What you can do to try to stay safe when a tornado hits, and also well beforehand

Record warmth this winter fueled a deadly tornado outbreak across parts of Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana and Arkansas in March. Then tornadoes killed multiple people and injured at least 35 others in Iowa. Recent twisters have even struck in places unaccustomed to them, such as one near Los Angeles in 2023 that tore apart rooftops and injured one person.

The ideal places to take shelter are enclosed, underground shelters and basements, or a safe room above ground that's designed to withstand tornadic winds. But many people don't have that option — in Oklahoma, for example, the clay soil makes building basements expensive, so lots of homes don't have them. If you have to be above ground in a tornado, “your goal is to put as many walls and barriers between you and the outside as you possibly can,” Smith said.

Recent research has shown that closing your home's garage door and all interior doors could ease the high winds somewhat by compartmentalizing them, according to Smith. Doing so is is recommended during thunderstorms and tornadoes by the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety. That's the opposite of a commonly held misconception: “There's still a chunk of people out there who think you're supposed to open the doors and windows to equalize the pressure,” Smith said.

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