ARKANSAS, USA — There is an elevated risk of severe weather across our area this week. With an EF-3 tornado just tearing through Little Rock and other parts of our state, 5NEWS has some reminders on the best ways to stay safe during severe weather:
The number one thing you need to be aware of when severe weather is in the forecast is how will be alerted about the storm, especially if it’s overnight.
Benton and Sebastian Counties both have emergency alert systems that will let you know when severe weather is coming if you sign up.
Benton county says having a ready kit with food, water, and medication is important so that when a watch is issued you are prepared.
“Things to keep your kids entertained, pet supplies, anything that you might need. If your house was destroyed, make sure that's in that go bag, and put that in your safe spot. So when the warning is issued, all you have to do is gather up your family, your pets and get to your safe location,” said Melody Kwok.
As far as your safe space, Benton County uses the acronym duck. D stands for down, so go down to the lowest level of your home or the building you are in. U is for under, so get underneath something sturdy like a mattress—
“C stands for the centermost location of your house. So if you have a storm shelter, that's great, but if you don't, then a bathroom with no windows or exterior doors works. Then K stands for keep away from exterior doors and windows,” said Kwok.
Travis Cooper with the Sebastian County Department of Emergency Management says that if you are driving during a storm make sure that you can see your surroundings and pay attention to the road and if you see standing water, turn around, don’t drown. And watch out for powerlines.
“Make sure that when you see sparking or even little fires, that it may have happened because of an electrical power line. And we don't want you to cross that. If at all possible, we want you to go ahead and stay in your vehicle because your cars allow to be grounded to the ground surface, and then back out of that situation and then call 911,” said Travis Cooper.
If you are commuting and get a watch or warning, Cooper suggests pulling off the road.
“Pull up the storm on your phone to figure out okay, where is this headed, because I don't want you to drive into a storm when you're seeking shelter,” said Cooper.
Benton County also now has a new interactive road closure map to show road closures in real-time. They say during a severe weather event, the map will be updated with flooded or damaged roads and labeled them as “impassable roads”.
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