Where To Go During A Tornado In An Apartment?

What do you do in an apartment during a tornado?

The safest place to go in a tornado is always down — down in a basement, the first floor or a covered parking garage on the ground floor. If you live on the ground floor, great! If not, get to the lowest level of your apartment building immediately. Apartment dwellers on higher floors should seek similar shelter.

Where is the safest place in an apartment building during a tornado?

The safest place to be in your apartment during a tornado is the basement. If your apartment building does not come with a basement than go to the lowest floor of the building.

Is it safe to hide in a bathtub during a tornado?

Taking cover under sturdy furniture, in a bathtub or closet or under a mattress will be meaningless in a mobile home if the home itself is destroyed, blown over, or rolled over by tornado or severe thunderstorm winds. Get out of mobile homes and find a more substantial shelter as quickly as possible.

What to do in a tornado if you live on the third floor?

Even if there are apartments in the basement (and your neighbors won’t let you shelter in their apartment), you should be able to shelter in a hallway or stairwell. If you live in “ tornado country,” the owner of your apartment building ought to have designated someplace in the building as a shelter area.

Where is the most dangerous place to be during a tornado?

A car is one of the worst places to be during a tornado. During a tornado, objects are lofted in the air and then circulate within and around the tornado at high speeds.

What should you not do during a tornado?

Cover heads with blankets, mattresses or helmets as extra protection against falling and flying debris. Don’t take the elevator during a tornado or severe weather. Always take the stairs. Power outages can stop an elevator in its tracks leaving you literally hanging during a storm.

Has anyone survived being picked up by a tornado?

Missouri – Matt Suter was 19 years old when he had an experience that he will never forget. He survived after being swept up inside a tornado. More than a dozen tornadoes spawned from the supercell thunderstorms that day, claiming the lives of two people. But Matt was lucky.

What causes most deaths during a tornado?

Traumatic injury, including head injury, is the leading cause of death during tornadoes.

Can a tornado rip up a concrete slab?

There is no way a tornado will rip up or slide a concrete slab across the ground. Above ground shelters designed, and installed to FEMA 320/361 & ICC 500 standards (like Vortex Vaults) will NOT be ripped off the slab.

Why get in the bathtub during a tornado?

If the most centrally located room in your home is a ground floor bathroom, designate it as your storm shelter. And since the idea is to get as many walls between you and the approaching tornado, by all means take shelter inside the bathtub, where the fiberglass sides of the tub add another layer of protection.

What happens if a tornado picks you up?

Originally Answered: What happened if a tornado hit a person? A Tornado will not hit a person, but will pick them up with other debris which can hit you either on the ground or while being carried by the Tornado. If you are one of the rare lucky ones it can put you back down miles away unharmed.

Can you survive an F5 tornado in a basement?

Despite the risk that comes with living in Tornado Alley, many Oklahomans are reluctant to build tornado shelters. “With an F5 tornado you get the ‘house swept away – only foundation is left’ situation – and the only *safe* place from an F5 is underground or out of it’s path.

Why do you get in a ditch during a tornado?

◊ Debris. All kinds of material can get pitched into a ditch with lethal force during a tornado. This is no idle concern; ditches regularly fill with tornado debris. There you are hiding in your nice, flooding ditch, and down comes a power line smack into the water.

Can you survive inside a tornado?

Although there is no completely safe place during a tornado, some locations are much safer than others. Go to the basement or an inside room without windows on the lowest floor (bathroom, closet, center hallway). If possible, avoid sheltering in a room with windows.

How do you stay safe in an apartment during a tornado?

In a house with no basement, a dorm, or an apartment: Avoid windows. Go to the lowest floor, small center room (like a bathroom or closet), under a stairwell, or in an interior hallway with no windows. Crouch as low as possible to the floor, facing down; and cover your head with your hands.