Students huddle in the corner of a windowless corridor during a tornado drill in February. Eastside Elementary held a tornado drill Thursday afternoon. According to Principal Emily Baker, on April 27th, 2011, the students had to stay crouched in the halls for more than half an hour during that day’s severe weather. Baker said that the school conducts a tornado drill in the spring and fall, as well as an intruder drill and the mandatory monthly fire drills.RELATED STORIES• 10 ways to survive a tornado• Cleveland and Bradley County schools defend lockdown during tornado warning
Hamilton County had more tornadoes in the last 10 months than in the previous 60 years.
And during a tornado, you are 15 times more likely to die in a mobile home than in a permanent structure.
The numbers are frightening, but a few simple steps can improve your chances of surviving when the next devil wind comes.
“There is absolutely no guarantee that it’s going to work, but there are certainly things you can put in place that greatly enhance your survivability,” said Greg Carbin, a warning coordination meteorologist for the National Weather Service.