:: All-Hazards Preparedness ::

Why Prepare?

There are real benefits to being prepared.

Being prepared can reduce fear, anxiety, and losses
that accompany disasters. Communities, families,
and individuals should know what to do in the event of a fire
and where to seek shelter during a tornado. They should be ready
to evacuate their homes and take refuge in public shelters
and know how to care for their basic medical needs.

• People also can reduce the impact of disasters
   (flood proofing, elevating a home or moving a home out of harm’s way,
   and securing items that could shake loose in an earthquake)
   and sometimes avoid the danger completely. The need to prepare is real.

• Disasters disrupt hundreds of thousands of lives every year.
   Each disaster has lasting effects, both to people and property.

• If a disaster occurs in your community, local government
   and disaster-relief organizations will try to help you,
   but you need to be ready as well. Local responders
   may not be able to reach you immediately,
   or they may need to focus their efforts elsewhere.

• You should know how to respond to severe weather or any disaster
   that could occur in your area—hurricanes, earthquakes,
   extreme cold, flooding, or terrorism.

• You should also be ready to be self-sufficient for at least three days.
   This may mean providing for your own shelter, first aid, food,
   water, and sanitation.

How do I prepare for a disaster ahead of time?

Here are some resources from the Homeland Security Department
to help you prepare in case of any kind of disaster.

Please Click Here

Family Disaster Preparedness (FEMA & Red Cross)
Helping Children Cope With Disaster (FEMA & Red Cross)
Food and Water in an Emergency (FEMA & Red Cross)
Disaster Preparedness For Persons With Special Needs (FEMA & Red Cross)
Disaster Personal Financial Readyness (Red Cross)
Personal Workplace Disaster Supplies Kit (Red Cross)
Shelter-In-Place When Hazardous Materials May Have Been Released Into the Air (Red Cross)
Preventing Frozen Pipes & Thawing Frozen Pipes After They Have Been Frozen (Red Cross)
Safety in a Rolling Electrical Blackout (Red Cross)

Tornadoes

Because we are now entering what we here in Ashland County know as
Tornado Season, we here at the Health Department have provided some
information and links to help you prepare incase of a Tornado.

Tornadoes are nature’s most violent storms.
Spawned from powerful thunderstorms,tornadoes can cause fatalities
and devastate a neighborhood in seconds. A tornado appears as a rotating,
funnel-shaped cloud that extends from a thunderstorm to the ground
with whirling winds that can reach 300 miles per hour. Damage paths
can be in excess of one mile wide and 50 miles long.
Every state is at some risk from this hazard. Some tornadoes
are clearly visible, while rain or nearby low-hanging clouds obscure others.
Occasionally, tornadoes develop so rapidly that little, if any,
advance warning is possible. Before a tornado hits, the wind may die down
and the air may become very still. A cloud of debris can mark the location
of a tornado even if a funnel is not visible. Tornadoes generally occur
near the trailing edge of a thunderstorm. It is not uncommon to see clear,
sunlit skies behind a tornado.

The following are facts about tornadoes:
• They may strike quickly, with little or no warning.
• They may appear nearly transparent until dust and debris are picked up or
   a cloud forms in the funnel.
• The average tornado moves Southwest to Northeast, but tornadoes have
   been known to move in any direction.
• The average forward speed of a tornado is 30 MPH, but may vary from
   stationary to 70 MPH.
• Tornadoes can accompany tropical storms and hurricanes
   as they move onto land.
• Waterspouts are tornadoes that form over water.
• Tornadoes are most frequently reported east of the Rocky Mountains
   during spring and summer months.
• Peak tornado season in the southern states is March through May;
   in the northern states, it is late spring through early summer.
• Tornadoes are most likely to occur between 3 p.m. and 9 p.m.,
   but can occur at any time.

How can I protect myself from a tornado?

• Know your tornado terms
• What to do before a tornado
• What to do during a tornado
• What to do after a tornado