Insights & guides

Rusty metal by the hiking trail? Never touch, mark, report: 117

Former army training grounds in Bern, Graubünden and Valais can still hold unexploded shells. The Swiss Armed Forces' three-step rule, the Blindgänger app, and why an old dud can still kill.

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Found something that looks like a shell? Five steps, in this order

Stop, warn others, go back the way you came, call 101 or 102, remember the place. What the State Emergency Service of Ukraine and the HALO Trust tell you to do, and why a shell that did not explode can still kill.

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Hot, dry skin and confused? Call 144 first, then cool them down

Heatstroke is a medical emergency, and the order of what you do matters. WHO's three steps, the signs that separate it from heat exhaustion, and who is most at risk.

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Could you pack in half an hour? The Swiss grab bag and home supply, item by item

Five things if you must leave now, nine litres of water per person and a week of food if you must stay. What Switzerland's civil protection and economic supply offices tell households to keep ready.

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The floor starts shaking. Don't run for the door: drop, cover, hold on

Earthquakes cannot be predicted, so the first seconds have to be automatic. What the Swiss Seismological Service advises indoors, outdoors and in a car, and the ten things to do once the shaking stops.

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First aid for seizures (convulsions)

What to do, and what never to do, when someone has a seizure, and when to call emergency services.

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