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Where to Go If a Tornado Is Coming? It Depends... but Plan Ahead

Illinois (March 7, 2013)

It's tornado season in the Midwest and they can strike with little warning, so prepare your family now for the unexpected. Tornadoes aren't always visible even during the daytime. Clouds or rain may keep you from spotting a funnel cloud.

Learn the tornado warning signals used in your community. The most common warning is a siren, which means you should stay inside and take cover immediately. If warning signals are not available, look for these signs of danger:

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

To prepare your family for a tornado, put together a disaster emergency kit and conduct family tornado drills in your home. Make sure each family member knows the tornado safety procedures for their workplace or school.

If you do see a tornado approaching, your best course of action will depend on where you are:

• Home: The safest place is underground under something sturdy. If you don't have a basement or cellar, 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. 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.

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