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Are you ready for a Thunderstorm?
1) Before lightning strikes:
- Keep an eye on the sky. Look for darkening skies, flushes of light, or increasing wind.
- Listen for the sound of thunder.
- If you can hear thunder, you are close enough to the storm to be struck by lightning.
- Go to safe shelter immediately! Listen to NOAA Weather Radio, commercial radio, or television for the latest weather forecasts.
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2) When a Storm approaches:
- Find shelter in a building or car.
- Keep car windows closed and avoid convertibles.
- Telephone lines and metal pipes can conduct electricity.
- Unplug appliances.
- Avoid using the telephone or any electrical appliances.
- Avoid taking a bath or shower, or running water for any other purpose.
- Turn off the air conditioner. Power surges from lightning can overload the compressor, resulting in a costly repair job!
- Draw blinds and shades over windows. If windows break due to objects blown by the wind, the shades will prevent glass from shattering into your home.
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3) If caught outside:
- If you are in the woods, take shelter under the shorter trees.
- If you are boating or swimming, get to land and find shelter immediately!
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4) Protecting yourself outside:
- Go to a low-lying, open place away from trees, poles, or metal objects.
- Make sure the place you pick is not subject to flooding.
- Be a very small target
- Squat low to the ground.
- Place your hands on your knees with your head between them. Make yourself the smallest target possible.
- Do not lie flat on the ground-this will make you a larger target! After the Storm passes
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5) If someone is struck by lightning:
- People struck by lightning carry no electrical charge and can be handled safely.
- Call for help.
- Get someone to dial 9-1-1 or your local Emergency Medical Services (EMS) number.
- The injured person has received an electrical shock and may be burned, both where they were struck and where the electricity left their body.
- Check for burns in both places.
- Give first aid.
- If breathing has stopped, begin rescue breathing.
- If the heart has stopped beating, a trained person should give CPR.
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6) Learn first aid and CPR:
- Take a Red Cross first aid and CPR course.
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7) Plan and get ready:
- A thunderstorm is always accompanied by lightning.
- Thunderstorms are intense local storms averaging 20 miles across and reaching as high as 10 miles.
- Thunderstorms occur in all 50 states and all U.S. territories.
- Show children how to practice squatting low to the ground to be the smallest target possible for lightning in case they get caught outside in a thunderstorm. Show them how to place their hands on their knees with their head between their knees.
- Assemble a Disaster Supplies Kit in a clearly labeled, easy-to-grab container.
- Pick a safe place in your home where family members can gather during a thunderstorm. This should be a place where there are no windows, skylights, or glass doors.
- Pick a safe place to be in your home in case of a tornado. The safe place you picked for a thunderstorm may not be the safest place to be during a tornado. If you hear a loud roar or hear a tornado warning, you need to go to the lowest floor of your home into a room where there are no windows or glass doors. (If you have a basement, make that your safe place to be for a tornado.)
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