What People Need to Know About Tornadoes

This second week highlights tornadoes. Individuals, communities, businesses, schools, and houses of worship around the country are holding preparedness discussions, conducting drills, and taking specific steps to prepare for tornadoes and other disasters.

America's PrepareAthon!℠ is a grassroots, community-based campaign for action to get families, organizations, and entire communities better prepared for tornadoes and other emergencies.

According to the National Weather Service, tornadoes caused $320 million in damages in 2015.

Some important steps to begin preparing for a tornado include:

1. Stay informed. Receiving timely information about weather conditions or other emergency events can make all the difference in knowing when to take action to be safe. Monitor the weather reports provided by your local news media. Many communities also have text or email alerting systems for emergency notifications.
2. Download the FEMA app for disaster resources, weather alerts, and safety tips. The app provides a customizable checklist of emergency supplies, maps of open shelters and open recovery centers, tips on how to survive natural and manmade disasters, and weather alerts from the National Weather Service for up to five locations across the Nation. The latest feature of the app enables users to receive push notifications to their devices to remind them to take important steps to prepare their homes and families for disasters.
3. Know where to go. Wherever you spend a lot of time – at home, work or school – know where to go to quickly seek shelter from a tornado. Then practice going to that shelter or safe room so you don't have to think about it when it actually happens.
4. Have a family communications plan. A family emergency communication plan is critical to making sure the entire household knows who to contact, how to reach each other, and where to meet up in an emergency. Visit ready.gov/prepare and download Be Smart. Take Part. Create Your Family Emergency Communication Plan.
5. Stock up on supplies you may need after the tornado passes like food that doesn't require refrigeration, enough water for 72 hours, medication, flashlights with extra batteries, and a change of clothes. For a full list of supplies for your emergency supply kit, visit https://www.ready.gov/build-a-kit.
6. Gather the important documents you will need to start your recovery and keep them in a safe place. Have all of your insurance, personal, medical, and legal papers in one place and store backup copies on a USB drive. Visit ready.gov/prepare and download Be Smart. Protect Your Critical Documents and Valuables for a helpful checklist of other documents you may need.

Media outlets may also link to this guide on your website to provide your viewers and readers with more information about how to prepare for a flood.

Please contact the FEMA News Desk at (202) 646-3272 for additional information.

Courtesy of America's PrepareAthon! and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

SOURCE Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)