Disaster Survival

Tornado

Special Equipment

  • NOAA Weather Radio: You rarely get more than several minutes warning of a tornado's approach, but at least this crucial life-saving device will allow you to use every second of it. The instant that the National Weather Service issues a warning for your area, the radio emits a piercing beeping sound. Look for a model with "S.A.M.E." technology, which enables you to focus your alert on your immediate vicinity (and greatly cuts down on annoying false alarms). And look for the announcements in Your Survival's membership services area about a similar service that will soon connect directly to your computer, cell phone, and wireless PDA.
  • Non-sparking Manual Gas Shut-Off Wrench: One of the biggest risks in tornadoes are the explosions and fires afterward from ruptured gas lines. If you have one of these hard-rubber wrenches (the nonadjustable rectangular opening is sized to fit the shut-off valve on all gas lines) and you smell gas, you can quickly make your way to your gas main and shut it off.

Tornado-Proofing Your House

Tornadoes can pack winds of 100 to more than 300 miles per hour. At the lower end of that scale, the same cheap and easy fixes that protect your home from hurricanes may limit the damage from tornadoes. But at the upper end, you shouldn't even worry about protecting your house; your only objective should be keeping your family alive. And the best way to do that is with some sort of tornado shelter or safe room.

For all of the mitigations strategies in this section, you'll want to seek a contractor's help in installing.

Hurricane Clips
These 3-inch metal plates nailed into the corners of your joists can improve the stability of your roof against hurricane-force winds and F1 or F2 tornadoes.

Hurricane Straps
Similar to hurricane clips, except they extend downward from the roof into your walls and help to resist lift-off.

H-Rated Roof Shingle
Heavier-grade, more adhesive shingles designed to withstand a 140 mph hurricane and at least a minor tornado.

Plywood Bathroom or Closet Reinforcement
For a few hundred dollars a contractor can dismantle the sheetrock in an interior bathroom or closet and reinforce the walls with extra studs and plywood. This can help improve the odds that such rooms (which are already likely the sturdiest in your house) will withstand a strong tornado. Make sure your contractor is following the FEMA guidelines on how to do it.

In-Ground Tornado Shelter
The entry-level tornado shelter (FlatSafe and TK are two leading brands), usually installed in the floor of a garage or just outside the home, for about $3,500. The safe room dealer digs a hole slightly bigger than the steel shelter itself, lowers the box, and then pours a layer of concrete into the space between the box and edge of the hole. Be sure to get the kind with a crank, so you can still open the lid and get out if debris falls on top; and to register your shelter with local the authorities, so they'll know to come looking for you in case something really big (like the roof of your garage) is blocking your way.

Above-Ground Tornado Shelter
The mid-size sedan of tornado shelters, usually costing about $4,000 (installed) from a leading manufacturer like FamilySafe. Typically roomier than the in-ground models, these can be placed in an existing closet or corner of a room. Can also be hooked into the home's existing air conditioning and ventilation systems.

Steel Reinforced Tornado Safe Room
The Mercedes of tornado protection, these $10,000-$12,000 pillbox-like rooms are built to withstand even strongest F5 tornadoes. You'll need to find an experienced contractor to build you one to the official specifications issued by FEMA.

Tornado Rebates

Before undertaking any sort of major tornado-proofing project, check with your local emergency management office. Many jurisdictions in tornado-prone areas offer grants that offset the costs of shelter or safe room construction.

To Stay or Go?

On average, from the time an official tornado warning is issued, you have just 12 minutes to take cover. That wouldn't seem to leave you many options. But as the Montgomery "Miracle" illustrates, the decisions you make in those crucial minutes and seconds can make all the difference. Here are some of the other simple rules you'll want to keep in mind.
  • Listen for watches. Long before it issues an official tornado warning, the Weather Service will have issued a "tornado watch," meaning to generally be on alert.
  • Watch the sky. Tornados are always the product of major thunderstorm activity. Large silo-shaped clouds are one possible sign; and often right before a tornado, the air will get very still.
  • You paid for it. If you're lucky enough to have a safe room or tornado shelter, the split second your NOAA radio goes off or you hear a tornado warning on the news, gather your family and get in it.
  • A basement is almost as good. Far and away the most tornado-proof part of any non-fortified home is the basement. Unfortunately, many of the houses in the parts of the country most at risk for tornadoes don't have basements.
  • If you can, get out of the way. Occasionally with very large systems, you do get more warning, sometimes up to a half hour or more. If that's the case, and you don't have your own shelter or basement, drive to the nearest community shelter. Or if that's not an option, listen for the direction the tornado is moving, and simply drive out of its path. Always start by heading away from the storm in a perpendicular direction, and then looping back behind it.
  • If you can't, get in the nearest interior windowless bathroom or closet. Because of the higher proportion of interior supports to wall surface area, these are usually the sturdiest rooms in your house. Often after very severe tornadoes you'll find just one room of a house left standing; it's no coincidence that that room is usually a bathroom or closet. (The one exception is if you live in a trailer. Then all bets are off and you just need to get out as fast you can.)
  • Grab a mattress and put on shoes and helmets. If you have time, grab some mattresses on your way into your hiding place, and pull them down overtop your family as you brace for the impact. Stick whatever football or bike helmets you can find on your kids. And if anyone doesn't have his or shoes on - hurry up and get them on now. One of the most common injuries from a tornado is cut feet from all the broken glass and nails on the ground afterward.
  • DON'T go to the windows. There's a common myth that as a tornado approaches, you're supposed to run around opening all the windows in your house to "equalize the pressure." Don't buy it. All that's likely to do is waste precious minutes you could be using to hide somewhere safe.
  • And whatever you do, DON'T hide under an underpass. Another potential deadly myth says that the safest spot on a highway during a tornado is under an underpass. In reality, wind speeds up around very large objects, including underpasses. You're better off getting inside almost any kind of house or building. Or, if no building is in sight, just get out of your car, try to find some depression or ditch to lie down in, cover your head … and hope for the best.