More tornadoes this weekend...so what's your storm/ bad weather preparations/ Do you have a "sturdy room?" An always on weather ( NOAA) radio? Flashlight bolted to the wall? leather gloves handy for clean-up?

Teacher

killer storm just north of us..if it looks bad we put the TV
on--local station followed the last one and we could see we
were not in it--battery radio if power go's out..big blue tarps
--chain saw--water--gas stoves--so on..storage room in basement
under steps thats full of soft stuff--sleeping bags--air mats-
tents..but with gas lines in basement that would break and
fire-up i would only do that as last resort..if we lived in
open farm country that got tornadoes or had a history of them
in my area i would dig a storm shelter but all i think i have
to worry about is downed trees--but thats not what i think of
as "survival"--just a "home emergency"..

Please, to anyone who lives in tornado country, keep this thread going with your prep ideas. Where I live, tornadoes happen, though not as frequently as Iowa, Kansas and Oklahoma, and not enought to warrent sirens. As I write this, the storm that hit Iowa yesterday is headed our way.

I too wondered how many rely on basements, or storm cellars, and what kind? When you say storm cellar, do you mean a 'la "Wizard of Oz?" Like - run outside, pull open the door, and hunker down with the cole crops and home-canned goods? I have seen emergency hatches that operate somewhat like a boat hatch - inside the house, open the hatch in your floor, jump down, and secure the hatch after you. Seems a good system.

I live in a split-level, so no basement, but the bottom floor is 1/2 below grade, with poured cement walls. The bathroom there, with no windows, seems my best bet.

We just spent our first week in a brand new house. We were getting ready to go to a graduation party on Sunday when I hear my wife talking on the phone to her parents. She had been in the basement working on the computer and I hear her yell, "Get down here, now!" My DW tends to overreact to things, and I asked what was going on...it seems there was a tornado that touched down about a mile from us. We had a spot under the basement stairs, so we all hung out there. I ventured back upstairs to grab the pocket sized weather radio that I'd had in one of my EDC bags. Back downstairs, I grabbed an emergency lighting kit that I'd put together during ice storms last winter. It was late afternoon, but under the steps was dark when the lights flashed on and off and I figured the cheap Wal Mart electronic glow sticks would help the kiddos feel safer. Found out that the only place to get a clear NOAA signal in our basement is by standing next to the egress window...and that was sketchy at times. Have to figure out a way to work that out. Our main weather radio hasn't been unpacked yet...

Pretty much all of my prep stuff is still packed in boxes...

Experiences like this shed light on areas of need in prep plans. Need to keep everything in that space...weather radio, glow sticks for the kids, something to sit on...maybe blankets, snacks...

The tornado that leveled that town in Iowa, Parkersburg...we're 15 miles from that. The boyfriend of the girl's graduation party we were going to that night lost a couple of relatives in that tornado. They weren't in the basement...the couple was old and the man was approximately 500 pounds, so he couldn't have gotten to the basement if he wanted to. They say it wouldn't matter though, because their entire house, including basement contents, got tossed.

One woman, from another town that got hit, talked about how quiet it was right before the twister pulled their house of its foundation...that sounded like a freight train.

My brother in law's house lost its roof and they lost two horse...ended up in a farmer's field across the road, all tangled in wire. They're guessing the twister was an F4, but I haven't heard for sure. Was on the ground for 43 miles...part of Parkersburg ended up in Wisconsin, 75 miles away.

In general, prep for this sort of thing sounds to me very similar to hurricane prep...food, FAK, water, radio, etc... (of course I live in tornado country, not hurricane country, so I could be wrong). The other thought that occurred to me is that we should each have our 72 hour kits in the space under the stairs too...in case the top of the house is gone and we have to go to a shelter. Of course, I don't have those kits put together yet...darn money...

This one hit pretty close to home for me. Watching the local news is good, if you can do it safely during a tornado warning, but they get their info from NOAA, so the radio seems like the fastest source of information.

Also realized we could barely hear the sirens in our new house...

My family is about 20 miles from Parkersburg. It was a tense night for everyone. Glad you made it through safely.

Where I live, we don't have basements. In North Central Texas, where the ground shifts, basements are still considered doable. However, given what it costs to build a basement under these conditions, they are not practical. Even what they call "safe rooms" are not all that feasible. You want to talk about a major remodeling project?

Doug wrote a good article on Earthquake & Disaster Preparedness Kits and irregardless of how prepared you are, when an F5 comes through, it is taking your gear with it. Assuming you, your family and cat are all right, you are still up a tree without tools, food, water and medical supplies.

One option is to walk down to your nearest car rental place, assuming it is still there, lay down your Visa and get out of Dodge. That sounds like a plan however I wonder if anyone has anything better.

Jeanette Isabelle

Sure I used a bit of humor in yesterday's post but I really am quite serious. How do we prepare for a tornado when there is a likely possibility the tornado will take your supplies and survival gear? I live in an area of the country where the threat of a tornado is very real.

Jeanette Isabelle

There is an old saying Grasshopper,,Never put all of your eggs in 1 basket.

rent a storage unit, borrow space at a friend's home/garage, bury a cache,,,,there are many ways to divvy up your resources (eggs) and thus protect the majority of your supplies from a disaster plot complication.