How To Protect Your Family From Tornadoes

One year ago today, we watched a massive tornado rip through Tuscaloosa, Alabama. All we could do was sit and stare at the television and pray. Pray for those that were in the path of the storm. Pray for those who lived where it was headed. And pray that it did not hit us. You can’t outrun a tornado, but you can be prepared.

The absolute most important thing you can do is to keep an eye on the weather. Don’t rely on your friends or family to keep you abreast of the weather. Make it a daily habit every morning to check the weather for your area. Storms caught so many off guard that day because they didn’t check the forecast and didn’t know about the potential of tornadoes. You don’t want to be on the road in this weather!

Next is set up alerts so that you will be notified immediate if a tornado threat is in your area. My alerts call, email and text me. And our new home alarm system even has a built in tornado warning. We bought it because it alerts us if there is a tornado warning in the area.

• Weather Call 
• Vivint
• Emergency radio (I purchased this one on Amazon)

Prepare a box for sheltering in place during a tornado warning. In that box, you need the following items:

• Candles
• Matches or 2 lighting sticks (in case one doesn’t work)
• Flashlight with extra batteries
• A corded home phone (if all you have is operation in your home are cordless phones)
• Water
• Snacks
• Emergency radio (I purchased this one on Amazon)
• Shoes (or put your shoes on as soon as you know there is a tornado warning)

Also if you are under a tornado warning, put bicycle helmets on your kids to protect them from falling debris.

You might also consider purchasing a tarp, ladder, chain saw and chain saw oil. These 4 items were impossible to find after the tornadoes hit.

Prepare a stockpile for natural disasters where going to the store is next to impossible (such as in a blizzard or a flood).

The government recommends that you have at least 72 hours worth of items because it might take them that long to reach you in a natural disaster. Visit Ready.Gov for more info.

• Enough bottled water to last your family 3-5 days
• Enough easy to make food to last your family 3-5 days (tuna, canned goods, etc. Stuff you don’t have to cook.)
• Enough food to last your pets for 3-5 days.
• Enough candles, matches and batteries to last 3-5 days
• Emergency radio (I purchased this one on Amazon)
• A corded home phone (if all you have is operation in your home are cordless phones)
• Warm blankets if your power is out for a while in the winter
• Medical information for each family member – The information should include chronic illnesses, allergies, and prescription medicine information such as name, dose, and frequency it should be taken.
• Cash – If the power is out in your town, ATMs and credit card machines will not work.
• Important numbers – if you don’t know the numbers of your family and friends by heart (common in this day and age), keep a list of their numbers in your kit so you can use a landline to reach them.

You can read more about the different stockpiles for natural disasters you need.

If your home is not built with a good and safe area to use to shelter in place in the event of a tornado (such as a basement or cellar), you can always add an after market tornado shelter. They range in price from about $5,000 to $7,000. But if you live in an area where the threat of tornadoes are high, that is cost is nothing in the grand scheme of things. We are adding a tornado shelter this fall to our home. It is a worthwhile investment for us. We have been under the threat of tornado 4 times since April 27th, 2011.

• Flat Safe (the one we are purchasing)
• Survive-A-Storm Shelter
• You can also Google for more tornado shelter companies in your area

I hope these tips help your family to prepare but I do hope you never have to put them into action.