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When Tornado or
Severe Thunderstorm Warnings are issued, time is
of the essence. Both tornadoes and severe
thunderstorms can easily produce winds of over
100 mph. Winds of this speed will pick up all
manner of debris, turning normally docile items
into high-speed missiles. The high-speed
missiles are then capable of penetrating and
injuring the body; overturning both light and
heavy vehicles; debranch and/or topple trees;
and damage and/or blow down walls and buildings.
Quickly taking shelter from these
winds has proven time and again to save lives.
Normally sheltering can be right where you are.
Sheltering In-Place
Unless you are in a mobile home or a portable
building, normally the best place to take
shelter is "in-place", right where you are.
The best place to take shelter is
in a basement or a below-ground location. The
winds blow only from ground-level up; therefore
being below ground eliminates the missiles which
cause harm, and doesn't allow the winds to cause
direct building damage below ground level.
Typically the main threat when below ground
level comes in damaged buildings falling through
the ground level floor and onto those below.
Unfortunately, few homes in Moore
have basements, and only about 10% or less have
below-ground storm shelters. This in mind,
shelter can also normally be taken above ground.
Again, the object is to try to stop the
wind-driven missiles, and minimize your exposure
to walls that are exposed to the strongest
winds. To
take shelter above ground, choose a location
with as many walls between you and the outside
world as possible. This helps to minimize the
possibility of being next to a wall failing from
direct winds, and also allows the walls to slow
or stop the missiles. Choose a small room, which
tends to be stronger. Try to get under something
sturdy, like a desk, and cover yourself with
heavy blankets or coats. Again, you're trying to
protect yourself from flying debris, failing
walls, and falling items.
A caution: When evaluating
potential shelter locations, be sure to look UP
as well. If you're sheltering in a closet, you
certainly won't want to have large, heavy items
on the shelves above you.
Information on improving your
home to better withstand storm winds, as well as
building a storm "safe room" can be found
on-line from both the
Federal Emergency Management Agency and
the Texas Tech University
Wind Engineering Research Center.
"Community" Shelters
The City of Moore has no community (or "public")
tornado shelters. This is due to two factors:
-
Overall, people
face less risk by taking shelter in a
reasonably-well constructed residence!
-
There is no
public building in Moore which has a suitable
location for a shelter.
Yes, there is
less overall risk by sheltering-in-place than by
going to a community shelter. The average
tornado warning time is generally only 10-15
minutes. That's just not enough time for a
person to receive the warning, make a conscious
decision to leave their home, gather the few
things needed (family, keys, etc.), lock the
house, get into the car, drive to a shelter
(including possibly experiencing a traffic jam
of others trying to get to the same shelter!),
get out of the car, and make the way into the
community shelter. In this scenario, there's a
far greater likelihood of getting caught in your
car when the tornado strikes! And experience
proves that cars are NOT the place you want to
be during severe weather events!
On May 3, 1999, one of the most
violent tornadoes ever recorded struck central
Oklahoma, including the northwest part of Moore
in its path. Warning for this event was
outstanding - one research survey suggests that
over 95% of the people in central Oklahoma knew
of the tornado and its location. While many
people evacuated, many others took shelter in
their homes. The vast majority of these
people...in fact all but three in Moore...survived!
Their homes were destroyed, but the people
survived. Emergency management and weather
warning professionals see this as a testiment to
the tornado safety rules have been advocated for
years: "In homes or small buildings, go to the
basement (if available) or to an interior room
on the lowest floor, such as a closet or
bathroom. Wrap yourself in overcoats or blankets
to protect yourself from flying debris."
May 3rd was an extremely unique
event weatherwise. There has never been such a
strong and violent tornado ever in the recorded
history of the City of Moore. Statistically,
there is only about a 1-2% chance of a tornado -
of any size - striking Moore on any particular
day during the spring. But of all tornados that
do strike us (again, not very many
historically), there's only a less than 1%
chance of it being as strong and violent as what
we experienced on May 3rd.
Put another way, there's a very
small likelihood of Moore being struck by a
tornado. There's an extremely smaller chance of
Moore experiencing another "May 3rd" type event.
If we are struck again, it will very likely be
by a much less intense storm. Sheltering in your
residence - assuming it is a reasonably-well
constructed home - is the best option.
The opinion of our emergency
management severe weather professionals is that
community sheltering is not only not possible in
our situation, but not advisable.
Schools
All of the schools in the Moore Public School
district have plans - coordinated with the
Emergency Management office of the City - for
monitoring severe weather conditions and for
placing students and staff into shelter during
severe weather events.
Businesses
It is highly advantageous for all business to
have disaster plans for their facilities. It is
also incumbent on each and every individual
person to know where to take shelter in places
frequented. The same rules apply as at home...as
far down and as far inside as you can get,
staying away from long-span roofs and windows.
Business owners and managers can
contact the Emergency Management Department for
assistance in developing their disaster plans.
Non-Desirable Locations
If you don't live in a "reasonably-well
constructed residence" - such as a mobile home -
then we certainly would hope that you plan to
leave your home and find shelter in a better
location. This requires advance planning on your
part! It also requires keeping a much sharper
eye to deteriorating weather conditions! Have a
family emergency plan, and don't hesitate in
activating it.
If your plan is to leave your
home for better shelter,
DO NOT WAIT UNTIL TORNADO
WARNINGS ARE ISSUED to leave for shelter!
Conclusion
We at the City of Moore Emergency Management
Department advocate that every residence have a
storm
safe-room or an underground cellar. We
also advocate the purchase of
NOAA Weather Radios, which we'll help
program if you need. We have an active cadre of
trained weather spotters,
real-time weather data and radar in our
Emergency Operations Center,
and a state-of-the-art, multiple-path
warning system. In
short, we do everything possible to assist our
residents in ensuring their safety during severe
weather events. |
