5 Reasons Shelter is Critical to Survive Emergencies

Survival
priorities
are
those
things
that
humans
quite
literally
cannot
live
for
long
without.
Depending
on
who
you
ask,
there
are
five,
ten
or
more
than
a
dozen
such
priorities.

Shelter
is
among
them,
and
one
of
the
most

basic
needs
for
human
beings.
When
we
are
talking
about
outdoor
emergencies,
shelter
is
even
more
crucial
and
often
said
to
be
even
more
important
than
water
in
the
short
term.

Considering
how
critical
water
and
food
are
in
the
context
of
a
survival
scenario,
why
is
shelter
so
important?

Shelter
is
critical
in
an
outdoor
survival
situation
because
exposure
to
the
elements
(rain,
snow,
low
temps)
can
kill
in
as
little
as
a
few
hours
if
conditions
are
right,
compared
to
a
few
days
without
water
or
weeks
without
food.

In
the
wrong
circumstances,
you
may
only
survive
a
few
miserable
hours
without
shelter
even
in
environments
that
are
thought
of
as
temperate,
even
pleasant.

Only
by
establishing
an
adequate
shelter
soon
enough
can
you
hope
to
avoid
this
fate.
We’ll
tell
you
more
about
the
importance
of
shelter
in
the
rest
of
this
article.

Only
Air
is
More
Important
than
Shelter

In
a
survival
situation,
air
is
more
important
than
shelter.
However,
without
air
there
can
be
no
shelter,
so
in
that
sense
shelter
is
more
important.

That
said,
if
you
are
stranded
in
a
hot
or
cold
environment
and
have
the
means
to
breathe,
establishing
shelter
is
usually
your
top
priority.

Outside
of
ideal
climates,
your
body
will
struggle
to
thermoregulate
itself,
and
with
a
bad
turn
of
luck
when
it
comes
to
weather
or
temperature
you
can
start
the
survival
“clock”
on
exposure.

In
warm
climates,
you
can
die
of
hyperthermia
or
heatstroke
if
you
do
not
have
access
to
shade
and
cooling
water.

In
cold
climates
you
can
die
of
hypothermia
quite
quickly
if
drenched,
and
even
if
you
are
dry,
as
your
body
temperature
plummets
below
what
is
necessary
to
maintain
normal
metabolism.

Shelter
Can
(Obviously)
Keep
You
Warm

Shelter
can
help
keep
you
warm
in
cold
environments
in
a
couple
of
ways.
First
and
foremost
it
will
keep
the
wind
from
having
as
pronounced
an
effect
on
you,
or
even
prevent
it
from
reaching
you
entirely.
Even
a
gentle
breeze
in
cold
weather
can
strip
heat
away
from
your
body
with
great
rapidity.

Second,
a
properly
designed
cold
weather
shelter
will
serve
to
trap
air
in
a
small
volume
around
your
body,
in
essence
creating
a
microclimate
that
will
be
a
fair
bit
or
even
much
warmer
than
the
outside
air.

Combined
with
appropriate
clothing,
a
sleeping
bag
and
perhaps
a
nearby
fire
you
might
actually
be
able
to
stay
toasty
warm
inside
your
shelter
despite
the
frigid
conditions
just
outside.

Considering
that
it
is
cold
weather
that
is
disproportionately
responsible
for
exposure
deaths,
any
prepper
who’s
going
to
or
living
in
a
cold
weather
environment
or
in
an
environment
where
nighttime
temperatures
can
drop
dangerously
low
must
brush
up
on
the
construction
of
effective
cold
weather
shelters
using
a
variety
of
materials.

Shelter
Can
Shade
You
from
the
Sun

Hot
weather
brings
its
own
challenges
to
survival,
and
you’ll
need
shelter
to
adapt
accordingly.
Allowing
your
body
temperature
to
climb
too
high
and
stay
there
for
too
long
and
hot,
arid
climates
means
you’ll
be
at
risk
of
heat
stroke
which
can
be
just
as
fatal
as
hypothermia.

That
being
said,
aside
from
staying
hydrated
the
best
things
you
can
do
for
yourself
in
these
environments
is
to
avoid
working
or
exerting
yourself
in
the
hottest
part
of
the
day
and
stay
out
of
direct
sunlight.

The
best
way
to
shelter
yourself
from
the
sun
is
to
simply
erect
something
that
will
provide
shade,
and
the
larger
an
area
of
the
ground
that
you
can
shade
the
better
cooling
you
will
get
over
time.

Additionally,
any
shelter
that
is
dug
into
the
ground
for
a
little
ways
will
quickly
run
into
cooler
substrate
which
can
help
also.

Aside
from
the
ever-present
necessity
of
providing
shade,
hot
weather
shelters
are
usually
chosen
based
on
the
materials
at
hand
in
the
environment
and
the
ease
with
which
they
can
be
erected.

Shelter
Provides
Protection
from
Rain,
Wind
and
Dust

Aside
from
direct
protection
from
the
climate
in
one
way
or
another,
a
good
survival
shelter
will
also
protect
you
from
precipitation
in
the
form
of
rain
or
snow
while
also
protecting
you
from
wind
and
windblown
dust.

Any
of
these
weather
events
can
spell
trouble
for
a
survivor
no
matter
the
environment.

If
you
were
already
very
hot,
being
soaked
to
the
skin
by
rain
might
be
pretty
refreshing,
but
any
other
time
it
is
going
to
be
highly
problematic
in
a
survival
scenario.

Getting
wet
and
then
being
exposed
to
cooler
temperatures
especially
when
it
is
already
windy
is
a
surefire
way
to
speed
along
the
path
to
serious
hypothermia.
It
should
be
obvious
why
you
don’t
want
snow
accumulating
on
you
while
you
rest.

Aside
from
this,
the
wind
itself
as
mentioned
above
will
pull
heat
out
of
your
body
but
beyond
this
it
will
chap
exposed,
sensitive
skin
and
can
aggravate
you
when
you
are
trying
to
rest.

Much
of
the
time
it
is
not
that
the
wind
is
blowing
but
what
the
wind
is
blowing,
and
windblown
dust,
ash
and
other
fine
particulate
debris
can
prove
to
be
a
significant
annoyance
as
well
as
a
hazard.

A
good
shelter
can
protect
you
from
all
of
these
things
or
at
least
provide
you
with
a
measure
of
relief
from
them.

Shelter
Will
Allow
You
Take
Meaningful
Rest

Not
to
be
taken
for
granted,
even
a
rudimentary
survival
shelter
set
up
to
allow
you
to
cope
with
environmental
challenges
will
further
help
you
during
your
trial
by
allowing
you
to
get
more
meaningful
rest.

Anything
you
can
do
to
improve
your
body’s
ability
to
thermoregulate
itself
and
get
even
nominally
more
comfortable
under
the
circumstances
will
allow
you
better
sleep,
or
at
least
more
recuperative
rest.

Just
ask
anyone
who
has
been
forced
to
sit
up
out
in
the
open
while
in
the
wilderness
that
was
trying
to
catch
some
shut
eye.

Between
the
environment
and
everything
that
is
affecting
their
body,
sleep
might
well
be
impossible
or
nearly
so
under
the
circumstances.
A
simple
dugout
or
a
lean-to
shelter
might
not
seem
like
much,
but
believe
me
it
will
make
a
difference.

More
elaborate
shelters
can
prove
to
be
a
comforting
retreat
and
what
is
otherwise
a
terrifying
and
demoralizing
situation.

This
is
why
setting
up
a
shelter
should
be
high
up
on
your
list
of
priorities
if
you
know
you
are
in
for
an
intermediate-,
long-or
indefinite
term
survival
scenario.

Having
a
home
of
sorts,
even
one
as
modest
as
the
kind
described
above,
can
make
all
the
difference
in
your
mental
state.

Learn
to
Make
Shelter
Today

Shelter
is
critically
important
in
survival
situations
because
next
to
your
requirement
for
air
it
is
exposure
to
hostile
conditions
that
is
most
likely
to
affect
you.

Shelter
will
allow
you
to
stay
warmer
when
it
is
cold,
cooler
when
it
is
hot,
and
provide
a
measure
of
protection
against
various
weather
conditions.

All
preppers
should
have
become
acquainted
with
a
variety
of
methods
for
constructing
survival
shelters
in
any
environment
and
using
any
materials
available.