Survival guides · Disasters

Trapped in a Collapsed Building

ACT NOWYou're trapped under rubble. Protect your breathing, signal, and save your strength.

1. Cover your mouth

   • Cloth, a shirt, your collar — over your nose and mouth.
   • Breathe slowly through your nose.
   • Don't shout yet — it pulls in dust.
   • Smell gas? Move away from it if you can. No matches, no lighters.

2. Check yourself — slowly

   • Don't move suddenly. The debris may shift.
   • Feel for injuries. Press hard on any bleeding.
   • Phone light, or feel your way. Test anything before you put weight on it.

3. Signal

   • Bars of service? Call or text 911 — say where you are in the building.
   • Tap on a pipe or wall: three taps, pause, three taps.
   • A whistle carries farther than a shout and costs less energy.
   • Shout only when you hear rescuers close.
   • Satellite 911 needs open sky — it won't reach you under rubble. Save the battery.

4. Wait it out

   • Rescue teams will search — it can take hours or days.
   • Stay as still as you can.
   • Sip water if you have it.
   • Pull clothing or anything soft around you for warmth.
   • People have been found alive days later. Hold on.

Sources: FEMA Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Training · FEMA / Ready.gov

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