Be Prepared
The scout's motto is be prepared. Scouts are constantly learning new skills. How to read maps. How to cook food.
Outdoors
Hiking and camping holidays teach you what you need to survive, alone or in a group. Protective clothing. Food and drink. Knowing the weather.
Planning a route.
Telling people where you are, where you are going, when you will be back.
Avoiding Danger
Check weather forecasts. Watch out for wild animals. Avoid dangerous places. Avoid dangerous activities.
Have insurance. Keep the number of who to call in your pocket.
Know the location of the nearest hospital and emergency department. Does the hotel or ship have a resident doctor or nurse or first aider?
Hotels
Hotels show you escape routes on the back of bedroom doors.
Know the location of the fire extinguishers.
And the fire exits. Are they locked or blocked? If I am in a group and arrive first, but see no fire extinguisher or exit, I pick a table near the front entrance.
Trains
One man who survived a train crash, fatal to other passengers, explained how he was able to save himself and his family. As he entered the carriage and took his seat, he had simply noted the location of the nearby window and how to open it.
Types of situations:
Fire. Flood. Food poisoning. Earthquake. Plane crash. Boat sinking. Rip tide when swimming. Avalanche. Tsunami. Storm. Wild animals. Escaped pets. Active shooters. Riots. Burglars. Carbon monoxide. Sink holes. Car accident. Robbery. Kidnap. Wrongful arrest or imprisonment.
Rescuing Others
Drownings in pools and on beaches.
Fires in homes and entertainment and hospitality venues.
In Japan it is usual to have an emergency bag close to your front door to grab as you exit in the event of an earthquake, tsunami or any other emergency.
Apparently the British government plans to issue advice to every household in Britain.
You would need everything for a weekend away, plus more food and drink and first aid equipment and documentation. But a small enough bag to carry.
I have seen people saying we don't have need for this because the UK is not in an earthquake area.
What if you travel to an earthquake area on holiday? I was take by surprise by an earthquake on a Greek island.
I was a travel writer on a press trip, a guest of the government tourist promotion. Ironically, we were listening to a speech, in Greek, about how safe the island was. A translator summarised briefly in the pause after every fifth sentence. In fact, the safety they were talking about was robbery.
There was a huge crash. The drinks in our drinking glasses shook. The Greeks all ran out. I thought a lift had fallen. (Americans say elevator.)
Then one of the fellow brits said, 'I think that was an earthquake. If they have all left, we should leave.' So we ran outside.
The following day we went to a museum and read about a major disaster which had happened to the island a decade or more previously.
When I arrived on La Palma in the Canary islands in June 2026, I had no idea that a major volcanic eruption has happened less than a decade earlier. The museum's day by day videos kept me mesmerised for several hours, whilst my husband was hiking.
In the UK there are people living in houses along crumbling clifftops. Others are in houses built on flood plains. These are disasters we know about. Sink holes appear suddenly over areas which have been mined a century ago. In the UK. And many other countries.
We also have flash fires. In nightclubs. Such as the one in January in Switzerland. Safe, law-abiding, affluent Switzerland.
Suggestions
First aid kit and first aid instruction book, including bandages, first aid equipment and sterilisers such as wipes. I would include waterproof bandages and tape.
Survival book.
Language translation. learn the language before travelling.
I spent a year learning Spanish. When I fell down a flight of stairs on holiday in La Palma in the Canaries, I shouted, 'Help, help, help.'
Nobody answered.
I then reckoned that most of the hotel staff spoke Spanish. So I shouted, 'Ayuda', meaning aid or help, in Spanish. People came running.
What if you are just stuck for hours, waiting for a replacement plane or ship?
Toys, games or entertainment, for yourself and others, while waiting. A pencil and paper to draw noughts and crosses, make a fortune teller. A tiny pack of playing cards.
Water, drinking cup, maybe water purifier.
Seeds to grow edible plants.
Small tins of food with tin opener. I would opt for sardines.
Also plant edible plants in your garden. Every garden should have an apple tree, and a tree growing nuts or other suitable food for protein.
Two scenarios require opposite action. One is escape. The other is stay in place because roads are blocked, or the doors are blocked, and you are beseiged or waiting for help. So you need food and drink in the pocket of your coat or dressing gown.
Aircraft
What are you given on an aircraft? Bulk to protect you. Flotation device for landing in the sea, river or lake, or flood water.
Whistle to make sound which carries, or small bell if you are too weak to shout. Or mirror for signalling, to rescuers for away or overhead in aircraft.
Supplies for others, children, pets, the elderly, those you meet on the way to safety.
Identity documents. Insurance documents. Driving license.
Fire Survivors
The people who survived a fire in a hotel because they were by the hotel swimming pool, wearing shorts. They needed regular clothes. Also credit cards to buy clothes, and food, and accommodation, and transport to travel home.
Useful Websites
