The dreary weather at the
beginning of this week is a good reminder that we are in the heart of tornado
season. Nebraska, South Dakota, Oklahoma, Texas and Kansas
make up Tornado alley, where tornadoes strike regularly in the spring and early
summer. The U.S. has an
average of 800 tornadoes every year, and dozens of lives are lost. Sometimes the difference in surviving
a weather event depends on preparing in advance.
For example, do you know where the
public shelters are in Stillwater? Stillwater’s
public shelters are the Ag Hall building (corner of Farm Road and Monroe) and the EngineeringSouth building (east of the OSU library).
The Stillwater Public Library is NOT a public shelter, but in the event
that you are at the library when there is severe weather, we have a plan to
keep staff members and library users as safe as possible.
Do you and your family have an
emergency plan? If not, the library can
help. We currently have several handout
sheets that will help you make an emergency kit and show you how to practice
tornado drills as a family. These
handouts also discuss other types of disasters and attacks and how to be ready
for them.
We also have informative books
and videos that explain why and how severe weather occurs. The books “Twisters” by Lucille Recht Penner
and “Twisters and Other Terrible Storms” by Will Osborne are great choices to
help you discuss your plans with your children.
Adults will appreciate “Tornado Alert” by Wendy Scavuzzo and “Storm warning: the story of a killer tornado” by Nancy Mathis. The whole family will enjoy DVDs such as “Storm Chasers” and “Tornado Alley.”
So come on in the library this
week, to pick up
some of these great resources and get prepared!
Good to know, thanks!
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