When a tornado hits, what happens for you?
By gemini_rose
@gemini_rose (16264)
June 23, 2008 4:36pm CST
I live in the UK and we do not get the tornados and hurricanes like some of you do. However the last few nights where I live we have had extremely high winds, and last night was quite scary and as I sat in the kitchen having my last drink before I went to bed I could hear the wind howling.
It was that strong that I wondered if there would be any damage, and then I began to wonder what it must be like for those that had to put up with tornados and hurricanes on a regular basis. How frightening it must be, and I thought if it happened in UK, a really bad one, none of us are prepared. I mean I have no cellar or anything that I could get my family into, I have no clue what I would be able to do to protect myself or my family, it is a scary thought. One that also could become reality.
So for those of you that have tornado's what happens when one is coming? What do you do, what precautions do you take and where do you go to be out of the way of it?
2 people like this
9 responses
@tessah (6617)
• United States
23 Jun 08
never experienced one personally... have had em drop down nearby few and far between.. but never right near me or anything. i do know what to do in an emergency tornado situation tho.. if theres no basement for cover etc. first open all the windows in yer house.. its the pressure from the outside that will cause yer house to cave in.. allow the wind to pass through without creating the pressure build, and youll escape too too much damage.. and get into yer bathroom.. into the tub if you have one. its generally the most structurally sound solid part of any home, and ride it out. keep an emergency kit under yer bathroom sink.. first aid, flashlight, transistor radio, etc. better to be prepared than sorry
1 person likes this
@gemini_rose (16264)
•
27 Jun 08
Thanks for that, I did think that there was something that had to be done to the windows but was not sure.
@kestor (1)
• Canada
3 Jul 08
I am Brit ex-pat now living in Canada, Ontario. We don't generally get Tornado's here either, not like Tornado alley in the states, but you get the odd one or two. However, I should point out that, as I understand it, 95% of all houses are wooden construction over here and have light plastic polymer siding. As I understand it North America as a whole construct most of their houses in a similar way. There are some houses here that have brick/stone siding but often in these cases it is not structural and is merely there for aesthetics.
Whilst you do not have a basement/cellar I imagine, like the rest of Britain, your house is a brick/stone/cement construction. This is much stronger than a wooden house over here, certainly more sturdy than the house I currently live in:). I think you would in general fair much better. If you look at some of the houses in Tornado alley the best protection are those that have a solid concrete room somewhere central to the house, these are specifically designed to withstand a bad tornado and sure enough you often see pics of folk emerging from those concrete cells unharmed to a wooden framed house that is simply demolished.
My point is therefore that a brick house would fair better as you are, in essence, in such a bunker of protection. I refer you to the children's story of the three little pigs, which house faired best here ;).
@gemini_rose (16264)
•
3 Jul 08
I get what you are saying, thanks for taking the time to come and tell me this!
@CatsandDogs (13963)
• United States
24 Jun 08
Oh gosh, I hope to God you never have to experience a tornato! Hubby and I lived in Texas for 11 years and experienced so many of them that we're so happy to be out of that state! However, if you were to encounter one, this is what you do, go to the most center part of your place that is without windows. Preferably a closet or a bathroom and into the bath tub and put a mattress over top of you and your family to help keep the flying debri from hitting you and others and pray like you've never prayed before! I'm serious. It's loud and then the sound of your house being torn apart is completely unimaginable. However, if you're in an apartment or a two story house, it's best to get to the lowest part of the building and again away from windows so no one gets cut by the glass.
@gemini_rose (16264)
•
24 Jun 08
That sounds like a horrible experience, but it is not an impossibility here and so I would like to just gain an idea of what I am up against.
@snowy22315 (182400)
• United States
23 Jun 08
We don't routinely have tornadoes where I live, but we do have severe thunderstorms on a routine basis in the summertime. We did have a tornado in March. I had a large tree hit my house. It was very frightening, because I have no basement either and the power had gone out. It was about 11pm and the TV went out right before the news came on. I went into my walk in closet and stayed there until the severe winds were over. I had to have my roof and ceiling repaired.
@DonnaLawson (4032)
• United States
25 Jun 08
I used to always go to my mom's house when there was talk of bad weather and high winds, she had a basement.. But my mom passed away about 15 months ago and now we jsut tough it out hear at home.. But last week, we had some very bad storms with high winds and thunder and lightening.. My mother had lived in the same house for 30 years and had always worried about one of the huge trees in her front yard falling into her house during one of these storms, well last week during the bad storm, it did.. It came in through the window where she always sat and watched TV, it destroyed the house and would have killed her had she still been living and in the house.. I was devastating to see the damage done to the place that she called home for so long.. Bad weather really scares me now..
@gemini_rose (16264)
•
25 Jun 08
I am sorry you lost your Mum. It is a good job though that she was not in the house, that sounds really bad.
@gagesmom314 (30)
• United States
24 Jun 08
About a week ago we had a rash of bad weather that kept us in our basement for about 2 hours. A tornado touched down less than a mile from our house and then continued on and devistated over half of a town near us. It is very scary. If you don't have a basement or cellar you should go to the innermost room in your home. Most times they will say a bathroom and get in the bathtub and put a mattress over it.
As far as precautions we take we keep a few diapers and wipes down in our basement for our youngest son and a gallon of water as well. We keep an eye on the weather if storms are in the area and we always make sure we have shoes on. I know the last sounds silly but after seeing first hand the devistation I know that if my house was gone I would not want to be without shoes or want my children walking around without shoes. The debris is so major that you could really get hurt.
@gemini_rose (16264)
•
24 Jun 08
A basement seems like a really good idea, but here we have nothing like that and so it would have to be the bath. But I would have to put my kids in it, I have four and so there is noway we would all fit in it, I could perhaps put them in it with the mattress and then sit on top of it to give them extra protection.
@gabs8513 (48686)
• United Kingdom
25 Jun 08
Hi Sweetie I agree with you there we are not prepared for anything like that at all
I really do not know where I would go as most places do not have Cellars really
When the Winds get up to High it is scary so I do hope that we will never go through anything like that
Love and Hugsxx
@beautyqueen26 (16030)
• United States
1 Jul 08
We have hurricanes in our area every year.
And heavy rains which leads to floods cause
we live in the flood plain.
So we are always facing this problem.
Honestly, I am way behind this year's
preparations.
Thanks for the reminder!