Community Chat

[Tinkrbl44]

I know every area of the U.S. has it's own weather vulnerabilities ... hurricanes, tornados, floods, earthquakes ..... (I live in Southern CA, earthquake country).

In the news coverage yesterday, showing the devastation in the tornadoes' paths, one thing kept coming to mind ....... WHAT are people doing when a twister starts coming their way?

I thought ALL houses had a storm cellar on the property, but one man interviewed just hid in a closet. A closet? Seriously?

[scotttie]

If you don't have a basement a closet or bathtub is all you can do. You have to get away from the glass which is often what can kill you.

If it is only an F3 or so, you can survive it that way. If it's a F4 or F5 you could be kissing yourself good bye.

sometimes even in the basement it will s*ck you out. There was a terrible tornado years and years ago and killed over 100 people. Cows were flying in the air and trailers(mobile homes) were flying in the air .

[scotttie]

I will say tho, that we have pretty sophisticated warning systems now. If you can get to shelter you have a pretty good chance of surviving these days. Property damage is horrific tho.

[tansy]

Isn't the warning less than 15 minutes though? Better than nothing but still...

[loveschocolate]

I believe the newer houses probably have storm cellars. We have a basement.

[esmeraldagooch]

Unfortunately not. I don't know anyone with one. Many area's fill up with water if you dig a hole. NO basements.

[JustJules]

I live in "tornado alley" in Kansas in a house that is over 100 years old. It has no basement, they never built basements back then, but it has a storm cellar.... basically an underground place where the furnace is and it is a big dirt hole under the house. We are just getting into tornado season, and the thing about our city is how the rivers run.... part of our city was built over ancient Indian burial grounds, and they knew what they were doing. They chose a place with rivers that converged, and that does play a part in weather patterns and how the winds works.... we often get terrible storms, but the tornadoes alwasys seem to work their way around the city. Can't just be a coincidence. When I lived in Colorado, I had a home with a basement, but we didn't often get bad storms with tornadoes. I guess when you are desperate, without any kind of shelter, anything will do... a doorway, a bathtub. My heartfelt condolences for those that lost loved ones in the Alabama tornadoes..... it's very sad, and there is no protection.

[Snoopy Newman]

In many areas, the water table is too high for a cellar or basement. Plus, they do cost money. I've lived in Oklahoma, Kansas, and Texas. The early warnings are very good and many towns have a public shelter.

[ShowMe]

Living here in the St. Louis, MO area, we get warnings quite a bit.....and fortunately we have a basement in the apartment complex I live in. And yes, I do go down there. But, they are always saying on our local channels that if you don't have a basement, get into the tub.....only if there isn't a window over the tub or in the bathroom. Another good safe place to go is in the hall of your living quarters. Close the doors to any of the rooms that are connected to the hall because of glass blowing around. Put a pillow over your head to protect you from anything falling on to you. And, if you have blinds that cover your windows, close them all the way......to protect you from glass that would be blowing in.

Tornados can crop up any time of the year. We had one on New Year's Eve on year, and another one on New Year's Day in a different year. It's not just this time of the year.

Suggest you have your cell phone (if you have one) on you when you are taking protection....

[betteb]

Like Jules, I live in Kansas. What Snoopy said about no basements is correct. Some areas just wont support a basement, geographically.

The tornado that pretty much destroyed Baxter Springs, Kansas last night, sprung up out of nowhere. That's the problem. The develop so fast there is little time to get the warnings out.