JONESBORO, AR
(KAIT) - When tornado warnings are issued in your area, the Region 8 StormTEAM
breaks into regular programming to show you where the storm is going. They also tell
you to get in your tornado safe spot, but what exactly does that mean?
Chief Meteorologist
Ryan Vaughan stepped out of the Storm Center and went into the home of the
Conaways who have a tornado plan similar to the one you should have.
If you live in a
multi story home, get to the lowest level possible. Next, be sure to get as many walls in between
you and the outside. In the case of the
Conaways, that means heading to an inner bathroom because there home does not
have an underground storm shelter or a basement.
Melissa Conaway
also prepares ahead of time by putting extra supplies in her family's safe
spot. She says, "I go ahead and make
sure that we have all of these blankets down here and we make sure we have
extra blankets to put over our heads in case the tornado actually hits. We also
have flashlights with whistles on them in case we got trapped and could not
yell, we could blow those whistles much easier than yelling."
While their plan is
great one in times of inclement weather, there is one more safety tip they
could practice-covering your head.
The Region 8
StormTEAM suggests using head protection such as bike helmets, baseball
helmets, or toy football helmets. It may
sound strange to put a helmet on, but protecting your head is something that is
very important. If you look at injuries from tornados, a lot of times, the
fatal injuries result from head injuries.
So to review:
- Get as many walls between
you and the outside
- Get to the lowest level of
your home
- Prepare ahead of time with blankets,
flashlights and head protection
- Know where you are going
ahead of time so when the Region 8 StormTEAM goes on air to tell you to
get to that safe spot, you can easily go there and be prepared
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