How to Stay Calm During a Tornado

A high velocity wind funnel, with the power to uproot homes, trees and vehicles is enough to make anyone panic. But panic won't do you any good during a tornado and will probably just make matters worse. You can stay calm during a tornado if you take a few simple steps and plenty of precautions. Here’s how.

Things You'll Need

• Common sense
• Prayer or meditation
• Lucky charm (optional)

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Instructions

• 1

  Know it’s coming. Once the sky turns green and deathly still, you know you may have a tornado on your hands. Take the preliminary steps of opening all windows so the wind can blow through them, rather than blow them out, and gather up your kids and pets.

• 2

  Move to safe territory. Basements, cellars and reinforced bathrooms are the best place to be during tornado. Try to position yourself beneath large furniture to protect yourself from any debris that may be flung in your direction. Worst places are near windows. If you happen to be outside, find the lowest ground you can, such as in a ditch.

• 3

  Assume the position. Crouch down with your knees beneath you, just like in yoga’s child’s pose, and place your hands, palm down and intertwined, on the back of your neck to protect the top of your spine. Tuck your head between your knees.

• 4

  Stop imagining the worst. Your mind can go off on all these weird tangents, picturing your house being smashed to smithereens and your car ending up in Maine. So what/ As long as you, your family and your pets survive, all else can be replaced. Imagine, instead, the tornado is simply raging through to clean up the debris in the yard or that pile of trash you haven’t gotten to in weeks.

• 5

  Know that you are doing all you can to stay safe and there is nothing more you can do. Worrying is only going to make the situation more intolerable. Rather than a horror, look at the situation as an adventure and think how much stronger you will become once you survive this thing.

• 6

  Pray, chant or meditate. If you believe in God, call on Him now. Also do some very deep breathing and focus only on counting your breath so all other thoughts flit out of your head. Chant a positive mantra, such as, “The sky is green but we will survive.”