IMPROVISING AN OUTSIDE SHELTER

If your home has no bas.e.m.e.nt, no storm cellar and no protected crawl s.p.a.ce, here are two ways of improvising fallout protection in your yard:

* Dig an L-shaped trench, about 4 feet deep and 3 feet wide. One side of the L, which will be the shelter area, should be long enough to accommodate all family members. The other side of the L can be shorter, since its purpose is to serve as an entrance-way and to reduce the amount of radiation getting into the shelter area.

Cover the entire trench with lumber (or with house doors that have been taken off their hinges), except for about 2 feet on the short side of the L, to provide access and ventilation.

On top of the lumber or doors, pile earth 1 to 2 feet high, or cover them with other shielding material.

If necessary, support or "sh.o.r.e up" the walls of the trench, as well as the lumber or doors, so they will not collapse.

* Dig a shallow ditch, 6 inches deep and 6 inches wide, parallel to and 4 feet from the outside wall of your house.

Remove the heaviest doors from the house. Place the bottoms of the doors in the ditch (so they won't slip), and lean the doors against the wall of the house.

On the doors, pile 12 to 18 inches of earth or sand. Stack or pile other shielding material at the sides of the doors, and also on the other side of the house wall (to protect you against radiation coming from that direction).

If possible, make the shelter area deeper by digging out more earth inside it. Also dig some other shallow ditches, to allow rain water to drain away.

AN IMPROVISED SHELTER ON THE GROUND FLOOR

If your home has no bas.e.m.e.nt or storm cellar (and no crawl s.p.a.ce that is surrounded by foundation walls up to the first floor), you can get some limited fallout protection by improvising a fallout shelter on the first or ground floor of your house. However, this type of shelter probably would not give you nearly as much protection as the other types of improvised shelters described in this chapter.

Use an inner hall, inner room or large clothes closet on the ground floor, away from outside walls and windows.

With doors, furniture and appliances, plus stacks of other shielding material, you can create an enclosure large enough to live in for a short time. If possible, use boxes filled with sand or earth as shielding material, and fill drawers and trunks with sand or earth.

If there is not room for the shielding material in the limited s.p.a.ce of a closet or small room, you can place the material on the other sides of the walls, or on the floor overhead.

BOATS AS IMPROVISED SHELTERS

If no better fallout protection is available, a boat with an enclosed cabin could be used. However, in addition to emergency supplies such as food, drinking water and a battery-powered radio, you should have aboard the items you would need (a broom, bucket, or pump-and-hose) to sweep off or flush off any fallout particles that might collect on the boat.

The boat should be anch.o.r.ed or cruised slowly at least 200 feet offsh.o.r.e, where the water is at least 5 feet deep. This distance from sh.o.r.e would protect you from radioactive fallout particles that had fallen on the nearby land. A 5-foot depth would absorb the radiation from particles falling into the water and settling on the bottom.

If particles drift down on the boat, stay inside the cabin most of the time. Go outside now and then, and sweep or flush off any particles that have collected on the boat.

CHAPTER 6

SUPPLIES FOR FALLOUT SHELTERS

SUMMARY

BEFORE AN EMERGENCY

1. If you intend to go to a _public_ fallout shelter in a time of attack, find out _now_ whether it has emergency supplies in it.

--If it _has_ emergency supplies, always keep on hand at home (or in your car) those few additional supplies you would need to take with you.

--If it _does not have_ emergency supplies, always keep on hand at home all the supplies you would need to take with you.

2. If you intend to use a family fallout shelter at home, always keep on hand, in and around your home, all the supplies and equipment you would need for a shelter stay of two weeks.

DURING AN EMERGENCY

1. If you are going to a _public_ fallout shelter, take with you the supplies you will need.

2. If you are going to your _home_ fallout shelter, gather up the supplies and equipment you want to take to the shelter area with you.

SUPPLIES FOR FALLOUT SHELTERS

People gathered in public and private fallout shelters to escape fallout radiation after a nuclear attack would have to stay there--at least part of the time--for a week or two.

During this time they would need certain supplies and equipment in order to stay alive and well, and to cope with emergency situations that might occur in their shelters.

This chapter tells you what supplies and equipment to take with you if you go to a public fallout shelter, and what items you should keep on hand if you plan to use a family fallout shelter at home.

WHAT TO TAKE TO A PUBLIC FALLOUT SHELTER

To augment the supply of food and liquids usually found in large buildings, most public fallout shelters are stocked--and others are being stocked--with emergency supplies. These include water containers, emergency food rations, sanitation items, basic medical supplies, and instruments to measure the radiation given off by fallout particles.

If the public shelter you will use in a time of attack contains these or other emergency supplies, you should plan to take with you only these additional items:

--Special medicines or foods required by members of your family, such as insulin, heart tablets, dietetic food or baby food.

--A blanket for each family member.

--A battery-powered radio, a flashlight, and extra batteries.

If the public shelter you are going to does _not_ contain emergency supplies, you should take with you all the above items, _plus_ as much potable liquids (water, fruit and vegetable juices, etc.) and ready-to-eat food as you can carry to the shelter.

STOCKS FOR A HOME SHELTER

If you intend to use a home fallout shelter, you should _gather together now_ all the things you and your family would need for 2 weeks, even though you probably wouldn't have to remain inside shelter for that entire period.