Questions tagged [emergencies]
This tag is for the questions that discuss Emergency situations occurring during an Outdoor activity. The term "Outdoor" should strictly be taking in what is in the scope of The Great Outdoors StackExchange.
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Would drinking normal saline help with hydration?
In my first aid kit I carry* sterile normal saline for wound and eye irrigation (most often used for the latter). Can you drink it? Would it help with hydration? It's nominally isotonic with blood ...
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Emergency blanket: wrong side? [duplicate]
I know there are usually two different sides for an emergency blanket to be used depending on how you want to use it (i.e. "protecting" from cold or, the opposite, from heat).
Having a ...
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Portable antenna for better phone reception when hiking remote areas?
This year I want to hike some more remote areas. There is an issue of safety. The areas will be 10 - 50 km away from civilization, lots of bears(0,5 bear/km2),.. The cell phone towers will be up till ...
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Can you use pre-owned climbing rope for hiking and/or emergency uses?
If I was to buy pre-owned climbing rope could I use it for hiking and/or keeping in my car for emergency uses? I couple of speculations I had in mind were:
Pulling someone out of a swamp on moorland ...
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Are aluminum foil and emergency mylar blankets equally effective as heat reflectors/insulators
Are aluminum foil and emergency mylar blankets equally effective as heat reflectors/insulators or is one better than the other?
And if there is a difference, what's causing it?
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Nails in an emergency/survival kit
After reading this question about emergency kits, I noticed that no one mentioned nails. Why shouldn't we include 10 or 12, common 6d (2", 6 penny) nails in the kit? Ten 6d nails weigh about an ...
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Can I place emergency calls on a FirstNet cell with a standard cell phone?
Recently I was part of a wilderness SAR training event where there were drone-based FirstNet cell tower deployed to provide emergency personnel with cellular communications in remote areas.
Perhaps ...
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How to escape a cave in an emergency situation?
I have been doing a lot of cave climbing recently. So I am not talking about your average tourist cave, I talk about real miles deep labyrinth like caves, where nature never thought of humans getting ...
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Emergency Call Madagascar Satellite Phone [duplicate]
I will go to rural areas in Madagascar and have an Inmarsat satellite phone. Does anyone know which number I can dial with this phone in an emergency?
I already know that 117 is the local emergency ...
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Under optimal conditions, how far could an emergency whistle be heard?
Whistles are often used for emergency signalling, it would be good to know how far that signal can travel and still be recognized.
There are plenty of factors that would affect the distance, so how ...
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What is the expected flowrate of a bucket brigade?
A naive estimate of one gallon bucket a second is 60 gal/min for a well staffed and equipped line, but is there any data on how much water can be moved by bucket in less than ideal conditions?
...
user8348
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My car broke down in Siberia. What do I do now?
Some time ago, while driving on a snowy road, someone told me a kind of horror story.
It involved a guy who was driving alone with an old car on an overland road in Siberia during winter, so the ...
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Dialing an emergency number in a foreign country using a satellite phone
I'm getting an Inmarsat phone for my time around San Pedro de Atacama in Chile to help me with emergencies.
What number do I dial if I have an issue?
I know 133 is the emergency number, but I don't ...
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Can you use an Iridium phone with a SIM but with no active plan to place an emergency call?
It seems that you can't use an Iridium handset to place an emergency call without a SIM card (which seems to be more a commercial than a technical issue).
What I'm wondering is whether an "expired" ...
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What to do if someone gets impaled in the stomach?
Background: This question is motivated by an accident that happened to my sister in a very rural area. She was on a fence and fell onto a t-post which basically impaled her, but which fell out by the ...
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Should one remove their boots in an emergency bivvy situation?
Is there an argument for removing your boots to prevent frostbitten toes. Lets say you are at 4000m in the winter in a snow cave with no sleeping bag and frostbite is probable, but death is unlikely.
...
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Is there a safer way to use a flare in a wooded area?
This answer on another question says that there is a risk of causing a forest fire when using a flare.
Is there a recommended/safer way to use flares that lessens this risk, in the event that someone ...
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What is the risk of starting a forest or wildland fire with a flare gun?
When firing a flare gun in the air, what is the risk of accidentally starting a forest or wildland fire? Does the flare go out completely before it touches the ground?
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Modern equivalent of a flare gun?
This summer I will be taking a rather inherently dangerous multi-day hike by myself. I was considering buying a flare gun since I will be out of cellular range unless there is something more modern ...
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How do you get back in canoe, by yourself?
Getting back in a canoe is not as easy as I thought it was going to be. I also learned that Extra Flotation might be needed
So if I am alone in the middle of a body of water, how do I get back in?
...
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I can't get floating in my canoe again, now what?
Canoes are known for tipping over, most come with enough flotation so they won't sink. Stock flotation is often just for neutral buoyancy, adding flotation is an option but if I have not done that, ...
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How much flotation does a canoe need?
Yesterday for the first time I turned my canoe over, then I tried to get back in it. I have been thinking about adding a sail to my canoe and now that I know a bit about sailing, I know I need to ...
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How to generate white smoke in the wilderness?
Fictional Scenario - Suppose you are out camping and are stuck somewhere. You want to create a signal of white smoke to attract help.
So what are the naturally occurring substance which when burnt ...
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How do you patch/repair an inflatable dinghy while still underway?
If you notice a loss of pressure in an inflatable boat/dinghy while underway, how can you prevent or slow the loss? This is most important in full inflatables. Even if you are in shallow enough ...
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Is there a Polish mountain rescue organisation?
I was talking to a friend on my lunch today about visiting the Tatra mountains in Poland and he said that an issue was the lack of mountain rescue if you get into trouble.
Is this true, there is no ...
user2766
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Are there standardized signals to communicate with aircraft?
Suppose one is in distress in the wilderness, and is being searched for by planes or helicopters because they thoughtfully told their friends where they were going and when they'd be back. Alternately,...
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How to overcome mental hurdles of adventure trauma? [closed]
Actively participating in a couple of adventure (AKA extreme) sports, I have had my share of accidents/carnage/trauma. Anyone who participates in such pastimes knows that we're all in between ...
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How do I find north using a watch?
I've heard this is possible but I'm not sure on the details. Can someone elaborate?
user2766
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What are some emergency water purification methods? [duplicate]
If you're lost in the wilderness (and you've foolishly left behind your handy dandy water purification tablets and water filter), what are some of the best and safest ways to purify water? What do you ...
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What information to leave with your emergency contact?
Coming up with emergency information for a recent trip got me thinking: What information should you leave with your emergency contact?
I imagine the answer depends on the length of the trip, ...
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If injured and lost, what are your biggest priorities for survival?
Let's imagine for a moment that you're solo hiking somewhere you've never been before and take a fall off the edge of a trail, injure yourself (to the point of limited mobility), and become entirely ...
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Differences for bivi packs
I would like to do a winter bivouac but have no gear for it yet. Especially the choice of a bivi pack is really tough for me because I'd prefer to be able to use it also in summer as a rescue item and ...
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Planned winter bivi
There is emergency equipment to survive nights, like emergency blankets and bivouac packs.
As opposed to this, if you plan to stay overnight on winter trips (e.g. in the Alps) you don't just want to ...
- 12.1k
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Satellite phone payment plans for irregular use
I've been looking if there is an alternative to renting a satellite phone when it's to be used in absolute emergencies only.
As far as my searches showed, most prepaid plans have very short ...
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What format should I use to report my location to emergency responders?
Suppose I am out in the wilderness and an emergency arises. I have an accurate fix on my location (from GPS, map and compass, astronomical observation, etc...). I manage to get in touch with ...
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How can I contact emergency services in the US via the internet?
At this very moment, I'm out in the woods typing away on my laptop. I have an internet connection, and my phone can use that connection to send text messages, but I have no voice phone service.
How ...
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Trekking solo in South Africa
This is an almost similar question to this one: Trekking solo in Western Ghats, India
I have read a few blogs about people and their solo trekking experiences. At the first glance at it, 'whether to ...
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Alternatives to retreating quickly when caught in a lightning storm when rock climbing?
The general advice I have heard for surprise lightning storms when climbing is to retreat. Since retreating quickly is not without danger itself and often is not even all that quick (I personally have ...
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How can I report an emergency via SMS text message?
When hiking, I often find myself in areas where cell phone reception is poor or intermittent. Sometimes the signal is not good enough to make a call, but it is still possible to send text messages (...
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Light-weight emergency overnight-gear
What is a good emergency-overnight-sleeping-setup when every ounce counts, like on long technical routes (grade V or VI) where the goal is to do it in one day (without hauling), but one wants to ...
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Can body-to-body rewarming be used as a last resort treatment of hypothermia?
All of the arguments I've heard against using this method assume that you have adequate supplies for alternate rewarming methods. If you literally didn't, and it appeared they were going to freeze to ...
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Does anyone have an account of someone using a survival tin in a survival situation
I have read several books about survival and outdoor field craft skills. Many of these books suggest building a survival kit out of an Altoids tin or something similar. These kits include very basic ...
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Group protocol should the group become separated
A small group (2-10 people total) is travelling in a wilderness area. For whatever reason a person or a couple get separated. What is the best strategy for the lost ones? What is the best strategy to ...
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Falling into an ice cold body of water
I've never been hiking in such extreme situations, but if in the situation in the question, i.e. you're hiking in very cold weather and someone falls in (let's say so pretty much their whole body is ...
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What qualities to look for in a good emergency whistle?
I've always been taught to keep a whistle on me in case of emergencies - it makes sense since it's small and lightweight but could really help in an emergency.
However, something I've never really ...
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Can you eat pine needles in an emergency?
If you are in a survival situation in the woods and really hungry, and you are unsure about which plants are edible, can you eat pine needles?
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How bad do circumstances need to be before activating a PLB?
Personal Locator Beacons (PLBs) can be carried during outdoor activities to use in case of an emergency. But are there any guidelines on what exactly constitutes an "emergency"? For example, what ...
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Good ways to avoid snakes when hiking?
I'v been told that walking with a heavy foot-fall will deter snakes. Is this really true?
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Can I shoot a bear in self-defense?
Can I shoot a bear in self-defense? Will I face fines and jail time if I do?
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If I cross paths with a bear, what should I do?
If I'm out hiking, and I come around a corner and stumble upon a bear, what's the best course of action to take to minimize the chance the bear will act aggressively?
Do different types of bear (...
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