If you are in your home and a tornado touches down, experts say where you choose to ride out the storm can be a matter of life and death.1. "The safest place in a home is the interior part of a basement," the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says. If you can clear out a spot under the stairs in your basement, that is likely one of the safest places in your home. 2. If you don’t have a safe space in a basement, the next best spot is “an interior room without windows on the lowest floor of the house," the CDC says. Closets and interior hallways are often best because of the lack of windows, which can explode or be blown in during tornadoes. Put as many walls between you and the exterior of your home as possible. Bathrooms are also often a good choice. 3. Avoid the upper floors of a two-story home, even if the room doesn’t have windows, because the wind and debris damage of a tornado tends to increase with the height of the storm, experts say. 4. Avoid any space that is under heavy furnishings, such as a piano or a refrigerator, because if your home’s structure is compromised by a tornado, the heavy furniture could fall through the ceiling. 5. If you are unable to take shelter in an interior room or basement, get under a sturdy piece of furniture, if possible. Use a blanket, sleeping bag, mattress, pillow or cushion to protect your head and neck. If you are taking children with you into a shelter space, be sure you take along a flashlight, in case you lose power, water and snacks, and toys or books to pass the time.

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GREENVILLE, S.C. —

If you are in your home and a tornado touches down, experts say where you choose to ride out the storm can be a matter of life and death.

1. "The safest place in a home is the interior part of a basement," the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says. If you can clear out a spot under the stairs in your basement, that is likely one of the safest places in your home.


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2. If you don’t have a safe space in a basement, the next best spot is “an interior room without windows on the lowest floor of the house," the CDC says. Closets and interior hallways are often best because of the lack of windows, which can explode or be blown in during tornadoes. Put as many walls between you and the exterior of your home as possible. Bathrooms are also often a good choice.


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3. Avoid the upper floors of a two-story home, even if the room doesn’t have windows, because the wind and debris damage of a tornado tends to increase with the height of the storm, experts say.

4. Avoid any space that is under heavy furnishings, such as a piano or a refrigerator, because if your home’s structure is compromised by a tornado, the heavy furniture could fall through the ceiling.

5. If you are unable to take shelter in an interior room or basement, get under a sturdy piece of furniture, if possible. Use a blanket, sleeping bag, mattress, pillow or cushion to protect your head and neck.

If you are taking children with you into a shelter space, be sure you take along a flashlight, in case you lose power, water and snacks, and toys or books to pass the time.

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