Untitled - Ohio Insurance Institute

• IN MALLS OR LARGE BUILDINGS
Many large public buildings will have designated shelter areas.
Become familiar with signs posted in these buildings. If you can’t
locate the designated area, go to a middle hallway on the lowest
level.
• IF OUTSIDE
If you can’t reach a shelter or building, lie flat in a ditch or low area,
covering your head and the back of your neck with your hands.
Stay clear of tall trees and open water.
l POINTS TO COVER
• The proper position to assume for protection
• Where to go when a tornado strikes at home, outside, in a car, school
or other building
• Emergency preparedness plans
l ACTIVITIES
1. Have students act out a home tornado drill skit. Action may be different
depending on type of residence (home with/without basement,
apartment, mobile/manufactured home, etc.).
2. Make sure all students participate in a tornado drill.
3. Have students practice the proper position to assume during a tornado
at school.
4. Have students write a report that outlines where they would go if a
tornado warning was issued while home.
5. Have students develop a basic home emergency preparedness plan.
Suggest they share the plans during a family meeting (www.weather
safety.ohio.gov/disasterplan.aspx).
watch for
lightning
When a tornado strikes, severe lightning will often be present. Many
times the threat lightning poses is overlooked. According to the National
Weather Service, over the past 30 years lightning caused about
67 deaths and 300 injuries in the US each year—more than the average
number of deaths attributed to tornadoes or hurricanes.
l LIGHTNING FACTS
• The frequency of lightning strikes varies by region. In the northwest
area of the US, there are areas with fewer than five thunderstorms a
year, while areas of central Florida experience close to 90. Ohio averages
between 30–50 thunderstorm days a year.
• Structures located on high terrain, such as mountain ranges, or buildings
that are substantially higher than those adjacent to them are
at a higher risk of lightning strikes. Structures adjacent to water also
have a higher susceptibility rate, since water serves as a conductor.
• A typical thunderstorm is 15 miles in diameter and lasts an average of
30 minutes. Nearly 1,800 occur at any moment around the world—
that’s 16 million a year!
• Of the estimated 100,000 that occur in the US annually, about 10%
are classified as severe. The National Weather Service considers a
thunderstorm severe if it produces hail at least 3/4 inch in diameter
and/or includes damaging winds clocked at 58 mph or higher.
• According to the Lightning Protection Institute, roofs and projections,
such as chimneys and steeples are most frequently hit by
lightning strikes.
l WHAT CAUSES LIGHTNING?
The action of rising and descending air within a thunderstorm separates
positive and negative charges. Lightning results from the buildup
and discharge of electrical energy between positively and negatively
charged areas.
l OTHER ONLINE LIGHTNING RESOURCES
• www.lightningsafety.noaa.gov
Check the NOAA Lightning Safety Team site for handouts, indoor
and outdoor safety tips, medical facts, history, survivor stories,
photos, teacher tools and more. Lightning Safety Awareness Week
is June 24–30, 2007. Additional NOAA site info on lightning is available
at www.noaa.gov/lightning.html.
• www.lightning.org
The Lightning Protection Institute (LPI) presents information designed
to provide a basic understanding of lightning, the severity
of lightning strikes and lightning protection systems.
• www.usatoday.com/weather/resources/basics/wlightning.htm
Visit the Lightning Science and Safety section of the USA Today site
for info on lightning basics, different forms of lightning, lightning
rods, research and much more.
• www.science.howstuffworks.com/lightning.htm
This site explains how lightning works along with links to related
info.
l LIGHTNING SAFETY TIPS
1. Outdoor Tips
• Avoid water, especially swimming pools, and metal objects such
as electrical wires, fences, golf clubs, machinery, power tools and
railroad tracks.
• Unsafe places during lightning include tents, golf carts, small
open-sided shelters and under isolated trees.
• Avoid wide open spaces and high terrain such as hilltops.
• When possible, get to a building or fully enclosed shelter like a car
or truck and close the windows.
• If lightning strikes are nearby, avoid direct contact with others;
remove metal objects from your pockets and crouch low to the
ground on the balls of your feet, place hands on your knees with
your head between them.
• If you’re in the woods, take shelter under the lowest tree or under
a bush.
2. Indoor Tips
• Avoid contact with water including showers, baths or laundry. Stay
away from open doors and windows.
• Don’t use corded or cordless phones or headsets during lightning
storms because a strike could send shocks through the electric or
phone line. A cell phone is the safest mode of communication during
thunderstorms.
• As an extra precaution unplug computers, stereos, power tools,
TVs and DVDs, and other unnecessary appliances.
• Stay inside until the storm subsides.
3. First Aid for Lightning Victims
• Call 911 immediately.
• A person struck by lightning may be burned, but does not carry an
electrical charge. So begin first aid procedures immediately.
• If the victim is not breathing but has a pulse, administer mouth-tomouth
resuscitation. If there’s no pulse, begin CPR.
l POINTS TO COVER
• Where to go in case of lightning
• What to avoid in case of lightning
• Types of materials that attract lightning
• General lightning safety tips (available at www.weathersafety.ohio.
gov/thunderstormslightning.aspx)
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