The safest thing to do during a tornado is to take refuge in a tornado shelter. Last May an outbreak of tornadoes ripped through parts of Oklahoma and Kansas, destroying entire neighborhoods and killing 49 people. Following the storm, the Federal Emergency Management Agency sent a team of engineers to study why so many buildings failed to stand up to the wind. They also looked at the buildings that suffered little damage, in an effort to see why they survived. FEMA Director James Lee Witt told CBS Early Show Bryant Gumbel that only one percent of tornado damage happens in the center of the storm.
People can bolster their homes to prevent damage that occurs in a tornado's fringe area.
The FEMA team concluded that the best means to reduce loss of life and minimize personal injury during a tornado is to take refuge in a specifically designed tornado shelter. Witt told the story of a woman who survived at the center of a tornado because she had built a concrete safe room within her house. He also recommended that people who have garages with double doors might want to consider refitting their homes with two single garage doors. If they will do that, we'll have less tornado damage in the future. It could save your life and your families.