It's a Landslide!

We may say that a politician wins by a landslide but few Americans (other than coastal Californians) have ever experience a real landslide. When I lived in Florida I experienced a different type of land movement - a sinkhole. As Floridians drink the fresh water underground and the aquifer drops, the land above sometimes collapses, swallowing cars and entire homes.

Landslides are extremely dangerous. Masses of rock, mud and debris move down a slope like a river of earth, striking with little or no warning at avalanche speeds. They also can travel several miles from their source, growing in size as they pick up trees, boulders, cars and other materials.

Recognize Landslide Warning Signs (FEMA)

• Changes occur in your landscape such as patterns of storm-water drainage on slopes (especially the places where runoff water converges) land movement, small slides, flows, or progressively leaning trees.
• Doors or windows stick or jam for the first time.
• New cracks appear in plaster, tile, brick, or foundations.
• Outside walls, walks, or stairs begin pulling away from the building.
• Slowly developing, widening cracks appear on the ground or on paved areas such as streets or driveways.
• Underground utility lines break.
• Bulging ground appears at the base of a slope.
• Water breaks through the ground surface in new locations.
• Fences, retaining walls, utility poles, or trees tilt or move.
• A faint rumbling sound that increases in volume is noticeable as the landslide nears.
• The ground slopes downward in one direction and may begin shifting in that direction under your feet.
• Unusual sounds, such as trees cracking or boulders knocking together, might indicate moving debris.
• Collapsed pavement, mud, fallen rocks, and other indications of possible debris flow can be seen when driving (embankments along roadsides are particularly susceptible to landslides).

Winter Watch or Warning? What's the Difference?

“The snow was endless, a heavy blanket on the outdoors; it had a way about it. A beauty. But I knew that, like many things, beauty could be deceiving.”
― Cambria Hebert, Whiteout

I can never keep the weather warning terms straight. Which is worse, a watch or a warning? Here's what you need to know, listed in order of increasing severity:

• Winter weather advisory: expect winter weather conditions to cause inconvenience and hazards.
• Frost/freeze warning: expect below-freezing temperatures.
• Winter storm watch: be alert; a storm is likely.
• Winter storm warning: take action; the storm is in or entering the area.
• Blizzard warning: seek refuge immediately! Snow and strong winds, near-zero visibility, deep snow drifts, and life-threatening wind chill.

Bottom Line

The CDC has put together some excellent booklets for winter preparedness.

See Winterindoor safety: http://www.bt.cdc.gov/disasters/winter/duringstorm/indoorsafety.asp
And Winter Checklist: http://www.bt.cdc.gov/disasters/winter/beforestorm/supplylists.asp

More Twisters!

"Then the air was filled with 10,000 things. Boards, poles, cans, garments, stoves, whole sides of the little frame houses, in some cases the houses themselves, were picked up and smashed to earth. And living beings, too. A baby was blown from its mother's arms. A cow, picked up by the wind, was hurled into the village restaurant."
- St. Louis Post-Dispatch, March 20, 1925

Last month the South was hammered by tornadoes. Two weeks ago a massive thunderstorm created 137 tornadoes, killing over 180 people, and destroying sections of Tuscaloosa, Birmingham, and Huntsville, Ala. Do you know what to do if a tornado is reported?

* Know where to go
If caught outdoors, where is the nearest shelter? If you live in a mobile home, leave it!  A tornado can tip, roll, and destroy mobile homes.

* Know what to bring to a shelter
After the tornado has passed you may find your home completely destroyed. Your go-kit should include identification, copies of important financial documents, insurance contracts, important contact information, and anything else you'll need to access your money and rebuild.

* Know who to contact
Have a relative outside your community serve as an emergency contact so if family members are caught by the storm in different locations, they can call their status and state what shelter they can be found at.

* Listen for NOAA tornado watches and warnings
As described yesterday, there are free and fee services that can alert you to a NOAA weather event in your area. NOAA weather radios will wake you up if a storm system arrives overnight, when you're sleeping.

Tornado WATCH = keep a eye to the sky. Conditions are favorable for tornadoes so prepare.
Tornado WARNING = a funnel cloud or its precursor has been spotted. Get to safety immediately.

* Know the local counties
If there's a Tornado Warning for Rockland county - how far away is that? Should you worry? At home I know the neighboring NY counties but no clue about Connecticut where I work.

* Get away from windows
The main danger is flying debris from high winds. Find a room that is window free if possible. Go to the lowest room or basement in the house (tornadoes can rip off the tops of homes.)  Duck under a sturdy piece of furniture and hang on.

* What to do if outdoors
If you are outdoors, lie flat on the ground in the lowest spot you can find and cover your head with your arms. Ditches or holes are great but don't spend so much time searching that the tornado catches you standing up.

* After the twister passes...
Don't enter damaged buildings - they may collapse on you. Leaky gas mains may start fires or explosions. Stay far away from downed power lines. Keep listening to weather reports, since the storm may be part of a system spawning several tornadoes.

Bottom Line

Here are some tornado myths from the Christian Science Monitor:

Myth: If a tornado comes, it will inflict less damage if you open your windows to equalize the air pressure inside and outside the structure.
Fact: don't bother; the tornado-blown debris will shatter your windows. It's not pressure but high winds that will cause damage.

Myth: If you're caught outside when a tornado approaches, head for a highway underpass. It will shelter you.
Fact: an underpass won't provide much shelter from wind or debris. Lie flat in a ditch instead.

Myth: A tornado can't happen here.
Fact: They happen in every state.

Tornado!!!

"The answer my friend is blowin' in the wind,
the answer is blowin' in the wind"
- lyrics by Bob Dylan

On June 5th an F2 class tornado hit the town Streator, Illinois; in total 15 tornadoes hit the region during the storm. 8,400 residents lost power. Here is a first hand account,

"The twister tore through the southern part of town, wreaking a path of destruction 400 yards wide. It didn’t sound like a freight train — the usual description you read in the newspapers. Freight trains don’t roar like a wild beast and beat holy hell against your windows seeking to get in. The rattling, clacking, and shaking of my brick house was augmented by the rending, tearing sounds of tree limbs snapping, the popping of transformers (sounding just like old-fashioned flash bulbs exploding), and a strange, terrifying high-pitched whine that made it sound as if all the furies in the world had been unleashed and were circling my home in anticipation of its destruction."

Here's an report from trailer park,

"[Dan] ran back inside, told his wife to get their 11-month-old daughter and for several terrifying moments, the mother and father hunkered down over their daughter, their bodies shielding her as windows shattered, appliances tumbled over and the entire trailer shook violently with the force of a tornado passing by. "I just kept praying," [the mother] said. "I thought that my baby would get sucked away."

The good news about this event is that no one was killed (although 50+ were injured and 30+ homes destroyed). Modern weather radar gave advance warning so residents could shelter in their basement. Even so there is an element of luck and fate and fickleness when dealing with tornadoes. It can destroy one house utterly and leave one next door untouched.

Also keep in mind that tornadoes are FAST. The event in Streator was over in three minutes. When the sirens blare you must respond immediately; don't dither and don't step out on the porch to see what the sky looks like.

I read another account today (must have been a different storm) of a father sheltering in the basement with his family. Almost immediately the power when out so he and dog went upstairs to start the emergency power generator. It was at that moment the tornado hit and blew away everything above ground level. If he had stayed in the shelter in the dark he would have lived.

Bottom Line

Most people who die in tornadoes are hit by debris from their own house. Do you have a safe room to shelter in? For tornadoes it should be below ground if possible, if not then a first floor interior room without windows. Stock the room with flashlights, water, blankets, games, hand-powered radio, bucket for a toilet, and anything else you might need for 30-60 minutes while a storm blows overhead. The purpose of the shelter is defeated if you have to leave it to get something you forgot.

Get Out Of Dodge

“The evacuation of major cities - we have a problem with that. We've never done that before.” ~ Henry Renteria, Director of the California Governor's Office of Emergency Services

About a year ago I wrote about the acronym TEOTWAWKI. Just this morning I came across another acronym G.O.O.D. that ties nicely into an article at NewScientist.com, Asteroid attack: Putting Earth's defences to the test. GOOD stands for “Get Out Of Dodge” and refers to emergency evacuation planning. When a hurricane is bearing down or an asteroid is about to strike your town, you won’t be the only one trying to escape. I recommend the movie, Deep Impact, which has a scene near the end of a crowded highway, no one’s moving, the asteroid is coming, so naturally people start panicking and driving on the grass, getting into accidents and getting into fights. Every man for himself!

The best solution to GOOD is getting out quickly, before the rest of the public jams the roads. If your go-kits are packed and ready you can get a head start on the crowd. Do not delay. Do not think you can escape “last minute”. You might also want to fill a gas can immediately because stations along the escape routes will quickly sell out.

When evacuating millions of people, I suspect every option is a lose-lose scenario. The highways will jam. Secondary roads can become closed with a single accident. If you have an AWD vehicle you could try off-road driving but have to cope with fences, ditches, streams, etc. In all cases a GPS unit can help provide alternative routes if you get stuck.

Bottom Line

Because of the hazards of evacuation, sheltering at home is often a better choice if you’re well stocked and prepared. But sometimes (killer hurricane or asteroid) you must get out of town, no choice. What will you do?

Emergency Sirens

"It's a twister! It's a twister!" - Zeke in Wizard of Oz

Do you know the sound of the emergency sirens in your town? Do you know the town policy for using them? A week ago several people in Mena, Arkansas were killed by a tornado. Some could not hear the town siren, some ignored it, some thought the emergency was over when the killer tornado struck.

Tornadoes (like earthquakes) can strike more than once. People often leave their safeyzone after the first strike and are surprised and injured by a second touch down or after-quake. The best advice is to stay put until you hear an all clear signal. Only evacuate if your "safe spot" has become unsafe because of fire, bad air or it might fall on you.

The situation in Mena was particularly confusing. The tornado sirens sounded three times and three times "harmless" funnel clouds passed over the town. After a half hour of this people either assumed the worst was over or clearly nothing bad was going to happen. "The siren was going off in plenty of time, I just didn't take it serious enough," said one resident.

Then the siren sounded for a fourth time and within minutes a killer tornado hit. 600 homes were damaged or destroyed. Another resident who ignored the siren said, "I didn't have time to go nowhere, I just grabbed a hold of the wall and held on."

Many residents were confused by the sirens going on and off, did "off" mean the danger was over? "We heard the siren two or three times. It would sound off and it would quit. We were getting ready to get out of the building when it hit."

Even the local weather caster wasn't exactly sure why the siren sounded multiple times. He suggested that some communities cannot run their sirens continuously because their motors will burn up.

Bottom Line
Find out the siren policy for your town. Will the motor burn up or will the sirens continue to sound so long as the danger will last?

Level Orange

"Auntie Em, Auntie Em! It's a twister!"
- Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz

FEMA gets a lot of teasing by comedians for the new color levels indicating the risk of terrorism. But in reality, this system is far less confusing than the verbal warnings used for weather events.

Quick test - which is more dangerous: a Tornado Warning or Tornado Watch?

1. Tornado Watch (conditions are favorable for a tornado)
2. Particularly Dangerous Situation Tornado Watch
3. Tornado Alert (formerly used)
4. Tornado Warning (a tornado was spotted by eye or radar)
5. Tornado Emergency (rarely used for monster tornados in urban areas)

Do you know there are four escalating levels of flooding?

1. flood watch
2. flash flood watch
3. flood warning
4. flash flood warning

Tsunamis can be

1. “advisory”
2. a “watch”
3. “warning”.

Another test, which is worse: your nearby nuclear power plant issues a “notification of unusual event”or a “alert”?

1. "Notification of Unusual Event"
   A small problem has occurred inside the plant. No radiation leak.
2. "Alert"
   Small amounts of radiation have leaked inside the plant only.
3. "Site Area Emergency"
   Radiation has leaked within the plant site, outside the building but within the fences. Area sirens might be sounded.
4. "General Emergency"
   Radiation may leak off the plant site. The sirens will sound. Follow promptly instructions on your local radio or television station.

Bottom Line

Threat level messages can be confusing. Remember that a Watch means keep your eyes open (watch out) and a Warning means take action (you have been warned).