On April 26, 2015 the National Weather Services reported tornado warnings and severe thunderstorms for North Texas. Do you know what to do or where to seek shelter if it happens to you?
I recall many years ago I had a plan. I knew exactly what to do and my children did too. We lived in Illinois and had a 4 1/2 deep crawl space with a trap door from the utility room into the crawl space. We had gone through rehearsals and actual tornado warnings many times. However, when a real tornado struck our home town, my daughter was teaching swimming classes at the YMCA, my son was on his way home from school, and I was on lock down at the local community college unable to leave the building. It was the most frightening moments for me because I had no way to contact my children. Three tornado struck that day in all three locations where my chilren and I were at, at the time. We survived but the feelings were chilling. This was a time before cell phones and even though communication is better today, a cell phone and Social Media is only good if it works.
What I failed to do as a parent was to devise a back-up plan in case we were separated, which was the case. The tormented feelings of guilt lingered and did not go away. The children are now all grown up and we all live in different places. Yet the Tornado warnings always leaves me feeling uneasy. As a Realtor, I now worry about my clients and vacant properties. Home owner insurance helps but responsibility and accountability for people remains.
If the National Weather Services announces a Tornado, do you really know what to do under different circumstances?
©Patricia Feager 4/27/2015
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