Children Hunker Down for Tornado Drill

Lake Ridge, Va. –– A tornado warning was issued this morning at Lake Ridge Elementary School, but it was only a drill.

When the bell rang, the school’s 500 students either hunkered down in their classrooms or were huddled into the hallways where they crouched in the fetal position.

The exercise was part of Tornado Preparedness Day across Virginia where people at businesses, schools and government buildings across the commonwealth were scheduled to take part in the annual tornado drill.

The drill is held so people will know what to do in the event a twister touches down, and tornadoes are most likely to hit the state in spring, officials say.

The drill began at 9:45 a.m., as warnings appeared on TV and were broadcast on weather radios.

Officials say those who could not participate should have a plan for a tornado disaster and to practice it.

“If you can’t participate at that time, then choose another time or date that works better for you – the most important thing is to have a drill so that you can practice tornado safety,” stated Prince William fire and rescue spokeswoman Kim Hylander in an email.

If a tornado were to strike, public safety officials urge people to go to the lowest level of a home or building, or into an interior room or hallway that does not have windows. Once there, cover your head with your arms and drop to the floor and face the floor, officials said.

Tornado preparedness day comes less than a week after a tornado with 90 mph winds touched down in Fauquier County, followed by a second, less powerful twister that damaged trees and property at a shopping center in Chantilly, in Fairfax County.

No one was injured, and those twisters came as part of a nasty line of thunderstorms that developed with last week’s heavy rainstorms.