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The birds are singing, the flowers are blooming and with the coming of Spring so comes tornado season to the Mid-West. Does your family have a plan for tornados? Just like a fire drill, you need to practice and be prepared for when the storm hits.

The Shelter

First and foremost in a tornado you need safe shelter. The best place to be in a tornadic storm is in an underground shelter, or a basement. Old fashioned root cellars with doors that bar closed are perfect for this, but remember you need a sturdy door. If the tornado goes over the shelter the suction will be enormously powerful and you don't want to lose that door. It will be all that stands between your family and the storm. Basements are good, but are better if they have a second entrance away from the house, in case the house collapses onto the basement. Many houses here in Kansas have secondary exits to their basement for that reason.

If you don't have a basement, the next best thing is an inside room, with as many walls between you and the outside as possible, on the ground floor. Never move 'up' in a tornado, always down. Bathrooms are great, particularly with a heavy porcelain tub to hunker down in. Cover yourself and your family with a mattress or heavy quilt to protect from flying debris and if the storm hits the house directly, grab the faucets and hold on. Plumbing is often the only thing left in a home hit by a tornado.

If you live in a mobile home, abandon it and go to a community building with a basement.

The Tornado Emergency Box

The box can be a sturdy plastic box, like a rubber made brand, but it can be anything that seals well and will keep out water and insects.

You need to have a battery operated radio, or a crank radio (preferred as you don't have to change out the batteries) for weather and news reports.

At least two flashlights or other emergency lights. A crank operated one is preferable since you don't have to change out batteries.

There should be at least a couple of liters of sealed water. You don't know how long you will be in the shelter, so plan on one to three liters per person in the shelter.

Sealed, non perishable, ready to eat food stuffs. This can be MRE (meals ready to eat from the US military), crackers, dried fruit, whatever. You aren't planning on being here for a week, just a night or two.

One warm blanket per person in the group, preferably one that folds down firmly and doesn't take up too much room. No feather bed quilts please!

A fully stocked first aid kit with adhesive bandages, disinfectant, antibiotic ointment, some sort of hand/baby wipes, hand sanitizer, gauze bandages or maxi pads (I know that sounds weird, but they work better than gauze pads for big wounds), an elastic wrap, butterfly strips, medical grade 'super glue' for wounds that require stitching, scissors, medical tape, vinyl/latex gloves, antacids, a mild antihistamine and mild pain relievers such as aspirin.

Any medication that members of your group require such as insulin, epi-pens, inhalers, etc.

The 'Bug Out' Bag

The bug out bag is for when you have to leave the location you are at. Everything that goes into the tornado emergency box goes into this. You really don't need two, unless you want to have one pre-packed into your vehicle. Just make your tornado box portable.

Add an extra set of clothes for everyone in the group. Make sure they fit, from time to time. Children grow very fast!

The Drill