How to survive a tornado: Is a car safe? and other questions

Multiple injuries were reported after a tornado touched down in Miami in 1997

Tornadoes occur in the US more than any other place on earth.

They strike in rural communities in the country's heartland and even in cities such as New York, Miami and Los Angeles.

They kill dozens, sometimes hundreds of people every year.

Around 1,200 tornados hit the US annually - although they are also seen on every other continent except Antarctica.

If one strikes near you, here's how to stay alive.

The best place to be is deep inside a sturdy building that is more likely to withstand wind speeds that have been known to top 300mph (500km/h).

Here's National Weather Service (NWS) guidance:

• Get In - Go indoors, into the most interior room possible and away from doors and windows

• Get Down - Go to the lowest floor. Underground rooms are best

• Cover up - Use whatever you can to shelter yourself from debris including clothing, helmets, pillows, blankets and mattresses

Tornados do hit urban areas, contrary to popular belief.

The downtown areas of Nashville, Tennessee; Fort Worth, Texas; and Salt Lake City, Utah have all been hit by major twisters in the past 30 years.

Should you get in a bath, walk-in shower, or closet during a tornado?

Because bathrooms are often found in the interior of homes, some Americans have been known to successfully shelter in their bath.

In March 2023, a man and his girlfriend were able to survive a tornado when the bath they took shelter in was thrown into the air, before landing safely amid the wreckage of their mobile home in Rolling Fork, Mississippi.

"There is nothing magically safe about getting in a bathtub with a mattress," the NWS says.

Closets and walk-in showers may offer similar protection, as long as they're deep inside the building.

The best thing is to follow updates from weather officials. Make sure your phone alerts are on.

A quick word on terminology here. A Tornado Watch is typically issued in the hours before the storm strikes.

A Tornado Warning goes out after extreme weather has already been observed in the area.

Above all, never, ever be caught out in the open during a severe storm.

But what if you are caught in the open - and is a car safe?

Keli Cain, with the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management and Homeland Security, tells the BBC that being in a car is not much safer than being in an open field or car park.

People often get hurt while attempting to drive away from storms.

Such storms can generate soft-ball sized hailstones capable of shattering a windscreen.

If you do suddenly find yourself outdoors during a tornado, try to get inside any sort of structure.

Get as low as possible - even into a ditch or culvert.

Oh, and try to avoid potential missiles, such as your car.

• Are deadly US tornadoes due to climate change?

What not to do

Jacob Hernandez is an amateur storm chaser who grew up in Moore, Oklahoma - a city that has twice been hit by an EF5, the largest type of tornado.

In March 2023, he posted a video of his accidental encounter with an EF4 that he had been following in Iowa.

He says this is a perfect example of "what not to do" if you find yourself near a twister, and he is "embarrassed" by how close he came to dying.

The worst thing is to get trapped in the path of a tornado (like he was on a dirt road in a small town) with no escape route.

"If it looks like it's not moving and it's getting bigger, it's heading directly towards you," he says, recalling the 1,800ft-wide (500m) funnel.

Hernandez adds that anyone in an area where tornados are forecast should know how to get to safety within 60 seconds.

"If you're eye to eye with a violent tornado I guarantee that tornado's not to going to blink first," he says.