How to handle an emergency in Belgrade

What if you woke up at 4am to sirens. The power is off,  so is your water. There are occasional booms in the distance. You can hear screams (or shouts?) on the street. A chanting mob surges past your window. There is something badly wrong. There is an emergency in Belgrade.

OK, forgive the cheesy low-rent sci-fi introduction, but this post addresses a serious point: How would you handle a major incident or emergency in Belgrade ( or elsewhere) that disrupts everyday life to the extent that basic services are lost, law and order breaks down, food and water supplies are disrupted and air travel is impossible?

You may think that this is unlikely, but there is abundant evidence that in the near future social strife, energy disruptions, financial collapse and shortages may very well be a reality for millions of people across the world. There are other threats too. Belgrade is at risk from earthquakes (yes, did you know that?), terrorism (legacy of the Balkan wars), infectious diseases (Bird Flu via a returning Chinese immigrant), Flooding (meltwater deluge), power outages (energy disputes, overloaded grid), extreme weather (freezes and storms) and strained infrastructure (water cut-off, sink holes, collapsed roads).

That said, I believe we here in Serbia are in a relatively good position (a subject I will explore in more detail in another post). Most of Serbia is stable, with low crime and high social cohesion. It is able to feed itself, with most of its food coming from small holdings (not industrial farming). It has coal, which is a nightmare ecologically, at least means that neighbourhood heating systems and electrical power plants can be powered.  Serbs have been through the privations of the 90′s and know how to survive economic and social strife.

So without surrendering to paranoia, what can (and should) a foreigner in Belgrade do to prepare for an emergency?

1. Make sure you are registered with your embassy or consulate. If your country’s authorities don’t not know you are in Serbia, they cannot help you. Evacuation plans will not account for you and you will not be warned about possible future trouble. If your country does not have a diplomatic mission in Belgrade, then it is likely that one of the major embassies is covering your country. Ask your department of foreign affairs or equivalent about it. This usually a former colonial power or regional ally. For EU nationals, there is usually a coordinated response. Know the address and emergency phone number of your embassy or consulate (or covering diplomatic mission). You might even e-mail or call you local embassy and ask what you should do in the event of an emergency or crisis. They may have a plan they would like you to follow which includes getting to a meeting point or refuge.

2. Keep some spare water in your home at all times. This is advisable for all households. The US government advises its citizens to keep 3.7 litres (1 gallon) of water per person per day for 3 days.  That allows for drinking, cooking and basic hygiene (no, not washing, flushing your toilet). At an absolute minimum, keep 1 litre per person per day (3 litres per person). In reality for most households it means keeping  a couple of 6 packs of bottled water in a cupboard somewhere.

3. Keep some canned food (and an opener) stored away – As with the water, keep enough food to keep all human and pets going for at least 3 days. Ideal foods are “Shelf-stable”  (i.e. no refrigeration required), low in salt, and do not require cooking (e.g. canned fruit, vegetables, peanut butter, jam, low-salt crackers, cookies, cereals, nuts, dried fruit, canned soup or meats, juices and non-fat dry milk). Every year Serbia becomes more dependant on the extremely vulnerable just-in-time food supply chains that suite supermarket owners, but leave no strategic reserves for emergencies. This means that a disruption or run on the supermarkets could empty shelves in hours.

4. Make and maintain an emergency kit/Go Bag – This should include a battery operated short-wave capable radio, a torch, a first aid kit, pocket knife, cash (Euros), sturdy shoes and clothes, local map, copies of official documents, photos of family, medication, emergency contacts and if possible, a firearm.  Leave a note in your home saying where you have gone and by what route.  The radio could be your only link with the outside world in the event power supplies fail. With a decent multi-band radio you will be able to get the BBC World Service  and find out what’s going on. If the BBC World Service is not broadcasting for any reason, you know its over. The technical definition of the end of the world is that the World Service goes off the air.

5. Have an evacuation plan. At least give some thought to where you would head to and how you would do it, if you had to evacuate the city for any reason. A total evacuation is not beyond the bounds of possibility. With the Bulgarians planning to restart the Kozloduy nuclear power plant, there has been serious talk in Serbia of preparing a national emergency plan¹   to deal with a Chernobyl type incident there.  Apparently nuclear waste has been transported across Serbia before, some of it possibly via Belgrade ².  Americans would be wisest to head for one of the large regional US bases, like the massive Camp Bondsteel in Kosovo or Eagle Base in Bosnia. If you do plan to evacuate on your own (i.e. not as part of a government organised evacuation), then make sure you have though through what you will need and the risks involved.

6. Get to know your neighbours. If it all kicks off, you may be starved of relevant information.  You may be totally dependant on locals for help and guidance (or even protection), especially if you do not speak Serbian.  Other places to seek help or information maybe be local churches or shops. Last week, during an unexpected water shut-off, the local Mini Maxi became the neighbourhood command centre with the water company relaying news via the cashiers.

7. When there are street disturbances, stay away. Curiosity may drive you to witness “history” by seeing riots and demonstrations first hand. This is really a very bad idea. Whilst Serbia is one of the most Xenophilic (foreigner loving) countries on Earth, there are extremists who might want to harm foreigners, and typically these extremists are out in force when there is trouble. Most rioting or political violence in Serbia today is carried out by football hooligans, who also act as foot soldiers for clerico-fascist organisations and far right groups. They are utterly ruthless. In 2007  they attempted to burn alive a policeman they discovered in the midst at a match.

8. Listen to your Serbian friends and colleagues. Serbs are extremely serious about friendship. If you have genuine Serbian friends, you will never be abandoned to your fate if there is an emergency. Belgrade is a compact city and I guarantee you that your friends will come for you if there is trouble. If there is trouble brewing or danger to foreigners, you will be warned by friends and or colleagues.  Heed those warnings. In an emergency situation, listen to wise locals. These people have suffered (and survived) massive bombardment. They know how to survive. So perhaps my ultimate advice is: Know who your friends are and when trouble strikes, get to them.

For more advice on disaster planning and preparedness, see the excellent free website: http://www.72hours.org

If there are more points I should make, or you think this is hysterical fear mongering, please let me know in the comments.