Taking shelter is critical in times of disaster. Sheltering is appropriate when conditions require that you seek protection in your home, place of employment, or other location where you are when disaster strikes. Sheltering outside the hazard area would include staying with friends and relatives, seeking commercial lodging, or staying in a mass care facility operated by disaster relief groups in conjunction with local authorities.
To effectively shelter, you must first consider the hazard and then choose a place in your home or other building that is safe for that hazard. Because the safest locations to seek shelter vary by hazard, sheltering is discussed in the various hazard sections. These discussions include recommendations for sealing the shelter if the hazard warrants this type of protection.
Even though mass care shelters often provide water, food, medicine, and basic sanitary facilities, you should plan to take your disaster supplies kit with you so you will have the supplies you require. Mass care sheltering can involve living with many people in a confined space, which can be difficult and unpleasant. To avoid conflicts in this stressful situation, it is important to cooperate with shelter managers and others assisting them.

Preparing a Safe Room

Safe rooms built below ground level provide the greatest protection, but a safe room built in a first-floor interior room also can provide the necessary protection. Below-ground safe rooms must be designed to avoid accumulating water during the heavy rains.
To protect its occupants, a safe room must be built to withstand different type of disasters, even if the rest of the residence is severely damaged or destroyed. Consider the following when building a safe room:

• The safe room must be adequately anchored to resist overturning and uplift.
• The walls, ceiling, and door of the shelter must withstand wind pressure and resist penetration by windborne objects and falling debris.
• The connections between all parts of the safe room must be strong enough.
• Sections of either interior or exterior residence walls that are used as walls of the safe room, must be separated from the structure of the residence so that damage to the residence will not cause damage to the safe room

Guidelines for Managing Food Supplies

• Safety and Sanitation
• Cooking
• Managing without Power

Safety and Sanitation

Do:

• Keep food in covered containers.
• Keep cooking and eating utensils clean.
• Keep garbage in closed containers and dispose outside, burying garbage if necessary.
• Keep your hands clean by washing them frequently with soap and water that has been boiled or disinfected.
• Discard any food that has come into contact with contaminated floodwater.
• Discard any food that has an unusual odor, color, or texture.

Don't

• Eat foods that are swollen, dented, or corroded, even though the product may look safe to eat.
• Eat any food that looks or smells abnormal, even if the can looks normal.
• Use powdered formulas with treated water.
• Let garbage accumulate inside, both for fire and sanitation reasons.
  

Cooking

• Use alternative cooking sources in times of emergency.
• Charcoal grills and camp stoves are for outdoor use only.

Managing without Power

Here are two options for keeping food safe if you are without power for a long period:

• Look for alternate storage space for your perishable food.
• Use dry ice. Twenty-five pounds of dry ice will keep a 10-cubic-foot freezer below freezing for 3-4 days. Use care when handling dry ice, and wear dry, heavy gloves to avoid injury.