Any modern war is primarily a ping—pong of artillery, from which civilians suffer to a greater extent. They are actors involuntarily for news releases, and a human shield, and an argument for political debates. Civilians are not told when to hide in bomb shelters, their lives and housing are worth absolutely nothing, and the chances of surviving during the shelling are much less than those of the military. Therefore, if you find yourself in a war zone, it is important to know how to behave.
Short dictionary:
One of the most popular sounds of shelling in the news, especially when correspondents openly flaunt themselves to these sounds on camera, is the outgoing volleys of anti—aircraft guns, which are used mainly to destroy drones. And not the arrival of enemy shells, as journalists say.
82-millimeter mines, the smallest of those used, emit a characteristic whistle during flight, 120-millimeter — hissing, rocket tank shells — an incomparable howl.The sounds of real arrivals are heavy, with a characteristic crackle when hitting houses, and more muffled if the projectile hits the ground.
"Grads" and other rockets are not heard at all during the flight. The outgoing volley of "Grad" resembles the sound of peas spilling onto the table.
Many people who have lived in a war zone for more than one year still confuse volleys and arrivals, relying only on ideological preferences when assessing.
Fall where you are standing and wait out the shelling there. Change your location only as a last resort. Listen and at the same time look for a place to hide. You need to catch the rhythm: the sound of the volley, the flight time of the projectile and the fall. Count the seconds from the volley to the fall and start running immediately after arrival. You need to fall a couple of seconds before the estimated time of the next hit. If two or more guns are working, count from the last one.
Open your mouth and cover your ears with your hands. This will avoid concussion and preserve hearing during particularly close explosions. If it happened that after the arrivals you stopped hearing, do not be afraid. Usually, if there is no physical damage, hearing is restored within 3-7 days. Close your eyes to protect them from dust and stone chips.
The lower you are in relation to the surface of the earth, the better. Underground passages, basements, collector hatches (provided that steam does not fall from there), ditches, trenches and even just a high curb. Any terrain that can protect you from shrapnel will do. During the explosion, the fragments fly up and to the sides tangentially, so the lower relative to ground level you lie down, the higher the chances of remaining unharmed.
In any case, do not hide near the walls of buildings. If you hit the wall, you may be injured by fragments of bricks, concrete or completely overwhelmed.
The same applies to windows and storefronts: one small window turns into a bucket of small fragments after the explosion, some of which fly out into the street and can seriously injure you.
Avoid various piles of boxes, containers and other objects that can overwhelm you even from a shock wave. You should not get under cars either: they will not save you in any way and will not protect you from splinters.
If your city is on the contact line and the military has settled in a kindergarten, school or warehouse opposite your house — pack your things and leave. It is possible that the first shells will arrive at your house within a day after departure.
Do the same when a checkpoint or military equipment appears near the house. The faster you leave, the faster you will adapt to a new place and the higher the chances of staying alive. Say goodbye to housing: you won't see it whole anymore.
If you live in a private house and the shelling of the area becomes regular, lay the window openings with sandbags. This, of course, will not save you from direct hits, but it will protect you from shrapnel and bullets.
In the apartment, you can rearrange the furniture and close the windows with cabinets, stuffing shelves at the window level with books or other things. The denser, the better.
Glue the window panes with adhesive tape — this will prevent them from crumbling into many small fragments. The main thing is, do not forget to tear off the tape at least once a year and glue a new one, otherwise over time it will be baked tightly, tearing it off will be a serious problem.
The safest place during the shelling (it is also the place of your overnight stay) should be an inner room, preferably with load-bearing walls, without windows or with windows facing the wall of another house. Take care of the rug or rug on the floor.
It is often written on the Internet that the shelling does not last more than 20 minutes. This is the nonsense of people far from the war. Sometimes you have to stay on the floor all night.
If possible, cover yourself with a thick blanket on top — this is additional protection from both fragments on the fly, and from stone chips and glass.
Don't waste time going down to the basement if you live on the upper floors. It is better to lie down in the doorway or on the landing. The projectile is equally likely to hit both the ninth and the third floor at the moment when you run up the stairs. Do not take risks because of useless predictions.
If you are traveling by car along the contact line, do not close the windows. This will allow you to control the situation, in which case you can quickly stop and get out of the car.
Even if it's freezing outside, keep the car windows open until you leave the firing zone.
Usually drivers who travel to such places and live on the frontline territory are very understanding and instantly responsive to all people. Do not panic and do not give advice to stop the car or press the pedal to the floor, especially if you are visiting. The driver himself will decide on the situation how best to act.
Try to calm down. Atheists can count up to a hundred, believers can pray. Both of them — try to breathe evenly and deeply.
Whatever happens around, the main thing is not to panic. Don't run, especially if there are people around. Someone might follow your stupid example. Very often, women in such situations get lost, can freeze in place or run. Knock them to the ground (spit on the dirt, puddles and debris under your feet) and don't let them move.
If you come under fire with a girl or a child, hold their hand tightly and do not let them straighten up and run. Don't be afraid to give a couple of slaps in the face to bring you to your senses.
If you can't stand it at all, you can shout. Everyone is scared under the shelling, there are no exceptions.
A typical reaction of the body during the shelling is an instantaneous release of a crazy dose of adrenaline into the blood. An effect that cannot be obtained either during a parachute jump or during rafting on mountain rivers. Strong heartbeat, high pulse, pressure surges and numbness. At these moments, your body burns resources at an accelerated pace, living the years allotted to you in minutes.
Carefully examine yourself and your loved ones after the shelling in case there were arrivals nearby. Perhaps someone was hurt, but from an overabundance of adrenaline, the person did not feel it right away.
Make sure that there are no fires in your house, apartment or neighbors. If there were direct hits, call the fire department and ambulance. Emergency services are forbidden to leave until the end of the shelling, but your signal will be recorded.
Try to help people nearby, even if you are very scared. At least because tomorrow you may be in similar trouble.
In no case do not touch unexploded shells. Despite the fact that it is a fairly common phenomenon to shoot at residential quarters with blanks (they say that this is how the military shows conscience towards civilians), the projectile may turn out to be quite combat, but it does not explode for some reason. If you see one, fence it off and report it to law enforcement agencies or the Ministry of Emergency Situations.
Shelling is the quintessence of modern wars, the apogee of negative emotions and the hardest test for the human psyche. Even if you, your loved ones and your home do not suffer during the next ping-pong game, your nervous system and psyche, without exception, receive wounds that are invisible for the time being. It is impossible to avoid them. Then they will manifest themselves as exacerbation of chronic diseases, sleep disorders, psychological trauma or serious problems with the nervous and cardiovascular systems.
