Talk About Tornadoes: How to Prepare Your Family for Storm Season at Home or School

by Kay Pinkerton, volunteer contributor 

A tornado outbreak hit the DFW Metroplex
April 3 last year

As the saying goes, everything is bigger in Texas.  

It can definitely be true when it comes to storms.

On April 3 of 2012, just one year ago, a tornado outbreak roared through North Texas, leveling houses, damaging schools and tossing tractor-trailers into the air like toys.  

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the storm system’s most violent tornado occurred in Forney/Rockwall. The F3 tornado touched down in Forney’s Diamond Creek subdivision, located near Crosby Elementary School. Crosby wasn’t directly hit by the tornado; however, high winds broke windows, damaged air conditioning units and ripped off sections of the roof. Children were in class at the time of the tornado. Neither students nor staff members were injured during the storm. 

The Fujita Scale classifies tornado intensities with ratings between F0 (weakest) to F5 (strongest). An F3 tornado is considered severe, with wind speeds between 158-206 mph. 

Severe weather is one of the most common hazards in the North Texas area. If severe weather threatens while your child is at school, the Red Cross offers the following safety tips: 

Before a Tornado

• Have a plan. Learn the safest places to seek shelter when at home, work, school or outdoors. Discuss with your children. The American Red Cross offers a one-page Tornado Safety Checklist to help you and your family become "Red Cross Ready."
• Know your school’s severe weather procedures. For parents, it’s vitally important to review the school’s emergency procedures -- including its parent notification system -- before disaster strikes. School-to-school protocol can vary widely. And rules that detail early dismissals, bus runs and parent pick-ups can be daunting. Further, as situations change, so may the associated policy. The final goal is to keep children safe.
• Know where you live. Know the counties where your home and your child’s school reside. Make sure every family member knows, as well. 
• Remain alert. During any storm, listen to local news or a NOAA Weather Radio to stay informed about watches and warnings. NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center can also help you remain alert to the possibility of severe weather during the school day. A great new way to stay on top of tornadic activity is to download the Red Cross Tornado App (more on that below!)
• Learn basic weather terms.  Know the difference between a watch and a warning:
• Tornado watch – tornadoes are possible in and near the watch area.  
• Tornado warning – a tornado has been sighted or indicated by weather radar. Tornado warnings indicate imminent danger to life and property. Seek shelter immediately. 
• Know your community’s warning system. Communities warn residents about tornadoes in different ways. Many have outdoor warning sirens.
• Watch for tornado danger signs:
• Dark, often greenish clouds – a phenomenon caused by hail
• Wall cloud – an isolated lowering of the base of a thunderstorm
• Cloud of debris
• Large hail
• Funnel cloud-a visible rotating extension of the cloud base
• Roaring noise
• Download the Red Cross Tornado App. The free Red Cross Tornado App offers instant access to life- and property-saving information before, during and after tornadoes. You can receive real-time NOAA tornado watch and warning alerts – whether it’s in your community or places where your loved ones live. There are also apps available that provide both first-aid information and Red Cross shelter locations.   

During A Tornado

• Have Your Child Stay at School. According to NOAA’s National Severe Storms Laboratory, your child is safer at school than he would be traveling home early by foot, car or bus. If the tornado sirens are sounding, parents should wait until the danger has passed to pick up their children. School staff members are trained to follow specific procedures designed to keep the students safe. Children will be taken to a safe place, such as a basement, to wait out the storm. Students with special needs will be accommodated, as well. If children are riding on a bus when a tornado siren goes off, bus drivers will be instructed where to go and when they can safely deliver the children to their homes.
• For Families at home:
• Go to a basement, underground shelter or safe room.  If these aren’t available, use a small, windowless interior room (such as a bathroom), hallway or closet on the lowest floor.  
• If you can, crawl under a sturdy piece of furniture, like a table.
• If you’re in a mobile home, go to basement, sturdy building or shelter, if possible. 
• If you are outdoors and cannot quickly walk to a shelter:
• Immediately get into a vehicle, buckle your seat belt and try to drive to the closest sturdy shelter. 
• If flying debris occurs while you are driving, pull over and park.  The following are considered last-resort options:
• Stay in the car with the seat belt on. Put your head down below the windows, covering with your hands and a blanket if possible. 
• If you can safely get noticeably lower than the level of the roadway, exit your car and lie in that area, covering your head with your hands. 
• Remaining in your car or seeking shelter in a depression or ditch are last-resort options that provide little protection. The safest place to be is in an underground shelter, basement or safe room. 

After a Tornado

• Continue listening to local news or a NOAA Weather Radio for updated information and instructions.
• Avoid downed power lines and broken gas lines. Report them to the utility company immediately. 
• Stay out of damaged buildings. 
• Check for injuries. If you are trained, provide first aid to persons in need until emergency responders arrive. 
• Use the telephone only for emergency calls. 
• If your community experiences a tornado or other disaster, register on the American Red Cross Safe and Well website to let your family and friends know your welfare. If you don’t have Internet access, call 1-866-GET-INFO to register yourself and your family, or click on the I'm Safe button on any of your Red Cross apps. You can even share that you're safe with your social networks.

To learn more about how you can prepare your family for tornadoes or to learn more about the Red Cross, visit us online at redcross.org. 

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Remember, Connect & Give: The April 3 DFW Tornado Outbreak, One Year Later

by Amy Yen, Digital Communications Manager, American Red Cross

April 3 DFW Tornado Outbreak
Infographic: Click to enlarge

One year ago today, the Metroplex got a scary reminder of what it means to live in tornado alley. Multiple tornadoes touched down, causing large-scale damage in Lancaster, Forney, Arlington and other areas. While miraculously, there were no fatalities, more than 1,000 homes were damaged and the American Red Cross was there to respond.

“That was my first disaster. I had only been with the Red Cross for three months when those things hit,” recalled T.D. Smyers, Regional CEO for the North Texas Region. Wanting to see for himself how his new organization operated during disasters, he went to Lancaster with the Red Cross disaster response team.

“I got to see up close and personal the devastation Mother Nature had on the community. People started coming out of their homes, looking at all the damage, and then I saw a beacon of hope coming up the street. It was a Red Cross feeding truck. Everyone was so glad to see our volunteers providing meals for everyone from the side window. It was a privilege to witness our mission in action.”

Remember

 

Looking back at the disaster a full year later, it’s sometimes hard to remember that some families are still recovering. Hundreds of homes were completely destroyed, and hundreds more damaged. In the immediate aftermath, many families stayed at Red Cross shelters while the clean-up process began.

T.D. Smyers visited a shelter in Lancaster and was struck by the reaction of the residents coming in. 

“When the tornadoes struck, most people were caught completely unprepared. People whose homes were hit were in despair, with nowhere to turn because they never thought about where they would stay or what they would do in a situation like this,” he explained. “To see them show up at the shelter and be greeted by Red Cross staff, who showed the face of friendliness and professionalism, saying ‘we’ve got you covered’—that was such a relief to those people. Seeing the impact that my organization had in real human lives was extremely gratifying. I carry it with me to this day.”

In total, the Red Cross served nearly 41,000 meals and snacks, distributed more than 6,100 relief items, provided nearly 200 mental health consultations and opened four shelters while responding to the tornadoes. Some 600 Red Cross relief workers were involved in the relief effort with 90% of them being volunteers. 

“As we commemorate this anniversary date, I’d like to ask other to join me in remembering the families who are still in recovery,” said Smyers. “And remember how the Red Cross responded to the needs in our own community instantly. That’s what your support allows us to do.”

Connect

Whenever there is a disaster like this, we are always thinking about how we can make the community better prepared in the future. One way to be prepared is to connect with us via our social networks, where we are constantly working to post the most up-to-date information about what’s happening in our community—whether that’s preparedness tips when the sky is blue, weather alerts as they happen and shelter and food service locations afterward.

“We’re proud of our social media presence,” said T.D. “I think it’s a vital part of our communications. It’s really the way to stay updated on the latest information we have.”

You can connect with us on our Facebook page and on Twitter @redcrossdfw.

Another easy way to stay prepared is to download our mobile apps, which are designed to put Red Cross tools and information directly in your hands. Here in tornado alley, the Tornado app, which sounds a siren when a tornado warning is in your area, can actually save your life by warning you of danger when you might not be monitoring the weather. In a situation like last year’s tornadoes, which occurred in the middle of the day while many people were at work and not watching the weather, it can make a world of difference.

All Red Cross apps are free and available now for iOS and Android devices. Find download links here.

“We know that people who were connected to our social feeds a year ago were able to learn what was happening around them and alert others,” T.D. reflected. “Those connections helped to save lives and with our new series of apps, it’s going to be even easier to get lifesaving information into people’s hands when they truly need it.”

Give

As we remember the destruction that our community experienced last year, we continue to look to you to help us be ready to respond when the next time disaster strikes. Last year, we ran low on clean-up supplies, leading to a delay in getting supplies out to people as they tried to clean up the wreckage. This year, we’re trying to build up our storm supply inventory, so we’ll have enough ready to provide the next time they are needed.

“The Dallas/Fort Worth area is among the most disaster-prone regions in the United States. We’re in tornado season and we’ve depleted some of our supplies that we need to be on the shelf and ready to go at a moment’s notice,” explains T.D. “People are always saying they want to help and they’re always very generous with wanting to donate so we’ve put together a list of items we’re needing and hoping that our supporters can help us out.” 

Please donate to our Storm Supplies drive all this week at DFW Red Cross locations. See details here.

As always, we are also looking for your help however you can give—donating, giving blood or volunteering. Learn how you can help at RedCross.org/DFW.

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