Emergency Shelter building out doors 4 PARTS
The most important concept in survival (besides mental attitude) is shelter construction. A human can die from exposure to the elements in minutes in the Earth's coldest regions and can develop chronic hypothermia from exposure to wind and rain at temperatures as high as 60 degrees!
The two most important concepts in shelter construction are:
LOCATION
INSULATION-Type and amount of building material
"A good shelter in a bad location is a bad shelter." Tom Brown jr.
Selecting a site for your survival shelter is critical to your survival, convenience and comfort. There are several key concepts in choosing a site. Keep in mind that in a survival situation you may not be able to follow all the principles in this list, but the more you are able to adopt the greater your chances for survival.
A quality survival shelter is:
Safe
Dry
Properly located
and Warm
SAFE - do not build your shelter under dead trees or branches, near or on a wasp or insect site, near or on an animal bed or lay (due to ticks and fleas), near or on an animal trail, and be certain to keep all source of flame at least fifteen feet downwind from a survival shelter unless that shelter is built to house a fire (e.g. domed shelter with fire pit)
DRY - Do not build a shelter closer than 75 yards from a stream, lake, pond, or other large body of water or your shelter will sponge up ambient air moisture. Do not build your shelter in a low drainage area or along flooding or overflow water runways. Avoid building your shelter in the middle of a forest due to the high moisture content trapped by tall trees. Relatively flat, elevated land is generally the most desirable type of terrain but rain and drainage patterns must influence your decision about where to build!
PROPERLY LOCATED - this means your shelter should be located in a TRANSITION AREA. That is, an area of low brush between a forest and a field. The greatest amount of building material will be found in these areas (this is discussed in greater detail below). Furthermore the small trees and low brush will protect your shelter from wind, rain, and direct sunlight. Also, the greatest number of animals live in transition areas. As a result of having your shelter in a transition area you will increase the likelihood of locating and trapping or hunting wild game.
WARM - this is a RELATIVE term! Your shelter should be protected from wind, water, and draft. A survival shelter must be able to keep your body temperature at their normal levels despite environmental conditions. Don't expect even the best debris hut or other survival shelter to be Club Med. Focus on making your shelter FUNCTIONAL first, comfortable second.
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