Given the horrific tornadoes that devastated Washington, IL and killed 8 people, I thought a post on tornado preparedness would be appropriate.
I’m thinking that we all know where the safest place is in our homes to go in case of a tornado – basement, under the stairs, in the center of the home in a small room like the bathroom, etc.
But here are two things that most people do not consider:
1. You are trapped in your tornado shelter by debris for 3 days – this actually happened to a lady last year.
- Do you have water in your tornado shelter area?
- Do you have food in your tornado shelter area?
- Do you have an emergency whistle – 3 short blasts is SOS and can be heard for up to a mile – in your tornado shelter area?
- An emergency radio in your tornado shelter area to know when the danger has passed?
- Do you have at least one garbage bag for waste in your tornado shelter area?
- Blankets for warmth in cold weather?
- A first aid kit and 3 days of any absolutely necessary medications?
2. You’re on the road in your vehicle when you encounter a tornado, what do you do (assume that you can’t out run it and there is no nearby home where you can take shelter)?
- Do you drive into a grove of trees for shelter?
- Stop, check your seat belt and just hang onto the steering wheel?
- Exit your vehicle and lie down in the lowest ditch you can reach?
- Try to find an overpass, exit your vehicle and crawl up under it?
- Say a prayer, step on the gas and try to get through it?