Tornado prep - keep some bike helmets handy!

[hedgehog]

Baker, the ER doctor, agrees that helmets, especially with straps, and infant carriers for the youngest should be part of preparing for a tornado.
Children's of Alabama is also informally starting to get the word out, says spokeswoman Kathy Bowers. Efforts include a public service announcement on local TV with a meteorologist who touts the value of having helmets handy.
Fine senses that the helmet idea is slowly getting some traction. He went to a sporting goods store to buy bike helmets for two grandchildren during Birmingham's last bout of bad weather and the clerk realized it was for the storm, not exercise. "She also said she didn't own a helmet but that she and every other clerk" borrowed them from the shelves when bad weather hit, he says.

http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/03/07/10592103-some-tossed-by-twisters-live-to-tell-about-it-but-how


That makes sense to me- safety glasses/goggles and work gloves would probably be a good idea, too!

[Siwsan]

1. Very good idea I'll do, because I have a bad feeling about this Spring

I've always thought that living in a house with a basement would be a real safeguard against a tornado. Then I heard about the people who were SUCKED OUT of their basements!

[laundry_queen]

10. Yeah, I was watching the news from the latest round of storms

And one shot showed a basement wall made out of concrete block that had collapsed. I suppose your best bet is reinforced concrete, but unless you have a safe room built into your house, that's not likely what you have. Scary.

[chieftain]

2. K&R

Good advice,

[shraby]

3. I used to put what football helmets and motorcycle helmets I had on the

kids and myself when a tornado threatened...way back in the 1960s until the kids left home.

[HopeHoops]

4. That or motorcycle helmets. Both have saved people. Bike helmets may seem like junk, but they work

[a la izquierda]

8. Yes, bike helmets do their job...

I'm here because I had one on. But it wasn't in a tornado that I needed it (although I've done that too). I hit the road headfirst.

[hedgehog]

9. I have a daughter who was saved from an accidental

pre-frontal lobotomy by her bike helmet. We live across the road from Oswego River, and there is a long driveway down the ravine. She left the house, tried to ride down the ravine with a friend and flipped her bike. The helmet was crushed and she had a nasty scrape on her cheekbone - a ruptured spleen and lacerated kidney.

[a la izquierda]

29. Egads!!

Thank goodness she had a nutcase on.
I ended up with a fractured tibia and a huge hematoma on my hip. And a nasty concussion to boot.

[HopeHoops]

21. So did my eldest daughter - the next trip down the sidewalk after I bitched her out.

She had just returned from the previous trip and had forgotten her helmet. After the reaming, she put on her helmet, headed down the sidewalk, and flipped the bike at the bottom of the hill. That was good for a few stitches in her elbow, but the helmet was cracked. At least it wasn't her head and she has never forgotten to wear one since.

[underpants]

5. I had not thought of that

a very good point.

[RebelOne]

6. Our local Atlanta news station was advising the same thing

during our spell of bad weather recently.

[Horse with no Name]

7. How strange. I was thinking about this the other day

On stormy nights I used to put the kids in the same bed as me and made them leave their shoes on in case we were separated from our home.

The helmet idea is great...with the increased violence of the storms, I am also wondering if someone shouldn't market some kind of super magnetic vest to protect the kids major organs...but adheres to a main vest that a parent is wearing.

During these twisters, my biggest fear was that the kids would be ripped out of my arms...I even developed a type of hold that would be less likely for this to happen.

But we didn't have very many storms of this magnitude a few years back. These are monsters.

[laundry_queen]

11. I have heard

of women who put their infants in strap on carriers on their body when they are sheltering from a tornado so they won't get ripped away. I think if I had 20 minutes warning, I may do that too, however the downsides are you crush your baby if you land on them. So many variables to account for! I like the idea, however, of strapping them in their carseat with a helmet on and some kind of protective vest. Besides, a car seat handle is probably easier to hold on to than a wiggly child. God, it's awful to think this way, isnt' it?

[SoCalDem]

12. I think it's practically criminal to build in tornado-zones without a basement

or an underground shelter of some sort.

It's cheaper to throw developments on slabs, or to put modular/trailer-style houses that sell for less, but there is NO better place to ride out a tornado than a basement.

Apartment/townhouse/condos should have a large underground shelter for tenants too.

[Major Nikon]

14. There are better ways to address that problem

Basements are used in cold climates because since the house needs such a deep foundation and water lines need to go in areas with moderate temps, it makes good sense to build them. In the south this is not the case so basements are more of a liability than an asset.

FEMA recommends safe rooms, and they make a lot more sense as they are not nearly as expensive as building some type of underground structure.

[SoCalDem]

16. Here's a better idea..and maybe cheaper than a safe room

http://newstimes.augusta.com/stories/2010/12/01/new_597448.shtml



Milford, owner of Columbia County Tanks, manufactures concrete storm shelters at his 2.5-acre site on Columbia Road. "It's kind of like having homeowner's insurance," Milford said. "You don't want to have to use it, but it's nice to have." Earlier this year, Milford purchased the form to make storm shelters in Trenton, S.C., and later placed the first shelter he built at the front of his property next to Columbia Middle School in Appling. Soon after, he started receiving calls from curious motorists. "When I first set it up there, it was quite a conversation piece," he said. "One of the questions I got when I set that one up is: How do you get in? "Most people don't realize that 60 percent of it goes in the ground."

After seeing several storms wreak havoc in the Augusta area in recent years, Milford said he started pondering the idea of building such structures. In the past, Milford said, he has made storm structures out of a septic tank design. Though much tornado activity occurs in Midwestern regions of the country, severe storms aren't foreign to Southern states.

In 2009, 68 tornadoes were recorded in Georgia, resulting in one death and 26 injuries, according to the National Weather Service. "Most people around here don't have basements, or don't have a place to be secure from a storm," Milford said. "I just thought that it would be a good idea." The storm shelter itself weighs about 7 tons and can comfortably accommodate eight people, but it could squeeze in 12 if necessary, Milford said. The standard structure is 8 feet long, 6 feet wide and 6 feet 1 inch tall. The building, which is sealed and waterproof, remains at about 70 degrees once placed in the ground, Milford said. The concrete walls of the shelter are 4 inches thick, with a 5-inch-thick ceiling. Milford said he knows of only one other business within 100 miles of his location that offers storm shelters. The shelters can be purchased for $2,900, and installation usually costs an additional $1,000, he said.

snip
For information about the storm shelters, call [phone] or visit www.cctanks.com.

[Major Nikon]

17. It might be cheaper than a retrofit

Personally I'd rather have a safe room. I've lived in homes that had a hidey hole and they are a pain in the ass. Regardless of their claims of being waterproof, they inevitably leak so they always smell musty. They fill up with spiders and other various assorted varmits and vermin which you don't find out about until it's time to use them.

One of the best solutions I've seen was a guy that built sort of a mini-basement right in the center of his house. It was just a small room underground. Since it wasn't near an exterior wall, he doesn't have to worry much about water getting in, but he still has a practical space for a root and wine cellar. It's more expensive than a safe room, but more versatile.

[laundry_queen]

20. I remember seeing a documentary about the F-5 Ok city tornado

and some of the people that were lucky enough to live through it even though their houses were destroyed. Many of them built small mini basement-type shelters under their garages - which makes great sense because then you also have concrete above you unlike a regular basement where you just have floor joists and OSB which doesn't offer much protection from projectiles. Just a little trap door in the garage floor to lead to the shelter. Great idea, IMO.

[Horse with no Name]

28. I am really interested in this

We have a hallway in the center of our house. It is generous, to say the least. It is approximately 40 ft. long and 6 ft. wide. The middle of it would be in the middle of all bedrooms in the event of a late night emergency.

How do you go about getting a room like this built?

We are on a concrete foundation.

Thanks.

[Horse with no Name]

26. It is nuts

but the last couple of years, these storms have been so extremely violent that it is definitely a discussion that needs to occur. This thread has made me think about a safe room in our hallway--we have a very generously sized hallway that we could also turn into a root cellar or even an area for storage.

But whatever we do...we surely cannot discuss the reasons for the more violent storms which is what the national discussion should venture into....but doesn't.

[Gormy Cuss]

13. In earthquake country: bike helmets and sturdy shoes under the bed.

--Bike helmets because they're pretty inexpensive (hard hats and motorcycle helmets are even better but most don't have them lying around)
--shoes because many injuries in quakes which occurred at night were related to people walking over broken glass.

Also recommended are leather gloves (for clearing debris), first aid kits, rope, and wrenches for shutting off leaky gas lines.

[uppityperson]

18. Shoes. Make sure there are shoes. There will be broken glass and debris down and shoes are

very important. One of my earliest memories is my mother saying "put on your shoes and don't step on the glass" after a tornado.

All of the rest also but yes, shoes. For quakes, tornadoes, fires, etc.

[Uncle Joe]

15. That's a good idea, I also believe structures; both homes and businesses should be built

more aerodynamically instead of having squared off corners that are more likely to take a direct impact.

Rounded corners and roofs would be more likely to hold up against extreme winds.

Thanks for the thread, hedgehog.

[uppityperson]

19. It isn't just the wind but the debris from buildings, trees, etc hitting your place.

In places where houses are stronger built, there is less debris and more chance of surviving. I am in agreement with you, just going off on a tangent too.

[Uncle Joe]

22. I agree with you as well.

Tangents are cool sometimes they lead to great things.

[JSnuffy]

23. Got the ACH next to the "Oh shit bag"

[madokie]

24. Make those work gloves welders gloves

They are tough as a can be and cover your forearms most of the way to the elbow.

[uppityperson]

25. Another tangent, they are also great for putting wood into the woodstove

I've not burnt myself for a long time by wearing these when loading our stove.

[onethatcares]

27. what about using steel storage containers?

possibly pod size buried in the ground? They seem to be fairly secure.