With the approach of spring comes an increased risk of tornadoes. Ohio ranks No. 17 among states for the frequency of tornadoes, No. 7 for fatalities, fifth for injuries and fourth for costs per area.
You know tornado safety basics. But here are some obscure tornado safety ideas and facts.
* If family members are separated from one another during a tornado, have a plan for getting back together. Ask an out-of-state relative or friend to serve as the family contact. Make sure everyone knows the name, address, and phone number of the contact person.
* Don’t bother opening or closing windows; this will not protect the structure. Use those valuable seconds instead to find a place of safety. Your greatest danger is from flying debris.
* The safest place in the home is the basement; the safest place in the basement is a corner. An outside wall is the next best location. Another safe place is underneath the basement stairway.
* If you can’t get to a basement, go to a windowless, interior room or hallway, storm cellar or lowest level of the building. Go to the center of the room. If you are above ground, stay away from corners because they attract debris.
* An interior bathroom is a good place to go. It has four walls closely tied together, and the plumbing helps hold things together.
* Get under something sturdy. Protect yourself from flying debris with pillows, heavy coats or blankets. Use your arms to protect your head and neck. Or use a bicycle or motorcycle helmet if you’ve got one.
* Make yourself as small a target as possible by crouching down.
* Avoid rock or brick walls and chimneys. Instead of blowing over, they tend to collapse straight down.
* Avoid places with wide-span roofs such as auditoriums, cafeterias or shopping malls.
* If in a car, don’t try to outdrive a tornado. Tornadoes can change direction quickly and can lift up a vehicle and toss it through the air. Get out of the car immediately and take shelter in a nearby building. If there is no time to get indoors, lie in a ditch or low-lying area away from the vehicle. Be aware of the potential for flooding.
* If outside do not get into a grove of trees.
What’s the buzz?
While tornadoes get more attention, lightning is the most dangerous and frequently encountered weather hazard.
* Americans are twice as likely to die from a lightning-related death than from a tornado, hurricane or flood.
* Lightning reaches 50,000 degrees, four times hotter as the sun’s surface.
* Around the earth, there are more than 8 million lightning strikes per day.
* What is commonly referred to as heat lightning is actually lightning too far away to be heard.
To avoid a lightning strike:
* Avoid high ground, water, solitary trees, open spaces and metallic objects. Search for low ground such as ditches. If the low ground is saturated, find clumps of shrubbery or trees of uniform height.
* Crouch down on the balls of your feet with your hands over your ears.
* There should be at least 20 feet between you and other people. Do not huddle together.
* Remove metal bracelets, watches and rings.
Safety oft forgotten
Nothing says spring like the first robin of the season. Unfortunately, robins and other birds often say hello to spring with a thump as they collide with windows.
You can protect our feathered friends by making your windows non-reflecting. Here are some tips.
* Stretch low-cost mesh netting, available from nurseries and hardware stores, across the window. The netting, typically used to keep birds out of fruit trees, is nearly invisible when stretched tight, which also keeps birds from becoming become entangled.
* Suspend old window screens in front of the windows.
* String feathers about eight inches apart on fishing line and hang the strips vertically in front of the windows.
* Suspend tree branches in front of windows.
* Stick large sheets of food wrap across the middle of your windows (water will help make it stick).
* Spray your windows with fake snow.
* Use commercial stickers such as spider webs or predator birds. A black silhouette of a hawk or small falcon in flight, as seen from below with its wings spread, is excellent.
* A long-lasting Mylar balloon will spook birds from coming too close. Or wrap bright Mylar, foil or metallic holiday wrapping paper around empty paper towel rolls and suspend these from strings in front windows.
* Aluminum pie pans or old CDs also work.
* Sun catchers on the inside or wind chimes on the outside can deter birds.
Learn about workplace safety by attending the 74th annual Ohio Safety Congress and Expo. For more information, call (800) OHIOBWC and press 22, or e-mail [email protected]. Sherrie Beane ([email protected]) is CEO of Total Health Management, an MCO that works with employers to provide workers compensation services. Reach her at (800) 881-8348.
