Emergency Management Office Reminds Citizens to Prepare for Tornadoes

Posted February 24, 2008 5:18:13 PM CST

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Richmond, TX - February 24 through March 1 is Severe Weather Awareness Week in Texas, and the Fort Bend County Office of Emergency Management urges citizens to prepare for severe weather, such as tornadoes. Tornadoes can occur at any time of year in Texas, but they happen most often in spring and summer. Storms are most likely to strike in the late afternoon and early evening hours.

County Judge Robert Hebert, who also serves as the County's Emergency Management Director, states, "I urge each citizen to seek the basic knowledge of severe weather safety rules required to develop your own severe weather plan. Your safety and the safety of those you love may depend on your actions in a severe weather emergency."

A TORNADO WATCH is issued when severe weather is expected along with large or multiple tornadoes. It means WATCH the sky. A TORNADO WARNING means TAKE ACTION because a tornado is on the ground. Seek shelter immediately. A tornado warning usually covers one county or a portion of a county and generally lasts for an hour or less. When a tornado is sighted, the most important rule is to get low and stay low.

Seek shelter in an interior room on the lowest floor of the home, such as a bathroom, closet or room without windows.
In an office building, go to an interior room or hallway on the lowest floor.
Leave your mobile home and take shelter in a nearby building. If no building is nearby, lie flat in a ditch or ravine.
Never stay inside a car. Leave the car and lie flat in a ditch or a ravine. If a building is nearby, take shelter inside. Never try to outrun a tornado in your car.
At school, follow plans and go to a designated shelter area, usually interior hallways on the lowest floor. Avoid auditoriums, gyms and areas with wide, freespan roofs.
Go to the interior rooms and halls on the lowest floor of a shopping center. Do not leave the shopping center to get in your car.
If you are in open country, take cover on low, protected ground.
Avoid areas near exterior glass or doors, areas along exterior walls, or rooms with wide expanse roofs - such as auditoriums, cafeterias and gyms.

For more information about Severe Weather Awareness Week, Janette Walker with Fort Bend County Office of Emergency Management suggest going Office of Emergency Management website or National Weather Services link created for Severe Weather Awareness Week. OEM website: Fort Bend County Office of Emergency Management and NWS website: http://www.srh.noaa.gov/hgx/severeweatherawareness/

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