Tornado drills across state planned today

In late October last year, a tornado touched down in New Hamburg, ripping the roof off a grocery store in Scott County.

Six months earlier, an F-2 tornado hit a rural area of Cape Girardeau County between Tilsit and Crump.

Eleven months before that, an F-3 spun through the heart of Jackson.

A year earlier, a tornado killed a boy near Marble Hill.

The region has become familiar with tornadoes in recent years. But are you ready?

Today, Missouri will hold a statewide tornado drill at 1:30 p.m., although many schools have decided to do it at other times.

By now, most adults have heard enough to know what to do: Go to the basement or, if there is no basement, an interior room with no windows.

And, according to Fred Jones, the safety coordinator with the Cape Girardeau School District, schools are obligated by state law to conduct drills.

But what about the workplace?

"We strongly recommend that everybody have a disaster plan," said John Mehner, the CEO of the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce.

And that includes more than just knowing the safest places to take cover.

"There are other issues," Mehner said. "For instance, most places have a backup computer system. But is it off site? If it's in the same building and you lose that building, you lose everything."

Mehner said most of the large industries, like Procter & Gamble or Dana Corp., have disaster plans. However, he said, "the small businesses not forced to do that or the ones that don't have departments to handle that, my guess is they don't have a plan. And it's critically important."

Mike Jennewein, the human resources manager at Procter & Gamble, said the Cape Girardeau County plant has detailed emergency plans.

"We have staged steps people go through when the weather gets bad, when a watch or a warning is issued," he said.

He said structurally safe places have been identified and employees have been instructed where to go when the plant's alarm is sounded.

The National Weather Service also warns against flooding. According to weather service statistics, 41 people have died as a result of floods since 1995. By contrast, only 31 have died in tornadoes.

The service warns against camping near creeks or rivers when heavy rain is in the forecast. It also encourages motorists to never drive over water. Two feet of water is enough to carry off a car.

Some preparations are for the aftermath of bad weather.

Garry Seabaugh, owner of Seabaugh's Woodworking in Jackson, is finally getting back into the groove of woodworking again after the tornado in Jackson almost two years ago destroyed his business.

"Make sure you've got enough insurance," he advised. "I thought we did. Our premium went up every year, and I thought our coverage did, too. But if you own rental or commercial property, you have to raise it up yourself."

bmiller@semissourian.com

243-6635