On occasion during the hurricane & tornado seasons, severe storms pass through Virginia. Please take the time to review severe storm safety precautions with your staff. Employees who work outdoors regularly may have more exposure than others, but all can benefit from training, review and preparedness. These are helpful hints for your home too.
Here are some notes and resources to help you educate and prepare your staff for severe storms safety:
PREPAREDNESS
GUIDE - Thunderstorms, Tornados & Lightning
by the U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration www.nws.noaa.gov/om/brochures/ttl.pdf
Lighting
Safety Tips
Before the storm...
Check weather forecasts before going outdoors.
Watch for signs of an approaching storm such as distant lightning and darkening, towering clouds.
Make sure your have a NOAA Weather Radio at your agency, athletic field complex or any other outdoor venue. Consider buying one for your home.
Look for environmental clues such as dark clouds and strong winds that may signal a severe thunderstorm. When you hear a warning, take appropriate action.
When you hear thunder...
Immediately move inside a sturdy building for greater protection. Avoid picnic or rain shelters.
Once inside a building, close all windows and outside doors.
Stay off the telephone and stay away from doors, windows, electrical outlets and metal pipes.
If you cannot get to a building, seek shelter in an automobile with a metal roof. Close all windows and doors, and avoid touching and inside metal.
Athletic events and other outdoor safety consideration...
Athletic fields are dangerous places during a thunderstorm. Because lightning tends to strike the tallest object, metal bleachers, fences, light poles, field goal posts or soccer goal posts are especially hazardous. When lightning hits these objects, the charge travels through the metal, shocking anyone in its path. Lightning can also "splash" or "ricochet" off these objects and strike nearby people.
When camping, your tent does not offer protection from lightning.
If caught outdoors and you cannot get to a building...
Find a low spot away from trees, fences and poles.
If you are in the woods, take shelter under shorter trees or low brush.
if you are on the water, move to land immediately and find a low spot.
If you feel your skin tingle or hair stand on end, squat low to the ground on the balls of your feet. Place your hands over your ears to protect your hearing from the sound of a close thunderclap. You want to make yourself the smallest possible target while minimizing your contact with the ground.
When to resume outdoor activity ...
Return to your activities at least 30 minutes after the last sound of thunder or flash of lightning.
Tornado
Safety Tips
The best shelter from a tornado is a basement. If you don't have a basement, go to an interior room without windows or the closest level of the house (a closet, bathroom or interior hall.) Protect your body from flying debris with a heavy blanket or sleeping bag.
Avoid windows. Opening windows to equalize pressure is ineffective in reducing damage during a tornado. Don't worry about the windows. Worry about finding shelter and protecting yourself.
If you are caught in an open building like a shopping mall, gymnasium or civic center, get into the restroom, if possible. In larger buildings, restrooms are usually made of concrete block and will offer more protection.
If there is not time to go anywhere else, seek shelter right where you are. Try to get up against something that will support or deflect falling debris. Protect your head by covering it with your arms.
If you are outside when a tornado strikes, try to find shelter immediately in the nearest substantial building. If no buildings are close, take cover by lying down flat in a ditch or depression and covering your head with your hands.
If you are in your car, get out of your vehicle and try to find shelter. A culvert or ditch can provide shelter if a substantial building is not nearby.
Mobile homes are extremely unsafe during tornadoes. Seek shelter elsewhere.
Know the names of the counties, cities and towns that are near you, especially those to the west and south. It will be easier to track the tornado's direction if you are familiar with the geography of your area.
Additional Tornado safety Resource:
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) - www.fema.gov/hazards/tornadoes/
Virginia Department of Emergency Management (VDEM) - http://www.vdem.state.va.us/