WET
Airplane Crash: failure of flying craft to remain airborne resulting in a crash landing on water. An airplane crash over land is discussed under Speed-Related Hazards. Get ready for the impact. Loosen your collar and take off your tie. Remove glasses, false teeth, and shoes. Empty pockets of all but soft objects. Put on a life jacket but do not inflate it inside the plane. Fasten seat belts tight. Get your chair fully upright. Lower your head on your knees. Fold your arms over the top of your head, using them to hold a folded coat or blanket to cushion the impact. For cargo or other aircrafts, brace your back against the bulkhead. Remember there will be more than one strong jolt. Keep the above body position until the plane stops. Release seat belt and abandon the aircraft, as directed by the crew, or by the nearest exit. Take the plane’s dinghy (rubber boat) with you. Inflate life jackets and dinghy when clear of the plane. Look for other survivors in the water. Check dinghy for first aid kit, rations, solar still, and radio beacon. Use as needed.
Capsizal: the upset or overturning of a boat, canoe, dinghy, or raft. Stay with it to gain advantage of a buoyant object. This will aid rescue because a boat is more visible than your body in the water. Recover the paddle(s) if possible, and hang on to the upstream end of the craft. Abandon the craft and swim if you are being swept toward reefs, rocks, rapids, or waterfalls. Look and listen for hazards. Most canoes, small boats, and dinghies can be uprighted by swimming under and surfacing in the air pocket beneath. Then tread water strongly and push the canoe or boat up in the air with a twisting motion. The canoe or boat will land upright on the water, with little water inside. To upright a raft, reach across the bottom and pull up on the side to roll it over. When alone, climb back in over the end. Two persons can enter at the same time on opposite sides.
Car Under Water: auto or truck that has gone off a road or bridge and sinks below the water with the driver and/or passengers inside. Do not panic. Close windows and do not attempt to open doors unless you are certain you can get out before sinking. Switch on all lights. Remain inside with your head in the air bubble, and let the water seep in. Hold any children or injured passengers up into the air pocket. When the water reaches your chin and you cannot move any higher for air, take a deep breath after instructing the others to do the same. Open the door and exit with any children hanging on to a belt, rope, or clothes to form an improvised human chain. Prior instruction is given in the air bubble to coach children on the importance of remaining in tow. The same goes for injured and non-swimmers. If the door sticks, go out the window or kick out the windshield. Do not try to open the door too soon. The force of rushing water will push you back inside.
Diving: entry of the underwater world by means of free (skin) diving, helmet diving, or diving in oceanographic submarines. The main hazard of underwater diving centers around water pressure which increases with depth. Pressure can force excess air into the lungs resulting in burst lung air sacs or air bubbles in the bloodstream. If a diver attempts to escape the pressure too quickly, body tissue fluids become saturated with nitrogen, This results in the bends, sometimes called decompression sickness. Too much nitrogen in the blood may cause nitrogen narcosis resulting in a temporary loss of reasoning ability. Divers who breathe pure oxygen can get oxygen poisoning causing the victim to become dizzy, vomit, and have convulsions. The latter two problems are solved by breathing a mixture of helium and oxygen. There are other hazards of the marine world to include sea creatures, failures of underwater breathing equipment, and storms. A diver should know all of the information included under the sections entitled Fish and Things, Surf, Drowning Person, Shipwreck, Tidal Waves, Hurricane, and Weather Warning Signs. Additionally, a diver should have the best training and the best equipment available. When diving use the buddy system and limit your depth to 100 feet as determined by a depth gauge. As you gain experience you may be able to increase your depth to 150 feet.
Flood: a great flow of water over land that is usually dry. It may occur very quickly as in the case of a flash flood. Anticipate the flooding hazard and stay out of the probable flood plain. Move to higher ground if you have an advance warning such as heavy rains in your area or areas upstream. Ask longtime local residents when the annual floods are expected. Get the details on patterns of flooding. If you are trapped by advancing flood waters, climb a tree or a man-made structure to gain higher elevation. Avoid fast currents. Should you be forced to swim, swim with the currents or slice across them along down-current angles to get where you want to go. If trapped by the flood while in your car, do not get out until you elevate the currents and avenues of escape. If you do not have this latter choice, combine the techniques for Car Under Water and River Crossing later described in this section. In the event you are hit by a wall of water, hold onto a fixed object so you can go down and under the wall to come up swimming on the back side. Do not camp on a flood plain under any circumstances.
Rain: the condensed water vapor of the atmosphere falling in drops. Protect your body from becoming wet particularly when low temperatures and/or wind chill can cause rapid loss of body heat. Beware of heavy rains which can lead to flooding or flash flooding. You do not have to be in the rain to have this problem because rivers can flood when heavy rains occur in the hills or mountains above your immediate location.
Rapids: a swift running descent in a river, less steep than a waterfall, often containing rock barriers. Avoid by walking around them. Portage (carry) your canoe or boat around the rapids. Do not attempt to shoot the rapids until you study them carefully. Ask local residents about the hazard. When swimming, break into the slack water behind rocks on the way down. Swim down any clear tongue of water with a point located downstream. When boating, paddle strongly to avoid hitting the rocks. Keep your boat or canoe moving with the current. Do not get broadside if you hope to avoid the rocks.
Reservoir: any natural or artificial basin for collecting and containing a supply of water. Failure to observe boating safety rules or storm warnings may result in a small boat capsizal. See the section on Capsizal for response. If you find yourself in a swimming situation, the solutions are essentially the same as those just suggested for a River. Carry a good waterproof floating flashlight when around a lake at night. Tie it to your belt. Use a battery-operated radio to get periodic weather reports. Arrange for someone to check on you if you are not back by a certain time. Do not walk on spillways. If you fall in below the spillway, do not swim for the top because you will hit the current backlash. Swim underwater near the bottom, and surface downstream.
River: a natural stream of water, usually fed by converging tributaries along its course, discharging into a larger body of water. Do not enter or use until you gain knowledge of depth, currents, and hazards. Ask local residents about the river. Do not panic or flounder if you fall in. Kick off your boots or shoes, tread water, swim, or grasp a floating object. Hold your breath and take off your pants while under the water. Then tie a knot at the end of each leg as you tread water. Grasp the tops of your pants and pull them through the air and then down into the water to trap the air inside. Tie or hold the pants closed at the top and use them as an air-sack float. When in fast water, swim to evade tree branches that overhang the water. Move with the current and slant across a curve in the river to reach shore. If the water is bitterly cold, swim rapidly for anything that will get you out of the water. You can die in less than 30 minutes in icy water.
River Crossing: a method of moving from one bank of a stream to the opposite bank. If you have time, ask local residents about the hazards of the river. Lacking informtion about the river, do not cross unless you have to. To cross, find an area with clear sloping banks and a portion of the river free of obstacles such as rocks, reefs, whirlpools, rapids, logs, or other hazards. Select the widest portion of the river where the current is the slowest. Test the bottom for firmness, smoothness, and depth. Keep your clothes and shoes on. Carry a backpack or other items to be moved with you. Build a small raft if too heavy or too bulky to carry. If more than one person is to cross, use a rope and tie a bowline around the waist of the first person. Should he fall in the river, pull him in at right angles to the current. Do not pull upstream as you can force him under water. Tie the rope to trees and use as a handrail for all but the last person to cross. The last man ties his end around his waist before crossing. If crossing alone in a strong current, use a pole pressed on the bottom to keep you from being swept off your feet. Move using short, shuffling steps going at right angles of the bank. Be prepared to swim if you fall in over your head. Non-swimmers should carry a buoyant object.
Shipwreck: the partial or total destruction of a ship at sea. Most persons who are lost aboard ships are lost because they falsely believe they are trapped below. Learn your ship’s design. Practice every possible route of travel throughout the ship. Follow directions of the crew if you are a passenger. Put on your life jacket and help to rig lines and ladders over the side. If a lifeboat is unavailable, find buoyant objects and throw them into the water for later recovery. Place your jacket, hat, gloves, and a change of heavy clothing in a plastic bag or other waterproof container. Keep this with you. Use the lines to go over the side. Should you be forced to jump, do so without panic. Leave your clothes and shoes on. Have your life preserver on except when jumping into flames. Hold your nose with one hand and a shoulder of your preserver with the other hand. Jump (feet first, legs together, and body erect) on the windward (up wind) side where the ship is lowest in the water. But do not jump near turning propellers. Abandon the ship in time to swim or paddle 200 yards away before it sinks. This is essential because the sinking ship will have a suck-down action that could pull you under. Get everyone aboard lifeboats or form a raft from buoyant objects. Join with the other survivors and tie all boats and rafts together with 50 to 100 leet towlines. Put on dry clothing from your waterproof bag. Improvise signal systems to speed your rescue, or use radio distress beacons on the lifeboats. Should you be forced to stay in the water, relax, and float to avoid panic and exhaustion - the main causes of drowning. Take a deep breath, submerge your face with legs and arms hanging free, then swim forward and up when you need to take another breath. To swim through flames, swim underwater without shoes or preserver unless you have an uninflated CO2 preserver. To surface through flames for another breath, make outward sweeping movements with your hands reaching up to an area just under the surface. The objective is to drive away the flames as you pop above the surface for air. Try to turn your back to the wind as you come up. This will help keep the smoke out of your lungs. Protect against exposure and frostbite while aboard the lifeboat. Survivors can huddle together for warmth or pull ends of the inflatable lifeboats together for protection from the cold. In the latter situation, ventilate as required to obtain fresh air. Improvise shade when hot, and stay as dry as possible. If your feet remain wet, exercise ankles and toes several times daily. Do not rub as this will damage tissues. Place your feet in the lap of a companion to warm them. Failure to do this could result in immersion foot which is evidenced by swelling, numbness, and pallor. In a lifeboat situation with its relative inactivity, a man can survive 8 to 12 days without water. He can survive for more than three weeks without food. Given inactivity, shade from the sun’s heat, and the absence of food (requiring water for digestion), a man on a lifeboat can survive for a prolonged period on as little as six ounces of fresh water per day.
Surf: the swell of the sea that breaks upon a shore causing racing currents, waves, undertow and riptides. Avoid being battered by heavy surf, and stay out of the water when the surf conditions are unknown. Swim to the surface and then directly to shore to get out of an undertow. If caught in a riptide, do not battle against it. Swim diagonally across the current to regain the shore. Try to swim in the crest of incoming waves. Once near the shore, grab the sand with your hands to avoid backwash. If the shore is rocky, aim for where the water hisses up on the rocks. Avoid rocks where the spray shoots up in explosions. When you are clear of breakers, run to an area above the high-water mark. Never be lured into going after any object floating out to sea.
Sweat: moisture excreted from the pores of the skin. Heat and/or high levels of activity increase sweating. In cold, heat may be caused by too many clothes for the level of activity. High humidity tends to accelerate sweating. Replace lost body water. In a hot climate, dry your body by lowering your activity level and remaining in the shade. Under cold conditions, remove outer layers of clothing while your activity level is high and your body is generating heat. Pace yourself to avoid sweating. Loosen your collar and cuffs to ventilate and evaporate existing sweat before it can cause frostbite.
Whirlpool: a vortex where water moves in a whirling motion. It may be temporarily caused by natural water currents or by a ship’s propellers. Swim or paddle away with a strong effort and attempt to avoid. If caught in a whirlpool, find anything that floats and hang on for your life. Attempt to break away with a fast powerful swimming kick. Failing this, just hang on. Shout for help, and pray for the whirlpool to wear itself out. If the whirlpool pulls you under the water, swim strongly to get away from the whirling motion.
