During a tornado watch
• Locate your disaster kit or quickly gather a few essential items including:
o An battery operated all hazards radio, or local radio receiver
o Flashlight and extra batteries
o Sturdy shoes and protective clothing (long sleeved shirt, long pants, etc.)
o First aid kit
o Food and water to sustain you and your household for at least 3 days.
• Listen to local radio or television broadcasts or an all hazards alert radio for updated information.
• Look for approaching storms and the following danger signs:
o Dark, often greenish sky
o Large hail
o Large, dark, low-lying, or funnel-shaped cloud extending from the sky. Pay particular attention if the cloud appears to be rotating.
o Loud roar, similar to a freight train.
If a tornado warning is issued for your area, or you see an approaching storm or any of the above danger signs, take shelter immediately.
If you are in a home or other building
• Seek shelter in a basement or cellar, or an interior room or hallway on the lowest floor, putting as many walls as possible between you and the outside.
• If you are in a high-rise you may not have time to get to the building’s lowest floor. Pick a hallway in the center of the building.
• Stay in the center of the room, away from exterior walls, windows and doors.
• Get under a piece of sturdy furniture such as a workbench or heavy table and hold onto it.
• Use blankets, pillows or your arms to protect you head and neck.
• Do NOT open windows.
If you are in a vehicle, trailer or mobile home
• GET OUT immediately. Even if tied down, mobile homes offer little or no protection from tornadoes.
• Go to the lowest floor of a sturdy building or a storm shelter nearby.
• NEVER try to out drive a tornado in a vehicle. Tornadoes can change direction quickly and can lift up a car or truck and toss it through the air.
• Even if there is no time to get indoors, GET OUT of the vehicle or mobile home.
If you are outside with no shelter
• Lie flat in a nearby ditch or depression, (beware of the potential for flooding) or crouch near a strong building.
• Cover your head with your hands.
• Do NOT get under an overpass or bridge. Wind speeds actually increase under them and can suck you out. You are safer in a low, flat location.
• Beware of flying debris which is the cause of most fatalities and injuries.
