On Monday, a storm President Obama called, “one of the most destructive in history,” swept through Oklahoma, causing what some estimate to be $1 billion in damages. The storm, which at some point was 2 miles wide and had winds over 200 mph left a 17 mile path of destruction. As of the time of this writing, 237 people have been injured, 24 are confirmed dead and the numbers may be rising as people continue to sort through the rubble that was left in the storm’s wake. To donate to the relief effort, or see how you can help, please go to: http://www.redcross.com/
A few weeks ago, we watched the movie The Inconvenient Truth in class and discussed your views on global warming. I shared my thoughts and views that storms like this and Hurricane Sandy are only going to become more common place. Here in Indiana it’s easy to get complacent about crazy weather. The sirens go off so much that many times, we tend to just ignore them. So my question to you this week is, “What is your plan for severe weather here in Indiana? Do you respond to the emergency warnings? What would have to happen for you to be more cautious?” Answers are due no later than Wednesday, May 23rd, 2013.
This spring has taught me just how deadly these storms can be – and how quickly they can go from bad to worse. It makes me sad to know that people had to lose so much for me to actually pay attention. So, I’m taking a vow. I’m promising to create a “weather kit” including flashlights, batteries, water, first aid and other items I may need in case of severe weather. Even more, I’m promising to start paying more attention to the sirens and actually take cover when they tell me to. A few hours lost by taking cover may just mean a few more lives saved. I hope you will pledge to join me in this endeavor – it’s the very least we can do. To those of you who have lost possessions, homes and loved ones during this storm season, my heart and prayers go out to you.
P.S. This weekend, many of us will enjoy a long weekend filled with cook-outs, family, friends and the Indy 500. May we not forget the soldiers who have sacrificed so much. Thank you – you are not forgotten.
My plan for severe weather here in Indiana is to go down to my friends apartment and stay. Currently I listen to the warnings and depending on what they say depends on weather or not I respond. If worse came to worse I would take off for my little brothers apartment in North Carolina for a few days if I could do nothing else. The most that I would have to do is get an emergency kit container and fill it with food. I would also have to add another container specifically for water. The final container I would have, would be filled with the flashlights, batteries, medical supplies, baby wipes, and a few other items that would be helpful during a storm.
ReplyDeleteOne main part of my severe weather plan is to actually wake up when I hear the sirens go off (no joke.) There already have been plenty of times when the sirens have gone off and my roommates have woken me up just to let me know what was going on. Other than that, I would make sure I would have plenty of water, canned food, medical supplies, batteries, flashlights, a radio, blankets, and most importantly my goldfish Pinstripe. If the warning for a storm that was severe enough for A) Ai to shut down B) my job to shut down due to weather I'd probably make sure I batten down the hatches or seek shelter somewhere else more safe.
ReplyDeleteCurrently my internship at the Indiana Historical Society is actually having an event on June 19th about preparing for severe weather/general emergency preparedness by taking the idea of preparation to a whole different level: Preparing for the Zombie Apocalypse. I'm actually in charge of designing a decent amount of materials for this event, as well as I did a lot of research for it (I'm a huge Walking Dead/World War Z/zombie anything fan.) The Indiana Department of Health, Indy Trade School, as well as Sun King Brewery will be there as an added bonus. Tickets are $30, but it will be a fun night!
Here is the link if you are interested in going:
http://www.indianahistory.org/events/preparing-for-the-zombie-apocalypse
I am pretty scared of storms so I have thought this out plenty of times. I take it seriously even if it is a little storm because so many people have thought, "oooh, it is just a little storm no big deal" and then it turns in to a big mess of a storm. I would go to the club house with two bottles of water and a blanket. I would hide in the bathrooms because it is the most stable and enforced. The cover my self with the blanket and wait it out with a radio and phone on hand.
DeleteWhen I hear the sirens I go and take shelter. Back home at my parents house we would always go take shelter in the apartment complex next door that had rooms below ground level because we didn't have a basement in the house. Here in INDY I just stay inside and away from the windows. There was one time that a tornado touch down like a mile away from my parents house. It was really bad and after that day I took every sirens serious because you'll never know when you'll get hit. Growing up my parents always better be safe than sorry.
ReplyDeleteI'm terrible at being prepared for severe weather. As of right now, my plan is to always carry a well charged cellular device, which I know in the long run won't help. I think I'd really like to take the "severe weather kit" challenge, because it's an investment, really. I'm not even sure, between three roommates, we own a flashlight. If anything were to go array, I'd hole up in the bathroom and hope the second floor doesn't come down on me.
ReplyDeleteI'm generally lazy when it comes to sirens going off. If they stay persistent or go off at a random time, I'll generally look outside and survey the situation. Overall, I don't pay them that much attention. A few years ago, a tornado hit our town for the first time in, like, twelve years and did really bad damage. We were lucky in that it literally missed our house and tore up the school across the street. Because of that, I take a bit more interest when they go off, especially now that there's, really, no where for me to go if something like that were to happen here.
My family's safety is of the utmost importance to me. I am, surprisingly, the only person in my household that is even slightly cautious when the wind starts up strong and the storm worsens. With it being my responsibility as the leader of my household, I've had to think about this exact topic in the past. We currently do not have a basement in our house or a storm shelter in the area. We have a plan in case of an emergency, but we seldom actually react to the sirens beyond looking outside. I would agree that we're complacent because of how often the sirens actually go off.
ReplyDeleteI usually pay close attention to sirens and weather warnings because since I was a little kid I have always been afraid of tornadoes. Now that I'm older and have experienced it more I'm not as afraid, but it still really sets off my anxiety. When I know there is bad weather coming, I'm usually watching the news and checking updates on my phone. If I'm not at home I'm usually itching to get there because I have a dog and a cat and I worry about them as well. Things like the Oklahoma disaster and the Joplin disaster makes me realize that things can escalate very quickly and lives can be lost. This storm season is definitely going to have me on edge.
ReplyDelete--Nicole Watkins
I pay very close attention to the sirens and the weather report when severe weather is present. Ever since I was little I have been scared of storms. I also downloaded an app in my phone that warns me because when the weather gets bad our television goes out. We do have a basement here and when it gets severe enough, like with tornadoes, I go down in it while my other family goes out on the back porch to look at the storm. Growing up when I lived with my mother she would sleep through the sirens and generally not care. I can remember trying to wake my mom up and a tree came through our front door. So I pay very close attention to sirens and am always very cautious/anxious when storms approach.
ReplyDeleteI live with my boyfriend and his 2 kids and we should have a severe weather plan but it just hasn't been something that we have ever really talked about. I grew up in North Dakota, so I've seen pretty much ever disaster weather scenario. Extreme ice storms, flooding, dust storms, and once there was a tornado while I was there but it wasn't very threatening. I guess because of experiencing all of those things as a kid I'm not bothered by severe weather, as long as I'm not driving in it. I know the drill.
ReplyDeleteMan I don't have much of a plan. I do pay attention to the sirens but tornados have always missed me whenever it came down to it. I figure I would get my fam and head down to the basement and camp it out. Since I am a lazy man I already have plenty of canned goods (60 percent of my diet). Also I don't really have an emergency kit but I do have everything that it contains (just not all gathered up). I lived most my life in St. Louis area, we had our share of tornados, floods, freak ice storms, and power outages (even an earthquake), but I would rather live in the midwest than on a coast when it comes to the harsh side of weather. I'm still not sold on global warming in the least.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was really young, maybe 4 or 5, my parents taught me about the effects that severe storms and tornadoes can have. Our house isn't really equipped to deal with anything like that, but my sister and I were always taught to go into the bathroom during tornado warnings. We've been lucky enough to wear we've never dealt with flooding or tornadoes or ice storms. We don't exactly have a severe weather kit either, but that's actually something I might bring up with my folks. Most of the times when the sirens have gone off here, its been for testing purposes. I've lived here in Greenwood my entire life and we've only had one tornado go through and it was pretty far from where we live.
ReplyDeleteLiving in an apartment adds an extra degree of difficulty to a plan when severe weather hits. I've discussed it with my boyfriend, and we decided that we would try to hold up in one of the neighbors apartments downstairs. We've met them, and they seem like they would be OK with us taking cover there. If that doesn't work, we'll huddle under the stairs with some blankets.
ReplyDeleteI have always personally taken the sirens seriously to some degree. They at least prompt me to check the weather channel for more information.
I've always been pretty cautious when it comes to that sort of thing, but I do not have a weather kit prepared. I will definitely invest in one for the future. Better safe than sorry.
Though I am terrified of storms I don't really have any plans on what to do other than going to the "safe corner" of my house with a bunch of blankets, pillows, and a flash light to wait it out when the tornado sirens start going off. Other than that, I don't really have much as far as plans go other than trying not to freak out.
ReplyDeleteI definitely respond to the warning sirens, though I do get pretty paranoid especially at night when they go off because you can't look out your window to see what is going.
I really don't want to be any more cautious since I feel like I'm cautious enough as it is. I already get paranoid when I watch the weather and see how bad it's going to be let alone having sirens go off. Luckily I've never had to deal with a house being destroyed because of the weather *knock on wood* and I really hope I never will.
my plans for severe weather is to hope that my house ,that was built in storm and tornado riddled indiana, doesn't blow away with me still in it. it isn't designed to handle a storm of any kind. matter of fact the last mediocre storm ripped pieces of my roof off of my house and caused a severe leak.
ReplyDeletei take the warnings seriously but there is only so much i could do. there's only one safe place in my house during a storm and thats in a small closet that is "storm protected".
im not very cautious when it comes to storms, i mainly worry about my electronics. ill unplug them during the storm just in case lightning hits and frys them.
I've been through so many natural disasters and lost so much to severe storms, that I usually don't make plans. When I do here sirens or alarms for storm warning, it is always on a sunny calm day. So when there is a real storm outside, I don't actually pay any attention to the weather. Maybe the timing of these excercises, are the problem. It's almost like when the boy cried wolf. But when the wolf actually shows, there's not much one could do but run and seek shelter.
ReplyDeleteIt's the same way I feel about storm warning. There's no where to really run, and nothing is 100% safe. So all anyone can do is hope for the best and prepare for the worse.
I used to live right across the street from a hospital so hearing sirens and even the helicopter was just a white noise. I hear the alarms go off on sunny days and the occasional cloudy day; its just noise. I take a superstitious way to telling for bad weather, I watch the animals to see if they hide so I generally open a window when it just not just for the animal but for the sound of rain. If the weather does turn for the worse I will go to my "safe place" and cover myself and other loved ones.
ReplyDeleteI've seen a tornado and been through some bad storms. Nothing that will alter my present ways though. Storms come and go, some bad some not so scary but no matter what you do your never 100 percent safe.
I'm generally not afraid of bad weather. I enjoy severe thunderstorms it isn't until a tornado watch warning:that I start to prepare.if the storm were to happen I would take my dog and go to the bathroom.not necessarily the sirens what is the weather outside looks bad and the weather channel is telling me that there's a severe weather problem then I start 2 get anxious I don't really think anything would have to happen for me to be more cautious
ReplyDeleteWhen there is bad weather, I take out a lawn chair and watch with a nice cold Bud Light. But on a serious note, I generally ignore the sirens in Indianapolis or Bloomington (Depending where I am). Unless there is a tornado that touches down in the area, I tend to wade it out.
ReplyDeleteOn a side note, I had an epic Indy 500 weekend, never underestimate the power of a pharaoh hat.
DeleteI am not at all prepared for any sort of storm in the place I live in now. I’m on the third floor and hardly ever stock up on groceries. My plan would be to race to my parents house to take cover in their storm cellar. If I lived somewhere where serious storms were more frequent and disastrous I would plan accordingly. When my family lived on a farm or any house with separate shelters I would really freak out about storms and I’d always pack all my clothing and stuffed animals into trash bags and hide in the basement for five hours if there was any sort of talk of a storm. Now I have indeed become complacent about any sort of warning or siren. The only time I have any sort of awareness of a threat nearby is when my paranoid little sister frantically calls me telling me were all going to die and that she loves me.
ReplyDeleteLike most Hoosiers, I have become too comfortable with the insane weather in Indiana. I don't have a plan and I don't plan to worry anymore about it. I always liked it when the weather got severe... after I got over my fear of it.
ReplyDeleteI guess I've never really been in the wrong spot. Nature is a whore.
Currently I am not prepared for any type of natural disaster that may come within the future. At the moment the idea of a disaster is not in mind, and having the concept of having enough food and beverages to manage possibly a few weeks is an concept that I have kept. I would listen to officials whom are able to handle disaster situations as such and will use their direction as guidance. As well as calling family in order to make sure that they are doing great at their location. I am not worrying about anything happening but do have some situations in my mind and I'm sure I will be able to handle that situation with the proper needs. When the weather has been progressively rainy I have found it calming but when the weather has been severely humid I found it annoying. I do not respond to more warnings until the actual situation is at our location and it is getting more worst. I would only be cautious during officials speaking out to the public when something needs to happen, just to be safe.
ReplyDeleteIf they weather gets to crazy I might take my dog acoustic guitar and pillows and blankets and camp in the tub. But normally I do not respond to warnings because when God feels its my time I cant fight it. Ive already been around a couple of tornadoes that have touched down but if my home had of been swept away maybe Id be more cautions instead of pissin in the wind.
ReplyDeleteI don't have any plans for emergency weather situations. I think that when it comes down to having something there for emergency purposes, I'm all for it. Indiana weather is crazy, so preventing something bad from happening is not always possible. As far as warnings go. I don't really respond to them as much as I should. I think here in Indiana we are to hesitate when it comes to warning signs and signals. I feel when its my time its my time and if its destined then its destined.
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