How to stay safe during severe weather in the Chattanooga area:
PREPARE AHEAD
– Get a NOAA weather radio if you don't have one already. Be sure to regularly check to make sure it's working correctly.
– Weather service officials suggest people check the forecast regularly to see if there is a risk for severe weather events and listen to local news or a weather service weather radio to stay informed about watches and warnings.
– Learn how your community sends warnings and sign up for notifications.
– Get trained in first aid and learn how to respond to emergencies.
– Install smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors with battery backup in central locations on every level of your home. Test the alarms monthly. Carbon monoxide is a colorless, odorless gas that can kill you, your family and pets.
– Talk to your medical provider about a power outage plan for medical devices powered by electricity and refrigerated medicines. Find out how long medication can be stored at higher temperatures and get specific guidance for any medications that are critical for life.
– Check with local officials about heating and cooling locations open near you in case of a power outage.
– Create a family communications plan that includes an emergency meeting place. Pick a safe room in the home, such as a basement, storm cellar or an interior room on the lowest floor with no windows. Then practice the plan and drill regularly so everyone, including children, knows what to do if a tornado or other severe weather is approaching. Make sure all members of the family know to go there when tornado warnings are issued. People should prepare their homes. Consider having the safe room reinforced and be sure to encourage loved ones, friends and neighbors to take precautions, too. Find templates to use for building your plan at ready.gov/plan.
– Don't forget pets. Make plans ahead of time to secure animals and take them with you if you need to evacuate. Protect outdoor animals by ensuring that any outside buildings that house them are protected in the same way as your home.
– Plan an emergency evacuation route.
– Have a portable emergency supply kit packed with necessary supplies including enough nonperishable foods, clean drinking water, cleaning supplies, batteries and flashlights for several days. Find ideas for your kit at ready.gov/kit.
– Don't forget about pet supplies. You should have 1 gallon of clean drinking water for each pet for three to five days or longer.
– Get a lockable, fireproof file box. Put important documents in it and keep it in a secure, accessible location so you can grab it and go.
– Make a list of items to bring inside in the event of a severe thunderstorm.
– Make trees and shrubbery more wind resistant by keeping them trimmed and removing damaged branches.
– Visit the Ready.gov website to find more tips and suggestions to be prepared for the impact of stormy weather.
STORM-PROOF YOUR HOME
– Make sure that you have current surge protectors for household electronics.
– Plan for heating or cooling your home. Use methods such as sealing around windows to insulate your home. If the weather is very hot or very cold, plan to go to a location with air conditioning or with heat.
– Consult your local fire department if you are considering installing lightning rods.
– Review your home for areas that need repair or can be strengthened.
– Declutter drains and gutters.
– Install check valves.
– Check for any signs of leaks from your roof or loose shingles.
– Check to see if you need to shore up your roof.
– If you have a basement, check to see if it may need a sump pump or needs to be waterproofed.
– See if there are any trees too close to the house that need to be removed.
– Buy a home warranty if needed.
– Check your insurance policy to be sure your home has adequate coverage for storm damage and for coverage to reimburse you for temporary shelter, clothing, furniture or other items that could be affected by extreme weather.
THUNDERSTORMS
Lightning strikes may be rare, but they still happen, and the risk of serious injury or death is severe. If you can hear thunder, you are close enough to be in danger from lightning. The National Weather Service recommends staying inside for at least 30 minutes after the last thunder clap.
– Listen to local news or NOAA Weather Radio for emergency updates. Watch for signs of a storm, like a darkening sky, lightning flashes or increasing wind.
– If the weather forecast calls for thunderstorms, postpone your trip or activity.
– Find a safe, enclosed shelter. Safe shelters include homes, offices, shopping centers and hard-top vehicles with the windows rolled up.
– If no substantial, nonconcrete shelter is nearby, get in your car and wait out the storm.
– Stay away from storm-damaged areas to keep from putting yourself at risk from the effects of severe thunderstorms.
– Help people who may require special assistance, such as infants, children and the elderly or disabled.
– Stay away from downed power lines and report them immediately.
– Watch your animals closely. Keep them under your direct control.
Severe thunderstorm watch
– A severe thunderstorm watch means severe thunderstorms are possible in and near the watch area. Stay informed and be ready to act if a severe thunderstorm warning is issued.
Severe thunderstorm warning
– A severe thunderstorm warning means severe weather has been reported by spotters or indicated by radar. Warnings indicate imminent danger to life and property.
If you're indoors
– Avoid contact with water during a thunderstorm. Do not bathe, shower, wash dishes or have any other contact with water during a thunderstorm. Lightning can travel through plumbing.
– Avoid using electronic equipment of all types. Do not use anything connected to an electrical outlet, such as computers, laptops, game systems, washers, dryers or stoves. Lightning can travel through electrical systems and radio and television reception systems. Use battery-powered equipment instead.
– Avoid using corded phones. Corded phones are not safe to use during a thunderstorm. However, cordless or cellular phones are safe to use during a storm.
– Do not lie on concrete floors or lean on concrete walls during a thunderstorm. Lightning can travel through any metal wires or bars in concrete walls or flooring.
If you're outside or driving
– Immediately get off elevated areas such as hills, mountain ridges or peaks.
– Never shelter under an isolated tree.
– Never use a cliff or rocky overhang for shelter.
– Immediately get out of and away from ponds, lakes and other bodies of water.
– Stay away from objects that conduct electricity (such as barbed wire fences, power lines or windmills).
– If you are in a group during a thunderstorm, separate from each other. This will reduce the number of injuries if lightning strikes the ground.
– Stay away from tall structures, such as telephone poles and trees. Lightning tends to strike the tallest object around.
– If you are driving, try to safely exit the roadway and park. Stay in the vehicle and turn on the emergency flashers until the heavy rain ends. Avoid touching metal or other surfaces that conduct electricity in and outside the vehicle.
– Avoid metal objects such as fences or bleachers.
– Avoid open vehicles such as convertibles, motorcycles and golf carts.
– Avoid open structures such as porches, picnic shelters, sheds, gazebos, baseball dugouts and sports arenas. These structures won't protect you from lightning.
– Crouch or get low to the ground to reduce your chances of being struck by lightning. Never lie flat on the ground. Crouch down in a ball-like position with your head tucked and hands over your ears so that you are down low with minimal contact with the ground.
If someone has been struck by lightning
– Call for help. Call 911 or the local emergency number. Anyone who has sustained a lightning strike requires professional medical care.
– Check the person for burns and other injuries. If the person has stopped breathing, call 911 and begin CPR. If the person is breathing normally, look for other possible injuries and care for them as necessary. People who have been struck by lightning do not retain an electrical charge and can be handled safely.
FLOODING
Flooding accounts for more fatalities than severe weather does, even tornadoes. It's dangerous for people to drive through water on roadways. Cars can get swept away in floodwaters. Just 6 inches of moving water can knock a person down, and 1 foot of moving water can sweep your vehicle away.
– Listen to a weather radio or local alerting systems for emergency information and instructions regarding flooding.
– Evacuate immediately, if told to evacuate.
– Never drive around barricades. Local responders use them to safely direct traffic out of flooded areas.
– If you come across a flooded roadway, turn around, don't drown. You can't predict how deep the water may be. Do not attempt to walk, swim or drive through flood waters.
– Stay off bridges over fast-moving water. Fast-moving water can wash bridges away without warning.
– Stay inside your car if it is trapped in rapidly moving water. Get on the roof if water is rising inside the car.
– Get to the highest level if trapped in a building. Only get on the roof if necessary, and once there, signal for help. Do not climb into a closed attic to avoid getting trapped by rising floodwater.
– Don't use any electrical equipment or electronics that may have been submerged in water. Have a qualified electrical inspector check you home electrical system if necessary.
POWER OUTAGES
– If your power goes out, keep your refrigerator and freezer doors closed as much as you can. An unopened refrigerator will keep food cold for about four hours. An unopened, full freezer will keep food cold for about 48 hours. Use coolers with ice if necessary and monitor temperatures with a thermometer.
– Throw away any food that has been exposed to temperatures 40 degrees or higher for two hours or more, or that has an unusual odor, color or texture. If the power is out for more than a day, discard any medication that should be refrigerated, unless the drug's label says otherwise. Consult your doctor or pharmacist immediately for a new supply.
– Avoid carbon monoxide poisoning. Use generators, camp stoves or charcoal grills, but only outdoors and at least 20 feet away from windows, doors and attached garages.
– Keep the generator dry and protected from rain or flooding. Touching a wet generator or devices connected to one can cause electrical shock.
– Follow generator manufacturer's instructions carefully. Always connect the generator to appliances with heavy-duty extension cords and let the generator cool before refueling. Fuel spilled on hot engine parts can ignite.
– Do not use a gas stove or oven to heat your home.
– Use flashlights, not candles.
– Turn off the utilities only if you suspect damage or if local officials instruct you to do so. Your gas line can only be turned on by a qualified professional. If any circuit breakers have been tripped, contact an electrician to inspect them before turning them on.
– Disconnect appliances and electronics to avoid damage from electrical surges that could cause damage when the power comes back on.
– Be prepared to refrigerate medicines or use alternative medical devices.
– Keep away from power lines. Stay at least 35 feet away from fallen power lines and anything they are touching. Call 911 and report downed lines.
TORNADOES
Tornado watch
– A tornado watch means conditions are favorable for the development of severe thunderstorms and tornadoes in and close to the watch area. A watch is normally issued for a large area covering numerous counties.
– The watch is intended to give people time to review their safety rules. The sky may be sunny, but weather changes can take place quite rapidly.
Tornado warning
– A tornado warning means that a developing tornado has been detected by National Weather Service Doppler radar or has been reported on the ground by reliable sources.
– A tornado warning is typically issued for a portion of counties at a time and usually lasts no more than 45 minutes. If a tornado warning is issued for your county, seek shelter immediately.
– If you see a tornado or feel threatened, move to a safe place immediately, as precious seconds can save your life.
If you're in a home or small business
– If you have an underground storm cellar, use it. Make sure the door is securely fastened. Being underground is the safest place to be during a tornado. If the entrance to your storm cellar is outside, you should allow plenty of time to get to the shelter before the storm arrives. If you wait until the storm is upon you, you may be exposed to wind, hail, rain, lightning and maybe even flying debris as you go to the cellar.
– Go to the basement or a small interior room such as a closet, bathroom or interior hallway without windows on the lowest level. Put as many walls between yourself and the outside as possible and stay as far away from outside doors and windows as you can. Items from above could fall into the basement, so avoid seeking shelter underneath heavy objects on the floor above.
– If possible, get under something sturdy, such as a heavy piece of furniture like a table or stairwell or use a mattress to protect yourself from flying debris. It is not the wind inside and around a tornado that kills and injures most people -- it is the flying debris in the wind. Items can fly through the air (broken glass, etc.) or fall down (ranging from small objects to objects the size and weight of cars).
– If available, put on a bicycle or motorcycle helmet to protect yourself from head injuries.
If you're in a mobile home
Mobile homes are especially susceptible to high winds from severe thunderstorms and tornadoes. Even the weakest tornadoes will most likely severely damage a mobile home and/or roll it over.
– Make plans before the storm arrives to get to a safe shelter that is available at any time of the day or night.
– Get out of mobile homes and find a more substantial shelter as quickly as possible. Consider following your safety plan when a tornado watch is issued -- do not wait for the tornado warning as there may only be a short amount of time between a warning and the arrival of a tornado.
– You will likely not be safe in a mobile home, no matter where you are. Taking cover under sturdy furniture, in a bathtub or closet or under a mattress will be meaningless in a mobile home if the home itself is destroyed, blown over or rolled over by a tornado or severe thunderstorm winds.
If you're outside or driving
All types of vehicles can be blown over, rolled, crushed, lifted or otherwise destroyed by even a weak tornado. People have been hurt or killed when large trees crushed their cars.
– Get off the roadway, if possible, and find shelter underneath an awning, a car wash or other structure. Abandon your vehicle, if possible, and get into a sturdy structure.
– Never try to outrun a tornado in your vehicle.
– Do not park underneath highway overpasses or bridges. You could cause a deadly traffic jam, preventing others from reaching safe shelter and blocking emergency vehicles.
– Get as low as possible -- completely underground is best. Put as many barriers between you and the outside as possible.
– Ditches, culverts and ravines should be used only as an absolute last resort. You will be exposed to flying debris, rain and hail, lightning and extreme wind in these areas. People have survived by seeking shelter in ditches, but people have also died. If you must leave your vehicle to seek shelter in a ditch, you should try to get as far away from the vehicle, as well as any other potential flying debris as possible.
– Lie in a flat, low spot and use your hands and arms to protect your head.
– If you are trapped in a tornado, cover your mouth with a cloth or mask to avoid breathing dust.
Sources: National Weather Service, Federal Emergency Management Agency, American Red Cross, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
-- Compiled by Kimberly Sebring