[dbussone]

Here is your starting point: Build A Kit | Ready.gov

[graciegirl]

Originally Posted by dbussone

It is also important to have a minimum 3 day supply of food and water (including for cooking and sanitary needs) for each person and pet in your home. It could take several days for a rescue team to get to you depending on the severity of the storm. Cell phones will unlikely work during this period so you will need to fend for yourself potentially. The Villages CERT will work with the TVPSD to support them in the search and rescue effort, but the time frame will not be like going through a fast food drive through. Keep what you need on hand for your family at all times. (I know Fireboy can give this lecture as well. )

Every year at the beginning of Hurricane season in June I think it is, the Daily Sun runs information about safety and preparedness for a hurricane. If you stop by the closest firehouse you can be registered for the call system that alerts you to any danger, be it weather or a dangerous person who is loose.


I can well understand a person's concern about this situation and it is easy for us to forget that every year we have new people seeking this information. If you can't find the hurricane preparedness article, call or stop by The Daily Sun. It is very helpful and even lists a couple of churches that will shelter you in the face of a weather disaster.

[dbussone]

Food: Food | Ready.gov

[dbussone]

Water: Managing Water | Ready.gov

[dbussone]

Originally Posted by graciegirl

Every year at the beginning of Hurricane season in June I think it is, the Daily Sun runs information about safety and preparedness for a hurricane. If you stop by the closest firehouse you can be registered for the call system that alerts you to any danger, be it weather or a dangerous person who is loose.


I can well understand a person's concern about this situation and it is easy for us to forget that every year we have new people seeking this information. If you can't find the hurricane preparedness article, call or stop by The Daily Sun. It is very helpful and even lists a couple of churches that will shelter you in the face of a weather disaster.

And pay attention to GG's suggestions as well. This is important stuff! We have more fun here than I ever thought possible - but let's be prepared. .

[Sable99]

I thought I would go in the Roman shower in my master bath or the master closet. I have an Iris.

[rick@sundstrom.com]

Having come out of emergency management/response I have always been close to the threat assessment/mitigation stuff. The laundry room is our choice because it has a washer and dryer that should support wood beams and such. Thank you for being aware of such threats and concerned as to what actions you might take.

[pgc4340]

Originally Posted by twoplanekid

The local forecast for this winter season calls for more storms and a greater chance of tornadoes. As my new house doesn’t have a storm shelter or basement, where is the best place to hunker down in the house?

I know about staying away from glass windows and near supporting walls. As many of the houses in TV are similar in design, I thought there might be a recommended location for a particular house design in this planned community. The man who I contacted at the Villages Public Safety department did not know of any such recommendations.

I suggested that he talk to others about creating a plan for tornadoes that would direct Villagers to the safest location in that particular house design. As I am still new, do others know of such a study? Please don’t say that recommendations can’t be made because of liability concerns. Safety should come first.

When we built our house in The Villages in 1994, we knew that hurricane's came to Florida, but had no idea that tornadoes were a risk until after we moved in. We have a 3 bdr 2 bth house, but the only places which do not contact an exterior wall are 3 closets, 2 of which are linen closets which not be big enough for us, and would take time to get into even if they were because we'd have to removed shelves and contents. One other closet has sliding doors, so I doubt they would be secure in a tornado. If we had known about the tornado issue, we would have made changes to make at least one closet a safe room.

Ignore the recommendation of getting into a bathtub and covering your self. When the tornado hit The Villages in 2007, one thing we saw was that most bathtubs had debris in them, including heavy items like toilets. I heard one lady in another area of Florida say she started to get into her bathtub, but decided on a closet instead. She saved her life, because she would have been killed in the bathtub, but was safe in the closet.

As far as I know, there is no public storm shelter in The Villages, but there are some storm shelters available to be installed, in a garage. The problem with that, is one would have to have time to open the garage door, back the car out of the way, then get in the shelter and close it. Since there are no warning sirens here, and weather alert radios usually announce the storm about the time it is happening or has already gone through, I doubt people would have enough time to utilize the aforementioned garage shelter.

After the 2007 tornado, there was a brief attempt to start an emergency 911 reverse call system. It did not work, and we have heard nothing about it sense then.

Good luck!

[graciegirl]

Originally Posted by pgc4340

When we built our house in The Villages in 1994, we knew that hurricane's came to Florida, but had no idea that tornadoes were a risk until after we moved in. We have a 3 bdr 2 bth house, but the only places which do not contact an exterior wall are 3 closets, 2 of which are linen closets which not be big enough for us, and would take time to get into even if they were because we'd have to removed shelves and contents. One other closet has sliding doors, so I doubt they would be secure in a tornado. If we had known about the tornado issue, we would have made changes to make at least one closet a safe room.

Ignore the recommendation of getting into a bathtub and covering your self. When the tornado hit The Villages in 2007, one thing we saw was that most bathtubs had debris in them, including heavy items like toilets. I heard one lady in another area of Florida say she started to get into her bathtub, but decided on a closet instead. She saved her life, because she would have been killed in the bathtub, but was safe in the closet.

As far as I know, there is no public storm shelter in The Villages, but there are some storm shelters available to be installed, in a garage. The problem with that, is one would have to have time to open the garage door, back the car out of the way, then get in the shelter and close it. Since there are no warning sirens here, and weather alert radios usually announce the storm about the time it is happening or has already gone through, I doubt people would have enough time to utilize the aforementioned garage shelter.

After the 2007 tornado, there was a brief attempt to start an emergency 911 reverse call system. It did not work, and we have heard nothing about it sense then.

Good luck!

We got warning calls all last year about severe thunderstorms and a warning that the police were chasing a bad guy. We didn't get any storm warning calls this year. Maybe there wasn't any bad storms to warn about. We signed up at the Fire Station for these calls. Anybody called this last year?

[Sable99]

Isn't there a shelter on Powell Road? I'm not in TV but I know I saw one on a north/south road and I think it was Powell. Not TV but close. Maybe you should pay more attention to the early warnings and watch the sky.

When I was in junior high a good friend and her entire family were killed in a Michigan tornado. They were riding down the road and saw a funnel. They tried to run for the ditch but didn't make it. I was scared to death of storms after that and then my Dad took me outside during a bad storm and showed me how to watch the cloud formations and sky. I've never forgotten his tips.

[SALYBOW]

I have been thinking the master bat but maybe that is not a good place.

[Jullie]

Room in the center of the house if possible with no windows and a door.

[Kazmi]

Originally Posted by graciegirl

I don't think it's dumb.


You may find your answer here;


Florida Tornadoes

Thanks! I did a quick scan on that site and, if I read it correctly, the only month Sumter never had a tornado was December. Not a lot of them over the years at least.

[twoplanekid]

“Florida has the dubious distinction of having a higher frequency of tornadoes per 10,000 square miles than any other state, including Oklahoma. “
Tornadoes - Florida Climate Center

In reading the recommendations so far, I may go to the laundry room, closet near center of house or hallway between two bedrooms. I just don’t know which one I will try first.

[golfing eagles]

Originally Posted by twoplanekid

“Florida has the dubious distinction of having a higher frequency of tornadoes per 10,000 square miles than any other state, including Oklahoma. “
Tornadoes - Florida Climate Center

In reading the recommendations so far, I may go to the laundry room, closet near center of house or hallway between two bedrooms. I just don’t know which one I will try first.

I glanced down the block early this evening---don't worry, your house is still here. (Dorothy and Toto are back in Kansas, however)