If an enemy attack occurs when you are at home and you have not made shelter preparations in advance, you can still improvise a shelter inside or outside your house. In a time of emergency, radio transmissions can tell you if you have time to improvise a shelter or if you need to take cover immediately.
A makeshift shelter probably wouldn’t provide as much protection as a pre-planned or permanent family shelter, but any protection is better than none and could save your life.
The best place to improvise a shelter would be in the basement or storm cellar, if your home has one.
REQUIRED PROTECTIVE MATERIAL
To improvise a shelter, you would need protective materials such as the aforementioned concrete blocks, bricks, sand, etc. Other things could also be used as shielding material or to support shielding material, such as:
-House doors that have been taken off their hinges (especially heavy exterior doors).
-Comfortable and comfortable (fill the drawers with sand or earth after putting them in place, so that they are not very heavy to transport and do not collapse while being transported).
-Trunks, boxes and cartons (fill them with sand or earth after placing them).
-Tables and shelves.
-Large appliances (such as washers and dryers).
-Books, magazines and piles of firewood or wood.
-Slabs of walkways and outdoor patios.
IMPROVISING A BASEMENT SHELTER
Here are two ways to improvise fallout protection in a home basement:
Set up a large, sturdy table or workbench in the corner of your basement that is furthest below ground level.
On the table, pile as much protective material as possible without collapsing. Around the table, place as much cushioning material as possible.
When family members are “inside the shelter,” that is, under the table, block the opening with other protective material.
If you don’t have a large table or workbench available, or if you need more space in the shelter, place furniture or large appliances in the corner of the basement to serve as the “walls” of your shelter.
As a “roof” for it, use house doors that have been removed from their hinges. On top of the doors, pile as much protective material as they can bear. Stack other protective material around the “walls” of your shelter.
When everyone is inside the shelter space, block the opening with protective material.
USING A STORM BASEMENT FOR FALL PROTECTION
An underground storm cellar can be used as a makeshift shelter from radioactive fallout, but additional shielding material may be needed to provide adequate protection against radioactive radiation.
If the existing storm cellar roof is made of wood or other lightweight material, it should be covered with one foot of earth or an equivalent thickness of other protective material to protect it from radioactive fallout. Additional posts or braces may be needed to hold
the extra weight
Once the roof has been protected, further protection can be provided by blocking the entrance with 8-inch concrete blocks or sandbags, bricks, earth, or other protective material of equivalent thickness, once all occupants are inside the shelter. Leave a few inches open at the top for air to enter. Once the particles have stopped falling, the outer door can be left open to provide better ventilation.
If no protective material is available for entry, shelter occupants should stay as far away as possible. They should also raise the exterior storm cellar door from time to time to remove any rain particles that may have collected on it.
USE OF THE CRAWL SPACE UNDER YOUR HOUSE
Some foundationless houses have “crawl space” between the first floor and the ground below the house. If you have this space under your house, and if the house is built on foundations, rather than pillars, you can improvise a fallout shelter for your family there.
First, gain access to the crawl space through the floor or through the exterior foundation wall. (A hatch or other entrance could be made now, before an emergency occurs.)
As a location for your shelter, select a crawl space area that is below the center of the house, as far from the exterior foundation walls as possible.
Around the selected shelter area, place cushioning material, preferably bricks or blocks, or containers filled with sand or soil, from ground level to the first floor of the house, so that the cushioning material forms the “walls” from their refuge area. . On the floor above, lay down other protective material to form a “roof” for the shelter area.
If time permits, dig up more soil and deepen the shelter area, so that you can stand upright or at least sit on it.
IMPROVISING AN OUTSIDE SHELTER
If your home doesn’t have a basement, storm cellar, or protected crawl space, here are two ways to improvise 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, as its purpose is to serve as an entrance and reduce the amount of radiation entering the shelter area.
Cover the entire trench with lumber (or house doors that have been taken off their hinges), except about 2 feet on the short side of the L, to provide access and ventilation.
On top of wood or doors, mound soil 1 to 2 feet high or cover with other protective material.
If necessary, support or “shore” the walls of the trench, as well as the wood or doors, so they do not collapse.
Dig a shallow trench, 6 inches deep and 6 inches wide, parallel to and 4 feet from the outside wall of your house.
Remove the heaviest doors in the house. Place the bottom of the doors in the trench (so they don’t slide) and lean the doors against the wall of the house.
At doorways, mound 12 to 18 inches of soil or sand. Pile or stack other shielding materials on the sides of the doors and also on the other side of the house wall (to protect you from radiation coming from that direction).
If possible, deepen the shelter area by digging more soil into it. Also dig other shallow ditches to allow rainwater to drain away.
AN IMPROVISED SHELTER ON THE GROUND FLOOR
If your home doesn’t have a basement or storm cellar (and no crawl space that’s surrounded by foundation walls up to the first floor), you can get limited protection from fallout by improvising a fallout shelter on the first floor or on the ground floor of your house. However, this type of shelter probably won’t give you as much protection as the other types of makeshift shelters described in this chapter.
Use an interior hallway, interior room, or large ground-floor clothing closet away from exterior walls and windows.
With doors, furniture, and appliances, plus lots of other protective materials, you can create an enclosure big enough to live in for a short time. If possible, use boxes filled with sand or soil as cushioning material and fill crates and chests with sand or soil.
If there is no space for the protective material in the limited space of a closet or small room, you can place the material on the other sides of the walls or on the floor above your head.
BOATS AS IMPROVISED SHELTERS
If better protection against radioactive fallout is not available, a ship 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 on board the items you would need (a broom, bucket or pump, and hose) to sweep up or rinse away any radioactive fallout. particles that could accumulate on the boat. The boat must be anchored or sailed slowly at least 200 feet from shore, where the water is at least 5 feet deep. This distance from shore would protect it from radioactive particles that had fallen on nearby land. A depth of 5 feet would absorb radiation from particles that fall into the water and settle to the bottom.
If particles fall on the boat, stay inside the cabin most of the time. Go outside from time to time and sweep or rinse off any particles that have accumulated in the can.