15 Methods to Signal For Help & Rescue

15 Methods to Signal For Help & Rescue

In a survival situation, your life could depend on how quickly and effectively you are able to signal to other people for help.

Whether that’s a couple of nearby folk from the nearest village or the full force of the emergency response crews and military, your role in getting assistance to your position is always going to be the same. You will need to advertise your position and, by the sheer fact you are doing so, the message that you are in need of help.

How you go about signaling for help is going to be dependent on what equipment you have available to you and where you are. From the most high tech equipment on the market to devices first used a millennia ago, there will almost always be something on hand you can make use of.

1- Cell Phones

The most convenient and easy way to reach help in a disaster situation is your handy, every day cell phone. With it, you can place a call to the correct number and be sure that you are asking for help from the right people. You can share every detail of your situation and in many cases your rescuers will be able to triangulate your position using the in built GPS. However, bear in mind that it should in no circumstances be your only life line. Many of the locations in which you may find yourself during a disaster will be far from the crowds of inhabited places, which means you may not be near a cell tower. In a disaster, the tower signal may be damaged or brought down, or you could find yourself trapped in a place where the signal does not reach. If you believe you may have limited connectivity, try sending a text message, which only needs an instant of miniscule connectivity to make it through the nearest tower.

2- Locator Beacons

A recent invention, your personal locator beacon is designed for just the kind of eventuality you will find yourself in after a disaster. A well made beacon won’t be damaged by water or by being dropped or crushed and it does not run on electricity, so it will still work if the grid goes down. Invest in a good one with reviews that testify it will be durable and then make sure to register it with National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration so that emergency personnel have access to its signal.

3- Personal Alerts

If you or a member of your party is wearing a device that is intended to signal for help in a medical or emergency situation, activate it during a disaster to alert authorities to your position and the fact you are in trouble. Though that help might arrive with the wrong idea of what assistance you actually need, it will still arrive – and more likely than not accompanied by the means to rescue you from the disaster scenario you are facing. These alert devices are also helpful if you are, for example, trapped in the debris after an earthquake or stranded during a flood. In a large scale disaster, the authorities will quickly guess what your signal really means.

4- Ham Radios

It may surprise you to know that ham radios remain a hugely popular hobby around the world, with thousands of people connected on a daily basis. They are also used by emergency personnel, which means you are almost guaranteed to connect with a human being who can either help you directly or who can contact the relevant rescue party on your behalf. A portable ham radios is a great addition to your survival kit if you are able to carry it and should always be available in your personal disaster shelter in case of an emergency close to home. To ensure you are able to make the best use of it in a disaster, be sure to practice ahead of time or attend a local class or lecture.

5- Whistles

Light and durable, your pack is not complete without a whistle. In many survival situations you may be relatively close to help, such as if you are lost at sea or trapped in a building. Use three short blasts to signal as this is the universal sign of distress. When selecting your whistle, opt for one that is colored brightly so you can locate it easily even in darkness and one that can be attached to your pack with a clip to prevent it from getting lost. Whistles without moving parts are the best choice as the pea can freeze in sub zero temperatures, rendering your whistle useless.

6- Torches

As with the whistle, a torch can signal help from rescuers who are close by or to indicate your position if help is already searching for you. Use the Morse code signal for help, which is SOS (short for “save our souls”), by flashing your torch three times quickly, then three times slowly, then three times quickly again. Leave a short gap and repeat. Be careful to conserve the batteries if you are not sure that help is in the area – light catches the human eye quickly and you need only attract your rescuer’s attention once to ensure help arrives.

7- Laser Pointers

During the night, a laser pointer can quickly attract the attention of a rescue crew wearing night vision goggles. The beam will travel a relatively long distance and will also indicate your position simply by allowing the rescue team to follow the light back to its origin. Not so useful during the day, a laser pointer can mean the difference between rescue and remaining stranded once the skies go dark.

8- Mirrors

Another signaling method that may require practice beforehand, a mirror is also one of the most effective ways of calling for help that will be available to you. It needs no batteries and will still work if cracked – all you need is the sun and patience. Aim the mirror such that the sunlight bounces off it and out in a horizontal line from you. Swing it round  a full 360 degrees to aim your signal in every possible direction. As the light beam your mirror will send out can travel for up to ten miles, it will signal your distress to a circle up to 20 miles in diameter. As with the torch, the flash of light instantly catches the eye and has the potential to signal your need to anyone within that circle. If you do not have a mirror available, any shiny flat surface will do the trick – look for an item such as metal foil or a CD.

9- Flares

Worth carrying in your pack if only because they have a secondary use as a fire starter, hand held flares are a good way to signal for help as the light they give off travels for a reasonable distance. In the event you find yourself trapped in an area with very little ability for light to escape, however, such as in the middle of a thick forest, or in a place where your rescue might be at a great distance from you, such as if you are stranded on the ocean, you could be better served by an aerial flare that will be seen for many more miles. Flare guns are not too expensive and can attract attention easily, but be extremely aware of the fire risk if you plan to use them. Flares burn at considerable temperatures and can easily worsen your situation if you set them off in a wooded or grassland area.

10- Flags

Particularly useful if there are rescuers searching for you by air, flags are easy to make from scratch in a survival situation. Simply attach a piece of material to a pole or stick and then wave it yourself or plant it. If you are at sea, in the desert or anywhere else where rescue is likely to come via helicopter or airplane, planting or carrying a flag will make it a lot easier for your rescue party to find your exact location.

11- Written Messages

If you find yourself needing to travel, you may want to leave notes behind yourself that will tell a rescue party which direction you chose. Say, for example, that you are involved in a vehicle crash but you are unsure whether help is on the way. You make the decision to set out in the most likely direction of human habitation. Just in case you have made an error in judgment or rescue arrives before you reach your destination, strap survey tape to trees along your way. With a thick pen, you can even leave messages on the tape to assist your rescuers. If you do not have survey tape with you, find rock faces and trees with flat bark to leave your messages on – even the ground or the side of buildings, in an urban environment. Your messages may also be seen by passers by who were not searching for you, but will be alerted to your need and can summon assistance on your behalf.

12- Fire

A rescue party will be looking for anything out of the ordinary in the environment you are lost in, and a fire is a great way to attract their attention because it will send plumes of smoke a good way into the sky. A controlled fire is clearly man made and therefore indicates that someone is in the area. Start one quickly by shining a mirror onto dry tinder material such as leaves or twigs to direct the sun’s rays or by using a fire starter or matches from your survival kit. If you have no fire starting equipment handy, find a flat piece of wood a quarter inch in diameter, carve a V shape notch and rotate a quarter inch stick in the notch as quickly as you can. Once it sparks, apply your tinder to the spark immediately and blow gently to encourage it to grow. Make sure to consider your safety when making the fire by digging a fire pit and clearing the area around it to ensure it won’t escape your control. Though your fire should be big enough to see from a distance, ensure that you have the means to extinguish it. If you want your smoke to be more noticeable on a cloudy day, add any petroleum based item, including oil or a piece of plastic, to turn the smoke black.

13- Interior Lights

In an urban setting, take advantage of the enclosed space of a house or room to reveal your location with light. If the electricity is still flowing, head to the highest point of the building and repeatedly switch the overhead lights on and off. In a city where very little is moving after a crisis, the movement of the light is sure to catch the eye of other survivors or rescue teams. If the electricity is not working, you can still use the space to your advantage using your torch, the light from which will bounce off the walls and perform the same function.

14- Banging Pipes

If you find yourself trapped in debris or otherwise unable to escape from a building or vehicle, you can let your rescuers know where to look for you through noise. Find a heavy item and bang on the nearest pipe, which will carry the sound through and out of the remains of the building. Sending the SOS code by tapping three times quickly, three times slowly and three times quickly again will once more be your best way to alert anyone in the vicinity that you are in need of assistance – particularly helpful if nobody knows you are trapped. Creating a clear message, even if it only reaches the ears of a person who doesn’t understand it, will still indicate that the banging is not just random noise and is being done with a purpose.

15- Contrasting With Your Environment

Another way to make yourself more visible and ensure that you stand out against your background is to spread items of your gear around the ground and even into the trees. Clothing, survival gear and even your bags will likely be brightly colored and contrast well with the natural colors surrounding you, which means they will stand out against your environment and attract the attention of your rescue party. If your kit includes a space blanket, this can also be very eye catching as it is highly reflective. Consider when placing your items where your rescue is most likely to come from. If it will be a ground rescue, position your attention attractors in the trees and at higher elevations – anywhere that is relatively at eye level. If it will come from the sky, make sure that you have covered as wide an area as possible on the ground to ensure that it can be seen from above.