Tornados

Avoid

Avoid factories, auditoriums, and other large buildings with wide, free span roofs.
Preselected shelter areas should be located in basements, smaller rooms or nearby.
Parked Cars Are Unsafe
Do not use cars as shelter during a tornado or severe windstorm; however, as a last resort, if no ravine or ditch is nearby, crawl under the car for protection from flying debris.
There is no one stop answer but shelter in place as best you can. Get as low to the ground as you can and DO NOT congregate in large groups intentionally. Tornados are very deceptive and may appear to be standing still but they typically move very fast toward you.

How To Prepare

Tornado contact with the ground (funnel cloud) occurs with very little advance warning. The wisest action is to be prepared in advance to cover all disasters (including a tornado).

Emergency Kit
Have radios in your home that run on batteries, not on electricity or WIFI and listen to any alerts.
Have phone charging blocks with you and tune into radar or Environment Canada.
Action Plan – Sit down as a family and discuss what action should be taken if someone is shopping, at school, at work or visiting friends.
Rendezvous – Make sure part of your plan includes a meeting place and a way of communicating if separated during an emergency.
Mobility – During storm season, keep a full tank of gas in the car at all times.

How to Deal with a Tornado

Shelter

Seek inside shelter if possible. If in the open, move away from a tornado’s path at a right angle.
Never hide under an overpass.
Get out of your vehicle and go to a low spot such as a ditch and lie flat, cover your head with your hands and lie face down.
Get away from trees and cars as they can be blown into you.
If you have livestock open gates and let them run. They can sense impending tornados.
On the farm seek shelter in a very sturdy building.

In Office Buildings

In Homes With Basements

In Homes Without Basements

Take cover in the smallest room with stout walls, or under heavy furniture or a tipped-over upholstered couch or chair in the center part of the house. The first floor is safer than the second (or third). If there is time, open windows partly on the side away from the direction of the storm’s approach but stay away from windows when the storm strikes since shattered glass shards can be fatal. Go underneath your stairs or in your bathroom in the tub and place mattresses on top of you OR go in a doorway as they are built stronger. Construction of a storm cellar is particularly advisable for homes without basements. An alternative is pre-selection of a nearby culvert or deep ditch.