Tornado Safety Tips
by Bob New

When I lived in Florida, every year at the start of the hurricane season, the grocery stores would print a hurricane tracking map on one side of their paper bags and a list of safety tips on the other side. We would take the bag home and cut out the map and tape it to the inside of a cabinet or closet door. While we don’t have much need for a hurricane tracking map here in Kentucky, we do have tornadoes. Given the recent outbreak of severe weather, I thought this might be a good time to review some basic Tornado safety tips. We are, after all, in the middle of the peak tornado season for Kentucky which runs from April through June. Remember however, that tornadoes can happen during any month.

While little can be done to prevent tornadoes, the number of injuries and deaths can be reduced by following some simple safety rules. From 1961 through 1990 Kentucky averaged 10 tornadoes per year. But in the past few years we have had a lot more than that average. This year alone we have already had 8. Kentucky ranks 28th in the number of tornadoes, 15th in fatalities, and 13th in injuries. Our goal for these last two categories should be 50th.

First, let’s define the difference between a tornado watch and a tornado warning. A tornado watch means that tornado development is possible. Keep a watchful eye on the sky for threatening weather and stay tuned to radio and television and listen for weather bulletins.

A tornado warning means that a tornado has been sighted or indicated by radar. Persons in the path of the storm should seek shelter immediately, preferably in a basement, storm cellar, or in a steel-framed or concrete reinforced building.

In homes, the basement offers the greatest safety. Seek shelter under sturdy furniture, if possible. In homes without basements, take cover in the center part of the house, on the lowest floor, in a small room such as a closet or bathroom, or under sturdy furniture. Stay away from windows.

In schools, shopping centers, and other large public buildings move to pre-designated shelter areas. Interior hallways on lowest floors are best. Stay out of auditoriums, gymnasiums, and other structures with wide free-span roofs.

If you are outside, move away from the tornado’s path at right angles. If there is not time to escape, lie flat in the nearest ditch or ravine.

In your car, do not try to outrun a tornado no matter how many times you have watched Twister. If available, take shelter in a sturdy structure. Otherwise, get in the nearest ditch or depression until the tornado passes. A few years ago there was a video that was being shown on TV of some people who ran under an overpass on a highway while a tornado went by them. Do not do this! These people were very lucky and many others have been killed trying to do this. The underside of overpasses is not a safe place to take cover. You are actually safer getting into a ditch or a depression.

Mobile homes are particularly vulnerable to overturning during strong winds and should be evacuated when strong winds or tornadoes are forecast. Damage can be minimized by securing trailers with cables anchored in concrete footing. Trailer parks should have community storm shelters. If there is no shelter nearby, leave the trailer park and take cover on low-protected ground.

Here are a few tips on what to do after a tornado has passed.

First make sure that the tornado or tornadoes are truly gone. Stay tuned to local television or radio stations to get the latest emergency information.

How to Help Injured Others

• Help injured or trapped persons by administering First Aid and immediately calling 911 if there are life threatening injuries.

Beware Of Hazards
• Stay away from downed power lines, and be sure to report them to your utility company.

• Stay away from damaged buildings until inspectors have given you the green light.

• If floods result from the severe thunderstorms, watch for snakes and other animals forced into your home from flood waters.

• Evacuate if you smell fumes or gas and notify emergency personnel.

• To prevent accidental fires, use flashlights, not candles, to see if power is on or off after a tornado. (More people die from candle-related fires after a disaster strikes then from the disaster itself.)

• If your home has been spared, keep children and pets inside.

• If pets must be walked outside, keep them on a leash.

I hope you never have to use this information, but if you do hear of a tornado warning, how you respond can be critical. The best piece of advice is to obey advisories promptly and do not panic. Follow the instructions of authorities. Perhaps you can even print these tips out and tape them someplace you can refer to them if you need to.

This is shaping up to be a very active storm season, let’s do all we can to make it a very safe one.