I live in Oklahoma. Land of the tornadoes. Land of straight line winds that do more damage overall than tornadoes. Land of hail, pounding holes in roofs and cars and people and pets.
I know a lot about surviving these common disasters.
Let's go with the fun one first - hail.
The best way to survive hail is the be inside some sturdy shelter. The shelter will get battered, but you should be OK. It's not common for even the large golf ball and grapefruit sized hail to actually penetrate all the way into a sturdy shelter, and if it does break through the roof, it does so much slower and likely broken up. So if hail is predicted, seek shelter.
If you are driving, and there is no tornadic activity or high winds, park beneath a bridge or get into a parking garage on the lower levels, pull into a garage or tunnel or somewhere with a roof overhead.
You could carry my hail-protection kit. It's prevented my car from getting hail damage when parked in the drive or parking lots. It's ugly. It's unwieldy. It's awkward to set up. But it works if you want to go through the trouble of it.
Here's what you need to make your own hail-protection cover for your car (and you, if you have to sit inside the car during a hail storm):
2 queen-sized flat sheets (you may need more depending on the size of your car)
2 large heavy duty air mattresses - the kind used for a back-up bed, not the camping kind or the swimming pool kind
air pump (if you can afford it, get the kind that plugs into your car' for power)
bungee cords, grommets, or hooks to fasten everything to the car
How you put it together:
On a nice day with little wind (good luck if you live in Oklahoma!), inflate the mattresses and position them over the front and back windows of your car. Place a sheet (2 if your car is huge) over that and mark where the mattresses go.
Stitch the sheets together with pockets for the air mattresses - the sheets will keep the mattresses from blowing off the car.
On the corners of the sheets, insert heavy duty grommets or sew in bungee cords set so they will hook firmly under the car. If you use grommets, attach shorter bungee cords or hooks that will attach the sheets to your car.
To store in the car against need:
Slide the air mattresses inside the pockets you sewed in the sheets. Fold this over the bungee cords and air pump. Set inside a small box that fits in your trunk or luggage area.
To use:
Pull out the box, unfold the sheet with air mattresses over the car and attach with bungee cords. Inflate the mattresses (easier if you are inside the car, but the sheets should give you enough space to open a car door and slide in and out to inflate the mattresses.
Your car will still get dinged, but the windows should get through the storm intact, or with just small cracks.
When the hail has passed, deflate the mattresses, dry things out, and re-store against the next need.
How it works:
The air acts as a cushion against the falling hail and slows it dramatically down, absorbing and dispersing the force. It does a better job than foam, even the high density foam, and much better than styrofoam.
This can also protect your car against some flying debris in a tornado. It will not protect it from a tree or roof falling on it, or a tree limb shoved through it, or other bizarre things that may happen too close to a tornado, but small things should be warded off.
Bring your outdoor animals inside. If you are not home, make sure they have a strong shelter they can get into during a hail storm - garage, shed, really sturdy dog house, barn, strong chicken coop...
If you've got time, staking air mattresses over your cold frames and gardens can reduce hail damage to your garden. Floating row covers and cloches generally get battered, and so do the plants beneath them.
Wind Protection:
Really, other than being inside a sturdy building, there's not much to do for wind protection. Your roof will blow off no matter what if the wind is strong enough. You can't stop that, just insure against it.
Like hail, you seek shelter. If you have to be outside in high winds, wear a scarf to hold your hair out of your face, and another scarf to cover your nose and mouth so you can breathe. You could use a surgical mask or allergy mask instead of a scarf. Wear goggles to protect your eyes - swim goggles are good.
Stakes and floating row covers may help protect plants.
Make sure your outdoor animals have shelter from strong winds - windbreaks include hedges, shrubs, trees, walls, or fences as well as sheds, barns, coops, dog houses.
Tornadoes:
Avoid underpasses. They act like vacuums to suck you out and into the tornado.
If you are outdoors, seek shelter - a basement is best. Failing a basement, find a ditch and lie in it face down, protect the back of your head with your arms. Make sure the ditch isn't one prone to flash flooding. If in doubt, find an area away from trees that's flat (or maybe a lower area) and lie face down, covering your head with your arms.
If you are in a car, don't stay in the car! It can quickly become a projectile with you in it, and the crash when it lands (assuming you aren't injured by the windows breaking and debris being forced inside) will seriously hurt you, if not kill you.
No, get out of the car, seek shelter or a low spot and go face down.
Keep a bicycle helmet in the car to protect your head if you do have to abandon the car and seek a ditch.
If you are in a business, follow their directions to shelter. If they don't seem to know what to do, find yourself a low area as close to the center of the building as possible, and hunker down. Protect your head. Avoid areas beneath heavy objects. You might not be able to tell if there are heavy objects above the ceiling, but do your best. If you can be close to sturdy shelving that can offer some protection against falling debris that can help. I'd head for the house linens department and burrow among the pillows, mattress pads, and blankets in a department store.
At home, have a designated safe area - a basement is best, but beneath a stair well works, as does a room or closet with no windows. If you don't have a basement or storm shelter, find get to the lowest floor of the house, the most central location with no (or few) windows. The bathroom is a good room if it has no windows, as it is a reinforced room and the sides and bottom of the bathtub can offer protection. Hunker as low as possible and cover up with blankets, sleeping bags, inflated air mattresses.
Have a disaster kit:
In a bin:
Water for at least 3 days per person and animal(s)
First aid kit
flashlight and spare batteries
battery or self-winding weather radio(if not hearing impaired)
manual can opener
spare batteries
3 days of food per person and animal(s)
Crate for animals
poop pads and/or litter box
cell phone and solar charger for phone
bike helmet, spare clothes, spare sturdy shoes per person
cash (ATMs and credit card scanners don't work when the power is lost)
spare keys
copies of essential documents in a waterproof file container
A tent and camp cooking gear and a portable toilet and shower tent may also prove useful for the first 2 - 3 days afterwards before official help can arrive and help sort matters out. Local hotels may be filled to capacity, and your friends and neighbors may also be temporarily homeless. Being able to set up camp on your property can help while things get sorted and settled.
You need to be prepared in case your home is completely blown away and only debris remains.
If you have time, put your family photos and albums in a sturdy waterproof bin with your name and contact information inside the bin as well as on the outside. Do this also for any family heirlooms and things you hope to be able to recover afterwards. Place them in closets on the lowest level of your house -or basement if you have one.
Most of Oklahoma has such a high water table that I've never seen a home here that has a basement. Storm shelters do exist, but they are small, cramped, and meant to be used for no more than a couple of hours.
Some people say the worst of the tornado is over when the tornado has passed.
I believe the worst of the tornado is the aftermath, the clean-up, the loss, and I recommend prepping for that every bit as much as for the actual time the tornado wreaks its destruction. If you survive the tornado itself, then you need to be able to survive the aftermath.
My aftermath kit contains cleaners, sterilizers, a chainsaw, hatchet, crosscut saw, work gloves, cleaning gloves, face masks, shovel, rake, bleach, twine, rope, scissors, coveralls, work shoes, phone numbers of handymen, repair services, etc., and a notebook and pen. That's in addition to the regular survival kit of water, food, first aid.
After a tornado passes and has done damage, there are hazards such as flooding, falling debris, collapsing buildings, and blocked roads. Avoid fallen power lines and puddles with wires in them, and avoid using matches or lighters in case of natural gas or fuel tank leaks. Be alert and proceed with caution, as there may be sharp objects scattered about the ground. Use a walking stick or cane to prod and move things if needed. Wear sturdy shoes. This is not the time to be wearing flip-flops.
If you are handicapped, you will have to modify your survival plans according to your abilities.
If you have pets, gather them up and contain them in a safe place - crates are best as they provide protection as well as confinement. Itzl and Xoco each have their own Ready America evacuation kit. If you have to go to a shelter after a disaster, small animals in these kits are more likely to be accepted in those shelters. The local fire department gave Itzl and Xoco these kits because they are accepted by our local shelters. Check in your area to see if your local shelters will accept a kit like this for your pets. They also make these kits for cats. And people.
Itzl and Xoco's Disaster Preparedness Kits:
I brought the kits out to MedFair to educate people in pet care and safety as part of Water Paws, so ignore the barrel of treats - Itzl and Xoco won't eat those treats, but many of the dogs that came by loved them.
Take care of yourselves, your critters, and your property. Don't expect others to do for you what you can do for yourself. That which you can't do for yourself, I've found others are really ready and willing to help you on those things if they see that you've done what you can.
Helpers are everywhere, and you can be a blessing or a burden to them.
Be a blessing. Prep as much as you can for yourself. Do what you can to take care of yourself, your family, your critters, your property. And then, you, too, can be a helper.
Wind, hail, tornadoes - these are easy to survive if you plan ahead and put together your kits.Even the aftermath is easier if you've prepped for it.