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Atlanta Makes Top 10 Tornado City List – Are You Prepared?

11 Alive recently reported that Atlanta is among the top ten cities across the nation where homes are most likely to be hit by a tornado, according to a new list from The Weather Channel.

Instead of just counting numbers of tornadoes as they did in preparation of releasing previous lists, this year The Weather Channel’s severe weather expert gathered data from the National Weather Service from between 1962 and 2011, and noted the areas within 75 miles of the highlighted cities, and included data on length and width of the storms’ damage paths.

Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee and Georgia are noted to have been hit more often than areas that one would consider traditional tornado areas.

In recent years, Atlanta and Nashville both have had tornadoes hit their downtown areas, which flies in the face of the common thought that tornadoes tend to avoid urban areas.

The top 10 cities for tornadoes include:

10 – Nashville
9 – Wichita
8 – Atlanta
7 – Oklahoma City
6 – Tulsa
5 – Little Rock
4 – Tuscaloosa
3 – Birmingham
2 – Jackson
1 – Huntsville

Are You Prepared?

Get Notified. If you have a weather radio, that’s great! But here is a great service available to everyone that allows you to be notified by your local emergency response team in the event of emergency situations or critical community alerts. Examples include: evacuation notices, bio-terrorism alerts, boil water notices, and missing child reports.

Sign up for Code Red now – it’s FREE!

Make Your 72-Hour Kit. Make sure you have a 72-hour kit assembled for each family member ready to go. It could be the difference between life and death. Remember that it could take emergency personnel at least three days to reach you in the event of a disaster.

What do you put in your kit? Here is a great comprehensive list of what should go in each family member’s kit so you can survive up to three days. This page includes a link to a printable checklist which is extremely helpful.

If you have a child or family member with Autism you will need to be even more resourceful to maintain order in a time of great chaos. Here is a list of what to include in your Autistic child’s 72-hour kit.

Have a safety plan. After you create a safety plan, hold a family meeting to go over the plan with all members of the family. This will help your children get familiar with the plan in case of emergency. It is a great idea to go over the plan at least twice a year (once at the start of each “tornado season” in your area).

My children get very disgruntled with me when I use the fog machine to set off the smoke alarms at 3 am… but they know what to do now in the case of a fire!

Decide where your family should go in the event of a tornado. If your family has a basement or a partial basement that is underground, you should certainly go there. Pick a place that is away from windows and doors. When a tornado hits close to your home, one of the first things that may happen is that your windows will blow out. You don’t want to be near them when this happens, or the glass may cut you.

If you don’t have a basement (like us!) you can find other places that are safe to be in your home during inclement weather. Choose to get in a closet, under a stairwell, or in a central room. Bathrooms without windows are also great places, as the piping in the walls can act as a barrier between you and the weather outside.

You may want to plan an emergency word that should only be used in case of emergency. Make sure everyone in your family knows the word and what to do when it is spoken.

Practice, practice, practice! Emergency officials train constantly in order to be effective on their job; if you want an effective emergency plan, you and your family should practice what to do.

How about you? Tell me about your family’s safety plan by commenting below or posting it on the SOA Facebook page!

autism disaster kit

What to Put in Your Autistic Child’s 72-Hour Disaster Preparedness Kit

As a native New Yorker, I would like to extend my sincerest thoughts and prayers to all the families affected by Sandy.

With the weather becoming seemingly more erratic these days, it’s more important than ever to make sure you have a 72-hour kit assembled for each family member ready to go. It could be the difference between life and death. Remember that it could take emergency personnel at least three days to reach you in the event of a disaster.

Being very involved in CERT, I gratefully learned what should be in every Disaster Preparedness Kit. For a great list of these basic items, visit the City of North Richland Hills website here.

However, as parents of children with Autism, we have the added pressure of helping them feel safe and maintain as much routine and order as possible during a time of great chaos. In addition to your general 72-hour kit, consider having these items on hand in a special grab-n-go bag for your children.

Find a bag that can be worn as a backpack or rolled behind you so you are prepared for any situation. You should try to pack a combination of your child’s favorite items and new things they’ve never seen – such as items from the Dollar Store. My children love opening new things, even the tiniest trinket or gadget. New keeps them busy, and busy = calm!

Here are supplemental items found in my son’s 72-hour kit:

Flushable wipes – he has serious “potty” issues, we cannot yet use standard toilet paper for bathroom functions. We would be in big trouble without these.

Special foods/snacks – if your child is on a special diet or has food sensitivities, consider packing natural, dye-free, gluten free snacks and foods. I know it’s hard to stay natural when you’re packing processed foods that need to keep for six months at a time, but there are definitely ways to choose “the lesser evil”.

Medications or supplements – we have an extra bottle packed of Juice Plus+, digestive enzymes, and probiotics that don’t need refrigeration.

Headphones/ear plugs – everyday noises are still too much for son; imagine the chaos of sirens, emergency personnel, or crowds of people milling about or frantically trying to reach safety. Noise-blocking headphones are a lifesaver for us.

Classical or favorite music – if your child enjoys music, an iPod or discman with classical music or your child’s favorite songs can have a tremendous calming effect. We have a copy of Wow Wow Wubbzy in addition to Tchaikovsky.

Duplicate of their attachment item if possible – I always keep items from Super Mario Brothers (I remember when it was Thomas!) in his bag for comfort. Believe me, we already had two of many of his favorite Mario items!

Fidgets/chewy tubes – keeping his hands and mouth busy is another key to feeling safe and calm. I love those squishy stress balls from the Dollar Store, especially the ones that light up! Chewy tubes or Chewelry keep him chewing, not blurting out verbal stims, which might send the wrong message to emergency workers (his screams are really loud and sound like someone is getting brutally injured).

Cards/puzzles/books – kick it old school and think of items that kept you busy growing up! You know, before there were DSi XLs, iPhones, apps, tablets… J

Handheld battery operated electronics – if electronics are a must (the kind that don’t require a charger) the drug store often will sell little handheld games like Tetris, Poker, or Soccer. Sure, the graphics are pretty bad compared to today’s amazing technology, but in this situation your kids will gratefully take ‘em!

Hooded shirt or sweatshirt – for my son, he sometimes needs to block the world out in order to self-calm. If you don’t have access to a sensory tent (wouldn’t that be nice in a disaster!) then the next best thing is pulling a hood over your face and blocking out the world for a bit.

Items to stack/count/organize – this has always saved our bacon when I used to venture out to public places like restaurants. Stacking the jellies or counting the sugar packets would buy me at least 10 minutes of me not having to chase him around!

Photos of family members – in case there is any chance you are separated from your child, each family member having family photos may be the quickest way to reunite.

Autism safety card – it is ideal to let emergency responders know as much about your child as possible – especially when it comes to Autism. Is your child verbal? How do they best communicate? Are there any other medical issues? What medications/supplements are they on? Allergies? Typical behaviors? Fears? Below is an example of one I made for my son when we first moved back to Atlanta and didn’t know anyone in our new neighborhood.

I hope you found this list helpful, and that you NEVER HAVE TO USE IT! Remember to change out the perishable items every six months, and have an emergency plan that you all practice together.

What about you? What’s in your Disaster Kit? Share by commenting below or posting on the SOA Facebook page.