Q&A for How to Survive a Tornado (for Kids)

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How can I sleep and survive if I have no home?

Community Answer

There is usually a safe shelter for sheltering away from tornadoes, stocked with food, first aid items and sleeping bags. These are usually located in the town hall. Ask your parents to take you on a tour of one well before a tornado is ever in your area, so that the whole family knows where to go and how to keep safe during and after the tornado. If you do lose your house, people will help you and family out.

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Question

What will I do if my house gets destroyed and I have nowhere to go or to live?

Community Answer

You can stay with friends or family. If this is not an option, you can stay in a hotel or at a shelter.

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Question

What if you aren't in a safe place and cannot get to one?

Community Answer

If your home is made out of bricks or concrete, find the most stable wall and lie/sit at the bottom of it. You can hide in a bathtub with blankets on top of you. If these are impossible, find the deepest ditch/hole to lie flat in. If you have any kind of helmet, put that on.

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Question

How can I survive if a tornado catches me off guard in the park?

Community Answer

Knock on all the houses for people to let you inside, because maybe they are ready. If you can't, hide in a deep ditch with your arms around your head.

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Question

What if I'm locked out during a tornado?

Community Answer

First, check under the doormat or a nearby potted plant to see if there is a hidden key. If there is no key, yell really loud, pound on the door and ring the doorbell. If nobody answers, run to a neighbor's house.

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Question

How can I survive a tornado if I'm in a car?

Community Answer

Get out of it now! Cars can easily be picked up by tornadoes. Run to a house and pound on the door, insisting to be let inside in order to survive. If no one answers, run to other houses and do the same thing. Should no one answer or there are no houses, lay flat in the deepest ditch you can find.

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Question

How long do tornadoes last on average?

Community Answer

It depends. EF 0/1- 10-15 minutes (maybe less), EF 2- 15+ minutes (up to half an hour), EF 3- 30+ minutes (up), EF 4- 30/50 minutes (could be less), EF 5- 40- 1 hour (Just hide, also could be less and more). Please remember that any tornado can last however long it can, even seconds. Even the biggest tornado can only last a few minutes. Just remember to be safe and wait until it's completely calm, and the threat has passed.

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Question

What if I don't have a radio?

Community Answer

You should be fine as long you have a form of communication, or you can stay close to your family.

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Question

Is it safe to get to a nearby relative with a basement if I don't have one and there's a possible tornado coming?

Community Answer

It depends. If that relative lives very close to you, and you're certain you'll have enough time to get to their house safely, then yes. But if there's a chance you won't make it, just stay at home on the lowest level of your house possible, avoiding the windows.

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Question

What should I do if I am in the middle of a tornado?

Community Answer

Go to the nearest safe place, like a ditch or any houses. If nobody answers, go to a ditch and lay down still.

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Question

Where do I go when all of the rooms have windows and I have no basement and there's a tornado?

Community Answer

Try going into the hall and using a sturdy piece of furniture to protect you. If you have no hallway, go into the bathtub/shower and cover yourself up.

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Question

What should I do if a tornado hits my school?

Community Answer

Try to relax and listen to your teacher.

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Question

What if I am in a field with no houses or ditches?

Community Answer

Get as low to the ground as you can. After all, tornado winds are weakest at ground level.

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Question

Is a bathroom or closet safer?

Community Answer

Bathrooms are safer because closets aren't tightly attached to the floor or as heavy as bathtubs.

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Question

What if I'm in a rural area with no houses and a flat ground?

Community Answer

Try to find something that's attached tightly to the ground and hang on for your life.

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Question

Can tornadoes reach basements?

Community Answer

No. Tornadoes can't reach underground and do not have the power to dig.

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Question

Where do I stay during a tornado if I don't have a basement?

Community Answer

If you have a room with no windows, then go in there.

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Question

How can I survive a tornado if I live in an apartment?

Community Answer

Go to the lowest floor by stairs and hide under a hard surface. If that is not possible, hide under a very hard surface and protect your head.

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Question

How do I survive a tornado in a plane?

Community Answer

A plane will just maneuver away from a tornado.

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Question

What if I have an above ground basement and no safe room?

Community Answer

If you have no safe room, or you are outside, try getting in the nearest ditch. If there are no ditches nearby, try to get into the nearest shelter (before laying down in a ditch). If not possible, just lay down on the ground, as tornado winds are weakest at ground level.

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Question

What do I do about the expensive or irreplaceable things in my house when surviving a tornado?

Community Answer

Leave them behind and attempt to salvage them afterward. No material object has more value than a life, and nothing is irreplaceable. They're just things, and unless it's something that helps with your safety and survival, it's useless in an emergency situation.

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Question

What if I start to float in the tornado?

SparkleplayzYT

Community Answer

Watch out for debris in the tornado, and look for things to land on. If there is nothing to land on, stay calm. Do not ball yourself up. Make your knees a 40-degree angle. Don't tense your muscles, and try and dive in a direction that you think is out of the center.

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Question

What if I'm injured during the tornado and have to self-amputate?

SparkleplayzYT

Community Answer

Don't do that, because you could die of blood loss. You'll have better luck if you just try and patch it up with nearby items. Make a makeshift bandage with a stick and clothes and keep pressure on the wound.

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Question

Is it true that tornadoes can bring hurricanes?

Mackenzie Radford

Community Answer

No. Hurricanes can form tornados. But tornados can't form hurricanes. That's a myth.

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Question

I have three cats and I can't risk losing them to a tornado, Should I keep a bell collar on them?

Jaina Franzen

Community Answer

Yes, that can help. Also, when you get the watch alert, try to get them into a safe space first, so you don't panic if it turns into a warning.

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Question

Can you outrun a tornado?

Jaina Franzen

Community Answer

It's conceivable but extremely dangerous. Don't try! Simply find a shelter or crouch down in a ditch.

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