In Time of Emergency / A Citizen's Handbook on Nuclear Attack, Natural Disasters (1968)

by United States. Office of Civil Defense

Chapter 5

IMPROVISING FALLOUT PROTECTION

SUMMARY

Before an emergency

1. If there is no public fallout shelter near your home and you have decided not to prepare a permanent or preplanned shelter in your basement or yard, make sure that you have on hand now the materials and tools needed to improvise an emergency shelter at home. These would include shielding material (for an inside shelter), and lumber and a shovel (for an outside shelter).

During an emergency

1. If you have no better shelter to go to, improvise an emergency shelter at home.

2. Usually, the best place for an improvised shelter would be in your basement or storm cellar.

3. If you don't have a basement or storm cellar, you might be able to improvise a shelter in the crawl space under your house, outside in your yard, or (as a last resort) on the ground floor of your house. In some places, a boat would provide some fallout protection.