Mayor Walsh urges caution during tornado watch

Mayor Martin J. Walsh today issued the following safety tips for residents following a tornado watch being issued for the City of Boston and surrounding areas until 11 p.m. tonight: 

• Storm cellars and basements provide the best protection in the event of a tornado. 
• If you are in a mobile home, plan an escape to a nearby sturdy building for shelter.
• If you are in a home, apartment or small building, go to the basement or to a small interior room on the lowest floor, such as a hallway or bathroom closet. 
• If you are in a school, hospital, factory or shopping center, go to the designated shelter area, or an interior hallway on the lowest level. 
• Avoid large rooms, all outside walls and windows. Go the center of a room and stay away from corners. 
• Use heavy furniture for shelter, and cover yourself with a mattress or a blanket.
• If caught in the open with no shelter nearby, find a ditch, culvert, or low area and lay down flat. Cover your head with your hands for protection. 
• Never try to outrun a tornado in a vehicle, abandon vehicles to the side of a road if a tornado approaches and take shelter in a nearby sturdy building. Vehicles do not provide good protection. 

The City's Emergency Operations Center is open to monitor the weather conditions with City agencies present and ready to respond.