10 Essential Supplies Your Tornado Shelter Needs This Season

The incredibly destructive power of a tornado should be discussed between you and your family every year. Just like a fire drill, a tornado safety plan should be in place and practiced before a storm hits. When away from home, look for tornado shelter signs in the building that you are in, which guide you to rooms reinforced to withstand the power of a tornado’s strong winds and flying debris.

stock-footage-tornado-and-storm

Some homeowners build their own underground shelters, or use a room such as a basement or another interior room away from windows as their shelter. These are the safest places to be during a storm.

While a tornado may only last a few minutes, it has the power to completely destroy everything in its unpredictable path. Should you ever need it, a tornado kit should be stocked in your shelter, with enough supplies for a few days. It is important to pack for several days in case you or your family is without public services such as electricity for days after a storm, or in the unlikely event that you are somehow barricaded inside the shelter and are waiting for help.

The essential supplies that should be in every tornado shelter are:

  • Water
  • Non-Perishable Foods (canned goods, dried fruits, nuts, baby food)
  • Can Opener (what good is food if you can’t open the can?)
  • Radio set to the local news or NOAA Weather Radio (either hand-crank or battery powered)
  • Flashlights
  • Batteries for the radio and flashlights
  • Camping Toilet or other sealable bag solution for waste
  • First Aid Kit
  • Clothes (including heavy boots, gloves, and clothes if exiting into a devastated area)
  • Blankets, sleeping bags, and pillows

 

In addition to these supplies, some people might want copies of their important documents to be with them in the shelter. These would include insurance information, important phone numbers, and prescription information. This information is not necessarily essential for your shelter though, and can just as easily be stored in a safe deposit box in your local bank.

Another supply that some might think of as essential would be candles or matches. Matches and lighters could do more harm than good if in an area destroyed by a tornado. It is likely that gas lines would break, and any source of ignition presents a very serious fire hazard.

Hopefully you should never need to use your tornado shelter kit, but your stock of rations should be replaced with fresh and unexpired supplies every year, at the least. Preparedness is key when dealing with unpredictable weather situations, and at the first sound of warning, you and your family should find shelter and stay there until storm warnings are cleared.

About the Author: Stephen Luke is a writer for SafetySign.com, a leading supplier of safety signs, traffic signs, parking signs, and more.

Heat Relief Safety Products

Well, it appears the temperature is starting to increase by the day. As the temperature rises it is important to pay attention to the heat index in relation to humidity. We found this nice chart that shows the affects of heat and humidity. It makes a normally warm day seem much hotter, and a very hot day can be unbearable with high humidity. To counteract this effect while working outdoors we recommend investing in some Heat Relief Safety Products. Remember to work safely and take care of yourself.

Heat Index
Heat Index

Magnatech Guest Blog Post – Welding Eye Safety

While welding techniques have gradually improved over the years, there are still many risks that come with the job. This includes repeated contact with harmful dust, smoke and fumes as well as exposure to light and heat radiation. The CDC (Centers for Disease Control & Prevention) states that “each day about 2000 U.S. workers have a job-related eye injury that requires medical treatment. About one third of the injuries are treated in hospital emergency departments.”

There are many severe eye-related injuries that a worker can sustain, including small metallic particles that can strike the eye, leading to painful cuts and abrasions; the CDC reports that “metal slivers, wood chips, dust, and cement chips… nails, staples, or slivers of wood or metal [that] penetrate the eyeball and result in permanent loss of vision. Large objects may also strike the eye/face [and] chemical burns to one or both eyes from splashes of industrial chemicals or cleaning products are common.” Because of such serious wounds, it is essential for a welder to remain as safe as possible while doing their job, regardless of their levels of expertise and competence.

One of the most frequent and all-pervading injuries that a welder may experience given improper eye protection is known as photokeratitis or “welding arc flash.” This is a non-permanent condition, although it may affect your vision for some time given that it damages the tissue around the eye (although thankfully not the retina itself). In this case, the cells on the outer layer of your cornea are inadvertently burned by UV rays. This is similar to sunburn on the skin, but instead on the surface of your eye. Although the affected area will slowly heal over time, UV eye burns may take a great deal of time to recover from and, as you can imagine, they can be wholly excruciating to experience. You can read more about photokeratitis and its effects on the body here.

Welding eye injuries are extremely common and, regardless of whether you are doing a quick 30-second job or a 30-minute task, eye protection is a must. Utilizing a helmet as well as safety glasses or protective goggles is vital to effectively shield your vision. The U.S. Department of Labor OSHA (Occupational Safety & Health Administration) states that “goggles or other suitable eye protection shall be used during all gas welding or oxygen cutting operations… All operators and attendants of resistance welding or resistance brazing equipment shall use transparent face shields or goggles, depending on the particular job, to protect their faces or eyes.” PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) is also crucial.

PPE clothing should provide adequate coverage in case of sparks, fumes or smoke, as well as reducing the possibility of skin burns. In most cases, clothing manufactured from heavy cotton or a wool blend will better endure the outside elements of your workplace. Flame-resistant gloves and a flame-resistant apron are also essential protective attire. For more details on what you should wear when welding, ANSI (American National Standards Institute) offers some useful advice.

Although there have been notable advances in the manufacture of protective gear over the years, eye injuries are still widespread. This may be due to a low perception of the risk involved in the assignment itself, or perhaps because welders feel discomfort while wearing them. However, the discomfort caused by a serious eye injury will easily outweigh the pain caused from wearing a helmet and goggles for a small period of time. The Liberty Mutual Research Institute for Safety once estimated that a quarter of welding injuries are eye-related, so eye protection should always be enforced. In essence, it is important that workers are educated about the dangers they will encounter during their day-to-day routine, as well as implementing a “No Excuses” eye protection plan whenever someone is welding. Magnatech, LLC has been manufacturing systems for orbital tube and pipe welding applications for more than 40 years. We are proud to supply products that put an emphasis on reliability and user-friendliness.

If you would like more information on what we can do for you, please visit us online at Magnatech or call 860-653-2573 today.

Guest Post from Jaclyn Passaro