Emergencies may happen whilst you’re on holiday that may need immediate attention. If there is a natural disaster, the country your visiting suddenly goes to war or you are struck by sickness and injury, you need to know how to cope in these emergencies and where to look for help, it’s no use dialing 000. Below is what you need to know for emergency situations while travelling.

The first rule when it comes to travelling is research. Get information about the current status of the country you will be visiting, and if there are any situations that you may need to be aware of. Stay up to date with the news, it’s the best thing you can do! A rule of thumb for any traveller, invest in travel insurance. Even if nothing happens on your holiday, you would rather be safe than sorry. Nothing pops your holiday bubble as badly as a thousand dollar bill for hospital services rendered while on holiday.

Make sure you know the contact details for your consular emergency center. They are open 24 hours a day. If you are not sure where your consulate is, check out embassypages.com, it’s a continuously updated page where you can find any consulate in the world. Also research what the consulate can and can’t help you with. Each consulate is different when it comes to the services that it offers.

If something does happen, contact your travel insurer as soon as possible. They can provide assistance with your emergency, as long as you have the right paper work ready for them. A great global travel insurer is worldnomads.com. Available from over 140 countries, world nomads, which are a trusted site by Lonely Planet, will cover overseas medical expenses, evacuation, baggage and they also have a 24-hour emergency line if needed.

Don’t forget to keep in touch with those at home and let them know where you are and what your travel arrangements are. Contacting them through Facebook, emailing and/or calling them by using a prepaid phone card or by using a global SIM card (such as TravelSIM and GoSIM, if roaming is too high of a cost to you) are great ways to keep them up to date. Contacting your family and friends back home is important. The last thing you want is an international search party looking for you while you are lying on a beach in Greece relaxing.