Tornadoes

Tornadoes happen all over the country, mostly in spring in the southern and central U.S., but they can occur in any month and also when a tropical storm or hurricane makes landfall. Many tornadoes are hidden by heavy rain and arrive at night: do not expect to see or hear one coming. Outdoor sirens are not designed to be heard inside your home; rely on your phone and your radio.

Before

• Choose your shelter today. In a house or apartment: the innermost room, with no windows, on the lowest level. Usually that is an interior bathroom or a hallway closet.
• Keep in it (or close by) closed-toe shoes for everyone, a flashlight, a radio, bicycle or sports helmets if you have them, thick blankets, and a whistle.
• Keep your pets' leashes near the shelter. Frightened pets hide: you will not be able to look for them with the tornado overhead.
• Practice with everyone: how many seconds does it take to reach the shelter at 3 a.m.?
• If you live in a mobile home or RV, neither is safe: identify a sturdy building nearby.

During: where to shelter in a house or apartment

1. When there is a Tornado Warning, go to your shelter immediately. Do not open windows: it does not help and you lose time.
2. Put as many walls as you can between you and the outside. Use the interior bathroom or hallway closet, away from windows, exterior doors, and the sliding patio door.
3. Get down on the floor, as low as possible, and cover your head and neck with your arms, helmets, blankets, pillows, or a mattress. Head injuries from debris are the leading cause of death.
4. If the bathroom has a tub, get in it and cover yourself with a mattress or thick blankets.
5. Do not stay in the living room, the kitchen, or next to the patio door. Windows and glass become projectiles.
6. Being on the first floor is an advantage: do not go up. If you live on an upper floor, go down to the first floor, to an interior hallway or to a neighbor who will take you in.
7. If you are in a car: a car is not safe. Drive to the nearest sturdy shelter if you can. If not, stay in the car with your seat belt on, get down below the windows, and cover your head, or get out and lie in a ditch or low ground, covering your head. Never shelter under a highway overpass.

After

• Stay in the shelter until the warning expires; more than one tornado may come.
• Come out wearing shoes and gloves: glass, nails, and splinters. If you smell gas, get out and follow chapter 9. Do not light matches or turn on appliances.
• Stay away from downed power lines and report them to your electric utility.
• Check on your neighbors, especially those who live alone.
• Photograph the damage before moving anything.