What do you do during a tornado if you live in an apartment?
SOUTH PARK TOWNSHIP, Pa. (KDKA) -- In the last week, the Pittsburgh area was reminded that tornados can hit any time, day or night. And tornado season, which typically peaks in June, isn't over.
When a tornado comes, you should take cover. But what do you do if you live in an apartment and don't have a basement?
Kasey Reigner with Allegheny County Emergency Services said apartment living brings up unique layouts when it comes to finding shelter during a tornado.
"Preparedness is the best thing that you can have on your side for staying safe during tornadoes," said Reigner.
That means always have a plan and no matter where you are, including apartments, get away from doors and windows. Get as many walls as possible between you and the outdoors and try not to stay on high ground.
"Always get to the lowest level," Reigner said. "If you can, try to make friends or acquaintances with some of your downstairs neighbors, cause that's also a safe place to go as well."
Fred McMullen with the National Weather Service said if you can't take those steps, you should still take action.
"We encourage people to get into a hallway, maybe cover themselves up. If you have time, maybe grab a mattress, or a bunch of pillows, to put over top of you to help shield yourself from potential flying debris," said McMullen.
On Saturday, one EF2 tornado with winds over 110 mph ripped through the South Hills and Washington County with little warning.
"The tornado, it touched down initially outside our warning, then it went into our warning," McMullen said.
KDKA-TV's Megan Shinn: "Do you think there will be any changes to try to alert the public of a tornado happening before the tornado happens? In this case, it happened with a warning after it hit."
McMullen: "Every event we go through, we go back and replay it, see what we can do to learn from it and everything. And so we'll go back and do that. Our goal always is to give people the heads up that a warning was issued when we see a signature that can be potentially tornadic."
Thankfully nobody was hurt in this specific situation, but it's all the more reason to plan for a tornado at least in your living space and always do your best to protect yourself so you can help others.
"Think protect your head, protect your feet. If you're taking shelter during that storm, blankets, a good coat to keep you covered from that stuff as well," said Reigner.
According to the National Weather Service, tornado season ends mid-July. So it's best to be prepared now with a long stretch ahead of us.
