For a tornado or extreme wind, use your apartment building’s designated safe room or storm shelter if it has one. If not, go to a small, interior, windowless room on the lowest level of a sturdy building, away from windows, doors, and exterior walls. Cover your head and neck. Flooding is the crucial exception: follow evacuation orders and move to higher ground or a higher floor rather than going down.
Where to shelter for a tornado or extreme wind
In the United States, FEMA’s guidance is to use a designated safe room or storm shelter when available. Otherwise, its next-best guidance is a small, interior, windowless room on the lowest level of a sturdy building. See FEMA P-2143, Be Prepared for Any: FEMA Hazard Information Sheets.
- Go to the designated safe room or shelter, if your building has one.
- If not, choose a small room with no windows, as far inside the building as you can get and on the lowest level.
- Stay away from windows, doors, and outside walls. Crouch low and shield your head and neck with your arms. If sturdy furniture or blankets are immediately available, use them as extra cover.
- Do not delay reaching shelter to collect belongings. Keep monitoring local official alerts and follow instructions for your location.
Is a bathroom or hallway safest?
Not automatically. A bathroom, hallway, closet, or stairwell may fit the general guidance if it is small, interior, windowless, and on the lowest level, but no one room type is safe in every apartment building. The protection available depends on the building’s construction and layout. FEMA’s guidance on refuge areas recommends assessing individual buildings rather than assuming a particular space is safe; ask your building manager or local emergency manager whether an assessed refuge area is identified. See FEMA, Tornado Protection: Selecting Refuge Areas in Buildings.
When flooding changes the choice
The lowest-level shelter advice is for tornadoes and windborne debris, not rising water. If flooding or a flash flood is the threat, follow evacuation instructions. If you are not ordered to evacuate, move to higher ground or a higher floor. If trapped in a building, go to its highest level, but do not enter a closed attic, where rising water could trap you. Never walk, swim, or drive through floodwater. See Ready.gov’s flood guidance.
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For lightning and thunderstorms
When you hear thunder or see lightning, get inside a sturdy building. If a building is unavailable, a sturdy enclosed vehicle with a metal roof is an alternative in the cited federal guidance. See Ready.gov, Are You Ready? An In-Depth Guide to Citizen Preparedness.
Keep alerts and local directions in view
Monitor the Emergency Alert System, NOAA Weather Radio, and local alert channels for hazard-specific instructions. The FEMA App can receive National Weather Service alerts for up to five locations nationwide and help find a nearby shelter; it provides information, not physical protection. If local officials issue an evacuation order or specific shelter direction, follow it over generic room-selection advice. These alert resources and guidance are U.S.-specific; use the official emergency channels for your country or locality.
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