Survival guides · Disasters

Civil Unrest

WHEN TO USE THISProtests, riots or looting nearby. Avoid it — don't become part of it, or a target.

1. Stay home

   • Inside, doors locked, away from windows.
   • Close by? Inner rooms.
   • Follow the news.
   • Don't go out to watch — crowds turn in seconds.

2. Caught outside

   • Move away calmly. Walk, don't run.
   • Go across the crowd's direction, toward side streets. Avoid dead ends.
   • No eye contact, no arguing. Hands visible.
   • Take off anything that ties you to one side.

3. Caught in a crowd

   • Stay on your feet. Falling is the danger.
   • Arms up in front of your chest, like a boxer — it keeps room to breathe.
   • Work diagonally toward the edge. Never straight against the flow.
   • Tear gas: go upwind and uphill. Breathe through a wet cloth. Flush your eyes with clean water. Don't rub.
   Why

   Crowd crushes kill by squeezing the chest until a person can't breathe. Tear gas forms a heavy cloud that hangs close to the ground.

4. Your property

   • Warning in advance? Move the car away from the trouble.
   • Never confront looters. Your life is worth more than anything they take.
   • Photograph the damage, with the time.
   • Follow curfews.

Sources: FEMA / Ready.gov · International Committee of the Red Cross

General information to help in an emergency — not a substitute for training or professional care.