Jacksonville, FL

I was on my way to St. Augustine this morning on a magazine assignment when a tornado warning was issued. It was just after 9 a.m. The warning was for the Mayport area, but hearing it made me think.

What do you do if you’re in a car and there’s a warning for your own area?

As soon as I returned to the office, I checked out the FEMA site for some ideas. “Get out immediately,” FEMA advises, “and go to the lowest floor of a sturdy, nearby building or a storm shelter. Mobile homes, even if tied down, offer little protection from tornadoes.”

However if you’re on the stretch of US Highway 1 I was driving on, there aren’t a lot of public places to seek shelter. So here’s what I’m supposed to do if I don’t see a sturdy structure:

Lie flat in a nearby ditch or depression and cover your head with your hands. Be aware of the potential for flooding. Do not get under an overpass or bridge. You are safer in a low, flat location. Never try to outrun a tornado in urban or congested areas in a car or truck. Instead, leave the vehicle immediately for safe shelter.

I can just imagine parking my car on the highway and heading for the nearest ditch. Talk about a dilemma.

We’ve lived through a number of tornado watches here in Jacksonville as well as in my previous home state of South Carolina. We’ve survived two major hurricanes. But of all the inclement weather we can face, the tornado is most frightening.

We have a small interior room here at the house—soon to become my new office—that serves as our safe room. We’ve only fled there once in the years we’ve lived here. But I keep a quilt handy. My grandmother stitched it years ago, and it weighs at least 10 lbs. dry. I figure we can cover up with that sturdy material if it looks like our house is going to fly apart.

But to be honest, after seeing the damage a tornado did to my mom’s property years ago in South Carolina, I don’t think there’s any place you’re truly safe from a tornado. I recall seeing her sturdy storage building reduced to a pile of matchstick-sized debris.

Some more FEMA advice echoes in my brain—Watch out for flying debris. Flying debris from tornadoes causes most fatalities and injuries. Not a very comforting thought.

Luckily, there haven’t been reports of any injuries from the morning storms we had today. But we’re early into hurricane season and inclement weather is bound to come our way at some point. On the way home this morning after my interview, it was raining so hard I could barely see to drive.

My next project: do additional research on hurricane preparedness. Jax is long overdue for a hit in my opinion.

RELATED LINKS

http://www.fema.gov/hazard/tornado/to_during.shtm
FEMA advice on what to do during a tornado.

http://www.floridadisaster.org/citizen_emergency_info.htm
http://www.floridadisaster.org/eoc/Update/Home.asp
Emergency preparedness from Florida Disaster, Division of Emergency Management.

Word Press, Technorati, Tags, Severe Florida Weather, Emergency Preparedness, Tornado, Hurricane, Weather Warnings Florida

Safe Haven seeks to protect unwanted babies

The heat index in Jacksonville on Thursday topped 100 degrees—not a good day for anyone to be outside for long without water or shade. A resident of Beachwood Apartments on the Southside decided to take her trash out. What she found in the dumpster will likely be a memory she’ll carry for the rest of her life. Inside a pillowcase, along with the garbage, the female resident found a newborn baby girl. The fact the child was alive is a miracle.
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In Florida, Memorial Day means more than somber ceremonies and outdoor grilling. That day is one of the last worry-free days Floridians have where warm weather is concerned.

Hurricane Season starts Friday, and Jacksonville’s Fire and Rescue Emergency Preparedness team wants city residents and travelers to head off as much confusion as possible if a big one hits.

Now is the time to set aside canned food and organize your emergency kit, learn evacuation routes and establish a rendezvous point for you and loved ones who may be in different places.

If you have pets, or if you have special needs, use the city Web site to register now.

If you have an abundance of the stately oaks we enjoy in our neighborhood, trim them. There’s nothing like a monster-sized limb landing on your roof to shake you up when the wind is howling like a banshee.

I’ve lived through two serious hurricanes, both of them when our home was in South Carolina. One of those storms, Hugo, literally turned on us. Every forecaster in our area except for TV weather man Jim Gandy said the storm wouldn’t be too serious for those of us in the central part of the state. But Hugo hit Charleston as a Category 4 storm, roaring inland, destroying one billion board feet of timber. I was nine months pregnant with our second child. I will always remember that night—it will be the stuff of stories I tell my grandchildren if I am lucky enough to have some one day.

I selected the video above from youtube.com because although I didn’t experience this storm, the sound on the video is similar to sounds I heard the night Hugo paid us an unwelcome visit. If I have such an experience again, I will definitely be as prepared as possible.

Word Press, Technorati, Tags, Hurricane Preparedness, Hurricane Season, Florida Weather, Emergency Preparedness