Fortunately, situations in which evacuation of the population may be necessary do not happen often, but, nevertheless, it seems to me that every modern person needs to have at least a general idea of the actions taken in such cases.
In my article I will try to explain where the term "evacuation" came from, I will dwell in more detail on the differences between the actual evacuation, dispersal and resettlement, after which I will describe in detail the general order of evacuation of the population.
1. What is the "evacuation" and the roots of the origin of this term?
First of all, I note that this term came from the Latin word “evacure”, which, translated into our native language, Russian means “delete”, “take out”, “empty”. It implies a whole range of measures aimed at the organized removal / withdrawal of the population in the event of an emergency in one place or another.
2. How is population evacuation different from dispersal and resettlement?
Evacuation is understood as a process involving organized and independent movement of people to potentially safe territory.
If an emergency is created in a city or at any facility, this automatically means that a certain number of personnel may be needed to prevent the consequences or ensure more or less normal life of the affected area. For example, it will be necessary to disassemble the rubble, provide assistance to the injured and wounded, deliver water or medicines. In this case, such an event as dispersal is carried out, which implies the constant delivery of workers and their removal to the suburban area after the end of the work shift.
Resettlement takes place in those cases when it is necessary to completely relocate people from the area, for example, contaminated radiation, destroyed or flooded. The population is transported permanently to other, safer regions of the country. Sometimes resettlement can be temporary. This happens if there is at least a tiny chance of returning after a certain period of time, which sometimes, by the way, can be calculated in days, weeks, and even months.
3. Evacuation of the population in emergency situations.
I want to warn you right away that this section is not a sequence of actions, but rather a set of memos that will help you to save yourself, not to panic and help your relatives in a difficult situation.
So, the evacuation of the population. In the event of such an emergency, it is necessary:
- Pay attention to the fact that this event is usually held as soon as possible. Nobody will wait or persuade you to leave the dangerous territory. Literally during the day, special, easily recognizable buses or cars will run around the city. 24 hours after the notification, you will have to independently look for the opportunity to escape or leave the facility / locality / contaminated area.
- Remember that special services have the full right to use any available equipment, including personal vehicles of citizens who at that time were not involved in carrying out production or economic transportation.
- Use all available media (television, radio, print media, online resources) in order to get more detailed information about the situation.
- To know that at cinemas, clubs, schools, entertainment centers, supermarkets and cultural centers, prefabricated evacuation centers are created for preliminary registration and subsequent sending of the population to a safe territory.
- Take care of the availability of the most necessary things: shoes, clothes, underwear.
- Take along a small amount of food and a flask of drinking water. Of course, you should give preference to foods that do not require long preparation before use. For example, breadcrumbs, canned goods or concentrates. It is advisable to refuse perishable products altogether.
- Keep in mind that all cargo, including clothing, food and other personal items, will very likely have to be carried independently, therefore it is recommended to pack them compactly, in durable, reliable and preferably signed suitcases, bags, backpacks, baskets, and bags.
- In the event that the evacuation has already been announced, try not to panic, and be sure to bring identification documents with you.
- Follow certain rules when evacuating with children. Firstly, put a piece of paper in the child’s pocket with his name, surname, middle name, home address and mobile phone number of the parents. Secondly, prepare a special so-called children's set, consisting of food products and favorite toys or baby books. It is the latter, if necessary, that will help calm a child frightened by what is happening.
