Transcript Tornado Safety

Tornado Safety
by
Kelly Burkholder-Allen, RN, MSEd
Tornadoes occur in many parts of the
world, but are most frequently found
in the United States
On an average year, approximately
1,200 tornadoes cause 70 fatalities
and 1,500 injuries in our nation
http://www.spc.noaa.gov
Tornado Season
 Tornadoes can occur at any time throughout
the year
 No state is immune from tornadoes, but are
most commonly seen east of the Rocky
Mountains during the spring and summer
 Southern states experience peak tornado
season is from March thru May
 Northern states experience their peak
season during late spring and early summer
Tornado Time?
Tornadoes are most likely to occur
between the 3 PM and 9 PM, but
can occur ANYTIME!
Are you prepared for this tornado
season?
 Have you conducted/participated in a drill in
your home, office, or school?
 Are disaster supplies on hand?
 Does your home, office, or school have an
emergency communications plan?
 Do you know what to do before, during, and
after a tornado?
Tornado Terms
 Tornado Watch:
– Is issued by the National Weather Service
(NWS) when tornadoes are possible. At this
time, it is prudent to remain alert for
approaching storms, listed to the radio or
television for further developments
 Tornado Warning:
– Is issued when a tornado has been sighted or
indicated by weather radar
Danger Signs
 An approaching cloud of debris can mark the location of a
tornado or funnel cloud
 Before a tornado strikes, the wind may diminish and the air
becomes very still
 Tornadoes usually occur in the trailing edge of a
thunderstorm—the quiet after the storm
 A funny greenish or greenish black color of the sky
 Clouds moving VERY FAST
 The sound of rushing water which gets louder and sounds
like a railroad train or airplane as it approaches
 Debris dropping from the sky
Tornadoes
A tornado is a violently rotating column of air
extending from a thunderstorm to the
ground

May have a transparent appearance until
dust and debris are picked up, or a cloud
forms within the funnel cloud

The average forward speed is 30mph,
although it can vary from a near standstill to
70mph
Tornadoes
 The most intense tornadoes have rotating
winds of up to 250 mph.
 Waterspouts are tornadoes which have
formed over warm water
 Waterspouts can make landfall and cause
damage
Necessary disaster supplies
 It is important to have the following supplies on hand in the
event of a disaster:
– Flashlight and extra batteries
– Portable, battery operated radio with extra batteries
– Emergency food and water (3 day supply)
– Manual can opener
– Essential medications
– Cash and credit cards
– Sturdy shoes and work gloves
– Written instructions for turning off the utilities in your home
For additional information about disaster supplies, go to
http://www.arc.org
Emergency Communications Plan
 In the event that family members are
separated during a tornado or other disaster,
it is important to have a plan for
communicating with each other
– Ask an out of state friend or relative to serve as
the “contact person” (make sure that all family
members know the name, address, and phone
number for this person)
– Appoint a “meeting place” where you can all
congregate
Having a drill
 No matter where you are when a tornado
strikes you should know:
– Where to go
– What to avoid
– How to protect yourself and others
Where to go during a storm?
 At home:
– Go to an interior room without windows, storm
cellar, basement, inner room or hallway without
windows
– Get under sturdy furniture
– Use arms to protect head and neck
– If in a mobile home, get out and find shelter
elsewhere
 At work or school:
– Go to the basement or an inside hallway on the
lowest level
– Avoid places with wide-span roofs (auditoriums,
cafeterias, large hallways, malls)
– Get under sturdy furniture
– Protect head and neck with arms
Where to go during a storm


If outdoors:
– If possible, get inside a building
– If indoor shelter is not possible, lie in a ditch or low-lying ravine (be
aware of the potential for flooding)
– Crouch near a strong building
– Use arms to protect head and neck
If in a car:
– Never try to out-drive a tornado! They can often change direction and
lift a vehicle up and toss it.
– Immediately seek shelter in a building
– If there is not time to get indoors, get out of the car and lie in a ditch
or low-lying area (beware of the potential for flooding)
– Use arms to protect head and neck
Additional information can be accessed at:
http://www.tornadoproject.com/safety/safety/htm.
What to do after a storm
 Offer aid and assistance to trapped or injured persons
 Give first aid as needed
 Don’t try to move any seriously injured persons unless
immediate danger is present
 Call for help
 Turn on radio/television to get emergency information
 Stay out of damaged buildings
 Use telephones only for emergency calls
 Clean up spilled medications and hazardous materials
 Leave the building if you smell gas or chemicals
 Take pictures of damage—buildings and contents
Watching the skies
 The National Weather Service (NWS) has
placed Doppler radars across the country
which detect air movement toward or away
from radar
 This early detection of increasing rotations
aloft within thunderstorms makes warnings
possible
Fun fact from NWS
 A tornado near Yellowstone National Park
left a path of destruction up and down a
10,000 foot mountain!
Tornado Intensity
 Weak tornadoes account for 88% of all tornadoes (wind
speed >110 mph)
– Cause >5% of tornado deaths
– Have a lifespan of 1-10+ minutes
 Strong tornadoes account for 11% of all tornadoes (wind
speed 110-205 mph)
– Cause nearly 30% of deaths
– Lifespan of 20+ minutes
 Violent tornadoes account for less than 1% of all tornadoes
(winds <205 mph)
– 70% of all tornado deaths
– Lifetime can exceed 1 hour!
Fujita-Pearson Tornado Scale
 F-0: 40-72 mph, chimney damage, tree branches broken
 F-1: 73-112 mph, mobile homes pushed off of foundations
or overturned
 F-2: 113-157 mph, considerable damage, mobile homes
destroyed, trees uprooted
 F-3: 158-205 mph, roofs and walls torn down, trains
overturned, cars thrown
 F-4: 207-260 mph, well constructed walls are leveled
 F-5: 261-316 mph, homes lifted off foundations and carried
considerable distances, autos lifted as far as 100 meters
http://www.fema.gov/hazards/tornadoes/tornadof.shtm