Plan for Emergencies - Dongola IL Fire Dept.

Severe Storm Safety

We recommend a weather radio to alert you to severe weather watches and warnings specific to your county (Union). Expect to pay $30 or so, although prices can vary widely depending on other features.

The Dongola area receives voice weather 'round the clock from the National Weather Service office near Paducah. It comes through the Cape Girardeau transmitter, 162.550 mHz and Marion transmitter, 162.425 mHz.   

Programmable radios use SAME codes. Choose the one for your county and perhaps for another county to your west or southwest.

017181 Union
     017077 Jackson
     017087 Johnson
     017003 Alexander
     017153 Pulaski
     029031 Cape Girardeau
     029017 Bollinger
     029201 Scott

Get SAME Codes for Illinois | Missouri 

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How do I recognize a Meth Lab?

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Earthquake Safety from FEMA 

PDF printouts on quake safety:

• Disaster Kits in a Bucket
• Earthquake - Before, During and After
• About the New Madrid Seismic Zone
• Earthquake Bookmarks
• Tremor Tips - Family Earthquake Drill
• Earthquake Home Improvements Brochure
• Tremor Tips - How to Ride Out the Earthquake!
• Earthquake - Drop, Cover and Hold!

Tornado Safety

Peak season for tornados here is April, May and June, although tornadoes are possible all year.

Most tornadoes form in the southwest portion of thunderstorms, and on average, move from the southwest to the northeast at 30 miles per hour, however, they can reach speeds of 70 miles per hour. That's why it's never a good idea to try to outrun a tornado. The average tornado is about a quarter of a mile wide, but they can grow as large as a mile in diameter.

Once on the ground, the average distance a tornado travels is around 15 miles, but there are exceptions. The 1925 Tri-State Tornado came within 30 miles of Dongola as it traveled more than 200 miles on the ground from southeast Missouri into Indiana, devistating Gorham,  Murphysboro and DeSoto. It stayed close to the ground, had a huge diameter, and many could not recognize it as a tornado from a distance.

Tornadoes 1950-1995 in our counties (click)

Marion Tornado 1982

Dongola Tornado 2002

If a tornado "watch" is issued for your area, it means that a tornado is "possible."

If a tornado "warning" is issued, it means that a tornado has actually been spotted, or is strongly indicated on radar, and it is time to go to a safe shelter immediately.

Be alert to what is happening outside as well. Here are some of the things that people describe when they tell about a tornado experience:

A sickly greenish or greenish black color to the sky.

 

If there is a watch or warning posted, then the fall of hail should be considered as a real danger sign. Hail can be common in some areas, however, and usually has no tornadic activity along with it.

 

A strange quiet that occurs within or shortly after the thunderstorm.

 

Clouds moving by very fast, especially in a rotating pattern or converging toward one area of the sky.

 

A sound a little like a waterfall or rushing air at first, but turning into a roar as it comes closer. The sound of a tornado has been likened to that of both railroad trains and jets.

 

Debris dropping from the sky.

 

An obvious "funnel-shaped" cloud that is rotating, or debris such as branches or leaves being pulled upwards, even if no funnel cloud is visible.

 

If you see a tornado and it is not moving to the right or to the left relative to trees or power poles in the distance, it may be moving towards you! Remember that although tornadoes usually move from southwest to northeast, they also move towards the east, the southeast, the north, and even northwest.

Encourage your family members to plan for their own safety in many different locations. It is important to make decisions about the safest places well BEFORE you ever have to go to them.

In a basement, get away from the west and south walls. Hiding under a heavy work-table or under the stairs will protect the family from crumbling walls, chimneys.

In a small, windowless, first floor, interior room like a closet or bathroom. The bathtub and commode are anchored directly into the ground, and sometimes are the only thing left in place after the tornado. Getting into the bathtub with a couch cushion over you gives you protection on all sides, as well as an extra anchor to the foundation. Plumbing pipes may or may not help hold the walls together, but all the extra framing that it takes to put a bathroom together may make a big difference.

If there is no downstairs bathroom and the closets are all packed with "stuff," a hall may be the best shelter. Put as many walls as you can between yourself and the tornado. In a pinch, put a metal trash can over as much of you as you can. It will keep some flying debris from injuring you. Even that may make the difference between life and death.

Wherever it is, the shelter should be well known by each member of the family.   ---tornadoproject.com