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Emergency shelter and store

How to create a designated safe space where people can shelter during an emergency

2024 Available in English

Some Rwandan women walk towards the open doors of a church building.

Churches like this one in Rwanda can provide people with a safe place to shelter in the event of an emergency. Photo: Tumuheirwe Jesus/Tearfund

Two Nepalese women dressed in bright traditional clothing fill large storage containers with grain as a group of other women from their community watch. A large, steep mountain with some houses is behind them.

From: Reducing the risk of disaster - Footsteps 122

How to build individual and community resilience so that disasters are less likely to happen

If you live in an area frequently affected by storms or other hazards, careful planning will help you and your community to cope better if there is an emergency. This may include creating an emergency shelter and store. 

Emergency shelter

Where there is a threat of storms, flooding or earthquakes, identify a designated safe place where people can shelter. Schools, religious buildings, government offices or grain stores are often used for this purpose. The chosen building must be well built (earthquake and storm resistant) and located above the risk of any flooding. 

Once an emergency shelter has been identified, mark out a series of evacuation routes to the shelter with clear signs. These can be mounted on white-topped posts, or painted on the walls of buildings or trees. These white marks will help people find their way to the shelter, even in darkness or when there are floods. 

Careful consideration should be given to people who are pregnant, unwell, blind, elderly, very young or disabled. They should be evacuated to safety as soon as warnings appear.

Two Nepalese women dressed in bright traditional clothing fill large storage containers with grain as a group of other women from their community watch. A large, steep mountain with some houses is behind them.

Community members in Nepal save grain in a store for use in an emergency. Photo: International Nepal Fellowship

Emergency store

Keep and maintain emergency supplies in an easy-to-access location, preferably in, or close to, an emergency shelter. If there is a risk of storms and flooding, store as much as possible in sealed containers to keep everything dry.

Items to include:

  • dry food that requires little or no cooking and no refrigeration
  • a portable radio
  • simple cooking equipment and fuel
  • torches and spare batteries; matches and candles
  • sealed water containers, filled with safe drinking water
  • first aid supplies and basic medicines
  • clothes and bedding
  • items to protect homes or make emergency repairs, such as sandbags, plastic sheeting, wooden boards, hammers and nails
  • seeds for replanting, double-wrapped in plastic bags or sealed in clay pots, and basic agricultural tools

Basic first aid kit 

  • Absorbent compress dressings (12.5cm x 22.5cm) to cover and protect large open wounds 
  • Adhesive dressings in assorted sizes to cover and protect small open wounds 
  • Adhesive cloth tape to secure bandages or splints
  • Antibiotic ointment or antiseptic to clean wounds and prevent infection 
  • Large disposable gloves to prevent body fluid contact
  • Scissors to cut tape, cloth or bandages 
  • Roller bandages (5cm, 7.5cm and 10cm wide) to secure wound dressing in place
  • Sterile gauze pads or dressings (5cm x 5cm, 7.5cm x 10cm and 10cm x 12cm) to cover wounds and control external bleeding 
  • Triangular bandage(s) to make a sling, control bleeding, retain a dressing or hold a splint in place 
  • Painkillers such as paracetamol or aspirin
  • First aid instruction booklet in the local language for reference

Family preparations

Prepare a waterproof bag containing valuable items such as identity cards, certificates, land documents, mobile phone and charger, money, jewellery and essential medicines. If you have to evacuate, this can be easily carried with you.

Before evacuating, turn off electrical supply points and unplug appliances. Also turn off gas appliances and the valves on gas cylinders to reduce the risk of fire.

Learn more

Disability and disasters – Footsteps 108: How to ensure no one is left behind in an emergency

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