Know the Difference
Tornado Watch - Tornadoes are possible in and near the watch area. Review and discuss your emergency plans, and check supplies and your safe room. Be ready to act quickly if a warning is issued or you suspect a tornado is approaching. Acting early helps to save lives!
Tornado Warning - A tornado has been sighted or indicated by weather radar. Tornado warnings indicate imminent danger to life and property. Go immediately under ground to a basement, storm cellar or an interior room (closet, hallway or bathroom).
- During any storm, listen to local news or a NOAA Weather Radio to stay informed about tornado watches and warnings.
- Know your community's warning system. Communities have different ways of warning residents about tornados, with many having sirens intended for outdoor warning purposes.
- Pick a safe room in your home where household members and pets may gather during a tornado. This should be a basement, storm cellar or an interior room on the lowest floor with no windows.
- Practice periodic tornado drills so that everyone knows what to do if a tornado is approaching.
- Consider having your safe room reinforced. Plans for reinforcing an interior room to provide better protection can be found on the FEMA web site.
- Prepare for high winds by removing diseased and damaged limbs from trees.
- Move or secure lawn furniture, trash cans, hanging plants or anything else that can be picked up by the wind and become a projectile.
- Watch for tornado danger signs:
̶ Dark, often greenish clouds – a phenomenon caused by hail
̶ Wall cloud – an isolated lowering of the base of a thunderstorm
̶ Cloud of debris
̶ Large hail
̶ Funnel cloud – a visible rotating extension of the cloud base
̶ Roaring noise
What to Do After a Tornado
- Continue listening to local news or a NOAA Weather Radio for updated information and instructions.
- If you are away from home, return only when authorities say it is safe to do so.
- Wear long pants, a long-sleeved shirt and sturdy shoes when examining your walls, doors, staircases and windows for damage.
- Watch out for fallen power lines or broken gas lines and report them to the utility company immediately.
- Stay out of damaged buildings.
- Use battery-powered flashlights when examining buildings – do NOT use candles.
- If you smell gas or hear a blowing or hissing noise, open a window and get everyone out of the building quickly and call the gas company or fire department.
- Take pictures of damage, both of the building and its contents, for insurance claims.
- Use the telephone only for emergency calls.
- Keep all of your animals under your direct control.
- Clean up spilled medications, bleaches, gasoline or other flammable liquids that could become a fire hazard.
- Check for injuries. If you are trained, provide first aid to persons in need until emergency responders arrive.
Let Your Family Know You're Safe
If your community has experienced a disaster, register on the American Red Cross
Safe and Well web site to let your family and friends know you are safe. You may also call 1-866-GET-INFO to register yourself and your family
http://www.redcross.org/prepare/disaster/tornado
Planning ahead
Prior to the arrival of a storm, you should take the following steps:
1. Build an emergency kit. Your kit should include:
A three-day supply (minimum) of water and non-perishable food for each family member, First-aid supplies, Personal hygiene items, Portable radio, Flashlight, Fresh batteries, Basic tools, Work gloves, Portable lanterns, Signaling device (such as an air horn), Prescription medications, Extra car keys, Extra eyeglasses, Cash, Important contact numbers (such as medical centers, insurance agents, utilities, neighbors and family members), Copies of important documents (such as identification, insurance policies, ownership certificates and banking information)
2. Create and practice a plan of action for your family. Discuss where and how you will seek shelter during a storm, ensure that everyone is aware of the location of first-aid kits and fire extinguishers, and choose a place for your family to meet if you get separated. Establish a contact person to communicate with concerned relatives, and ensure that you know where and how to shut off utilities at the main switches or valves in the event of a disaster.
3. Consider installing shingles rated by UL 2218 or FM 4473 as Class 3 or 4 to protect your roof from hail damage. These shingles have been proven to withstand harsher hail damage.
4. Maintain trees and shrubbery in your yard, removing weak branches and eliminating trees that could fall on your home during a storm. Falling trees and blowing debris in storms often cause fatalities and severe structural damage.
5. Replace rock or gravel landscaping material in your yard with shredded bark, which won't cause damage if it is blown around by strong winds.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) offers additional information for protecting your property from strong winds.
6. Stay tuned to local radio and TV stations for important weather updates. Tornadoes often accompany thunderstorm warnings, and the sooner you're aware that a storm is on the way, the sooner you can get your family to safety.
7. Identify the safest area of your home, a place where you can take shelter when the storm hits. In most structures, this will be the basement or a small interior room without windows, such as a bathroom. In a high-rise building, seek out a small interior room or hallway on the lowest floor possible. Close interior doors, and put as many walls between you and the storm as possible.
8. Identify escape routes from your home or neighborhood, and note whether you need any additional equipment such as a rope ladder.
9. Secure top-heavy furniture that could topple over, such as bookcases, to the walls. Before a storm arrives, move furniture away from doors and windows, if possible.
10. Stay away from windows and doors when the storm arrives, and keep all exterior doors and windows closed
to prevent rain and falling debris damage in your home's interior.
Storing Important Documents
Store the following documents in a fire- and water-proof safe:
- Birth certificates
- Ownership certificates (autos, boats, etc.)
- Social security cards
- Insurance policies
- Will
- Household inventory:
1. List of contents of household; include serial numbers, if applicable
2. Photographs or videotape of contents of every room
3. Photographs of items of high values, such as jewelry, paintings, collection items
Emergency Kit
Keep the following items in a container that can be easily carried.
- Water and canned or dried food – families should set aside one gallon of water per person per day, to last three days, and a three-day supply of food per person. The food should be nonperishable items that don’t need to be cooked, such as tuna and crackers. Remember to include a manual can opener. If there’s an infant in the house, include formula and baby food.
- Battery powered radio
- Flashlight
- Extra batteries for the radio and flashlight
- Prescription medications
- First-aid kit
Do you know where and how to shut off utilities at the main switches or valves?
- Make a list of important information. Include these on your list:
- Important telephone numbers, such as emergency (police and fire), paramedics, and medical centers.
- Names, addresses, and telephone numbers of your insurance agents, including policy types and numbers.
- Telephone numbers of the electric, gas, and water companies.
- Names and telephone numbers of neighbors.
- Name and telephone number of your landlord or property manager.
- Important medical information (for example, allergies, regular medications, and brief medical history).
- Year, model, license, and identification numbers of your vehicles (automobiles, boats, and RVs).
- Bank's or credit union's telephone number, and your account numbers.
- Radio and television broadcast stations to tune to for emergency broadcast information.
