OT- How do you prepare for a tornado?

With all this earthquake talk... and having an earthquake survival kit... and Jasmine's comment about a tornado box......

Does you city have a close storm shelter you could get to? If not a secure room like a bathroom with no windows and get in the bathtub.

[QUOTE=reegie]Oh, a first aid kit is a good ideas also!![/QUOTE]

Yep, our Tornado box is a large waterproof Rubbermaid bin that contains the following items:

2 flashlights (1 battery; 1 hand-crank)

Radio - AM/FM/weather band; built-in flashlight and cellphone charge port; it runs on batteries or hand-crank

Extra batteries

2 rolls paper towels
6 bleached white bar towels, sealed in a large ziplock bag (for cleaning/covering large wounds)
Standard off-the-shelf first-aid kit
Antiseptic spray
Elastic bandages
Old magazines (can be used as splints)
Snacks (the kids get to "rotate the stock" as the summer drags on, so ensure that we always have fresh snacks)
Bottled water - good for drinking and cleaning wounds
Coke (and if anyone takes those out of the tornado box, the tornado will be the least of their worries!!)
Juice boxes

I always have a couple bags of frozen corn in the downstairs freezer, and it makes an excellent ice pack.

I have a secret stash in the basement (in my tool box, which has a lock on it) of a couple days' worth of my husband's and my medications. If the top of the house gets torn off, I imagine it would be kinda hard to find my meds in the rubble!!!
Jas - LOL - interior walls to cower next too!

Hillhoney - yep - those trailer parks are dangerous!

If caught outside, find a ditch and lie down. Something low that you can get into. They'll jump over you.

You know, this is the hardest part for me about the differences between tornadoes and earthquakes. I was raised in tornado country without a basement so we were trained as kids to go outside to the ditch by the sidewalk. It's the opposite with earthquakes. You don't go outside because of the risk of falling glass and power lines. Here, you get into a doorway or under a table.

Pip

Note to house requirements list: ditch

thanks.. this is good stuff! and funny

when is tornado season? January through December??? Good idea about the important papers! Which reminds me, everyone should do a periodic backup of important files on their computer and store it somewhere other than their house. Whether it's online storage, or an external hard drive stored at a friend's house or in a safe deposit box, or a few DVD's in your files at work. Okay, while we're on the subject, take pictures of your home and your most valuable items, antiques, jewelry, electronics, etc. (or if it's easier you can use a video camera and record a description as you video tape). If you have any receipts for those items, or appraisals put that with your photos/video and store it at another location. (Out of state at a relatives home would be ideal) Photos could be kept on photobucket.com also. That way if disaster should strike such as a fire or flood (or tornado) at another location you have photos and receipts to prove the value of your lost items.These are excellent points!

IDK if I will have a room centrally located for all this stuff.. and my three dogs, four cats, DH, Son and ME!!

Many of the homes we've looked at are brick.. appearing to be very sturdy. IDK if looks are deceiving. I hope not. *where's that scared smilie???*

No tornado for Babs! It's not allowed. Good luck that you are not affected!learn the weather signs and buy a weather radio. Tornado's don't appear out of nowhere. Make sure your animals are crate trained. When you move to Texas teach them to go there when ever there is a storm. Last thing you want to do is to chase animals. without a basement go to an interior room such as a bathroom or closet..make sure you grab sturdy pair of shoes and a pair of jeans. You do not want to be barefoot and in shorts if you get hit. New builds in Kansas require a earthquake room -- a concrete room/roof in house that has no windows. The safest place is on the lowest floor closest to the center of the house.

Tornado season in the midwest: most volatile time is spring -- but they can occur just about anytime and anywhere. my small dogs are crate trained.. all we have to say is "kennel".. but "my 140lb - 7ft tall on hind legs"Irish Wolfhound won't fit in any crate! LOL.

buckeye.. where do you live?

Wow, you get many earthquakes in Kansas? [QUOTE=Hillhoney]Wow, you get many earthquakes in Kansas?[/QUOTE]

Did you see the movie "The Wizard of Oz"?Yeah, but I don't recall an earthquake! [QUOTE=Hillhoney]Yeah, but I don't recall an earthquake![/QUOTE]

OMG LMAO I read your post too quickly!!!
[still laughing my behind off...] Instead of "It's a Twister", Bert would be yelling "It's a Shaker"! [QUOTE=Hillhoney]Instead of "It's a Twister", Bert would be yelling "It's a Shaker"![/QUOTE]

LMAO!!!!

I grew up and spent most of my adult life in the Dallas area. Finding a home with a basement is very rare in that area. In case of a tornado an interior room without windows (if you can) is your best bet. When I was growing up my dad's ideas of preparing for a tornado was to get a six pack of beer and a lawn chair. He'd sit outside watching the storms while my mom would get all of kids in the bathtub with a mattress over us. Not sure which was the better way to go LOL I do agree with the advice you've received so far - keep your documents in a safe place, don't live in a trailer home and find an interior room. It's funny I'm not so scared of tornados but now that I live in California I'm petrified of earthquakes.

If you have any questions about Dallas feel free to PM me.

[QUOTE=Winddancer]

Hi Babs!

I do agree with the advice you've received so far - keep your documents in a safe place, don't live in a trailer home and find an interior room. It's funny I'm not so scared of tornados but now that I live in California I'm petrified of earthquakes. i remember sitting in the bathtub in kansas listening to my battery radio say the twister was at Pawnee and Rock Rds and saying out loud that oh my gosh I'm at pawnee and rock rd. no damage at my apt complex but the one across the street was destroyed. My dad lost his house tooAbout 15 years ago, me and 3 friends were sitting around my dining room table playing Risk. There was a big storm brewing that evening, so we had decided to stay in and hang out instead of dealing with a nasty summer storm. I had a fan blowing out the front window, and all of a sudden the fan almost came to a stop because the wind had suddenly turned and blasted towards my house and the fan couldn't overpower it. Of course, like a bunch of dorks, we all rushed over to the big picture window and watched in amazement as the young trees in my front yard were bent parallel with the ground, and there was all sorts of debris blowing all over the place. We didn't hear the sirens (about 2 blocks from my house - you can't miss 'em!), so we just went back to our quest for world domination and inebriation. Well, the next morning, we discovered that my car had been blown into my boyfriend's car. I had parked about 1.5 feet behind him in the driveway - I was able to easily walk between the cars the night before. About 2 miles away, the roof was ripped off an entire apartment building on one side of the street and its twin across the street was untouched. About a mile in the other direction, the small planes at the airport were tossed about like toys. They looked like they had been made out of tinfoil - it was shocking!

There was a big stink raised about the lack of sirens that time, and there was some dispute about whether it had actually been a tornado or if it was just a supercell. The damage patterns and eyewitness reports certainly said TORNADO but the county said supercell, which many suspect they did just to cover their butts for not firing off the sirens. For the rest of that summer, any time we had a storm with more than a sprinkle of rain they set those damn sirens off (2 blocks from my house... Ack! I didn't want the horror tales!!!

I've never witnessed a tornado.. They don't happen in PA... and hurricanes don't affect us too much either since I'm about 70 miles inland.. and as I said I recall one earthquake in the 50 years I've lived.

(*quietly reconsidering letting H go to Dallas and staying here*)

j/k..

I'm up for it all.. including what mother nature sends..

As my dad (who must be buddies w/ winddancer's dad and Jas' grandfather) says: If you're not living on the edge.. you ain't livin'

Squat down to your knees, hold on tight and kiss your ass goodbye.

All kidding aside, we keep flashlights in the basement, radio w/batteries and when that siren goes off, take it seriously and head downstairs.

[QUOTE=CathyMN]

Hope no one takes offense - but the line we used when we were teenagers (and was probably used for years before and after us) was something along the line of:

We've been through a couple of tornadoes that were miles from us. One was in Springfield, IL (20 miles) and it tore up the west and east side of town. My daughter was working at the grocery store and they took all the customers to the walk in cooler. She called me on the cell phone and was hysterical. Then I lost the call. The tornadoe jumped over the store then took out lots of houses and trees in a park. It took me 2 hours (normally 25 minutes) to get to the store to get her. All the power was out and trees would be down in the road. My son had a flashlight and was sticking his head out watching for trees and wires. When we finally got there. She was calmed down but her manager said to me " I don't know who was crying harder, your daughter or the little girl she was holding!" Now it's a joke but was scary then . Also another tornadoe took out Illiopolis, IL which is 3 miles away. Lots of damage to some homes but thank God, no injuries in both storms. We have a basement and my son has it all set up. There's a table with a rug, radio, water, munchies, batteries, and sleeping bag with pillows. My friend's dad was standing out in his drive way watching one come up his lane and it jumped over and completely flattened his neighbors. They have a mind of their own. We don't mess around, we get to the basement!

Sorry, didn't mean to write a novel. LOL

sorry, meant tornado -- but, as a matter of interest, the largest quake ever to occur in the lower 48, epicentered in Missouri -- our sister state to the east.

Exactly - and why I say everything east of the San Andreas Fault is going down!

Pip

the 1965 Palm Sunday tornados passed within 2 blocks of our house. We were all in the cellar listening to the frieght train sound.

One of my class mates was in her bed and ended up bed and all in a neighbors back yard.

our church and catholic school were destroyed.

the tornado just barely missed a huge lumber yard.. can you imagine all those 2 X 4's flying everywhere?

when I was 4 we were at the rehersal dinner for my big sisters wedding and a tornado went right over the building. we all went out and watched it.. this was in upstate NY where they seldom get tornados.

I lived for 12 years in the Chicago area. we had quite a cozy spot fixed in our cellar..the cellar was not finished, but it had a concrete floor. we had an emergency box, plus a big laundry basket of the kids not so favorite toys so they had something to play with. we used to spend a fair amount of time in the cellar..

I live in Alabama, we have lots of tornados too, though not as many as tornado alley. I don't have a basement here either though most of the older homes do. YOu can buy a shelter that they bury in the ground, looks like a huge bubble with a door on it. I don't have one as I live ina townhouse and the piece of property it sits on is just too small. What the weather guys here tell us to do during a tornado warning is go to the center of the house to ride out the storm. The way my place is situated, the middle would be the master bedroom closet, so that's where I go. I take a flashlight and a jug of water. Several years ago there was a Category 5 tornado passed very near Birmingham, left a path a mile wide. I was at work, worked in a level three ER then, definitely NOT a trauma center. We were one that night however. We got soem of the lesser injuries, one of our employees, her water heater heater had fallen across her legs and lower abdomen. SHe was admitted for observation. One man who had been in his basement when the tornado lifted the whole house off it's foundation, kept asking if anyone had found his wife... had to go to surgery to get the broomhandle out of both of his calves. Tornados are nothing to mess with.Ok - important information for those wanting to survive worst case scenarios. I particularly think # 3 is something we should all worry about.

http://www.menshealthsa.co.za/index.php?cat=1207&art_id=801

;-)

Pip

[QUOTE=SnowOwl][QUOTE=Pip!]Ok - important information for those wanting to survive worst case scenarios. I particularly think # 3 is something we should all worry about. [/QUOTE] can't remember ever hearing a Tornado siren in Chicago proper!!...Talk about unprepared, and the people attending the Cubs game, had to evacuate, 93 mph windgusts near downtown?

scrambling to put away the lawn furniture, get candles, flashlights...what a fast mover, damage in some suburbs, like trees down, no power..Just a big branch laying in the street by me

from now on better get prepared too! [QUOTE=aimee11]can't remember ever hearing a Tornado siren in Chicago proper!!...Talk about unprepared, and the people attending the Cubs game, had to evacuate, 93 mph windgusts near downtown?

scrambling to put away the lawn furniture, get candles, flashlights...what a fast mover, damage in some suburbs, like trees down, no power..Just a big branch laying in the street by me

from now on better get prepared too![/QUOTE]

Yea, the storms were pretty intense in Chicagoland tonight!
Yep, how bout Fox Local studios, water in lobby?..6pm local news only said scattered storms

at least i have this big fluorescent battery lamp handy, and for once can find the candles, and got a battery little tv...

thought we would loose power, but didnt

but the stupid dish satellite!..always goes out, switched from Comcast to save money!

Might be a fun night, hope everyone is safe from bad weatherI could have sworn I've seen a couple of UFO's!!!

It was hotter than hatties today. Heat index 111!

I heard that Cindee!...anything south of Kankakee, like central Illinois got that..

this morning rain cooled us off, cool wknd coming 76 saturday!..finally!!Send some of that coolness down south! It was awful. My poor hubby install windows in cars and they were so hot he burnt his hands and arms. They had to bring them in the shop and let them cool off in the shade.

His shirt was wet and whew he was smelling rank!! LOL

I never heard of any by me, but i remember that day, in 1990, so humid, like i ever saw and felt, and then the sky turned green

and hit Plainfield illinois..a F5 tornado, killed 29 people, and i think some students in high school

It was the 40th annniversary last year of the 1967 tornado that hit OakLawn, Ill, which is right next to the city....biggest urban area tornado..33 people killed, tore up 16 miles in 6 minutes, 16 people in one intersection!

Scary having a warning!...and can be so very deadlyIt is scary and the more I read this, the more I want to go and buy a weather radio. We live out in the cornfield boondocks and don't have any sirens out here. My friend Kim has one and calls me but through the night she turns it off because it keeps going off and she get obsessed with it and can't sleep. You never think it can happen to you but it was her dad that posted about earlier that watched one come up his lane and then pop over and flatten his neighbor's house. wow.. tornadoes are so scarey... I had no idea that Chicago burbs were ever targeted!! wow. ugh.. hate crazy weathers..

glad you were okay aimee!!

[QUOTE=babs10]wow.. tornadoes are so scarey... I had no idea that Chicago burbs were ever targeted!! wow. ugh.. hate crazy weathers.. Yea, I know there's potential for an earthquake here in the flatlands... but it's far less likely to happen here than out on the Left Coast. And I don't think we're going to see a hurricane any time soon.OMG we are soooo not prepared if an actual tornado would have hit last night. OMG it was HORRIBLE here. Getting a 50 lb black lab down stairs that were built 100+ years ago was NOT a fun task. KM...no time, after the tornado siren, which is the first time i EVER heard one, in the city....it came in 10 minutes

50 lb black Lab??..try a 100 lb one, that is afraid of going to the basement!...
Gave him one Acepromazine tablet, tranquilizing meds, for fear of fireworks..takes 2 hours before the desired affect..

The worst stuff came from 10PM, till seems like 3AM, heavy, heavy rain, people in Indiana don't have power, and a water main broke, so Dunkin Donuts couldnt sell coffee, to the people that couldn't make it at home

Come 1AM, that Lab, was so high, talk about side affects..He did the splits, when he stood up, and had the worst bloodshot eyes, but he slept good!

Scary stuff, happened so fastaimee...yea my Lab is about 6 months old...I think we are going to have to practice doing stairs with him...Hes a big baby tho..

My dad said this morning when he looked at the radar last night he said he has never seen it that bad in a long time. Then today they did the regular "1st tuesday of the month testing" and Kelsay and my little brother both come running in asking if there was another tornado...sometimes I HATE living in IL but like Jas said id take this over earthquakes and hurricanes awww.. aimee.. poor puppers!!

That's what worries me about tornado!! they come up so quickly... there's no warning..

I'm a planner Hey Babs,
!

looking at those poor people loosing so much to flooding, in the midwest this year....i always say thats the first thing i would grab the photo's on the wall!..irreplacable

I got a whole hope chest of my kids photo's. album after album and 2 shopping bags of more photo's in the basement!...This will be a project for 3 days, whenever i get around to it..

I guess there is a way to put all these photographs onto a disc, but i have thousands!

now the kids are grown, and am getting grandchildren....

the photo's are taking over my house!..But then didn't have many from when i was a kid, many moons ago

Cindee, i lived in Will County, tornado alley for 8 years,, right next to cornfields..we had tornado sirens there, but it is scary stuff if it hits a major downtown city,
so far Sears Tower, has only swayed naturally!
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OT- How do you prepare for a tornado? | Arthritis Information