Prep work

• Designate a shelter area in your home. Basements or storm cellars are the safest. Otherwise, use an interior room or hallway on the ground floor.
• Practice getting to your home shelter area.
• If you live in a mobile home, find a sturdy building nearby where you can take shelter. Mobile homes offer little protection in a tornado.
• Contact your local emergency management agency to find out if there are any public safe rooms or shelters nearby.
• Know the locations of designated shelter areas in places like schools and shopping centers.

During a Tornado Watch:

• Stay tuned to radio or TV for updates.
• Be prepared to take shelter at any time, since some tornadoes develop so quickly that advance warning is impossible.
• Watch the sky for funnel-shaped cloud and pay attention to tornado dnage signs-dark, greenish sky, large hail and loud roar similar to a freight train.
• Stay out of large, flat buildings with wide-open areas such as supemarkets or shopping malls.
• Stock your home shelter area wit ha flashlight, a battery-powered radio, extra batteries, water and a first aid kit.

During a Tornado Warning:

• Head for the designated shelter or a central area on the lowest floor of a nearby building.
• In a high-rise, get to the lowest floor possible and go to an interior room.
• Leave vehicles and mobile homes at once. Seek shelter in a sturdy building.
• If you are caught outside, lie flat in a ditch and cover your head. Do not get under bridges or overpasses.
• Never attempt to outrun a tornado.

After a Tornado:

• Watch out for debris-especially broken glass-and downed electrical lines.
• Be careful when entering a tornado-damaged structure. make sure the walls and roof are in place and the foundation is sound.