Can You Survive a Tornado?
Do you know what to do to survive a tornado?
The tornado season here in the US is already in full swing. Yesterday there were almost 60 tornadoes reported in places that should not be experiencing severe weather for several more months. The Southern states have also had a rough go of it so far with more to come.
I know that this is not pertaining to affiliate marketing or writing but it does pertain to your personal safety so that you can write and have a successful business,
I have been a firefighter for many years but one thing that most of you do not know is that I was a weather spotter for the National Weather Service for 30 years. I grew up in the Midwest so severe weather is just a way of life. I have been on several tornado chases, (and I have been chased a few times). I have also helped with after storm damage analysis which helps to determine if it was a tornado or just damaging winds and if it was a tornado, determining the strength and size.
Even if you do not live in the United States, you can still experience a tornado. They occur all over the world.
Here is a link to learn all about preparing and surviving a tornado.
http://www.spc.noaa.gov/faq/tornado/safety.html
The Joplin, Missouri tornado was the costliest tornado in US history and one of the worst as far as property lost and total loss of life. I started to write a book on this storm, but since I had worked some in Joplin before the storm, and I even knew people that lost their lives, it has been a hard book to finish.
I was out storm spotting near Joplin, Missouri on May 22, 2011. I arrived after the storm and I was there talking with people who lived through it for months afterwards. Many stories are almost indescribable. Here is just a small story of one man's survival.
He was in his pickup truck in the WalMart parking lot when he saw the mile-wide tornado coming straight for him. He only had a moment to tighten his seatbelt and lock his door. He hung on to the steering wheel, (later he saw that he pushed the sides of the wheel flat against the steering column).
As he was flung into the air he remembers being pushed down against the seat on his right side by the centrifugal force similar to a carnival ride. He remembers being slammed to the ground a couple of times only to be picked up again. He even remembers going end over end before rising deep into the vortex.
At one point, he remembers a calm period where he even raised his head a little only to realize that he was inside the tornado. Then he was pushed into the other outer wall of wind and debris and finally spit out onto the ground.
He was hopelessly trapped inside his truck. Shock had set in and he was numb to the pain and to his injuries. He had several broken bones to include his ribs, shoulder, sternum and a life-threatening punctured left lung that would soon suffocate his heart from beating.
He would have died long before he could have been pried out of his truck if it hadn't been for a stranger who came along and saw that his lung was deflated. He performed a field cut into his chest and inserted a tube of some kind to reinflate the lung. Then he moved on to help someone else. It bought time to survive. He never knew who saved his life.
The truck and its passenger travelled several blocks including travelling through the corner of the WalMart store as it was disintegrating under the force of the winds. It was well over a quarter of a mile ride.
The man's skin on his entire left side was sandblasted by debris and his truck no longer looked like a truck. Here is a picture of his truck after it was brought to his farm. The man spent months recovering and will never ride a carnival ride again.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_Joplin_tornado
Plan what you need to do to survive before this becomes your neighborhood.
Dave.
PS. I saw this tree in the shape of a cross 90 days after the tornado. This tree was about one block from where a church had been before it was destroyed. It was also near where about 20 people had died in various buildings.
Recent Comments
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Hi Dave,
It's really amazing that anyone in that truck could survive based on what a mess it is! I've never seen a tornado and hopefully never will.
Barbara
Thank you for posting this Dave. I live in Oklahoma, I have for the last year and a half. It wasn't my first choice for relocating to, but it is what it is. Tornado season always scares the holy terror out of me. I will always keep this information you provided tucked away. Thank you. I hope you can finish your book, I can understand why it is so difficult to write.
RaeAnne, the best advice that I can give you is to have an electric powered, (with battery backup) weather alert radio and have it programmed to go off for your county, and the adjacent counties to your west and southwest. It can save your life. Dave.
We are one step ahead of you on that one. My fiancé was a k9 police officer in the Navy and is obsessed with scanners, his is equipped with weather channels. So he's always got it tuned in for our area, especially during tornado season. I never thought I'd move to OK, but alas, here I am. No matter where we've lived we've had severe weather, I feel like a weather vain sometimes! Thanks for the information about the weather radio, I will definitely keep extra batteries for backup.
Having it programmed to automatically go off on warnings is the key. The two counties to your west and southwest gives you a heads-up on what is coming at you. For instance, if the county SW of you issues a tornado warning and the storm is moving NE then you just got a longer notice to prepare. Especially at night. Dave.
Thank you Dave, I'll make sure my fiancé has the radio programmed appropriately. Have a blessed morning! And a safe one.
Dave, Thank you. Even here in New Jersey, we have had a few small ones. I am posting the NOAA link to pass the word on. Safety and people's lives are most important.
Barbara
Please....finish your book; unfortunately people only tend to focus on such events 'at the time' then mistakenly go onto the next 'headline item'....too many are hurt or killed because of this mentality. Your first-hand knowledge and experience could help bring light to the subject and prevent tragic incidents for some of your readers.
went through two in my life one in Ohio which took out over 4 blocks and one in Cheyenne which almost took the roof of our house when it happened we got close to the walls and put cushions over us ands the one in Cheyenne we got in to the basement but it is not something I would care to experience again all the best Max
We went through right after the storm going from St. Louis to Dallas. That was a bad one... I guess there never really is a good one.
Good thing you did not have the right timing. When it crossed the interstate it was a mile wide and rain wrapped so you would not have seen it till you were in it. Dave.
Man I feel bad for this fella and really guilty because Live in San Diego. Last week I had to put the roof up on my car for a couple of days.
Yeah I know.I lived in Oklahoma for a couple of years until I clicked my heels and ended up in California
If you are really lucky in California, you could have a wildfire and a brief weak tornado while an earthquake is underway. What a country! LOL!
we are talking San Diego here, bro. Earthquakes are, " wioah Sude, DID you feel that?" every few years and the wildfires are up in the mountains. We experience both the same way as everyone else in the world, via the news
As a firefighter I was involved in a few wildfires. I did mostly structure firefighting. I do remember one time diving into a creek when the wildfire changed direction. Not a fun afternoon. Dave.
Wow, Dave the weather is changing all over the World!!
I live in Central Ca. San Joaquin Valley February is usually
28' at night Wet fog!! And the highs are mid 40's this February
No rain, had 10 days with 70-83'!! Trees are blooming!!!
But as you well know all can change in just a few hours!!
We did have 2 Earthquakes last week small ones!!
Thank you so much for both your service, and your life saving
Info!! Be Safe My Friends!!
Don
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