DURING THE STORM
If indoors
- Secure all objects that may be carried away by the wind or the heavy rain and cause damage or injuries.
- Secure all suspended signs and billboards.
- Secure doors and windows.
- Do not hold electric equipment or the telephone as thunder may pass through the wires. TV sets should be unplugged from antenna and power supply.
- Avoid touching water pipes (kitchen, bathroom) as they are good electricity conductors.
If outdoors
- Seek refuge in a building or a car, otherwise sit on the ground without lying down.
- If you are in the woods, protect yourself under the dense branches of low trees.
- Never stand under a tall tree in an open space.
- If you are in low land, be careful as a flood may occur.
- Don’t stand close to transmission pylons, tall trees, fences, telephone cables and electric lines.
- Avoid being close to metal objects (such as cars, bicycles, camping equipment, etc).
- Stay away from rivers, lakes or other water bodies.
- If you are in the sea, get out quickly.
- If you are isolated on a plane area and feel your hair stand up (a fact that indicates the imminent occurrence of lightning), assume duck position, burry your head between legs (to minimize the surface of your body and the contact with ground) and throw away any metal objects you carry.
In a vehicle
- Stop the car by the roadside away from trees that may fall on the car.
- Stay in the car and turn on the emergency lights until the storm stops.
- Close the windows and do not touch metal objects in the car.
- Avoid flooded roads.
DURING HAIL
Protect yourself immediately. Do not leave the safe place unless you make sure that the storm has stopped. Hail can also be very dangerous for animals
Evaluation of the distance from the storm
- Calculate the time between the lightning and the thunder in seconds. Divide the time calculated by 3 in order to calculate the distance of the storm in kilometers.
- Take all necessary measures quickly, before the storm reaches you. This distance is indicative as the storm may appear very quickly above the area where you are.