From the article: Tornado Safety
All 50 states have experienced tornadoes. Readers living within tornado alley and all over the country can share their tornado safety tips here. Share Your Hints and Tips
Beecher Tornado
- I was a survivor of the Beecher tornado, it was the most terrible night of my life. Our house was missed just had broken windows and our furniture blew out the back door. we all lived we all were on the floor saying the lords prayer over and over while the tornado was ripping and killing everyone around us. we saw a car in the sky spinning on fire with people in it. It sounded like a million jets over head. the floor in our house was shaking so bad we were hopping up and down on our knees.we were all crying and so terrified we did not know what was happening we thought we were under a bomb attack from the Russians. After it was over we could hear people crying and calling out to their buried loved ones in piles of rubble everywhere and they were trying to dig down to find them with sicks and it was so pitch black no one could see anything as all power was off and there was no light at all not even a moon as I recall. The next day it looked like a bombed out area. DeAnna McIntosh
- —DeeMcIntosh
For those who can't hear well...
- If you have parents or older friends and neighbors, help them gain some peace of mind my purchasing a weather radio with a blinking red LED. Go over a plan of action with them, and keep a tornado kit (flashlight, cell phone, change of clothes, whistle to get attention of emergency personnel) in the "safe" room (basement, interior closet, bathroom). Keep the batteries charged or install new ones periodically.
- —Guest mother_nyx
honor
- I have reinforced under the basement stairs and keep "a plug in" flashlight that is kept charged along with a radio I keep plugged in to stay charged also. 2 cheep rain slickers a folding chair and a heavy wool blanket rounds out the bad weather kit.
- —Guest esadmf
Shut them down
- A device here in Australia shuts what we call cockeye bobs down. These twisters when crossing a road will dig up road base as well as rip up sprayed bitumen Regards Dr.R.
- —Guest Robert Townsend
Mobile homes
- It is hard to leave a seemingly secure shelter when it is raining and stormy outside, but if you live in a mobile home you shoud seriously consider evacuating to a safer place if time allows. The problem with mobile homes start with the weight. They are easily blown around by even a modest strength tornado. Do you want to be in a tumbler with refrigerators, chairs, microwaves, couches, etc? Another problem is the materials that they are constructed from. They provide very little protection from windblown debris and even weak tornado winds can penetrate the walls with items that might have bounced off a regular house. Many houses can survive even an EF3 tornado with some damage. No mobile home will survive a direct hit by one and the occupants would be very lucky to survive.
- —TallStander
Weather Guy
- The #1 thing you need is a weather radio. Easily purchased, it can save your life!
- —Guest Michael Detwiler-CookevilleWeatherGuy
Gloves
- It is a good idea to keep both latex gloves and heavy duty work gloves in a tornado safety kit. The latex gloves can help with injuries to people you may not know. The work gloves can be used to protect your hands from broken glass, barbed wire, etc.
- —weatherteacher
