It can be scary for kids to hear and talk about tornados. I am still scared when there may be tornados when I am home alone. The best way to make it easy for kids is to help them prepare for a possible tornado. If they help it may make things better. Talk to them about where it is safe to go for a tornado in your house. Also, prepare a shelter bag for the family and any pets in the house.
Identify the safest place to take shelter
There is no completely safe place during a tornado. Some locations are safer than others. Some of the safest places are a storm cellar, basement, or inside room without windows on the lowest floor (such as a bathroom, closet, or center hallway).
Identify a nearby building you can get to quickly if you live in a mobile home. Please, don’t stay in a mobile home during a tornado.
Create a tornado emergency plan
Take a few minutes to develop a tornado emergency plan.
- Pick out a safe place in your home for household members and pets to go to during a tornado.
- Make sure everyone understands the tornado warning system in your area.
- Make sure your family knows how to administer basic first aid, how to use a fire extinguisher, and how and when to turn off water, gas, and electricity in your home.
- Learn the emergency dismissal policy for your child’s school.
- Make sure your children know
- What a tornado is
- What tornado watches and warnings are
- What county they live in (warnings are issued by county)
- how to take shelter, whether at home or school
Create an emergency supply kit
Make sure you have emergency supplies, a first aid kit, emergency water, and food. Store enough supplies to last at least 3 days.
Create a pet disaster preparedness kit if you have pets. You should include items such as veterinary records; registration information; a 2-week supply of water, food, and medications; a leash; and a pet carrier. Here is a checklist to prepare your pet’s kit. Pet Disaster Kit Checklist
Let’s put together a first-aid kit
Kids love putting things together. The Red Cross recommends that all first aid kits for a family of four include the following:
- 2 absorbent compress dressings (5 x 9 inches)
- 25 adhesive bandages (assorted sizes), also found within our Family First Aid Kit
- 1 adhesive cloth tape (10 yards x 1 inch)
- 5 antibiotic ointment packets (approximately 1 gram)
- 5 antiseptic wipe packets
- 2 packets of aspirin (81 mg each)
- 1 emergency blanket
- 1 breathing barrier (with one-way valve)
- 1 instant cold compress
- 2 pair of nonlatex gloves (size: large)
- 2 hydrocortisone ointment packets (approximately 1 gram each)
- 1 3 in. gauze roll (roller) bandage
- 1 roller bandage (4 inches wide)
- 5 3 in. x 3 in. sterile gauze pads
- 5 sterile gauze pads (4 x 4 inches)
- Oral thermometer (non-mercury/nonglass)
- 2 triangular bandages
- Tweezers
- Emergency First Aid instructions
BUILD YOUR TORNADO KIT
When a tornado hits, it helps to have a kit stocked with basic survival items—things like food, water, clothes, and important documents. Everyone in the house should be able to get to the supplies quickly because evacuation can be a last-minute scramble.
Vist this webite to check out the Checklist. BUILD YOUR TORNADO KIT
Fun facts
- Tornadoes can be very quick, lasting just a few seconds. But some big ones can spin for over an hour!
- A long time ago, in 1643, a man named John Winthrop wrote about seeing the first tornado ever recorded in what is now the United States. He lived in Massachusetts.
- Most of the tornadoes in the whole world happen right here in the U.S., in an area called Tornado Alley. Tornado Alley goes from west Texas up to North Dakota. That area gets over 200 tornadoes every year!
- Tornadoes can cause a huge path of damage. Some are over a mile wide and 50 miles long!
- Please let me know if you have any questions in the comments!
For more information on tornados, you can visit these websites.
Intrested in see how a tornado is make vist my blog:
Tornado in a jar
Family Activities 