How To Survive A Tornado: Plan Ahead, Avoid Debris | WPN World People News

Tornadoes have killed about 500 people in the U.S. so far this year. But experts say that number would be much lower if everyone knew how best to protect themselves when a twister approaches.

Amy Womack and her daughter, Alexis Nelson, sit on the front steps of her parents' house in Cleveland, Tenn., in late April. Womack says her father urged her and 13 relatives and friends into the basement before a tornado hit; she credits him with saving their lives.

For starters, anyone who lives in a place that gets tornadoes needs to have a plan, says Harold Brooks, a research meteorologist at the National Severe Storms Laboratory in Norman, Okla.

Brooks says his family's plan involves a shelter they added when they remodeled their house.

"The walk-in closet in our master bedroom suite is six inches of reinforced concrete with a steel door on it," he says. "We can get in there with children, pets, valuables and things like that."

The concrete offers protection from things like a 2-by-4 ripped from a wall and propelled by winds that can exceed 200 mph, Brooks says. The impact from that sort of projectile is "like getting hit by a baseball bat," he says.

"Bricks that fly through the air are also causes of major injuries," Brooks says. "As structures start to fall apart, [they] produce missiles that can hit you or impale you," he says.

Protection From Debris

People who don't have a tornado shelter can still do a lot to protect themselves from flying debris, Brooks says.

The important thing is to put as many walls as possible between you and the wind, he says. That usually means going to a closet, an interior bathroom or even a small hallway.

"Once you get in there, something like a bicycle helmet or a football helmet on your head can dramatically improve your chances of surviving without significant injury," Brooks says.

But a lot of people don't do any of that, tornado experts say. And what they do instead can make things worse.

For example, some people open the windows in a house, thinking it will prevent the house from exploding in the low-pressure eye of a tornado.

But the exploding house idea is a myth, Brooks says, adding that open windows can cause another problem, "because once the wind gets inside your house, it essentially can start to lift the roof up off the house."

Source : NPR