Storm Safety Tips

The entire nation is grief-stricken as the recent typhoon Yolanda (International name “Haiyan”) took away thousands of homes and lives. As of this writing the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA), advises the people “to take precautionary measures against heavy rains, strong winds, lightning and possible flashfloods” as a potential new cyclone approaches Metro Cebu on Tuesday. PAGASA forecaster Jori Loiz also advises to expect five more storms before the year ends. Given the apparent circumstances, citizens should be prepared in order to lessen casualties and damage. Here is a list of storm safety tips to follow:

Tip #1: Stay Indoors

Lightning strikes, flash flooding, high winds that can knock a grown man down, flying debris that can hit you, and more all happen outdoors. It’s important during bad weather to stay indoors and in a safe place away from exterior windows.

Tip #2: Stay Away from Windows

Debris blowing, shingles knocked off roofs, tree branches, pebbles and rocks and even super harsh winds and water, can all break windows. If you’re near a window with metal framework, though it’s unlikely, it is not impossible for lightning to travel electricity along the frame, resulting in electrocution. Stay in interior rooms with no exterior windows, and preferably no exterior walls if at all possible.

Tip #3: Do Not Drive

Flash flooding, particularly when you are driving in your car, can be dangerous. It’s difficult to see how deep a puddle of water is, and it’s not unusual for a car to stall in a dip that appeared shallow but wasn’t. Worse yet, your car could get washed away, and you with it, and drowning is a very real possibility in these moments.

Tip #4: Use only Minimal Electricity

Keep your electronics UNPLUGGED. Not just turned off, but unplugged. You should also unplug the cable lines for your network cards and cable boxes, since many cable lines run up telephone poles in the alleys or sides of houses, and a strike to a pole can fry your equipment. Any equipment that can be fried (electronics like radios, televisions, computers, etc.) should be unplugged from electricity. Shut down your breakers too!

Tip #5: Stay off the Phone

Telephones, particularly phones plugged directly into an outlet, use electricity that is separate from the electricity you have in your home. If you have a corded phone that is plugged into a jack, even if your electricity in your home is out, you will likely to still have phone service if you have a traditional landline. This landline should be reserved for emergencies only. It is possible to be shocked through a phone line when it’s plugged into a live phone jack.

Tip #6: Have a Corded Phone AND Cell Phone

As mentioned earlier, corded phones will still work when the electricity goes out as long as the landlines are still working too. Cell phone towers can often lose signals when storms are brewing, and landlines can sometimes get broken or cut off when there are storms and bad weather. To keep safe in a storm, have both a cell phone and a corded phone to use in case of an emergency.

Tip #7: Have Bottled Water or Store Fresh Water Ahead of Time.

With flooding, lightning, electricity problems, etc, having fresh water that is safe to drink is one of the most important things you can have during a bad weather or a storm. If you have a baby, people who are ill or immuno-compromised, or eldery people living in your home, fresh, clean water is absolutely essential, and it’s not a bad thing to have around for the rest of the household either. We can live a long time without food, but we can’t go long without water.

Tip #8: Bring Pets Inside

If you’re a dog owner, have a horse, or another big animal, you need to have a way to bring them inside or under shelter during a storm. If you have a barn, a covered porch, a storage shed, a laundry room, or other type of room that’s safe, you can put the animal in that area if you don’t want them in your home, but you absolutely MUST provide shelter from the storm for your animal.This also will help prevent the spread of disease caused by animals eating decaying things blown about by the storm, or worse, from dead animals that animal control officers can’t get to before people start getting out and about again after a storm.

Tip #9: Outdoor Electricity

When a storm is brewing, be sure to bring things like outdoor electric cords and extension cords into some place dry and disconnect lights or other items plugged into these cords. This includes Christmas lights and decorations or other semi-permanent lighting outdoors.

Tip #10: Remove Potential Debris

Things can get blown around in a storm, including lawn chairs, umbrellas, plastic chairs, BBQ equipment, lawn equipment, potted plants, and more. If you have things in your yard that can be blown around with a big enough gust, you should secure them indoors or in a sturdy storage.

Final Storm Safety and Bad Weather Tip:

The saddest part was to hear the stories of people who didn’t evacuate, even though it was a mandatory evacuation. There would have been a huge chance of survival if they had evacuated when they should have and were told to. My advice: don’t think this one won’t be the big one. If local authorities tell you to evacuate, do so IMMEDIATELY.

If the next predicted storm ends up not being a big one, great, at least you were safe, but in the case it might be the big one, your life will be what is saved. (Adapted by Jessy Pearl)

Source: voices.yahoo.com