Tornado

We've all hear a lot about tornadoes, particularly this summer. But how many of us have been "up close and personal" with one, this year or some other time?

There have been some hugely destructive ones in the United States. In a three day period (April 25 - 26) tornadoes caused wide-spread death and damage in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. In fact, 335 tornadoes were confirmed in 21 states from Texas to New York during that period. There was also massive damage when Joplin, Missouri, and related areas, were hit in May.

Tornadoes have also been reported in Canada, Bangladesh, New Zealand, and elsewhere.

I don't know about you, but I've never been very close to a tornado. And I've never received any training in what to do if there's a tornado. Those are almost unheard-of where I grew up.

So what does one do when a tornado is near-by?

The pictures I saw of Joplin, MO, in particular, were sufficiently frightening. Basically, nothing left in some places. What appear to have been wood-frame houses were completely taken apart — blown apart, really. Not much protection there.

Our apartment has a concrete structure and concrete exterior. That would have provided some additional protection. But St. John's Hospital in Joplin still suffered a lot of damage. You could see it in the pictures.

What's a Bear to do?

We have a small storage room in the middle of our apartment — not near any windows. I figured if I got on the floor of that, I would have been in the safest place in our suite. Not that I know it would have been safe; I was just guessing.

What to take with me?

A few important papers, and some medications. And some family photos. Of course, I would have made sure J was in there, first and foremost, but she wasn't home at the time.

Fortunately, nothing came near us. A twister apparently touched down about 30 miles west of us, but that's as close as it got. And judging from the pictures from there, the situation wasn't too bad. No people hurt as far as I know.

Have you ever been in a place when a tornado touched down? What happened? What did you do? Bear would be very pleased to know. Others might be as well.