Tornado Response and Recovery
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Tornadoes are nature's most violent storms. Spawned from powerful thunderstorms, tornadoes can cause fatalities and devastate a neighborhood in seconds. A tornado appears as a rotating, funnel-shaped cloud that extends from a thunderstorm to the ground with whirling winds that can reach 300 miles per hour. Damage paths can be in excess of one mile wide and 50 miles long.
Occasionally, tornadoes develop so rapidly that little, if any, advance warning is possible. Every state is at some risk from this hazard. Click here to read more about tornadoes.
This Tornado Response and Recovery page is designed to be a quick guide for preparing yourself and your family for before, during, and after a tornado.
Before a Tornado
Preparing for a Tornado
- What to do Before a Tornado
- Are You Ready? An In-Depth Guide to Citizen Preparedness
- Preparing a Safe Room
- Key Facts About Tornadoes from the CDC
- Tornadoes: Being Prepared
- Tornado Risks and Hazards in the Midwest United States
Monitoring Tornadoes
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Weather Service (NWS) provides weather, hydrologic, and climate forecasts and warnings to the United States.
During a Tornado
After a Tornado
Recover and Rebuild
How do I file an insurance claim from damage due to a tornado?
- Is Disaster Help Available If I Have Insurance?
- Am I Covered?
- Tornadoes: Insurance Information
- Recovering From a Tornado
IRS Assistance
- Disaster Assistance and Emergency Relief for Individuals and Businesses
- Tax Relief in Disaster Situations
- Around the Nation - This page has news releases specific to each State.
Preparing for Future Tornadoes
What can be done to prepare for tornadoes?
- Protect Your Home Against Tornado Damage
- You Can Go Home Again – Recovering After an Event
- Safer Home Checklist
- The Online Tornado FAQ
- National Severe Storms Laboratory
- Tornado Project Online
- National Climatic Data Center (NCDC)
- National Environmental Satellite, Data and Information Service (NESDIS)
- National Weather Service (NWS) Offices and Centers
How Does Mitigation Help?
Mitigation is the effort to reduce the loss of life and property by lessening the impact of disasters. A recent study by the Multihazard Mitigation Council shows that each dollar spent on mitigation saves an average of four dollars. FEMA’s Mitigation Directorate implements numerous Congressionally-authorized programs that address the effects of natural hazards through mitigation activities.
- What is Mitigation?
- Mitigation's Value to Society Fact Sheet
- Obtain hazard-specific documents in the FEMA Library
What kind of Federal Financial Assistance is there?
- Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP)
- HMGP Fact Sheet
- Fact Sheets on Additional Mitigation Programs and Activities
- Index of FEMA Grants and Assistance Programs
Tornado-Related Best Practices
Communities that have experienced tornado disasters have documented their recovery and prevention efforts and success to share with others in the form of best practices. Here is a sampling of these best practices related to tornado disaster recovery, mitigation, and prevention. Click here to search for additional best practices.
Best Practices from the State of Oklahoma
- Heavy-Duty Safe Room Provides Tornado Relief For Homeowners, Pets
- Mitigation in Action: Millennium House
- Safe Rooms Save Lives: State of Oklahoma Safe Room Initiative
- Above Ground Safe Room Stands up to Tornado
- Oklahoma City Residents Survive the May 2003 Tornado
Best Practices from Other States
- Shelter From Future Storms: The Family is Now Prepared
- Storm Shelter is Life Insurance
- Commission Approves Safe Shelter Policy in Shawnee County
- School-Based Safe Rooms Protect 100,000 Children
- City of Urbana Wind Mitigation
Last Modified: Friday, 07-Aug-2009 17:46:08 EDT