10+ Smart Ways Of Signaling For Help In An Emergency

If you do happen to get lost. Whether it is in the woods, on an island, or even out on the water in a boat. You need to know how to signal for help.

Whether or not you know what to do in case of one of these bad situations can make the difference between life and death for you.

Getting lost is never a good thing. No matter where you are in the world. Being completely alone with no sign of civilization can be utterly terrifying.

This is the exact reason we wrote this article! To help you stay alive in one of these situations. So, let’s get into this list of 10+ ways to signal for help if you get lost!

#1 – Smoke Signals:

Smoke signals can be a huge help in the case that you get lost. Smoke signals will make a huge effort towards you getting rescued.

Most of the time, if you have done it right, smoke signals are easily visible to rescuers.

#2 – Flares:

Flares are another great way to signal for help. They are easy to use and carry. So make sure you bring a few flares with you on your next trip. Or a flare gun.

Refer to #5 for more on a flare gun. Flares can also be useful for lighting your way.

#3 – Reflective Tape:

Bring some reflective tape along with you wherever you go! Not only can you use reflective tape to signal rescue, but it can also help out with a number of other things.

Such as helping in creating a makeshift fishing lure! The best way to use reflective tape is through creating a reflective board with it. Below is how to make a reflective board with reflective tape.

How To Create A Reflective board:

It is actually really easy to make one of these. Here is an easy way of creating a reflective board with reflective tape.

Step 1:

Start by grabbing 4 medium sized sticks. Each relatively equal in size to each other. Each of them at least about as long as your forearm.

Step 2:

Place the 4 medium sized sticks into a square like a picture frame. Then, start laying pieces of tape either virtivally ,diagonal, or horizontally. It really doesn’t matter which way you tape it.

Step 3:

Lay each piece in your preferred direction making sure that your pieces of tape are lengthened to fit fully across and fill up the empty section in between the sticks.

Step 4:

Once you have taped fully across the sticks and the hole in between them is fully covered or as much as possible with what you have and you are all done.

For Added Security:

You can tape up the corners if you like for extra security so that your reflective board doesn’t fall apart. It is not likely to fall apart very easily if done right. However, you can add as much as you feel necessary.

#4 – A Flag:

Have you ever thought about creating a flag to signal rescue? It is also easy to make one. You can make a flag out of what you have on you.

Such as your clothing. Or, you can make a flag from random materials found in your environment.

#5 – A Flare Gun:

A flare gun is a super handy tool to keep around. With a flare gun, you can simply fire it straight up into the air at a slight angle.

You may not need to angle much, or you could need to fire at a 40-degree angle. It all depends on the clearance that you have to fire.

Firing a flare gun at the particular angle that you need will give you a much higher chance to hit your target. Which is high enough into the sky so that the flare can be visible for miles.

#6 – A Flashlight:

Believe it or not. Your handy flashlight dies more than light your way. It can also be used to light up the area alive you and make you visible to rescuers!

Simply shine your light into the sky and run it on and off repeatedly in a sequence of three to signal S.O.S, a.k.a H.E.L.P.

How To Signal S.O.S With Your Flashlight:

Signaling S.O.S is easy. Simply aim your flashlight beam into the air and turn it on and off three times in slow sequence.

Count 2 seconds in between each click on or off like this —> On..1..2..off..1..2..on. After 3 times wait 5 seconds and repeat this process.

You can you a regular flashlight, and you can even use your mobile phone flashlight if the battery is not dead.

The UltraFire Flashlight with signal wand is a great option for this particular application. It has 5 modes and a signal wand to attach for signaling rescue!

#7 – A Whistle:

A whistle can be very useful in the case that you get lost. Whistles tend to be quite loud. So anyone within With your whistle in hand.

Blow three loud short blasts, each lasting approximately three seconds. Take a breather in between each blast to give the sound time to travel, and then repeat.

#8 – A Personal Beacon:

Carrying a personal beacon with you is a very smart idea. Personal beacons do exactly what they are named for. They transmit signals to satellites and alert rescuers of your location usually within a couple of minutes!

Check out cbc.com for information about how they work. Check out Amazons’ wide selection of emergency beacons here.

#9- Draw In The Sand:

If you get stranded on a beach, you will have all that sand to draw in. Find a wide-open area. Preferably with nothing around for a mile if you can.

You can use whatever you want, but all you really need are your own two hands to draw H.E.L.P in the sand.

#10 – Form H.E.L.P With Close Material:

If you get lost. You can create a H.E.L.P sign with the material around you. If there is sand or a beach nearby, refer to #9.

If you get stranded somewhere with no sand, you can create a H.E.L.P sign in an open area. Find a wide-open area. Preferably with nothing around for a mile if you can.

Grab yourself some materials from your surroundings. Such as some sticks, branches, or leaves. Layout your H.E.L.P sign so that it is clearly readable and large enough to read from the sky.

#11 – A Survival Paracord Bracelet:

A paracord is a handy tool to keep around. Not only can it save your life, but it can save you equipment or gear as well.

Using a paracord for signaling rescue is also fairly easy. Did you know that there are paracords that you can keep on your wrist?

Most of them come with a paracord, which acts as the wristband. A compass on its face like a watch, a fire starter, an S.O.S flashlight, and a whistle! These wrist-bound paracords are the ultimate survival tool!

Check out this wrist-bound paracord that Amazon has to offer! It has everything mentioned above in it and more at a very reasonable price!

In Conclusion:

Learning how to signal for H.E.L.P is crucial. Anything can happen, and you do not want to become stranded without at least some knowledge on the topic.

We hope that you have learned a little about how to signal for help by reading this! If you found this helpful, why not leave a like and subscribe?! For more tips, check out the rest of our site!

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