{"id":1359,"date":"2018-05-30T14:34:56","date_gmt":"2018-05-30T14:34:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.puroclean.com\/northport-al-puroclean-tuscaloosa\/blog\/tornado-safety-how-to-stay-safe-during-a-tornado\/"},"modified":"2018-05-30T14:34:56","modified_gmt":"2018-05-30T14:34:56","slug":"tornado-safety-how-stay-safe-during-tornado","status":"publish","type":"blog","link":"https:\/\/www.puroclean.com\/northport-al-puroclean-tuscaloosa\/blog\/tornado-safety-how-stay-safe-during-tornado\/","title":{"rendered":"Tornado Safety \u2013 How to Stay Safe during a Tornado"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-1384\" src=\"https:\/\/www.puroclean.com\/northport-al-puroclean-tuscaloosa\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/140\/2018\/06\/tornado.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1000\" height=\"665\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Most tornadoes don\u2019t lift houses into the air. Instead, they can do heavy damage to buildings, produce flying debris, and cause injuries or worse. Each year in the U.S., there are an average of 1,000 recorded tornadoes that cause 1,500 injuries and 80 deaths. Here\u2019s how to prepare for a tornado and how to stay safe during and after one.<\/p>\n<p><strong class=\"last-child\">Before<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Find out your community\u2019s tornado risk \u2013 tornadoes are most common in the Midwest and the Southeast in the U.S.<\/li>\n<li>Create a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.puroclean.com\/blog\/how-do-i-make-disaster-preparedness-plan\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">disaster preparedness plan<\/a>\u00a0with your family, as well as an\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.puroclean.com\/blog\/how-make-emergency-kit\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">emergency kit<\/a>. Establish where to take shelter and where to meet after a disaster. Practice a tornado drill at least once a year. Be prepared to\u00a0<a class=\"last-child\" href=\"https:\/\/www.puroclean.com\/blog\/emergency-preparedness-your-pets\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">protect your pets in an emergency<\/a>, too.<\/li>\n<li>Know the signs of a tornado: rotating clouds, whirling dust or debris on the ground, and a continuous loud roar.<\/li>\n<li>Know the difference between a tornado watch and a tornado warning. A watch is when the conditions are right for tornadoes to form, and a warning signals the approach of an existing tornado. Stay alert for weather reports.<\/li>\n<li class=\"last-child\">Protect your home:\n<ul class=\"last-child\">\n<li>Make a list of items to bring inside when a tornado is approaching.<\/li>\n<li>Prune trees and shrubs to make them more wind-resistant.<\/li>\n<li>Reduce the amount of loose items in your yard.<\/li>\n<li>Install permanent shutters on windows.<\/li>\n<li class=\"last-child\">Reinforce garage doors.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong class=\"last-child\">During<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>If you\u2019re in a house, avoid windows and go to the lowest area like the basement. If there is no basement, go to the lowest floor in a room with no windows, such as bathroom or inner hallway.<\/li>\n<li>If you\u2019re in an office building, hospital, or high-rise building, don\u2019t use the elevator. Take shelter on a lower level, away from windows and glass.<\/li>\n<li>Get under some form of protection like a sturdy table. Cover yourself with thick padding, such as a blanket or mattress. Crouch as low as possible facing down and cover your head with your hands.<\/li>\n<li>If you\u2019re in a mobile home, go to a safe building immediately. Most tornadoes can wreck even a tied-down mobile home.<\/li>\n<li>If you\u2019re in a car or outdoors, don\u2019t try to outrun a tornado. Get out of the car and find shelter underground or in a nearby building. Don\u2019t go under bridges or highway overpasses. If you can\u2019t get to a safe place, protect your head with your arms and cover your body with a coat or blanket.<\/li>\n<li class=\"last-child\">Listen to alerting systems like NOAA Weather Radio for up-to-date emergency information and instructions.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong class=\"last-child\">After<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Make sure the storm has passed and go to a safe place. Don\u2019t return home until local authorities say it\u2019s safe.<\/li>\n<li>Keep listening for updated information on the disaster. Let your loved ones know you\u2019re safe and check your family\u2019s safety. Help those who are injured.<\/li>\n<li>If you are trapped, avoid breathing in dust by covering your mouth with a cloth or mask. Don\u2019t shout \u2013 send a text, bang on a pipe or wall, or use a whistle instead.<\/li>\n<li>Stay away from downed wires, damaged buildings, and dangerous debris like broken glass or sharp objects.<\/li>\n<li class=\"last-child\">Don\u2019t use matches, lighters and candles \u2013 there may be natural gas leaks nearby. Use battery-operated flashlights.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Hurricanes are also very common natural disasters you should prepare for. Check out\u00a0<a class=\"last-child\" href=\"https:\/\/www.puroclean.com\/blog\/hurricane-season-how-stay-safe-during-hurricane\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">how to stay safe during a hurricane<\/a>. For emergency flood repair or mold removal services, call your local PuroClean office.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Most tornadoes don\u2019t lift houses into the air. Instead, they can do heavy damage to buildings, produce flying debris, and cause injuries or worse. Each year in the U.S., there<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":18555,"template":"","blog-category":[12,13,11],"class_list":["post-1359","blog","type-blog","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","blog-category-fire-restoration","blog-category-mold-restoration","blog-category-water-restoration"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.puroclean.com\/northport-al-puroclean-tuscaloosa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/blog\/1359","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.puroclean.com\/northport-al-puroclean-tuscaloosa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/blog"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.puroclean.com\/northport-al-puroclean-tuscaloosa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/blog"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.puroclean.com\/northport-al-puroclean-tuscaloosa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.puroclean.com\/northport-al-puroclean-tuscaloosa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/blog\/1359\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.puroclean.com\/northport-al-puroclean-tuscaloosa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18555"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.puroclean.com\/northport-al-puroclean-tuscaloosa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1359"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"blog-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.puroclean.com\/northport-al-puroclean-tuscaloosa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/blog-category?post=1359"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}