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Emergency Preparedness

The following links take you to important informational sites. They will open in a separate window or tab.
  • Center for Domestic Preparedness Home Page
  • ​Homeland Security News
  • Audrain County Health Unit
  • Emergency Management Institute – FEMA Independent Study Program
  • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
  • Nitro-Pak.com: Innovative & Affordable Preparedness Gear
  • Nixle Community Information Service– Audrain County Joint Communications

Start your preparedness initiative by assembling a basic Tornado Safety Kit containing:
  • First aid kit and essential medications
  • Battery-powered radio, flashlight and extra batteries
  • Canned food and manual can opener
  • Bottled water
  • Sturdy shoes and work gloves

Know the Signs
  • Strong, persistent rotation in the base of a cloud.
  • Whirling dust or debris on the ground under a cloud base – tornadoes sometimes have no visible funnel.
  • Hail or heavy rain followed by dead calm or a fast, intense wind shift. Many tornadoes, are wrapped in heavy precipitation and can’t be seen.
  • Loud, continuous roar or rumble, which doesn’t fade in a few seconds like thunder.
  • If it’s night, look for small, bright, blue-green to white flashes at ground level (as opposed to silvery lightning up in the clouds). These lights are power lines being snapped by very strong wind, maybe a tornado.
  • Persistent lowering of the cloud base.

Know What to Do
Stay tuned to your local radio or TV for weather reports, or listen to a NOAA weather radio for more detailed information when weather conditions are favorable for the formation of tornadoes.

Additionally, you may want to consider taking the following actions:
When a Tornado WATCH is issued –
  • Tornadoes could develop in your area.
  • Stay tuned to your local radio, TV or NOAA weather radio for further information and possible warnings.
Be prepared to take cover if necessary.
When a Tornado WARNING is issued a tornado has been sighted or has been indicated by NWS Doppler radar.
  • Warnings are given to individual counties or cities and include the tornado’s location, direction and speed.
  • If you are in or near its path, seek shelter immediately.
If a Tornado is Headed Your Way
  • Shelter immediately in the nearest substantial building.
  • Go to the building’s basement. If there is no basement, move to a small, windowless interior room such as a closet, bathroom or interior hall on the lowest level of the building.
  • Be sure to use the stairs to reach the lowest level, not an elevator.
  • Protect your body from flying debris with a heavy blanket or pillows.
Take precautions if you can not get to a substantial building.
If you are in:
  • Open buildings (shopping malls, gymnasiums or civic centers) then try to get into the restroom or an interior hallway.
  • If there is no time to go anywhere else, seek shelter right where you are.
  • Try to get up against something that will support or deflect falling debris.
  • Protect your head by covering it with your arms.
Automobiles:
  • Get out of your vehicle and try to find shelter inside a sturdy building.
  • A culvert or ditch can provide shelter if a substantial building is not nearby — lie down flat and cover your head with your hands.
  • Do not take shelter under a highway overpass or bridge, because debris could get blown under them or the structures themselves could be destroyed.
Outdoors:
  • Try to find shelter immediately in the nearest substantial building.
  • If no buildings are close, lie down flat in a ditch or depression and cover your head with your hands.
Mobile homes:
  • Do not stay in mobile homes.
  • You should leave immediately and seek shelter inside a nearby sturdy building or lie down in a ditch away from your home, covering your head with your hands.
  • Mobile homes are extremely unsafe during tornadoes.
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  • Home
  • Make A Payment
  • About Us
    • Audrain Ambulance Blog
    • Board Information
    • Staff
  • Helpful Resources
    • Emergency Preparedness
    • HIPPA Compliance Information
    • About Your Privacy >
      • Medical Privacy
      • Website Privacy
    • Health Information >
      • FAQ | Helpful Hints
      • What to do after calling 911
  • Billing Department
  • Calendar
  • Training
  • Contact Us