This morning I woke to the sobering news that tornadoes had pummeled the Midwest overnight. Over 18 people lost their lives.
As a small child I distinctly remember a tornado that ripped through our neighborhood in the aftermath of a hurricane. It sounded like a freight train was roaring through our house and, because we had no basement (too close to sea level), we huddled terrified in the small windowless bathroom on the first floor.
It was over very quickly, so we thought the damage might not be too horrific.
But when we stepped outside our hearts sank. The tornado had reduced dozens of houses to rubble. The randomness of its catastrophic path was sobering. There was no reason one home was spared and another was just plain obliterated.
Cars and boats had been tossed around like toys by the powerful wind. It didn’t take much for the 7 year-old me to imagine what that kind of wind and debris field would do to a human being, especially a small child.
10 Ways to Prepare
Tornadoes usually develop in warm, moist air ahead of cold fronts and, surprisingly, have been reported in every U.S. state. So while the swath of the Midwest nicknamed “tornado alley” definitely seems the most tornado activity, this is a weather pattern that can affect any one of us at any time.
We may never be able to predict with much accuracy when and where a major tornado will hit next, but when it’s upon you, it’s usually too late to do much more than scramble. That’s why every family should take a few steps to be better prepared.
A lot of people get paralyzed when putting an emergency plan like this together because they want it to be “perfect.” So they either get a tiny fraction of the process started and stop, or they don’t get started at all.
In all honestly, the core of preparedness is active awareness.
Here are ten things to do or be aware of to enhance your tornado preparedness (a few of these will also apply to other disasters as well).
For additional information, visit Save the Children.
In the meantime, our thoughts and prayers go out to the folks in the path of yesterday’s storms.
Do you have any additional tips for parents on how to be better informed?