Survival guides · Disasters

During a Tornado

ACT NOWA tornado warning, a roar like a train, or a funnel in sight. Get to shelter now.

1. Go low and inside

   
   • Basement if you have one.
   • No basement? A small room in the middle of the lowest floor — bathroom, closet, hallway. No windows.
   • Put as many walls as you can between you and the outside.

2. Cover up

   • Get under something sturdy, or pull a mattress or heavy blankets over you.
   • Arms over your head and neck.
   • Shoes on if they're close. A bike or sports helmet if you have one.
   Why

   Flying debris causes most tornado injuries and deaths. Anything between you and it — walls, a mattress, a helmet — helps.

3. Get out of the wrong places

   • Mobile home? Leave now for a sturdy building or shelter. Even tied down, it won't protect you.
   • Stay off top floors and out of big open rooms — gyms, auditoriums, big-box stores.
   • Never under a highway overpass.

4. Caught in a car or outside

   • Can you get to a sturdy building? Go.
   • Can't? Get down in the car and cover your head — arms, a coat.
   • Or get out and lie flat in a ditch or low spot, covering your head.
   • Don't try to outrun it in traffic or towns.
   Why

   An overpass squeezes the wind and the debris through a gap — people under them have been killed. Both the car and the ditch are last resorts; neither is safe. Driving away works only when you can see the tornado clearly, it's far off, and the road runs away from its path.

Sources: National Weather Service — Tornado Safety · FEMA / Ready.gov · NWS Storm Prediction Center

General information to help in an emergency — not a substitute for training or professional care.