MILWAUKEE – Most people know to go to the basement of a home when a tornado hits.
But what if you don’t have one?
Thousands of people in Milwaukee alone live in apartment complexes with no basement and no clear place to go if a tornado were to hit.
Tim Halbach with the National Weather Service says there are two things to focus on: Getting away from the top floor and placing as many walls between yourself and the outside as possible.
“If it’s like a tower and maybe there’s like a hallway or something like that in the middle that everybody uses, that would potentially be a place to go to,” Halbach told WTMJ.
“If it’s maybe a one or two story complex, or like a house, one of the main things is just not to be on that top level,” Halbach said.
That’s because the roof is usually the first part of a structure to be torn off in a tornado.
At the end of the day, all buildings are unique in shape and size. That’s why Halbach says it’s important to make a plan with your landlord.
“This might be something, with severe weather awareness week, to kind of consider with your complex and just kind of figure out where to go,” Halbach said.
You can listen to the entire interview with Tim Halbach in the player at the top of the page.