LEE’S SUMMIT, MO--Severe Weather Awareness Week is set for March 8th through March 12th. This campaign is designed to increase public awareness about flooding, severe weather and tornadoes.
The Lee’s Summit Fire Department in conjunction with the State Emergency Management Agency and National Weather Service in Pleasant Hill will conduct a statewide tornado drill on Thursday, March 11, 2010 at 1:30 P.M. The Lee’s Summit Fire Department will activate the outdoor storm warning sirens and announce the exercise over the Emergency Broadcast Radio System and Cable Television Interrupt System. The National Weather Service will also activate the NOAA All-Hazards Weather Radio, and the Emergency Alert System (EAS).
All schools, private businesses and residents are encouraged to participate in the exercise by practicing their tornado and shelter procedures. The safest shelter location is an interior room without windows in the lowest level of the building. Other school or business safe locations are basements, hallways, under staircases and designated tornado safe rooms. Once everyone is accounted for, the drill is over.
Remember:
- Tornado Watch means watch the sky. A tornado may form during a thunderstorm.
- Tornado Warning means seek shelter immediately. An interior room without windows on the lowest floor is the safest shelter location.
- Do not seek shelter in a cafeteria, gymnasium or other large open room because the roof might collapse.
- Immediately leave a mobile home to seek shelter in a nearby building or shelter.
- If you can drive away from the tornado, do so. On average tornadoes move from one location to another at 35-45 mph, so driving away should be the first course of action.
- If you can't drive away from the tornado (as in the case of driving directly towards the tornado on a divided highway, or stuck in slow moving traffic), abandon your vehicle and seek shelter in a nearby sturdy structure such as a house or other well built structure.
- If no buildings are available, there really are no good options. At this point every person needs to decide for themselves whether they will a) remain in their car with their seatbelt buckled, leaning down to get below the window line, or b) abandon the vehicle for the shelter of a culvert or lay flat, face down in a ditch or low spot. Again, at this point there are no good options and the best thing is to not be there in the first place.
- Overpasses are not safe places to take shelter. An overpass under-the-girder-type construction can cause a dangerous wind tunnel effect.
- Never drive into standing water. It can take less than six inches of fast moving water to make a slow moving car float. Once floating, a vehicle can overturn and sink.
Additional information and resource material are available on the internet at http://www.crh.noaa.gov/eax/?n=severewx-awareness, or contact the Lee’s Summit Fire Department at (816) 969-1300.