ury and
illness, and given help in resuming their normal lives. Experience has
shown that as cities, counties and towns develop their systems to
preserve life under nuclear attack conditions, they also become better
prepared to deal effectively with peacetime disasters.

In cooperation with the U.S. Office of Civil Defense and the States,
many local governments are improving their civil defense systems by
preparing community shelter plans. These plans include instructions to
local citizens on what to do in the event of nuclear attack.

This handbook, "In Time of Emergency," contains basic general
information on both nuclear attack and major natural disasters. This
general guidance supplements the specific instructions issued by local
governments. Since special conditions may exist in some communities, the
local instructions may be slightly different from this general guidance.
In those cases, the local instructions should be followed.

Part I (pages 3-68) is concerned with nuclear attack and basic actions
to take.

Part II (pages 69-86) discusses preparations and emergency actions that
will help individuals cope with major natural disasters--floods,
hurricanes, tornadoes, winter storms, and earthquakes.

In addition to following the advice given in this handbook and the
instructions of their local governments, people can prepare themselves
better to meet any major disaster by taking training courses to develop
their "emergency skills." Especially recommended are these courses:

"PERSONAL AND FAMILY SURVIVAL" (12-hour course)--A basic orientation
course in civil defense, which also tells people how to improve their
protection against the effects of a nuclear attack.

"MEDICAL SELF-HELP" (16-hour course)--How to care for the sick and
injured if a doctor or nurse is not available.

"FIRST AID" (courses of various lengths)--How to help the sick and
injured until professional medical assistance is obtained.

"CARE OF THE SICK AND INJURED" (12-hour course)--How to care for
patients after they have received professional medical treatment.

Information on these free courses, which are given in most communities,
is available from local Civil Defense Offices, County Agricultural
Extension Agents, local public health departments, or American Red Cross
chapters. Special advice for rural families on emergency actions related
to crops and livestock is available from the U.S. Department of
Agriculture.

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