Disaster Signals

Problem
How do you find out about potential or ongoing disasters? How do you tell rescuers where you are?

Answers
Currently many beaches fly flags telling you when a beach is dangerous. I saw flags in Asia. They don't say what the flags mean. I thought they were just welcoming national or local flags. When I asked, I discovered that they were warnings that it was dangerous to swim.

In Bali I saw signs directing you which way to go in the event of high water.

Singapore
The train stations are well organised. Emergency action videos run constantly and there are posters everywhere about reporting suspicious object and how to get out of the train in an emergency. Signs in stations show the way out in an emergency and if an underground railway station is to be used as a refuge. Plus a handy list of alternative means of transport if for any reason trains and/or stations cannot be used.

All building sites have panels showing who to call in an emergency.

A new ap is being developed for disaster signals.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-mid-wales-39948626#_=_

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. See my previous post about getting out of a building in an emergency. Please share links to useful and interesting posts.

Singapore and Safety: Building Sites, Roads, Buildings, Dogs

   In Singapore building sites carry signs about safety such as helmets must be worn, statistics on the safety of buildings sites, roads carry signs giving statistics on accidents. The same applies often in the USA and UK.
   Signs in monkey areas on walks around reservoirs warn you not to feed the animals. Most adults know why. But small children and unsupervised teenagers don't. the reason is that animals act like small children. They grab for things they want, such as food, food containers, and new, interesting items. They move towards people and containers who habitually give food.
   They hit or bite or attack anybody who tries to take away food, or appears to cheat with an empty container, refuses to hand over food, or tries to take away food and toys.
   Once you have grasped this principle, it's easy to understand that if you feed animals on a regular basis, whether you throw food from a bag in a park or piazza, or from a balcony, or from your back door, you will attract birds, animals and insects. If you throw sandwiches or sweets or food wrappers from a boat or a lake or riverbank in a hotel, home, or city, you will attract the local wildlife.
   Tourists may be unfamiliar with this concept, or unfamiliar with the local wildlife. We arrived in the USA from the UK. Our child walked from the restaurant with a leftover sandwich. He walked out of the back door of the hotel. I chased after. there he was, sandwich in hand. about to throw it into the water next to a sign warning: CROCODILES - DO NOT THROW FOOD WHICH ATTRACTS THEM!
  But what about dangerous animals? Where are the signs in zoos warning you not to drop hats, not to stand near netting for a photo with the animal.
   What about houses where child visitors are in the same room as an animal.
March 2014, yet another accident involving a child and a dog. The four-year-old girl is dead. The mother was injured trying to rescue the child.
    Another incident involved a child taking a bone from a dog. Dog-lovers say the dog was not to blame. The child was not to blame either. The fault was allowing the two to mix.
   If we cannot rely on owners, we must bring in legislation. While we wait for that to happen, how about a simple sign. A child doesn't understand 'beware of the dog'.
   Most visitors don't understand. Most owners don't understand.
   Signs could, or should, read: 'Dangerous dog. Must be contained. No children to be allowed on this property.' Copy Singapore building site signs and give the vital numbers to call when help is needed. 'Hospital tel: .... Vet tel: ....  Police tel: .... Insurance company tel: .... That way we might save lives of humans, and the animals which would otherwise end up being put down.