Area first responders will be participating in an upcoming statewide tornado drill – a subject many Villagers and area residents are all too familiar with.
The drill will take place Wednesday, Jan. 29 at 10 a.m. as part of Severe Weather Awareness Week, which runs from Jan. 27-31. Lake County Emergency Management will participate in community events and a social media campaign with the goal of educating citizens about severe weather hazards.
To help prepare residents for severe weather, the National Weather Service will issue a practice tornado warning and broadcast a test message for a tornado watch on NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) weather alert radios.
During the drill, residents should monitor their weather radios for warning messages to determine what protective action to take. In addition to the NOAA weather radio message, subscribers to the AlertLake Emergency Alert System also will receive a notification on the drill.
Participation with either alert method can include “duck and cover,” going to the lowest floor in a building or hiding in a bathtub or under a stairwell. All residents are urged to participate.
“This drill is a great way to evaluate a family’s severe weather plan,” said Emergency Management Associate Addison Hassell. “It can provide better preparedness within the home and the community.”
Throughout the week, stay tuned to Lake County Emergency Management’s social media accounts for important tips and safety information. Tornado drill participants are encouraged to share photos of their protective actions on social media with the hashtag #LCTornadoDrill for an opportunity to be featured.
To be notified quickly of weather emergencies, residents should purchase a battery-powered NOAA weather radio and sign up to receive local notifications, such as those offered through Lake County’s AlertLake Emergency Alert System. Signing up is free, quick, easy and secure at www.alertlake.com. Visit Lake County Emergency Management’s social media pages for more information: www.twitter.com/lakeemergency and www.facebook.com/LakeCountyFLEmergencyManagement.
Area residents also should be prepared for tornadoes by following a checklist of safety tips. Those include:
- When storms approach, monitor television, AM/FM radio and NOAA weather radio broadcasts, register for AlertLake and monitor tornado warnings from wireless emergency alerts for smartphones. Keep a battery-powered radio for emergencies.
- A tornado watch is issued when a severe weather system may spawn tornadoes. It means watch the sky. A tornado warning lasts for one hour or less and it means take action right now because a tornado is on the ground or about to be on the ground.
- Have a family disaster plan. Ask about tornado plans in offices, stores or other areas you visit frequently. Learn the locations of interior shelters.
- Remember, practice the plan. Have a place to call and a place to meet.
- Know where to shelter in the house. Store protective materials – such as blankets or sleeping bags – in the shelter.
- In case family members are separated, plan a place to call to let others know you are safe. Plan a place to meet if you are cut off from your neighborhood.
- When a tornado has been spotted, get low and stay low. If you can, get inside – away from windows.
- Never try to outrun a tornado in a vehicle. If you see a tornado, get out of your vehicle. Take shelter in a ditch, ravine or culvert. Be alert to potential flooding.
- Do not seek shelter beneath an overpass. High winds and flying debris are likely to cause injuries.
- Avoid any area with a wide, unsupported roof. That includes auditoriums, cafeterias, gymnasiums, theaters or central courts at malls. Go to interior rooms with no windows.
- Most tornado fatalities result from injuries to the head or neck from flying debris. Protect yourself with thick padding such as blankets or mattresses – or quickly get under a sturdy piece of furniture – a table, bench or church pew.
- If you are in an office, hospital or nursing home, go to the lowest floor. Stay away from windows. Avoid elevators. Shelter in a stairwell, hallway, storage closet or bathroom.
- At school, follow the drill. Take shelter in an inside room, hallway, storage closet or stairwell. Avoid windows or any area with large amounts of glass.
- At home, take shelter in a room without windows on the lowest floor – a bathroom, hallway, closet or stairwell.
- If you are outside and there is no sturdy building nearby, take shelter in a low-lying area. Keep an eye out for flooding.
Many Villagers are familiar with the dangers and damages associated with a tornado after portions of Florida’s Friendliest Hometown were devastated by a storm on Feb. 2, 2007.
Dubbed the Groundhog Day Tornado, the EF-3 tornado formed near Wildwood in the wee hours of the morning and then roared through The Villages and Lady Lake before moving east across the Sunshine State.
The EF-3 tornado, packing winds between 155-160 miles per hour, cut a path across the then-south side of The Villages, leaving in its wake about 1,300 damaged or destroyed homes and other buildings, including the Mallory Hill Country Club. It then plowed into Lady Lake and demolished the Lady Lake Church of God before killing eight people as it slammed into mobile home communities off Griffin View Drive.
Some Leesburg residents also got a taste of the devastation a tornado can cause earlier this month when the Holiday RV Village was hit. Several homes had sustained damage to roofs, siding and carports. There also were multiple downed trees in the community, which is located at 28229 County Road 33. One resident suffered a minor cut to his head when a tree limb came through the roof of his home and struck him.
