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SEVERE WEATHER TORNADO PROCEDURES A. When a tornado watch is announced, tornadoes are expected in, or near, your area. Keep your radio or television turned to a local news station for information and advice from your local government and weather service. Also, keep watching the sky, especially to the south and southwest. If you see any revolving, funnel-shaped clouds, report them immediately by telephone using the 911 emergency number. B. When a tornado warning is issued, a tornado has been sighted, or has been indicated by radar, and this or other tornadoes may strike in your vicinity. Public warning will come over the radio, television or by five-minute steady blasts of siren by the Civil Defense warning system. Take the following actions immediately! 1. Get away from the perimeter of the building and exterior glass. Close draperies, blinds, etc., if time permits. 2. Leave your office if located on the building perimeter and close the door. 3. Go to the center of the building; the main corridor of your floor, the elevator lobby area or the stairwells. 4. Sit down in the corridor and protect yourself by putting your head as close to your lap as possible, or kneel protecting your head. 5. Do not go to the first floor lobby or outside the building. 6. Keep your radio or television turned to a local station for information. 7. Do not use the telephone to get information or advice. This only ties up circuits. 8. If you are trapped in an outside office, seek protection under a desk. Stay calm. EARTHQUAKE PROCEDURES A. Precautions to take during an earthquake 1. Try to remain calm and to reassure others. 2. Get under a desk. Do not run for exits-stairways may be broken and jammed with people. Power for elevators may fail. Seek safety where you are at the time of the incident and then leave calmly if evacuation is necessary. 3. Do not be surprised if the electricity goes out or if elevator, fire and burglar alarms start ringing, or if sprinkler systems go on. Expect to hear noise from breaking glass, cracking walls and falling objects. 4. Do not be surprised if you feel more than one shock. After the first motion is felt, there may be a temporary decrease in the motion followed by another shock. (This phenomenon is merely the arrival of different seismic waves from the same earthquake.) Also, aftershocks may occur. These are separate quakes that follow the main shock and may occur several minutes, hours or even days afterwards. B. Precautions to take after an earthquake 1. Remain calm and take time to assess your situation. 2. Help anyone who is hurt and administer emergency first aid when necessary. Cover injured persons with blankets to keep them warm. Seek medical help for those who need it. 3. Check for fires and fire hazards. Put out fires immediately if it is safe to do so. 4. Check for damage to utilities and appliances. Shut off electricity if there is any chance of damage to wiring. 5. Shut off water lines in your suite if breakage has occurred. 6. Do not turn on electrical switches or appliances. 7. Do not touch power lines, electric wiring or objects in contact with them. 8. Do not use the telephone except to call for help or to report serious emergencies (medical, fire or criminal), or to perform some essential service. Jammed telephone lines interfere with emergency services, and it is thoughtless to use the telephone for personal reasons or to satisfy curiosity. When the emergency is over, contact relatives and friends so they will know you are safe. 9. Be certain that sewer lines are not broken before resuming regular use of toilets. 10. Clean up and warn others of any spilled materials that are dangerous. 11. Listen to the radio for information about earthquake and disaster procedures. 12. Be prepared to experience aftershocks. They often do additional damage to buildings weakened by the main shock. 13. Use great caution when entering or moving about in a damaged building. Collapses can occur without much warning, and there may be dangers from gas leaks, electrical wiring, broken glass, etc. There are no precautions that can eliminate all earthquake danger. However, damage and injury can be greatly reduced by following the procedures outlined above. LIGHTNING Whenever lightning is severe, avoid leaving the building. You are much safer inside the building. SNOW Tamarac Plaza Management Office has contracted with a snow removal company to provide snow removal for the winter season. The parking lots and Roslyn Road are cleared when accumulation reaches 2 inches in depth. A sand/salt mixture is applied as necessary. All sidewalks are cleared when the snow depth reaches 1 inch and if necessary, magnesium chloride is added to the walks. If there is snow on Saturday or Sunday, the on-call engineer and or contractor will respond in the same manner. If there is snow on Saturday the contractor will respond in the same manner. FLOODING Flooding can occur in a building for a wide variety of reasons, and can originate inside or outside the building. Any type of flooding can cause significant damage to the building and its contents posing a significant threat to building occupants. Internal Flooding Flooding that occurs within a single building could be the result of broken water pipes, backed-up sewer lines, clogged drains, sump pump failure, open valves, or failure of the waterproofing on basement walls. If the flooding is internal, efforts should be focused on the following tasks: * Locating and controlling the source of the water infiltration. * Ensuring that any electrical equipment in wet areas is de-energized. * Protection of contents from damage by relocation. * Cleanup of water by pumping or mopping.If the source of water leak cannot be identified or controlled immediately, cleanup operations should still begin as quickly as possible. Damage may be limited by reducing the total quantity of water in the building. When only a single building is involved, the local fire department may be able to assist in pumping water out of the building. If electrical equipment is involved, building power may be lost because the circuit breakers are tripped. Electrical equipment that is not known to be disconnected should be assumed to be live and should be treated as a potential electrocution threat. External Flooding Floods that originate externally can be caused by natural occurrences such as heavy rain, melting snow, tides, hurricanes (storm surge) or earthquakes or by human factors such as a dam failure, or a water or sewer main break. Floods may occur with or without advance warning. Floodwaters may rise gradually over a period of hours or days or arrive with violent force. The following terms are used to advise of various natural flood threats: * Flood forecasts mean rainfall is heavy enough to cause rivers to overflow their banks or melting snow is mixing with rainfall to produce similar effects. * Flood warnings or forecasts of impending floods describe the affected river, lake, or tidewater, the severity of the flooding (minor, moderate, or major), and when and where the flooding will begin. * Flash flood watches mean heavy rains that may cause sudden flash flooding in specified areas are occurring or are expected to occur. Understand that a flash flood can occur without any visible sign of rainfall in your area. Be alert to a possible emergency that will require immediate action. * Flash flood warnings mean flash flooding is occurring or is imminent along certain streams and designated areas. Move to high ground immediately. Where advance flood warning is provided, steps may be taken to reduce the potential effects. Building contents can be removed or relocated to floor levels above the predicted flood level. Electricity can be turned off in areas likely to be flooded. Pumps and hoses can be readied. Sandbags or other protective devices can be put in place based on anticipated flood depths. Evacuation procedures can be implemented based on the estimated time available before flooding becomes serious. When advance notice is not available, response efforts should focus first on ensuring the safety of building occupants, then on limiting the damage to the building and it contents. While a flood itself can cause a great deal of damage, it can affect more than just the property and can have a number of harmful by-products. These include electrical outages, slowed response by emergency services, and shortages of fuel, water, and food. | |
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