What to do if there is a tornado

Official updatesLU-Alert · RTL, 100.7 · 112

Do this now

Get inside a solid building at once. A car, a caravan, a tent or a bus shelter gives no protection, so leave them for the nearest house, shop or office.
Go to the lowest floor, into a small room in the middle of the building with no windows, or down to the cellar if you have one.
Keep away from windows, glass doors and outside walls. Close the doors and windows on your way, and switch off the ventilation.
Crouch under a sturdy table or against an inside wall, and protect your head and neck with your arms, a cushion or a mattress.
Stay where you are while it passes and for at least Status: Verified after it has gone. More storms can follow.
Keep a battery radio on Status: Verified and follow LU-Alert. Use the phone only for short messages and real emergencies.
Once it is safe, call Status: Verified for anyone injured or trapped, and keep well away from fallen cables.

Tornadoes come with violent thunderstorms, and the weather service can send the highest alert level for one: purple, 'Immediate action'.
There is little time between the warning and the tornado. Keep LU-Alert active on your phone, and read how warnings reach you on Alerts and sirens.
For the thunderstorm itself, the steps on Storm and strong wind apply too.

Pick the shelter spot at home: the cellar, or an inside room on the lowest floor such as a bathroom, a corridor or a storeroom. Keep it clear so everyone can get in fast.
Find out where you would go at work, at school and at the places you visit often.
Keep garden furniture, bins and trampolines where you can secure them quickly. Have dead branches near the house cut back.
Know where the main switch, the water valve and the gas valve are.

Keep a torch, sturdy shoes, gloves, a whistle and a first-aid kit close to the safe spot. A whistle helps rescuers find you if you are trapped.
The usual kit: Status: Verified torch per person with Status: Verified spare sets of batteries, a battery or wind-up radio, a charged power bank, and water at Status: Verified per person per day for Status: Verified. See the emergency kit checklist.

Wear sturdy shoes and gloves before you move around. Watch for broken glass, nails, loose tiles and hanging cables, and treat every fallen cable as live.
Keep out of badly damaged buildings. If you smell gas, leave and call Status: Verified from outside.
Check on your neighbours, and tell rescuers where you think people may be trapped.
Photograph the damage before you clear up. The insurer will ask for it.
If the power is out, follow Power is out. A tornado is frightening: if you or your children are still shaken after a few days, see Coping with a crisis.

Practise going to the safe spot together, like a fire drill, so they know where to go.

If the stairs to the cellar are hard for you, choose an inside room on your own floor, away from windows. Agree with a neighbour who comes to help you when a warning arrives.

Keep a carrier or a lead next to the safe spot and take your pet in with you. Afterwards, keep dogs on the lead: there will be glass and debris on the ground.

Go down by the stairs to the lowest floor if there is time, never by the lift. If there is no time, use a bathroom or corridor in the middle of the flat, away from windows.