SEVERE WEATHER SAFETY GUIDELINES: HOME

3/3/2023 (Permalink)

By following these simple guidelines, you can protect yourself and your family from nature's most violent storm.

The most important things to remember are:

• GET IN - If you are outside, get inside.  If you're already inside, get as far into the middle of the building as possible.
• GET DOWN - Get underground if possible.  If you cannot, go to the lowest floor possible.
• COVER UP - Flying and falling debris are a storm's number one killer.  Use pillows, blankets, coats, helmets, etc to cover up and protect your head and body from flying debris.

HOME

Your plan at home should be known by everyone in the home and practiced at least twice each year.  Children who may be at home alone should know what to do and where to go even if no adults are there.

When selecting your shelter area, remember that your goals should be:

1. Get as low as possible - completely underground is best.
2. Put as many barriers between you and the outside as possible.

It is not the wind inside - it's the flying debris that's in the wind. Items can fly through the air (broken glass, etc) or fall down (could range from small objects to objects the size and weight of cars). A basement is also a good shelter in most cases.  If your basement is not totally underground, or has outside doors or windows, stay as far away from them as possible.  Items from above could fall into the basement, so it's a good idea to get under a stairwell or a piece of sturdy furniture.  If possible, avoid seeking shelter underneath heavy objects on the floor above. Use coverings (pillows, blankets, sleeping bags, coats, etc) and helmets to shield your head and body and to protect yourself from flying debris.

If No Underground or Reinforced Shelter is Available

If you're like most people, you don't have an underground shelter.  In this case, you need to find a location that is:

• As close to the ground as possible
• As far inside the building as possible
• Away from doors, windows and outside walls
• In as small a room as possible

Here are Some Ideas

• Bathrooms
  Bathrooms MAY be a good shelter, provided they are not along an outside wall and have no windows.  Contrary to popular belief, there is nothing magically safe about getting in a bathtub with a mattress.  In some cases, this might be a great shelter.  However, it depends on where your bathroom is.  If your bathroom has windows and is along an outside wall, it's probably not the best shelter.
  Bathrooms have proven to be adequate shelters in many cases for a couple of reasons.  First, bathrooms are typically small rooms with no windows in the middle of a building.  Secondly, it is thought that the plumbing within the walls of a bathroom helps to add some structural strength to the room.

• Closets
  A small interior closet might be a shelter.  Again, the closet should be as deep inside the building as possible, with no outside walls, doors or windows.  Be sure to close the door and cover up.

• Hallways
  If a hallway is your shelter area, be sure to shut all doors.  Again, the goal is to create as many barriers as possible between you and the flying debris. To be an effective shelter, a hallway should as be far inside the building as possible and should not have any openings to the outside (windows and doors).
  
  
• Under Stairs
  The space underneath a stairwell could be used as a shelter.