Tornado season is upon us already - are you prepared?

momofmany

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Last night around 10:30 we were under a tornado warning in my area. A tornado went thru a small town (Harveyville) west of us, damaging about 50% of the town. Another tornado cell formed a little later about 10 miles west of us. When I heard that warning, I did our tornado drill in the house - got all the critters down into the basement with me and kept everyone down there until the storm passed. The key to our drill is to remain totally calm, herd the cats into the basement, and the ones that don't follow are bribed with treats and taken there.

A tornado went thru Branson Missouri last night, and the storms that passed over us are now slamming Kentucky.

Do you have a plan in case of bad weather? After a tornado hit our home in Missouri 9 years ago, we realized how ill prepared we were in a bad storm. That house didn't have a basement, and one of the primary reasons for moving was to get into a house with a basement. We also bought more cat carriers, as we didn't have enough to hold all the cats.

And just as an aside, the tornado that hit Harveyville last night is due east of a town (Eskridge) where our neighbor's father lives. The father is out in Arizona for the winter right now. When I heard that the tornado formed over Eskridge and moved east to Harveyville, I volunteered to drive out to his house to check up on it. The neighbor is going to try to get his brother out there today, and if not, that's what I'll be doing this afternoon. If he lost part of his roof or windows, the house will need to be boarded up to prevent further damage. Since they aren't letting people close to Harveyville today, and I normally drive thru it to get to Eskridge, I'll be taking some weird back roads through Kansas.
 
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gemlady

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Awakened at 5:30am by my sis with a call that we were under a tornado warning. The worst passed south of me. (Reports of fatalities in Southeastern Illinois and damage to houses in the town to the south. )

I have no basement but a small interior hall where I will take refuge. As for the kitties, I am afraid that can't guarantee they will join me as I have physical limitations and can run faster than me. In the past they have scooted under the beds during severe storms.
 
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momofmany

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This is so weird because it is still officially winter here. Tornadoes in the winter? We had bad winds here last night. I guess I should go out and check for damage around my house.
 

lizzie

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Just 18 miles to the east of me in Buffalo,Mo,got hit and one person died.There was also more damage further east in Lebanon,Mo.We had some really bad wind and hail,so we were very lucky!I have seen in Missouri where they have them even in December!Yes,it is time to prepare and have a plan.I am not having such great thoughts about "the season" this year.Makes me very nervous!
 

MoochNNoodles

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I'm glad you are all ok.  I was surprised to see some pictures on Facebook today.  My area is only calling for rain that I heard and I haven't had the weather on today.

I guess really there is no time that we should be unprepared.  We have had such an early spring in my area.  I started seeing Robins back around here during the end of January!!  It's technically still February and my grass is starting to turn green!  Under some hedges that I have it's already growing.  And the daffodils are up and blooming at my neighbors.  Maybe from that I shouldn't be surprised to see severe weather like this.  I am sad for the people who have lost their loved ones and possessions.
 

KittenKrazy

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In my opinion, its ALWAYS Torndao season in North Alabama, lol!  We've had bad outbreaks in April as well as November.... and I'm smack in the middle of all the damage that was done on April 27th of last year.... devastation to our north, west, east and south.... but for many, many miles around our immediate area, there is nothing more than tree and slight straight line wind  damage. Our plan for years, including the November 10, 2002 tornado that almost took our home, was to go to the shoe store that we owned at the time..... when we closed it in 2006, we were basically without a place to go. Now, however, we  monitor the weather, and if necessary, we take shelter in our church basement (Ironically, neither of us was home during the April storms..... he was at work, and I was at a friends house, not 10 miles from some of the worst destruction, lol!!
 

alleygirl

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I've been trying to figure out a plan here as well, but really don't have one just yet.

Last year when we had warnings then I would go into the bathtub and the boys into a carrier in the bathroom with me. After seeing firsthand all the damage in Joplin, MO though I know that the bathtub just isn't going to do it. I'm trying to find out if there is a church or anywhere nearby that offers shelter. Strangely enough, for being smack in the middle of "tornado alley" there are very few homes with basements around here.

It needs to be somewhere that will allow me to bring the cats in their crates. I just wouldn't be able to go off and leave them, wondering...
 

misty8723

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We don't have a basement here, and we had some close calls (well, too close for my comfort anyway) last year.  Our plan is to get the cats into the small storage room under the stairs.  The carriers are in there, a small radio, and a flashlight.  Our plan is for each of us to grab a cat before they know what's going on (that may be a stupid idea, because they're pretty alert to what we are going to do), but we'll get them. 

I'm looking at the videos of the tornadoes that hit today, and a couple days ago, and it seems like the people don't have much warning to get into shelter.  I'm really, really scared of tornados!
 

nebula

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I've been trying to figure out a plan here as well, but really don't have one just yet.
Last year when we had warnings then I would go into the bathtub and the boys into a carrier in the bathroom with me. After seeing firsthand all the damage in Joplin, MO though I know that the bathtub just isn't going to do it. I'm trying to find out if there is a church or anywhere nearby that offers shelter. Strangely enough, for being smack in the middle of "tornado alley" there are very few homes with basements around here.
It needs to be somewhere that will allow me to bring the cats in their crates. I just wouldn't be able to go off and leave them, wondering...

Agreed. same here---

Thogh the texas blackland we have does not provision well for shelters or basements.

We have our bedroom closet. Iti s small, but will fit both of us and the cats. Good enough for me!
 

blueyedgirl5946

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We don't usually get them where we live.   We had some bad twisters and small ones last spring.  One came across our backyard.  I never want to hear that sound again.  It was like a train, just missed the corner of our house and took down a row of wax myrtle trees.  We spent a few scary moments in the hall closet with a sofa cusion on our head.
 

alleygirl

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Agreed. same here---

Thogh the texas blackland we have does not provision well for shelters or basements.

We have our bedroom closet. Iti s small, but will fit both of us and the cats. Good enough for me!
That's what worries me. Seeing first hand the destruction in Joplin, if an EF-5 comes your way then no closet - bathtub - or hallway is going to save you :( When your foundation is swept clean by that kind of wind.. your only hope is to be underground.
 

Willowy

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That's what worries me. Seeing first hand the destruction in Joplin, if an EF-5 comes your way then no closet - bathtub - or hallway is going to save you :( When your foundation is swept clean by that kind of wind.. your only hope is to be underground.
:yeah: My dad read somewhere that just being in the basement isn't even enough if the tornado hits your house directly. . .so he built a tornado-proof room in the basement :lol3:. I don't have one, though. I guess I just have to hope the tornado doesn't hit my house directly :tongue2:. I suppose if I lived somewhere that I couldn't have a basement, I'd get one of those pre-built storm shelters that you drop into a hole in the backyard. I think they're around $5000 or so.

I have a lot of bottled water in the basement, and a radio. No food. . .although in the summers I usually tranfer some of the pet food down there (for emergencies and also because the garage gets so hot I'm afraid the food will spoil).
 

gemlady

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Found out yesterday that my radio needed batteries - after the electricity went out. :blush:
 

luvmyparker

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I don't really live in a tornado prone area...but I've always wondered why all homes in places (mainly tornado alley) that are more likely to get them aren't required to have basements or some type underground shelter if they can save so many lives. A central room/closet in a home isn't near as safe as being underground. The shipping container is a great idea!
 
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momofmany

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We did have a tornado pass by our home in 2003. Our neighbor is a volunteer fire fighter, and has his weather band radio on all the time. Nothing was broadcast for that tornado, not even a warning before it hit (in fact, I called the TV station after the tornado and they hadn't even heard about it until I called).

Our house had an underground storm cellar and we had to go outside and run around the back of the house to get to the shelter. Since we had no warning, we didn't try to get to it until the tornado was upon us. The problem with doing that was that our doors all faced south and the wind was so strong that we couldn't even push them open to get outside at first. When we finally got one of them open (DH and I had to put all our strength into it), tornado debrie was flying all around us. As I turned the corner around the back of my house to get to the shelter, I was blown to the ground and DH fell on top of me. He was able to pick me up and drag me to the door of the shelter. That door pushed inward (good thing), and we scrambled down the stairs to get into the shelter. There was a second door at the bottom of the stairs to keep the storm out. The shelter actually rattled as the tornado passed.

So even if you have a weather radio, and a storm shelter, things can still be bad. The storm was on us so fast that we never got any of the critters out with us. Had we even gotten the cats into carriers, the wind would have pulled them out of our hands and blown them across the county. Good thing that the house only had minor damage. Our neighbors in the area didn't fair as well.

DH and our neighbor drove out to Harveyville yesterday to help with the storm clean up. There were so many people that showed up, that they were sent home early cause there wasn't that much more to do. It's nice to see people pulling together after a tragedy like this. They were relatively lucky that only 1 person lost their life.
 
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nebula

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I don't really live in a tornado prone area...but I've always wondered why all homes in places (mainly tornado alley) that are more likely to get them aren't required to have basements or some type underground shelter if they can save so many lives. A central room/closet in a home isn't near as safe as being underground. The shipping container is a great idea!

Blackland in the south isn't suitable to basements. Plus flooding- it just isn't designed for it.
 
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