Many emergencies require a search for people in distress. News reports frequently talk about lost or stranded people. For such circumstances, it is always better if those being sought know how to make their presence and their locations very conspicuous. One person, or even a large group of people, cannot be spotted easily from the air, especially when visibility is limited.
Flares or other commercially available devices should be carried in motor vehicles going into remote areas. There are a number of ways distress can be signaled without flares and other commercially available devices. Remember contrasting colors, shapes, flashes and sounds help attract the attention of other people.SOS is the universal distress signal. There are also a number of symbols that can be used to form a distress signal. If you are on sand or snow, tramp out the letters SOS or a specific signal. Make the letters or the symbol large enough so they can be easily seen and understood.
If you are on hard ground, arrange clumps of bushes, tree boughs, rocks or piles of dirt into letters or symbols in such a way that they cast shadows. Shadow writing can be seen for quite a distance from the air. You could also pile rocks into three piles that form a triangle.
If you are not in or near an open area but are in a forest, bend or cut trees to form a distinctive pattern. If you are in brush country, tramp down a large triangular-shaped area of brush.
Smoke during the day and fire by night make good distress signals. If you can do so without possibility of starting a brush or forest fire, build three signal fires in a large equilateral triangle. A single fire may be mistaken for a camp fire. The fires should be in the open, since trees tend to disperse smoke. If the day is clear and you are on light-colored terrain, make black smoke by adding rubber, plastic, oil or oily vegetation to the fire. If the day is overcast or if you are on dark-colored terrain, make white smoke by adding green boughs, grass, leaves, duff or wet cloth to the fire.
A mirror is one of the most effective means of sending a distress message. Flashes of brilliant light can be seen for a considerable distance during periods of sunlight. In fact, mirror flashes have been spotted by rescue aircraft more than 20 miles away. On hazy days, aircraft can see the flash of a mirror before survivors can see the aircraft, so it is wise to flash the mirror in the direction of a plane when you hear it, even when you cannot see it.
If you have only an ordinary mirror (commercially available signal mirrors have a sighting hole), try this:
1. Hold the mirror up to the sun with one hand, and stretch your other hand out in front of you so that it blots out the view of your target.
2. Hit your extended hand with a reflection of the sun from the mirror.
3. Sight your target through the slits between your fingers while you keep the mirror flashing on that hand - then lower the hand. The flash of light will then be aimed at the target.
If you do not have a mirror, use:
- A piece of shiny metal.
- A piece of foil you have smoothed over something with a flat surface.
- A piece of window glass.
- A piece of unpolished metal you have coated with grease.
A series of three sounds such as horn blasts, whistles or gunshots signals distress, especially when they are heard coming from odd places at odd times. If you do not have any of these noisemakers, beat on the roof or hood of a vehicle. If you are a plane-crash victim, beat on the side or wing.
Do not shout unless you are sure that people are close enough to hear you. Conserve your voice until you are sure it can be heard. The word "Mayday" transmitted on a CB radio is reserved strictly for emergency use.
Emergencies and disasters are facts of life. Each year thousands happen - large and small, natural and man-made - somewhere in the United States. Most people survive emergency situations. Knowledge of how to signal for help during an emergency can help people survive.