Tornado Supply Checklist: All the Essentials You Should Have

Tornado season is upon us, in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis, and we’re all stumped for a solution, even though the residents of Oklahoma know the importance of staying indoors when necessary.

It’s important to have access to a storm safety shelter, whether it’s a local community shelter, an underground bunker, or garage shelter in your home for when a warning is issued.

More importantly, if you’re in charge of running a shelter or for managing it, even the one at home, you should always have certain supplies on hand.

Let’s go over some of the essential items to always keep in your shelter:

Food and water

This one’s a given even if you’re not expecting a devastating tornado to ravage your town. You should have at least a few days worth of drinking water, canned and non-perishable food items such as trail mix, jerky, granola, and other items that will not be messy or go bad.

Depending on the expiration and use, you should consume and replace them, but ensure that they’re always there.

Sometimes tornadoes only last 10 minutes but cause destruction that’s unfathomable. Or they can last longer depending on the hurricane and storm itself and leave you stuck for hours if not days.

First aid kit

First aid kits are also a very important emergency supply for your shelter. You should include basics such as disinfectants, antiseptics, bandages, and essential medication such as painkillers, prescription, and life-saving drugs that you might need.

Other essentials include wipes and tissues, ointments, tweezers, and thermometers. There’s no such thing as being too prepared when it comes to first aid, but it’s crucial to keep a check on expiration here too.

Spare clothing and some bedding

Warm clothing such as gloves and jackets, blankets, and pillows are among the things you need to store in your shelter. You won’t have time to carry around these heavy and bulky items when you’re running to safety. They’re best stored inside.

Documents, identification, and cash

Especially if you’re heading to a public shelter, you should have documents and cash handy with you. An I.D. card and property deed should suffice because while it might be unnecessary, you never know how things go.

You can’t always expect these items to be safe or not get lost, so even high-quality copies should do.

Emergency cell phone

Regular cell phones might not be charged, get signals, or work as well in a storm, but an emergency phone that’s exclusively reserved for storms might come in handy.

Hopefully, you won’t need it, but if push comes to shove, you should be able to reach out for help.

Prepare your emergency kit and keep it in an accessible place, or store it directly in your shelter. Our company specializes in providing storm shelters OKC to residents and businesses across Oklahoma.

You can reach out to us to know more or get a free quote here.