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Masters of Disaster
A disaster safety curriculum for use by teachers of children,
grades K-2, 3-5, and 6-8.

TEACHERS: Refer to the lesson plans & activities on lightning in your school's Masters of Disaster curriculum kit.

For more information visit their Web site.

 

Just Read, Florida!

  Statewide Tornado Drill

Tornadoes are the most sudden,
unpredictable and violent storms on Earth.

Florida's annual statewide tornado drill is scheduled for Wednesday, February 19. The drill gives Floridians a chance to realistically test their plans and determine whether or not they are prepared.

In Florida, tornadoes strike all too often. Planning and practice are keys to tornado safety. Whether in homes, schools, businesses, places of worship or vehicles, Floridians should have plans for severe weather. Then, they should practice their plans.

This is especially true in schools.

Here are the plans for the drill: The National Weather Service will issue a practice TORNADO WATCH for the state at about 9 a.m. EST Wednesday (If severe weather is actually threatening the state, the drill will be postponed until Friday). For the Florida Panhandle counties within the Central Time Zone, all drill activities will be repeated one hour later (9-10 a.m. Central Standard Time).

A short time later, a practice TORNADO WARNING will be issued by each National Weather Service office. The WARNING, like the WATCH, will be broadcast on NOAA Weather Radio (Please note that these broadcast messages will be encoded as a "Weekly Test" for this drill). Public and commercial broadcasters are encouraged to participate by broadcasting these messages immediately.

In real life, you must listen to the WATCH and WARNING messages and assess the threat to your area. Then you should decide which protective actions to take. Schools, for example, should have a designated severe weather coordinator to assess the threat and make appropriate decisions. For the tornado drill, we suggest that the coordinator should assess the threat to their school and make the decision to “take cover.” Important— when in doubt, take immediate protective action!

Plans may vary depending on staffing, vulnerability, communications and a host of other factors. All Floridians should use the tornado drill to develop their plan and practice it. It may save lives!

 
 
Weeks before the drill
bulleted item Inform staff, students, and parents.
bulleted item Review and refine tornado plan.

9:00 am
Tornado Watch
bulleted item Receive message.
bulleted item Announce watch to staff, students.
bulleted item Designate authority (coordinator).
bulleted item Evacuate tornado vulnerable areas.

9:15am
Tornado Warning
bulleted item Receive message.
bulleted item Coordinator assesses situation, threat.

9:20am
Tornado Warning
bulleted item Upon determination of immediate threat, give "take shelter" or "duck and cover" command.

9:30am
Termination of the Watch and Warning
bulleted item Give instructions to return to normal activities.

After the Drill
Followup
bulleted item Assess and revise plan as needed.
 

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