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2.2.2 Strategy: Find a safe place and wait out the disaster

Although people described many early warning signs for blizzards, they can come so fast that people are often caught out in the tundra. Often the best coping strategy is to find a safe place and wait out the blizzard.

A Koryak man from Tymlat (Kamchatka) said: �In winter you should ensure that there is a place to drive the herd in case of a blizzard. Sometimes you hope the weather will be good and then suddenly a blizzard starts so you have to stay where you are and wait it out. If the blizzard is heavy, fix the tent firmly�.

Another man from the same settlement explained: �If you see the weather�s breaking up, you should drive the reindeer to a place protected from wind. If you do it in time, it will be easier to do your job; the reindeer will be able to find food and you�ll see them grazing�.

A Nenets woman from Viucheisky (NAO) summarised: �My parents explained to me what to do during blizzard. If you�re caught by blizzard, you�d better stay where you are and make a small tent to wait it out. First you should heap up some fir branches in a wind-protected place, and then you can make a camp. If there are trees nearby, you can camp there�.

A male Nenets reindeer herder from Nel�min-Nos settlement (NAO) explained: �If the blizzard has started you should drive reindeers to the lowlands, and they will stay by themselves. Reindeer will not move; they will lie down. And you should stay in one place; you shouldn�t ride anywhere. It is preferable to stay in the bushes or in a hole, and you have to make a mark, for example put the shovel nearby. And in the hole you have to have a space around in order not to be swept by the snow, and the most important thing is not to sleep. You can just take some breaks, tell yourself to sleep only for 40 minutes, and then try to stir again�.

Transcript from an interview with a man from Klyuchi, Kamchatka:

Interviewer:	�When you were a child, did your parents or elder relatives tell you what to do during the disaster?�
Respondent:	�In winter, if you got caught by a blizzard riding dogs, they would turn the sleigh in one side windward, lie behind it and arrange dogs around.�
Interviewer:	�What should one do if caught by a blizzard on tundra?�
Respondent:	�You can dig a hole and wait there. You should turn once in while so as not to be covered with snow.�
Interviewer:	�And if in the forest?�
Respondent:	�In a quiet place, at the roots of a big tree you make a hole, spread the bottom with branches, and cover yourself.�

A Nenets reindeer herder, Nel�min-Nos (NAO) explained that his elders had told him that �if you�re lost during a blizzard, you�d better stay where you are, not move. Tie up the sleigh and reindeer where there�s less snow and more moss and lie down in a malitsa (reindeer coat with furry side in). You have to stay until the blizzard ends, and that can be long. You should change the place from time to time. If the blizzard lasts for two or three days, you should tie the reindeer on a long rope to let them walk. Usually you lie on the weather side of the herd and set the sleigh on the weather side. It�s important to have the reindeer in view, because they can go anywhere and get lost. You watch them and slowly move with them�.

Several people from NAO also told about their own experiences of sheltering in the mounds built by ptarmigans (a type of Arctic grouse) until a storm has passed.

For lightning, a Nenets man from Viucheisky explained: �If there�s lightning, don�t hide under trees. If you�re at home, you should turn off all the electricity and cover the mirrors�. Several respondents mentioned that you should not hide under a tree because the lighting can strike the tree and you should not be in high open space or on the water. Further, you should cover mirrors and other shining objects during lighting.

Respondents from Esso, Klyuchi, Mil�kovo and Palana talk about earthquakes as a disaster they are familiar with. A Kamchadal man from Mil�kovo, Kamchatka summed up how to avoid getting hurt: �Earthquakes in Kamchatka are common phenomena, we know about the earthquakes from our childhood. Our parents taught us what should be done: first of all don�t panic; do not stand in front of windows; stand in the opening of a load-bearing wall, or run outdoors�.