Be more confident: How to Prepare for a Volcanic Eruption

How to Prepare for a Volcanic Eruption

Protecting your family in the event of a volcanic eruption
can mean the difference between life and death. More
likely, it will help you protect your health and property
from volcanic "ash", a mist of tiny sharp rocks that can
spread for many miles.[1] [1] However, knowing how to
prepare for a volcanic eruption can be confusing without the
right information. Organizing a plan of attack is key to
proper preparation, and educating everyone in your family or
household will help to better ensure their safety and well
being when disaster erupts.

!! Steps !!

Know beforehand where the active volcanoes are in your area. Find
out whether they're likely to affect you where you're living. If so,
be prepared at all times.

* If you run a business located in the area of volcanoes, create a
business continuity plan for ensuring that staff can get to
safety and for protecting stock, equipment, and any other business
essentials.

* A volcano can cause severe property damage. Review and if
necessary purchase insurance to make sure you have the right kinds
and amounts of coverage.[2] [2]

!! Preparation For Those Living In A Volcano Area !!

Put together an emergency supply kit. This kit is something that
anyone living in a volcano zone should have prepared at all times.
The kit should include such items as a first aid kit, food and water
supplies, a mask to protect against ash such as one used when mowing
lawns, a manual can opener, a flashlight with extra batteries or
preferably a crank model, any necessary medications, sturdy shoes,
goggles or other eye protection, and a battery-powered radio. Ensure
that everyone in your family knows where the emergency supplies that
you prepared are located.

* A flashlight, phone charger, and radio combined as one, that runs
on both solar power and hand cranking is the ideal item to have
ready in your house for any natural disaster event. Pack this if
you have one.

* Buy proper respiratory protection. Purchase an air purifying
respirator, also referred to as an N-95 disposable respirator.
This can be bought at your local hardware store.

* Have the necessary communication devices ready. Use your radio or
television at home to listen for volcano updates or evacuation
notices.

* Be aware of what your local disaster sirens sound like. When a
volcanic eruption occurs, you'll need to listen for those to go
off.
Set an emergency evacuation plan with your family. Review it in
depth with them, so that each person knows what to do in the event
of an eruption, how to find one another if you're apart, and how to
contact neighbors and/or emergency services if you cannot get away
from the property using your own transportation.

* If anyone has disabilities, these need to be taken account of in
the plan.

* Include pets and livestock in the plan.

* Discuss with your family what you will do if there are warnings to
evacuate and any of you don't want to leave. Bear in mind that it
is not fair to other family members if some of you choose to stay
behind in spite of evacuation warnings, and precautions should
always be taken to ensure that those family members who want to
leave can do so.

* Know how to switch off all utilities and ensure that every family
member old enough to be responsible for turning off utilities
knows how to do so.

* Talking to children about the possibility of a disaster and what
to do in the event is better than pretending it may never happen.
If children are aware that everything is planned should something
go wrong, their fear and anxiety will be reduced in the event of a
disaster because they'll know how to respond.[3] [3]

* Create an emergency kit specifically for your car. It should
include maps, tools, a first aid kit if you haven't already packed
one with your other emergency supplies, a fire extinguisher,
flares, additional non-perishable food, booster cables, sleeping
bags and/or emergency blankets, and a flashlight.

!! At The Time Of An Actual Evacuation !!

Listen for advice and instructions. Check your pre-prepared
emergency gear and have it ready to go. Prepare the car or other
vehicle. Check that you have a full tank of gas and keep all
vehicles under cover until ready to leave (ash can prevent the
engines from working).

* Make transportation arrangements with other family or friends if
you do not have a vehicle of your own.

Attend to livestock and pets. In the event that your house and
property are directly impacted by the volcano, your animals will
not be able to escape. Do what you can within reason to ensure
their safety.

* Place your livestock in an enclosed area or make arrangements to
transport them as far offsite as possible.

* Make transportation plans for your family pets. Be aware that most
emergency shelters will be unable to accommodate them. If keeping
your pets with you, you'll need to be sure that you have planned
ahead for enough food and water for them. Alternatively, leave
messages on social networking sites such as Twitter asking for
people who are available in the area who can board your pets
temporarily until the disaster is over. You are bound to get a lot
of kind offers.

Evacuate as instructed.

* Take your prepared kit with you, and make sure that your car
emergency kit is in the car.

* Turn off the electric, gas, heating oil, and water in your home if
time allows. It is recommended that you don't turn off the gas
unless you suspect a leak or you're instructed to do so, as it can
be weeks before a professional can get to you to turn it back on
after a disaster event.[4] [4]

* Disconnect the appliances in your home if time allows.

* Take the designated evacuation routes, and prepare yourself for
delays. Other routes may be blocked, so you want to ensure that
you are taking the route suggested by authorities.

Stay put if you are instructed by the authorities to do so.

Run extra water in the sinks, bathtubs, and other containers as an
emergency supply for cleaning (use as little as possible) or
purifying and drinking. You can also get emergency drinking water
from a water heater.

* Don't use the toilet if there is no running water. It will make
the house smell terrible. Instead, construct if necessary and use
an emergency makeshift toilet as described in the article Prepare
for a Hurricane.[5] [5]

* Close and secure all of the windows and any doors that lead to the
outside.

* Make sure that your heater, air conditioner and all fans are
turned off.

* Make sure that your fireplace damper is closed.

* Continue to listen to the TV or radio for announcements and news.

* Place your family into a room on ground level that does not have
windows in it.

!! Preparing For Ash Fall !!

The most likely hazard during a volcanic eruption is ash fall. Knowing
how to deal with it is important whether you're remaining in place or
you're traveling.[6] [6]

Stay indoors. Close all windows and doors; some may need to be
sealed with tape or similar (damp towels work well). Stopper up any
vents to outside if possible. Avoid using anything that sucks in air
from outside or changes circulation patterns by heating or
exhausting air, such as air conditioning or [[Prevent Dryer
Fires|dryers].

* Bring all pets indoors. If you have livestock, bring them into
sheds, barns, or other shelters. Even the garage will do as a
temporary shelter. Ensure that livestock have enough food and
water.

* Fill your bath and other containers with water.[7] [7] This may
become a very important water source if ash impacts local water
supplies.

* Protect sensitive electronics until the ash fall has well and
truly ceased; only uncover them when the environment is totally
ash-free.[8] [8]

Keep your car, trucks, and any machinery under cover. If you
cannot park your vehicles somewhere inside, cover them with a car
cover or tarpaulin. Avoid driving unless you have no choice.

* Protect all machinery from volcanic ash by covering in
tarpaulins.[9] [9]

* If you can, disconnect drainpipes from rain gutters (eaves
troughs) from downspouts or drainpipes. Doing this can help to
prevent your drains clogging. Disconnect the rainwater supply
channel to any rainwater tanks to protect your stored water and
cover up any gaps on the tank.[10] [10]
Wear protective gear if you need to move around outside. If you
have them, wear safety goggles to protect your eyes, and a
respirator to protect your lungs, and cover the rest of your body,
including your head and hands, as much as possible. Improvise a
shemagh (Arab wraparound headscarf) to keep grit off your head and
out of your eyes and lungs.[11] [11] Even swimming goggles and
clothing can be used to protect your eyes and breathing if that's
all you have.[12] [12]

* When entering a building after being outside under ash, remove
your outer layer of clothing. The ash is difficult to remove from
anything it falls on.[13] [13]

* Remove contact lenses if going outside and wear glasses instead.
If the ash gets in behind contact lenses, it can cut into your
eye, causing corneal abrasions.[14] [14]

After the ash fall, stay indoors and follow the radio
instructions. When you do go outside, keep away from ash falls and
build-up of ash and continue to wear protective clothing.

* Don't drive through ash fall. It will clog your car's engine
severely and cause serious abrasion damage to the car.[15] [15]

* Keep children, pets, and animals indoors. If pets and animals have
ash on their fur, hoofs, or paws, wash it away to prevent them
from ingesting it and give them plenty of water to drink.

Try to remove ash fall from your roof. It looks like snow, but
it's heavy like sand and abrasive to breathe. If the amount of
ash fall is too heavy, your roof is in danger of collapsing: four
inches (100mm) can collapse weaker roofs.[16] [16]. No need to
get it all off; leaving a thin layer is fine and sweeping it off
would make a lot of dust. Moisten ash using a sprinkler or spray
hose to dampen it before cleaning. Make sure you're wearing a
protective mask and clothing.

* Don't fall off your roof! It will be difficult for rescuers to
notice or reach you after a volcano. Unless you have special
equipment, don't even try it on a sloped roof more than one story
up, or over hard or dangerous surfaces.

* Check for property damage. Make notes and take photographs so that
you can make your insurance claim.

!! Preparing For Lava Flows !!

If your home or property is in the path of a lava flow, pyroclastic
flow, surge, or lahar, it is important to be ready to evacuate
immediately when local authorities ask you to.

* Follow the evacuation procedure outlined above.

* Continue listening to the radio advice when you reach a
destination of safety.

* Return home only when you are informed by authorities that it is
safe to do so.

!! Video !!

!! Tips !!

* Ideally have a landline telephone in the room in which you will be
holing up. This can be used to let your emergency contact know to
keep their phone line available in case you need to let them know
about any life-threatening problems or issues.

* Check on friends and neighbors. This is especially important if
you know they may need assistance, or have special needs.

* Only use the phone lines for emergency calls to avoid clogging the
communications systems.

* Report broken utility lines to authorities if you see any.

* If you must go outside during the ash fall, try to put something
over your mouth and even go the whole 9 yards and wear a gas mask.

!! Warnings !!

* Avoid sightseeing! Not only do you endanger your own life but
natural disaster sightseers are becoming a frequent problem for
emergency services workers and can hamper rescue work. At all
times stay out of designated restricted zones.

* Volcanic ash is a respiratory health hazard. It impacts all people
but especially those with such respiratory problems as asthma and
bronchitis.[17] [17]

!! Things You'll Need !!

* Emergency kit and car kit

* Maps

* Communications devices (telephone, radio)

* Flashlight

* Towels, etc., for sealing up house cracks

* Transportation for early evacuation

* Pet carriers and animal transportation

* Car keys

!! Related WikiHows !!

* How to Survive a Volcanic Eruption

* How to Build a Volcano