Make sure someone knows how to turn off electricity and gas in the event the school is damaged. When children are assembled in school basements or interior hallways during a tornado drill or Warning, they should be instructed to respond to a specific command to assume protective postures, facing interior walls, when the danger is imminent. It is essential that this command be instantly understood and obeyed. Illustrations showing the protective position should be posted on bulletin boards. Keep children at school beyond regular hours if threatening weather is expected.
Children are safer at school than in a bus or car.
Generally speaking, school buses should continue to operate during Watches, but not during tornado Warnings. School buses are easily toppled by tornado and non-tornadic thunderstorm winds. If the school bus is caught in the open when a tornado is approaching, the children should be escorted to a nearby ditch or ravine and made to lie face down, hands over heads. They should be far enough away so the bus cannot topple on them. School-bus drivers should be regularly drilled in tornado procedures.