TORNADO SAFETY TIPS


AT HOME:

 If you don't have a basement, go to a first floor bathroom, closet or small room at the center of the house.

 Get under heavy furniture, and cover your head with blankets or pillows.

 The biggest threat of death or injury comes from head injuries caused by flying or falling debris.

 Keep windows closed and stay away from them.


IN SCHOOL:

 Go to the lowest floor or basement.

 Get to interior rooms or hallways and protect your head.

 Stay out of gymnasiums and auditoriums.


IN PUBLIC BUILDINGS:

 Go to a designated shelter, an interior hallway or small room on the lowest floor.

 Stay away from windows.

 Do not go to your car.


IN OPEN COUNTRY:

 Move away from a tornado at right angles.

 If a tornado is near, do not try to outrun it.

 Get out of your car, lie flat in a ditch or depression.

 Stay away from large trees or metal poles.

 Cover your head.


IN MOBILE HOMES:

 Leave your mobile home immediately.

 If there is no designated community shelter, take cover in a ditch or depression.

 Persons in mobile homes should have a plan of action before threatening weather occurs.



FLASH FLOOD SAFETY TIPS



 Watch for rising water and prepare to move to higher ground.

 Avoid low-lying areas and washes.

 Observe safety barriers near flood water. Many cars and trucks are swept away by rising water when drivers go around barricades.

 Do not try to drive through a submerged road it is often too difficult to tell how deep the water is.

 If your vehicle stalls in flood waters, act quickly. Leave the vehicle immediately and move to higher ground. Most cars and light trucks will begin to float in as little as two feet of water. Once the water gets deeper, the doors may be impossible to open.

 Keep children from playing in or near drains or culverts.

 Camp away from streams subject to flash floods.

 Follow all flood evacuation warnings

 Never try to outrun a flash flood on foot.


LIGHTENING SAFETY TIPS



 When you hear thunder, lightening is within striking distance.

 Get inside a building or an automobile (not a convertible). Close the car windows.

 Use telephones only in an emergency.

 Stay away from windows, doors, stoves, sinks, and showers.

 Do not stand under a natural lightening rod such as a large tree.

 Do not project above the landscape such as standing in an open field.

 Get out of and away from open water.

 Get away from motorcycles, golf carts, bicycles, and metal fences.

 Stay away from anything metal that could conduct electricity.

 Put down golf clubs.

 In open areas, go to a low place such as a      ravine or valley.

 If you are hopelessly isolated outdoors and your hair begins to stand on end, lightening is about to strike.

 Squat down and bend forward. Put your hands on your knees, but do not lie flat on the ground - only your toes should touch the ground.