While hurricanes, earthquakes, and floods often draw much of the headlines for natural disasters, for large parts of America, tornados remain a much more common threat. Writing for Campus Safety magazine, Stephen Satterly Jr, an adjunct analyst with Safe Havens International, provides a primer as to how school administrators can work to develop a proper tornado protocol for their educational institutions. The necessary steps for developing such a protocol will include:
- Conducting a hazard analysis: identifying the severity and frequency of tornados in the area of the educational institution
- Evaluating space calculations: determining the amount of space necessary to shelter the likely number of occupants, using the FEMA guidelines
- Performing an internal building assessment: considering the strength of structural artifacts within the buildings, searching for items like short roof spans, rigid frames, and poured, reinforced cornet walls
- Performing an exterior assessment: searching the grounds for potential threats, like large trees, flag poles, electrical transmission towers, and their potential fall zones
- Unifying the information: Producing a detailed site map, indicating a floor plan, appropriate areas for shelters, and the identified exterior hazards
By following the steps above, a tornado protocol can be developed that will help ensure the safety of those both working and studying at schools.
Source:
https://www.campussafetymagazine.com/emergency/campus-tornado-protocol/
