The Tornado Support Center

Countless men, women and children have experienced the tragic nature of a tornado and have survived and thrived. The following guide is designed to help you navigate your journey with the best information and resources that helped other survivors when they faced the same challenge.

TSC has scoured the Internet and assembled the links to the very best tornado resources: articles, blogs, forums and tools that can help you make better decisions and take action to overcome the range of physical, emotional and other challenges you may face.

As you'll see, we always welcome your ideas and suggestions to make this Tornadoes Guide even more helpful to survivors like you.

Just Found Out 

Survivors Say: Best Resources for Dealing with Tornadoes

• National Severe Storms Laboratory: Tornadoes...Nature's Most Violent Storms
  
• FEMA for Kids: Disaster Connection - Tornadoes
  
• The Online Tornado FAQ: Questions on Tornadoes
  

The Big Picture

Tornadoes are one of the most destructive and dangerous forces of nature. While much has been learned about tornadoes in recent years, there is still much left to understand.  The exact cause of tornadoes is still not completely clear, and while scientists have much better predictive methods for tornadoes than they did just a dozen years ago, tornado prediction is still an inexact science at best. Tornadoes can be extremely destructive, with wind speeds in excess of 200-300 miles per hour, some possibly greater than that. Tornadoes are classified according to their size and wind speed (destructive force) as T-1 through T-5, with a T-5 twister being the most powerful and destructive. Each year tornadoes cause several billions of dollars in property damage and, on average, kill approximately 60 people.

FEMA - Are You Ready? Tornadoes

Your Tornado Experience

Knowing what to do before, during and after a tornado may be all that keeps you alive:

• Emergency Preparedness Tips: Surviving a Tornado 
• North Carolina Cooperative Extension: Disaster [PDF File]

Your World

You’ve survived the tornado.  In fact, inexplicably, all of your neighbor’s houses were completely destroyed but your home, in the very center of all the destruction, was virtually unscathed. Why does a tornado destroy some homes and totally spare others just a few feet away?  The emotions associated with surviving a tornado can be overwhelming both during and after the experience.

My Super Charged Life: How I Survived An F5 Tornado 

Tornado Myths

• Opening windows will equalize air pressure and prevent an explosion.
  
• If in a car during a tornado, get under an overpass fast.
  
• Areas near lakes and rivers are safe from tornadoes.
  

Information and Recommended Links for Survivors

• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration: Severe Weather
• Weather Wiz Kids: Tornado
• ThinkQuest: What is a Tornado?

Creating a Support Circle

•    Set up your TSC Survivor Profile
•    Join support groups of other survivors or set up your own
•    Interact and provide updates on your profile or our forums 

Local Organizations That Can Help

If you need emergency help after a tornado strikes, call 911. For other assistance, authorities and volunteers will probably be available for rescue and aid operations. 

What Happens Now: Tornado

Prepare for disasters such as tornadoes, and find help when a disaster such as a tornado hits, from organizations that specialize in such programs, such as World Cares Center:

World Cares Center Disaster Preparedness

Churches can be a focal point for grass roots disaster relief efforts.  If you are having trouble finding someone who can help you get back on your feet following a tornado, you may consider reaching out to a local church group:

FlockFinder.com: Churches by State

Insurance Matters

Most homeowner’s polices cover a home for wind damage – and that’s what tornado damage generally is, so most homeowners are covered.  However, if you live in an area that is prone to tornadoes it will pay you to read your homeowner’s policy carefully for any wording that may be designed to allow the insurance company out of paying a tornado claim. If necessary, ask a lawyer to review your policy.  Keep in mind, too, that if you live near a lake or other body of water, and a tornado causes a surge of water which comes into your home, the water damage may not be covered by your policy.  In other words, don’t take anything for granted.  

• CNN Money: Insurance and Tornadoes - Are You Covered? 
• How to Get Tornado Insurance
  

In some cases it is even possible to get disaster relief from the government if you also have insurance.

FEMA: Tornado Victims With Insurance May Still Be Eligible For Disaster Assistance

Rebuilding and Repair Matters

If you need a contractor, whether it's for tornado repair or for any other reason, it helps if you can “speak their language.”  Here are 8 tips for dealing with contractors that should help you under any circumstances:

The Motley Fool: 8 Tips For Dealing With Contractors

The Federal Trade Commission has some words of cautionary advice on dealing with contractors following a natural disaster, such as a tornado. Remember, following a tornado a lot of people are going to be looking for contractors, which may increase demand for less-qualified contractors. Know how to protect yourself:

The Federal Trade Commission’s Guide for Dealing with Contractors After a Disaster [PDF File]

Health-care Providers Who Can Help

If you or a friend or family member sustains injuries during a tornado, you may need to go to the emergency room. Taking care of health-care emergencies will mean driving yourself or your loved one to a hospital, calling 911, or getting advice from your family doctor. If you need to go to the hospital, make sure the roads are safe to drive.

After a tornado, children can become especially traumatized. Fortunately there are professionals available who specialize in treating the stress that children feel following a natural disaster.

National Child Traumatic Stress Network: Recovery - After a Tornado

Talking is an important form of therapy, and having someone to talk to can relieve the stress that many survivors of a tornado experience. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has a list of mental heath experts that you can contact, broken down on a state-by-state basis.  Find a mental health organization in your state:

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Mental Health Organizations by State

The Emotional Rollercoaster

Surviving a tornado can be emotionally demanding. After a tornado, it's important to continue living your life normally, participating in the same daily activities you've always done. Support groups are also important to maintaining a healthy emotional state. Other than that, educating yourself on tornadoes may help you process your experience and move on.

Books Survivors Recommend

• Eyes in a Storm: How One Community Weathered Life After a Deadly Tornado
• Organize for Disaster: Prepare Your Family and Your Home for Any Natural Or Unnatural Disaster
• Tornado: A Look Back at Louisville's Dark Day, April 3, 1974
  

What Survivors Wish They'd Known

Communicating with Health-care Providers, Contractors and Insurance Agents

• Bring a friend or family member with you to your appointments, not only to provide support but to lend an extra ear to understand everything your health-care provider, insurance provider or contractor has to say and to think up any more questions you may not realize are important at the time.
  
• Don't be afraid to ask any questions you feel you need the answer to, even if you may be scared of the answer. Ignorance won't help you - emotionally, financially or physically.
  
• Write down any questions you may have ahead of time and the answers to those questions as the professional walks you through them.  Don't be afraid to ask for clarification on anything.

Dealing with Tornadoes: Information for Co-Survivors

How you can help

Losing a home or property in a tornado will undoubtedly leave a survivor overwhelmed with emotions. As a co-survivor, the best help that you can immediately offer is with basic needs. Offering food, shelter, an extra vehicle or clothing will allow the survivor to go about the business of recovery.

What to say

• “I'm so sorry for your loss.”
• “As soon as you feel up to it I’ll help out in whatever way I can.”
• “Thousands of people have survived this situation, and I know you can too.”

What not to say

• “You knew you were living in tornado alley when you bought here.”
• “It's just a house.”
• “Don’t count on your insurance company, they’re just out to screw you.”

Things you can do for a survivor every day

• Offer to take care of children.  Surviving parents will need help in caring for their children so they can attend to the business of recovery. Offering even a few hours of sitting service will allow parents to focus on the tasks of rebuilding their lives.
• Offer to take the survivors to a movie or dinner. They need a break.  Helping the survivor find a balance between work, recovery and recreation will help greatly.
• If you're capable, help with the rebuilding process. If you don't have those skills, simply listen to your friend's concerns. Offering an ear is another way to help relieve the stress of dealing with the aftermath of a tornado. Whatever the case, the tornado survivor will need help to get through a very trying time.

How to build a support network

• Set up your TSC Co-Survivor profile
• Create a support group for your friend or family member
• Interact and provide updates

How to help a survivor deal with day-to-day challenges

• Transportation issues may arise during the insurance claims process. Helping survivors to and from school and work will greatly help reduce the mental and emotional stress of surviving a tornado.
• Oftentimes tragic events will help to create a special bond and firm resolve within families, yet with other families great stress and financial burdens can tear them apart. Offering encouragement, daily affirmation and free time for parents and spouses can help alleviate unnecessary and undesired stress.

Recovery / Recurrence

Statistically, most people will never have to deal with a tornado. However, of those who have experienced a twister once, and who remain living in the same area, some might expect to be in a tornado again. Understanding how tornadoes work and the probabilities of a tornado striking again might help relieve some anxiety.

About.com: Preparing For Tornadoes

If you live in an area that is prone to tornadoes, you don’t have to sit by helplessly waiting for one to strike.  There are several things you can do to make yourself and your home more prepared in case a tornado does hit it.  Here is some helpful advice on what you can do before a tornado.

Centers For Disease Control and Prevention: Tornadoes - Being Prepared

After a tornado most people choose to rebuild.  While your chances of being hit by a second tornado in the same spot are slim, nevertheless you cannot rule it out entirely.  There are ways of building that will make your new home less susceptible to future tornado damage.

Flame.org: Tornado-resistant construction

Tornadoes move through the American Midwest year after year, leaving thousands of people homeless after each season.  Read 10 inspirational stories of hope and recovery following one of nature's most powerful disasters:
Enquirer: Tornado Survivors - 10 Stories  

Read how a local community rallied around survivors of a tornado:

Mirror Reporter: Local Residents Lend A Helping Hand 

And read how one small town banded together to keep life moving forward after the tornado:

Guideposts: Rebuilding After a Tornado

Lastly, learn how one family took the opportunity to go green when rebuilding after a tornado: 

49 News: Family Gets Creative With Rebuilding After Tornado

Give Back

What helped you while you were dealing with the tornado, were rebuilding, and then realized your life was back on track? Take a look back at your journey and share with other what helped you and what you wished you would have known/done during your tornado experience. You can create a profile, reach out to other survivors, join support circles or share your story by following the links at TheSurvivorsClub.org.

And if you would like to donate to a cause that helps people who survive disasters such as tornadoes, consider this one: 

World Cares Center Disaster Preparedness

 

Unfortunately, tornadoes do more than just level houses – they can also take lives.  Why is it that someone else is taken and you are spared?  How do you cope with the loss of someone in such a devastating way? Losing a loved one in a tragic accident such as a tornado comes as a sudden shock, often leaving an incomparable grief in its wake. Learn how to process this pain and loss:

• MedicineNet: Grief - Loss of a Loved One
• Suite 101: Coping With Death