The Importance Of Tornado Safety
Brian O Sutter
Personal Injury
When you think of a tornado, you probably think of a funnel cloud hovering over a lonely, flat field of corn in the Great Plains or a massive twister picking up and tossing mobile homes like a kid taking out his frustration on his innocent toys. However, every now and again El Niño will conspire with the wind currents to make conditions just right for Florida to experience a wave of tornadoes that doesn’t let up even in winter.As such, it’s important for Florida residents of every latitude to understand the basics of tornado safety. While you may come to expect hurricanes and tropical storms, the fact that you don’t see tornadoes coming is what makes them such a threat.
1. Keep The Radio On During A Storm
Weather satellites can see hurricanes coming from hundreds of miles away, but a tornado can form, strike, and vanish all within a matter of minutes. Spotting a tornado often comes down to nothing more technological than a network of storm watchers who communicate on civilian band radios. A tornado watch can become a tornado warning in an instant, so keep an ear out when the wrong kind of clouds are overhead.
2. Hide In Your Home
The best place to take shelter when a tornado’s about isn’t just away from your windows, it’s away from all your exterior walls. You’re best off in the basement if your home has one, but failing that you should find a spot that’s as close to the ground and to the center of your building as possible. Not every tornado is powerful enough and precise enough to completely level a house, but it can still do a lot of structural damage to the outside thanks to flying debris.
If you actively hear a tornado coming (they make an unmistakable constant roar and will likely make more noise as things start to collide outside), go into a crouch with your head next to the floor and cover the back of your neck with your hands.
3. Hide Outside Your Home
If you live in a mobile home park such as Spanish Lakes in Nokomis Florida, you should leave it and go to the nearest designated tornado shelter. If there isn’t one, you should still take shelter in a building with a foundation, preferably one which also has concrete or stone walls.
4. Hide In A Ditch
If you’re in a car when you find out about a tornado warning and especially if you see a tornado anywhere nearby, you should stop your vehicle, get out, take cover in the lowest spot nearby even if it’s uncovered, and lie flat on the ground. You should also take care to avoid any trees if you can, since they can be knocked over onto you by the extremely high winds. A car can be remarkably easy for a tornado to pick up, especially if it’s already in motion, and no matter how fast you drive you won’t be able to outrun a tornado.
5. Contact Your Insurer
If any of your property takes damage from a tornado, you may be entitled to financial assistance both from the government and from your private insurer. However, insurance companies are run for profit, not for charity, and after a major disaster they may be encouraging their claims adjusters to try and settle for as little as possible.
As such, you’ll need to take pictures, get a third party to evaluate the damage, and potentially hire a lawyer if the adjuster continues to make things difficult. A good personal injury lawyer like the ones at All Injuries Law Firm has experience dealing with insurance agents and can often negotiate a substantially better settlement.