The 15 Most Dangerous Situations (And How To Escape Them)

Let's say you are in the middle of a natural disaster, maybe something like an avalanche, or a tornado, or who knows, maybe you fell off the top of a tall building. Or maybe you have been taken hostage or caught in a crossfire. What would you do? How would you survive?

Well, let us help you with that. What follows is a list of some of the most dangerous situations that can occur in the world and how you could possibly survive them. All of these are known tips as ways that you could possibly survive if put in some of the worst situations that you could ever find yourself in.

Of course, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but chances are you probably won't survive. I mean, when you're in the middle of an avalanche, do you think an article you read on The Richest is going to save you? Come on now, I'm a writer, not an officer in the Navy Seals!

But hey, when you are in the moment, and you are in the middle of a stampeding crowd, or if you are lost in the woods, maybe, just maybe, you will think back to the tips you learned from this article and maybe you will survive. Here are 15 of the most dangerous things that can happen in the world (and how to escape them). Be careful out there. It sure can be a tough old world.

15. Avalanche
One of the worst possible situations you can possibly be in is to be caught in the middle of an avalanche.They don't happen all that often, but when they do, people die. If for some reason you are in the midst of one of these then the first thing you need to remember is not to try and outrun it. This is pointless and you will die. What you want to try to do is move out of it horizontally, never try and move vertically away from it. If you can't do this you want to try and create an air pocket. You do that by putting your hands and arms in front of your face- don't forget to close your mouth. Don't scream, all that will do is waste your oxygen. And when you are stuck in your air pocket waiting for rescuers, make sure to urinate, it will help the dogs know where you are.

14. Stampeding Crowd
This is another situation that you simply do not want to be caught in the middle of. When a huge crowd is startled and stampedes as one, things can go badly very quickly for someone who is stuck in the middle of it. So what do you do? This may sound simple but it still needs to said, staying on your feet is crucial. As soon as you go down your odds of surviving decrease enormously. If you do go down, try to get up as soon as you can. If you can not get up tuck your feet up and cover your head with your arms. Keep your face in the direction of where the crowd is coming so you can stay aware of an opportunity to get back up again, remember, the longer that you stay down the less chance of you surviving this.

13. Riptide
People sometimes talk about riptides like they are some sort of mythical thing, like seeing Bigfoot or something. But they do happen and when they do people can die. This is basically when water forms a current going back out to sea, and when they happen they can be very strong and something even the best swimmer can not get out of. A change in the water color or a line of foam or seaweed can be signs that you might be seeing a riptide. If you get caught in one of these the most important thing to do is to stay calm. Don't fight it- that will just weaken you. Try to swim parallel to the shoreline and wait for your opportunities for the current to weaken. Again, the most important thing is to stay calm and not flail around and wait for your opportunity to slip out sideways.

12. Nuclear Explosion
All right, so this is one that none of us like to think about. Well, I guess we don't like to think about any of these things happening, but this one probably even more than most. If you are out of the blast radius, you still could possibly survive. You need to take cover ,if you can- underground is better than above if possible. If you are out in the open, hit the ground and cover your head when you see the blast. Running is pointless. Whatever you do don't look at the flash as you will probably be blinded. Once the first blast is over, if you do not have cover you want to get out of the area as soon as possible, as radiation could be coming your way. If you are underground it could be best to just ride it out and wait for someone to rescue you.

11. Hostage Situation
Here is another thing on this list that none of us, and I really mean none of us, ever want to have happen in our lives. Being taken hostage is always a tough one to get out of. If you are going to try and escape do it as soon as you possibly can. Usually the first few minutes are the best, and only time to do so. Even then it is very risky, the best bet is usually remaining compliant and hoping you will be rescued or that an opportunity will come up later. Do not lose hope and stay mentally active. Try and always think about moments that you might be able to escape in a relatively risk free manner, but if that time does not come, do not take risks.. Most hostages do get out alive, so having patience and not panicking is the key.

10. Tornado
Tornados are one of the most scary things that could happen to you, and when you see one, it is something to be prepared to deal with immediately. When it comes to a tornado, shelter is key. Some shelter is better than others, of course. You want to be in a basement if possible, or anything that is underground. If you can't do that then get on your first floor. If you are in a car, don't stay in it. Figure out the direction the tornado is going, get out of your car and go the other way as fast as you can. Tornados go at a pretty good clip- sometimes they go as fast as 60 miles an hour, so you better make like Jesse Owens. Worst case scenario just lay low, lie down and cover your head and hope for the best.

9. House Fire
A house fire can be really serious business. Sadly this is a disaster that happens to people a lot more than some others on this list. A house fire can get out of control very quickly and turn into a tragic situation. To many people the thought of a house fire is the most terrifying thing on this list. As hard as it is to think about going through something like this, try not to panic. It is usually smoke that kills people, not the fire itself. Stay low because the gas that can kill you rises, and try not to breath in the gas. While you stay low follow a wall until you get to an exit. If you feel yourself losing consciousness try and get next to a wall because it will make it easier for the firefighters to find you and get you to safety.

8. School Shooting
20 years ago the thought of surviving a school shooting would be something that no one would think of as being on this list. But times have changed and more and more it has become something that people need to deal with. More and more damaged and psychotic individuals do things like this with each passing year. So what to do? If a school shooting occurs if it is possible- just run like crazy, remembering to do the whole serpentine thing while you run. Of course, this is not possible much of the time. If it is not try and barricade the door of where you are; it is likely the shooter will go for easier targets if you do this. If you can not do any of these than play dead, don't panic, and try to control your breathing.

7. Choking
While not as dramatic as a lot of things on this list, choking is still something that happens to people frequently, and can be very dangerous. The first thing to remember is to not run to the bathroom if you are in public. Yes, we know it is embarrassing, but at least people can help you, and when you think about things it would be a tad more embarrassing being found dead in a public bathroom. Right? The first thing to do is to call attention to yourself and hope for someone to give you a Heimlich maneuver. If no one is around to give you the Heimlich maneuver then you will have to do it on yourself. Slam your stomach against something like a chair as hard as you possibly can. This may serve to compress the air in your stomach and force the item of food out of your throat.

6. Falling Down a Mountain
Falling down a mountain looks kind of fun when we see it on cartoons, but the reality of the situation is that this is not a good time at all, not even a little bit. Depending on the size of the mountain this could either result in a lot of injuries or even death. The most important thing to remember is not to reach out for anything; while this seems like a good idea, all it is going to do is to potentially start a rock slide. Try and keep your chin tucked into your chest, the one thing you really want to protect above all else is your head. As you travel down the mountain try to use your feet as brakes. If none of this works, let's just hope your mountain is more like a hill.

5. Lightning Storm
All of us have experienced lightning storms. While lightning can be beautiful and an example of seeing nature in a truly awe-inspiring way, it also can be really dangerous. If you don't believe me, just ask your dog. You think he just cowers in the bathroom for no reason at all during these things? The first thing you need to do is to get inside; this can either be in a building or a car. If you can not do that, then when you are in a lightning storm, one that is really nearby, you want to squat down as low as you possibly can without your body actually touching the ground. You also should cover your ears if you are right in the midst of such things, as thunder has been known to actually rupture people's eardrums at really close proximity.

4. Lost In The Woods
While I never have experienced this in the truest sense, I hike a lot and I know how easy it is to get relatively lost almost right away when getting off the trail. Woods really do look pretty much the same once you get in the midst of them. If you are lost you want to start breaking branches and leaving them behind you, this way you can at least tell where you already have been and not just go in circles. Try and get to high ground; it seems like that is a bad idea, going up, but you might get a view that will allow you to orient yourself to your surroundings. If there is any river at all present stay right on it and follow it downstream. Usually at some point it will lead to a town or village. If all else fails just keep walking straight, using the sun to make sure you do so. At least if you keep going straight you will get somewhere eventually.

3. Long Fall
Oh hey, so you fell off a building. What do you do? Well, while you might think all is hopeless, maybe not. A woman once survived a fall of 33,333 feet. No joke. The first thing you do is to spread your body out as much as possible- this slows you down just a bit. Then try and figure out where to land. Stay off hard surfaces and look for water. You can actually steer yourself a bit by dropping your shoulder towards the area you want to go to. Last, but certainly not least, always try and go feet first, relax your body, bend your knees as much as possible and try to roll when you land. If you do all of this you might survive and set a new world record! Personally if I were you I would try to set a record doing something that was a little less terrifying.

2. Caught In A Crossfire
This is another thing that would not have been on this list years ago, but times they are a changing. We truly hope that you, or anyone that you care about, is not caught in a crossfire anytime soon, but hey the definition of being caught in crossfire means the person is not actually trying to shoot at you. So you have that going for you at least. First don't just panic and run blindly, try and take cover as soon as possible. If you cannot run out of trouble and there is no cover, lay down on the ground with your hands over your head. Don't stand with your hands over your head, this will not help a lot with the whole crossfire thing. Once down on the ground you may get a chance to crawl to safety.

1. Buried Alive
So yeah, this one is pretty awful. They all are really but being buried alive just sounds no fun at all. We are talking the buried alive in a coffin thing here by the way, not buried in an avalanche, although that has also been covered on this list. Try not to panic -yeah, I know that is easy for me to say. Cover your face with your shirt to keep dirt from getting in your nose and mouth. Put your arms and feet up and push on the casket with your legs. You do not have a lot of oxygen so go hard at this. Hopefully you are dealing with a wood casket so a crack is all you need. Dirt will drop down on you, so then push it to the other end of the casket then use your hands to dig up to the top. Hopefully they did not bury you too deeply.