Finding Shelter

Home or Small Building

  • In a basement, away from the west and south walls. Hiding under a heavy work-table or under the stairs will protect the family from crumbling walls, chimneys, and large airborne debris falling into the cellar. Old blankets, quilts and an unused mattress will protect against flying debris, but they should be stored in the shelter area. Precious time can be lost by trying to find these items at the last minute.
  • In a small, windowless, first floor, interior room like a closet or bathroom. The bathtub and commode are anchored directly into the ground, and sometimes are the only thing left in place after the tornado. Getting into the bathtub with a couch cushion over you gives you protection on all sides, as well as an extra anchor to the foundation.
  • If there is no downstairs bathroom and the closets are all packed with "stuff," a hall may be the best shelter. Put as many walls as you can between yourself and the tornado.

Mobile Homes
Most tornado deaths occur in cars and mobile homes. If you live in a mobile home park, you should find out from the manager where you should go in the event of a tornado--but don't wait until you really need the information--ask him/her on a nice day! Mobile home parks may have a designated tornado shelter, or a steel reinforced concrete laundry room. If they don't, you need to find another substantial structure that you can reach very quickly. You may have only seconds to get to it. This photo shows what an F2 can do to a mobile home.

In The Open
If you happen to be outside, away from home when a tornado strikes it is important to know what to do to survive the storm. If caught in the open, you should seek a safe place immediately. The chances of encountering falling trees, power lines, and lightning is greater than encountering the tornado itself. The basement of a sturdy building would be best, but lying flat in a ditch or low-lying area may be the only thing available. A culvert in a ditch MAY be a good choice if there is no rain, but if there IS rain, flash flooding may be more dangerous and likely than the tornado.

If you are in a car, and you can see a tornado forming or approaching, you should leave the car and take shelter as above. You may think you can escape from the tornado by driving away from it, but you can't know what you may be driving into! A tornado can blow a car off the road, pick a car up and hurl it, or tumble a car over and over.

An underpass may seem like a safe place, but may not be. No one knows how survivable an underpass is in a strong or violent tornado. The debris flying under the underpass could be very deadly... head for a ditch.

Public Spaces
Go to interior rooms and halls on the lowest floor. Stay away from glass enclosed places or areas with wide-span roofs such as auditoriums, theaters, and warehouses. Crouch down and cover your head. Deaths have occurred in large, single story department stores when the roof or wide span brick walls collapsed. A corner would be safer than the middle of the wall. A bathroom, closet, office, or maintenance room with short walls would be the safest area, especially if it is on the north or east side of the building.