAR) — Texas Division of Emergency Management — https://tdem.texas.gov/stear/ 15.February 2021 Winter Storm-Related Deaths — Texas Department of State Health Services — https://www.dshs.texas.gov/sites/default/ files/news/updates/SMOC_FebWinterStorm_MortalitySurvReport_12-30-21.pdf 16.Texas officials put the final death toll from last year's winter storm at 246 — Texas Public Radio — https://www.tpr.org/texas/2022-01-04/ texas-officials-put-the-final-death-toll-from-last-years-winter-storm-at-246 17.Citywide Boil Water Notice In Place (febrero 2021) — SAWS — https://newsroom.saws.org/citywide-boil-water-notice-in-place 18.Why Texas' Flash Flood Alley is so deadly — Scientific American — https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-texas-flash-flood- alley-is-so-deadly-explained-by-geology/