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Keeping Safe During Tornado Watch As Tropical Storm Debby Hovers Over Florida

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June 25, 2012 - As a Tornado Watch remains in effect for much of Central Florida as Tropical Storm Debby hovers, State Farm is offering safety tips to help keep you and your family safe. When a tornado does occur, it can strike with little warning, so prepare your family to take cover before severe weather moves into your area.
Look for these signs of danger:

• Dark, greenish skies
• Large hail
• Dark, rotating, low-altitude cloud
• Loud roar, like a train

What Is A Tornado Watch?

A Tornado Watch means that conditions are favorable for tornadoes to develop. In this case, be alert to changes in the weather. Account for all family members, have your emergency kit ready, and keep a battery-powered radio tuned to weather reports. Move cars inside, keeping car and house keys with you. If time permits, move lawn furniture and equipment inside to minimize flying debris.

What Is A Tornado Warning?

A Tornado Warning means that a tornado has actually been sighted. If a Tornado Warning is issued for your area, seek shelter immediately:

• Home: The safest place to be during a tornado is underground, preferably under something sturdy like a workbench. If there is no basement or cellar in your home, go to a small interior room on the lowest level, such as a bathroom, closet, or hallway; the more walls between you and the outside, the better. Keep all windows shut.
• Mobile home: Manufactured homes are not built to weather tornadoes, so seek shelter elsewhere at the first sign of severe weather. For example, go to a prearranged community shelter or make plans to stay with a friend or relative. As a last resort, go outside and lie flat on the ground with your hands over your head and neck; be alert for flash floods, which often accompany severe storms.
• Vehicles: Do not try to outrun a tornado; tornadoes can toss cars and large trucks around like toys. If you see a funnel cloud or hear a tornado warning, get out of your vehicle and seek shelter in the nearest sturdy, enclosed building. If such a shelter is not available, lie down in a low area with your hands covering your head and neck; be alert for flash floods.
• Office buildings & schools: Learn the emergency plans for buildings you and your family frequent. If a specific shelter area does not exist, move into interior hallways or small rooms on the building's lowest level. Avoid areas with glass windows and doors, as well as wide-span roofs.
• Store or shopping mall: Go to a designated shelter area or to the center of the building on a low level. Stay away from large, open rooms and windows. Do not seek shelter in parked cars.

Contact

Michal Connolly State Farm Insurance, 863-318-3088

About State Farm®

State Farm and its affiliates are the largest provider of car insurance in the U.S. and is a leading insurer in Canada. In addition to providing auto insurance quotes, their 17,800 agents and more than 65,000 employees serve 81 million policies and accounts - more than 79 million auto, home, life and health policies in the United States and Canada, and nearly 2 million bank accounts. Commercial auto insurance, along with coverage for renters, business owners, boats and motorcycles, is also available. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company is the parent of the State Farm family of companies. State Farm is ranked No. 43 on the Fortune 500 list of largest companies. For more information, please visit http://www.statefarm.com or in Canada http://www.statefarm.ca.