There will be a Statewide Tornado Drill on Wednesday March 20, 2019 at 9:50 a.m. This is to inform all Wayne County residents that our Communications Centers will be testing the Tornado Sirens in the County on this day.
Tornado Safety
By: The National Weather Service and American Red Cross (2009)
The National Weather Service and American Red Cross – both members of the Ohio Committee for Severe Weather Awareness – share a common goal of protecting lives through public education. In regards to tornado safety,
all agree that the safest place to be during a tornado warning is either an underground shelter, a basement or a tornado safe room.
If a basement or shelter is not available, the safest alternative is a small, windowless interior room or hallway on
the lowest level of a sturdy building, such as a closet or bathroom. Residents of mobile homes should seek safe shelter in the nearest sturdy building or tornado safe room, if a tornado or severe wind storm threatens.
If you are caught outdoors and see a tornado, try to seek immediate safety by getting into a basement, shelter or sturdy building. If you cannot quickly get to a shelter, you must decide other options such as:
- Quickly get into a vehicle, buckle the seat belt and try to drive to a nearby sturdy shelter.
- If flying debris occurs while driving, pull over and park. Quickly determine what next to do:
- Stay in the vehicle with your seatbelt buckled. Try to put your head down below the windows, covering your head with your hands. Use a blanket or jacket, if available.
- If you can safely get noticeably lower than the level of the roadway (like a ditch), exit the vehicle and lie in that area, covering your head with your hands.
Your decision of what to do during a tornado should be driven by your specific circumstance. If you find yourself outdoors or in a vehicle when a tornado is approaching, you have decisions to make and actions to take – immediately!
You are at risk from a number of things that you cannot control, such as the strength and path of a tornado, and flying debris. You are at risk of danger, whether you choose to stay in your vehicle or seek shelter in a depression or ditch. Both are considered last-resort options that offer little protection.
For more information about Weather Safety, you can click the link to the right for the Ohio Committee for Severe Weather Awareness: OCSWA