Overnight rescuers saved 132.

[wercal]

37. I listened to a weather reporter this morning

He was tracking the storm, in the field. He said he gave on-air instructions to get below ground...and if you can't do that, get in the car and run!

A very unusual recommendation...but he said it was obvious that this tornado would completely destroy a house, and sheltering in place was no good, if you couldn't get underground.

I ate lunch with a friend today, and we talked about the tornado. He lives here in Kansas...in a slab home. Even though it is plainly obvious that there is a real danger in this, he blocks it out of his mind. He doesn't think he can afford a place with a basement.

Anyway, its very easy to think 'it can't happen to me.'...and alot of people do.

A few years ago a tornado destroyed Chapman, KS. When the residents rebuilt, they wanted to put in basements. FEMA blocked this (through making it impossible to get flood insurance required by banks) since they were in a flood zone. The upper level of the house was fine, but any basement could be flooded. The residents put up quite a fight, and eventually got an exemption...that's how badly they wanted basements...after they were hit by a tornado.