TORNADO

• Tornadoes


  Narrow, funnel-or cylindrical-shaped, and intensely rotating columns of wind that form during a powerful thunderstorms and extend from the base of cumulonimbus cloud down to the earth surface

  
• Tornadoes


  • Rotate usually in a counterclockwise direction
  • Reach speeds of up to almost 500 km/h
  • Can reach more than 1.5 km and can travel for more than 100 km

  
• Tornadoes


  Also known as twisters and erroneously, as cyclones

  
• Tornadoes


  Locally called buhawi or ipo-ipo
• Tornadoes can cause damage and claim lives in communities in a matter of seconds

  
• Tornadoes can form very quickly that issuing warnings may be impossible

  
• Waterspouts


  Basically the same as tornadoes, the only difference is that the rotating column of wind moves over a body of water

  
• Waterspouts


  • Formations are spawned by thunderstorms

  
• From the year 1990 to 2006 at least 46 tornadoes hit Philippines
• These tornadoes resulted in 14 casualties, 72 injured people, 54 missing, 1,364 partially damaged houses, 652 totally damaged houses, and a total of 38,950 people affected nationwide

  
• NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) safety tips during a tornado

  Get in, Get down, and Cover Up

  
• Get In


  1. If outdoors, immediately seek shelter in a sturdy house or building

  2. When inside, go into the innermost portion of the structure to surround yourself with as much shield as possible
• Get Down


  1. Go to the lowest level of the structure

  2. If there is a basement, this would be a good place to hide

  3. If there is no basement, at least go to the lowest part
• Cover Up


  1. Protect yourself from debris that may possibly fail or fly by and hit you

  2. Getting hit by debris is the most common cause of death during tornado

  3. Use pillows, thick coats, helmets, and anything that could protect your entire body