Since the only children I have are the furry kind, I don’t think like a parent when it comes to emergency preparedness. My family’s emergency plan only accounts for two adults and our pets, so from time to time questions come my way that I just never would have thought of…
JoAnne Cronan, the Americorps member from our Metro East Service Center just asked me such a question the other day. Recently the recommendation for what to do if you are in a car during a tornado changed. For years the main option was to get into a low lying place, such as a ditch, however, last summer, after much research, the recommendation was changed some what:
If you are caught outdoors, seek shelter in a basement, shelter or sturdy building. If you cannot quickly walk to a shelter:
•Immediately get into a vehicle, buckle your seat belt and try to drive to the closest sturdy shelter.
•If flying debris occurs while you are driving, pull over and park.
Now you have the following options as a last resort:
•Stay in the car with the seat belt on. Put your head down below the windows, covering with your hands and a blanket if possible.
•If you can safely get noticeably lower than the level of the roadway, exit your car and lie in that area, covering your head with your hands.
Your choice should be driven by your specific circumstances.
The parents’ question was: child safety seats and booster seats are created in such a way that they keep children above the level of the windows, so what should the parents do in the case of a tornado? Take the child out of the seat, crawl into the backseat themselves?
In emergencies, there is almost never a perfect situation. The goal is to do the best you can with the time you have to keep yourself safe. What car seats do is provide extra support for a young child in the event of a crash or other trauma and to keep the child from being ejected from the car. This probably outweighs the importance of the child being below the level of the window should the car be flipped. While the protective instinct is to hold the child to keep them safe, this won’t protect the child in this sort of situation. Many times children will have a blanket, and the parent can put it over the child’s head to help protect him if time allows. Also, the parent most likely doesn't have the time to crawl into the backseat, buckle in and get back below the level of the window.
The best thing to do in a tornado is always to be in a sturdy shelter or building.
Elena Sabin is the community disaster education specialist for the St. Louis Area Chapter.