Saturday, January 31, 2015
If you are driving and you see a tornado, do you get out of the car or try to drive to a safe place / outrun it? If you can see it, get out of the car! Here is a good video about exactly this point.
But are there times when you should try to drive to a shelter during a tornado warning? In almost all cases you are better off to find the best option where you are. But even the Red Cross recommends that if you are outdoors and just can't get to a safe place:
Get into your car, buckle your seat belt, and try to drive to the closest shelter. If flying debris occurs while you are driving, pull over and park. Now you have the following options as a last resort:
right now!
But are there times when you should try to drive to a shelter during a tornado warning? In almost all cases you are better off to find the best option where you are. But even the Red Cross recommends that if you are outdoors and just can't get to a safe place:
Get into your car, buckle your seat belt, and try to drive to the closest shelter. If flying debris occurs while you are driving, pull over and park. Now you have the following options as a last resort:
- If you can safely get noticeably lower than then the road, get out of the car and go there.
- If not, stay in the car with the seat belt on. Put your head down below the windows, cover up with your hands and a blanket (or whatever you have available).
Thursday, January 29, 2015
Soon
we will be in the early spring tornado season so it’s time to remind ourselves
about tornado preparedness:
Tornado Watch
Tornadoes are possible in and near the
watch area. Review and discuss your emergency plans, and check supplies and
your safe room. Be ready to act quickly if a warning is issued or you suspect a
tornado is approaching. Don’t wait, act!
Tornado Warning
A tornado has
been sighted or indicated by weather radar. Tornado warnings indicate imminent
danger to life and property. Go immediately underground to a basement, storm
cellar or an interior room (closet, hallway or bathroom).
During any
storm, listen to local news or a NOAA Weather Radio to stay informed about
watches and warnings. If you don’t have a weather radio buy one from PrepareNowStore.com.
Know your
community’s warning system and take action. Don’t ignore the sirens! I’ve been
guilty of ignoring them, but I’m a lot smarter now.
Pick a safe
room in your home where household members and pets may gather during a tornado.
This should be a basement, storm cellar or an interior room on the lowest floor
with no windows.
Practice
periodic tornado drills. As we in the preparedness community know, having an
emergency preparedness plan which you have never practiced is useless.
Consider having
your safe room reinforced. This takes me back to my comments in a previous post
about how good it is that schools in tornado areas are finally starting to
build safe areas.
Remove diseased
and damaged limbs from trees. We constantly have to remind ourselves to do
this.
Move or secure
lawn furniture, trash cans, hanging plants or anything else that can be picked
up by the wind and become a projectile.
And always USE
COMMON SENSE, if it looks like a tornado is possible take action:
• Dark, often
greenish clouds—a phenomenon caused by hail
• Wall cloud—an
isolated lowering of the base of a thunderstorm
• Cloud of debris
• Large hail
Tuesday, January 27, 2015
To be ready to bug out, this is what I would take.
·
Water and high energy food bars
·
Water purification filter and tablets
·
Personal hygiene kit
·
Survival knife
·
Multitool
·
Tarp or Emergency Shelter
·
Paracord
·
Magnesium firestarter
·
Spare socks – if you don’t pack any
cloths you need to take dry socks
·
Survival Blanket
·
LED flashlight – they are more reliable
and use less power
·
Hand cranked radio
·
Sleeping bag
·
Survival whistle kit which usually
includes fire starter, compass and signal mirror
·
Dry container
·
Survival first aid kit
·
Super glue – you can use it to seal wounds
·
Medication – if you will be in desperate
need for them after 2 days the rest won’t matter
·
Foul weather gear – you have to plan
for bad weather
·
Wet naps
·
Gatorade powder – it will hydrate you
better than water
·
Duct tape – as they say it’s good for
everything
·
Pepper spray – for animals and people
·
Cash – take a few hundred dollars just
in case
·
Map and Compass – this something you
always should have
I
still think buying a good bug out kit from our survival kit section is the best way to go. It gives you a
good part of the list, and then you can add to it. Plus everything is in an
easy to grab bag. Does anyone think I missed any?
Monday, January 26, 2015
Joplin, Mo., Tornado Spurs Explosion of School Safe Room Projects
Current and proposed projects will provide a safe place during severe weather for more than 40,000 students, staff and community members in Southwest Missouri and Southeast Kansas.
Northeast Prepares for 'Crippling and Potentially Historic Blizzard'
Tens of millions of Americans live in the path of the storm churning along the Atlantic coast.
A disaster is no time to think about what to do first. You can download a really nice emergency preparedness checklist from the American Red Cross.
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There is more in the download than these two pages but this gives you the idea. Everyone of us has seen these lists before. For us in the preparedness community at at PrepareNowStore.com there is nothing new here, but it's always good to take another look. Also, for those people who just don't think about preparedness, this is a great list to print out and get them started.
There is more in the download than these two pages but this gives you the idea. Everyone of us has seen these lists before. For us in the preparedness community at at PrepareNowStore.com there is nothing new here, but it's always good to take another look. Also, for those people who just don't think about preparedness, this is a great list to print out and get them started.
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