Survival Dictionary

A proword in radio communications signifying “The following is my response to your READ BACK proword.

International Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

Incident Commander.

Integrated Child Development Services.

Water frozen into solid.

A climbing tool used by mountaineers to ascend or descend areas of slope that are frozen to gain traction and to aid in walking. Also used as an anchor for belaying.

Originally a means of winter transport between the islands and shores it is now a sport. Crews push their canoe across the ice on frozen parts of the river and row in a river with currents of four knots, tides of over 15 feet and ice blocks weighing a few tonnes.

Climbing ice formations like icefalls, frozen waterfalls, cliffs and rock covered with ice refrozen from flows of water, using ropes and other protective gear.

The act of fishing through holes cut in the ice.

Threaded tubular screw used as a running belay or anchor by climbers on steep ice surface during ice climbing or crevasse rescue, to hold the climber in the event of a fall and at belays as anchor points.

A large mass of floating ice, largely underwater, that has broken off from a glacier.

A special-purpose ship or boat designed to move and navigate through ice-covered waters.

Indian Council of Medical Research.

Incident Command Post.

Incident Command System.

Information Communication Technology.

International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction.

India Disaster Resource Network.

Information Education Communication.

International Federation of the Red Cross.

Morse Code abbreviation meaning “I say again”

Indian Institute of Remote Sensing.

The process of providing light for visibility is known as illumination. It can be provided by the Sun, the Moon, the stars, fire, torches, light sticks, etc.

Describes the tendency of people to behave as if they might have some control when in fact they have none.However, evidence does not support the notion that people systematically overestimate how much control they have; when they have a great deal of control, people tend to underestimate how much control they have.

Fear of vertigo or feeling dizzy when looking down.

Being covered in liquid, like when one falls into a river. Cold water transfers body heat 25 to 35 times faster than cold air and immersion in cold water is a major cause of hypothermia.

Term used to describe tissue damage of the foot caused by long term exposure to water. Damage occurs to soft tissue, blood vessels and nerves.

A type of waterproof dry suit to help a person float in water while preventing hypothermia, thus improving survival time in cold water.

When large objects impact celestial objects like Earth, there can be significant consequences. Hundreds of impacts have been reported, with some causing deaths, injuries, property damage, etc.

To put at risk of harmed, injury or destruction.

To suddenly and violently collapse inward, as if from external pressure.

An underground oven in which meat and vegetables are cooked by means of heated stones covered with vegetation.

A programme or an application that can be installed on mobile phones to enable first responders (police, medical teams, family members, etc) to know that the owner of a mobile phone need immediate help or support.

The symptoms and effects of starvation

I’m Never Coming Home Bag. This is the ultimate Bug Out Bag for times when the chances of getting back home is negligible.

Bleeding wounds with straight edges as if sliced with a knife. You can make out an incision wound by pinching the sides of the wound together, they will fit almost perfectly and therefore makes it easier to close. Be careful when you are using knives, axes, machetes or trying to open a can without the proper implements. Incisions can also happen when you are trying to sharpen a knife.

Also known as the Andamanese pig, it is a subspecies of wild boar native to India, Nepal, Burma, western Thailand and Sri Lanka. Compared to the European wild boar, it has a larger and more sharply featured and straighter skull, has smaller, sharper ears and an lighter build, though taller with less hair.

Also known as the Spectacled Cobra, it is found in India and Pakistan. It is a member of the Big Four snakes that inflict the most bites on humans in India.

An unseasonably warm period following a substantial period of cool weather.

A shallow well where water seeps into a hole dug in the ground, particularly if the bottom of the hole is lower than the surface of the adjoining water source. The water from the source seeps through the soil and into the well. Also called a seep well.

Or the dhole is native to Central, South and Southeast Asia. A highly social animal, living in large clans, without rigid dominance hierarchies, with multiple breeding females. A pack hunter, it competes with tigers and leopards.

Queen of the Gods in Hindu mythology.

Invisible radiant energy or electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength longer than those of visible light. Most thermal radiation emitted by objects near room temperature is infrared.

A small part of a body of water that reaches into a coast.

Satellite systems operated by the Inmarsat company, overseen by the International Mobile Satellite Organization (IMSO). The types of Inmarsat ship earth station terminals recognised by GMDSS are Inmarsat B, C and F77.

A satellite-based worldwide maritime safety information broadcast service of high seas weather warnings, NAVAREA navigational warnings, radionavigation warnings, ice reports and warnings generated by the USCG-conducted International Ice Patrol, and other similar information not provided by NAVTEX. SafetyNET works similarly to NAVTEX in areas outside NAVTEX coverage.

Brand name of a fibre used in composite and textile applications which can be converted into many different reinforcements for applications in automotive, luggage, protective products, radomes, ballistics, aerospace, etc.

Substance applied to skin, clothing or other surfaces to discourage insects.

An animal which feeds on insects.

Invertebrate anthropods typically with a three-part body, three pairs of legs, compound eyes and a pair antennae. They represent approximately 90% of life forms on Earth. Most six-legged insects are edible.

Landing zone, a military term used for the landing area of an airborne force.

The continental shelf surrounding an island is known as an insular shelf.

Providing material to prevent heat loss/gain thus preventing hypothermia or hyperthermia.

A nation’s internal waters include waters on the landward side of the baseline of a nation’s territorial waters (except in archipelagic states) including rivers and canals. Sovereignty of the state equals that it exercises on the mainland, free to make laws relating to its internal waters, regulate any use and use any resource. Foreign vessels have no right of passage within internal waters and this is the main difference between internal waters and territorial waters.

System of signals and codes used to communicate messages. Signals can be sent by flaghoist, signal lamp, flag semaphore, radiotelegraphy and radiotelephony. It is the most recent evolution of maritime flag signalling systems. All the standardised messages come in nine languages - English, French, Italian, German, Japanese, Spanish, Norwegian, Russian and Greek. Even if sender and receiver are using different languages, each has a book with equivalent messages keyed to the same code.

An imaginary line of longitude located at about 180 degrees east or west of the Prime Meridian. It is an uneven black vertical line and marks the divide where the date changes by one day. It makes some deviations from the 180-degree meridian to avoid dividing countries in two.

Channel 156.8 MHz on VHF radios is the international calling and distress channel. Depending on the position of the antenna, signals can reach 60 nautical miles.

Global organisation of people interested in knots.

Headquartered in London it is a specialised agency of the United Nations responsible for regulating shipping. among 171 Member States and three Associate Members. Its purpose includes safety, environmental concerns, legal matters, technical co-operation, maritime security and efficiency of shipping.

An intergovernmental body based in Kingston, Jamaica established to organise, regulate and control all mineral-related activities in the international seabed area beyond the limits of national jurisdiction, an area underlying most of the world’s oceans.

Any of the following types of bodies of water transcend international boundaries: Oceans, large marine ecosystems, enclosed or semi-enclosed regional seas and estuaries, rivers, lakes, groundwater systems, and wetlands that transcend international boundaries are called international waters and all countries have the freedom of fishing, navigation, overflight, lay cables and pipelines, and research. Also called the high seas.

Combining an exclamation mark with a question mark.

The region of the atmosphere above about 80km. It reflects and absorbs radio waves allowing us to receive shortwave radio broadcasts.

International Protection Marking or Ingress Protection Marking classifies and rates the degree of protection provided against intrusion, dust, accidental contact and water. It provides users more detailed information than for instance “waterproof”. The digits indicate conformity with predefined conditions. Where there is no data available the digit is replaced with the letter X, while 0 is used where no protection is provided. An IP58 rating signifies dust resistance and immersible in 1.5 meters of freshwater for up to 30 minutes. However, a rating of IPX7 does not mean the unit is IPX5 compliant. If it is, then the rating will be specified as IPX5/IPX7.

OTA Survival School’s guardian deity, the Goddess of Nature in the form of fire.

Goddess of the rainbow and messenger of the Gods in Greek mythology.

An acronym for India’s Regional Navigation Satellite System offering terrestrial and marine navigation, disaster management, vehicle tracking and fleet management, navigation aid for hikers, visual and voice navigation for drivers, etc. The system comprises nine satellites - seven in orbit and two on the ground as stand-by.

Incident Response System.

Incident Response Team.

A piece of land that is surrounded by water.

Line connecting the depths of the seabed. It is like a contour map or topographic map of the seabed.

A line on a map connecting points that receive equal precipitation.

Narrow strip of land connecting two larger landmasses with water on two sides.

Indo-Tibetan Border Police.

If You Ain’t Ammo You Ain’t Shit.