A tornado watch was just announced for my area. Just this month, Mom stopped walking and I have no way to get her down to the basement, can't get her off the front porch to go around the house to the basement door. (Ironic that I had a home elevator consult earlier this afternoon. One more reason to get one, methinks...)
Just try to get her to the hall closet?? Pull a mattress over us?
I can get into and out of my basement. One thing I've added to my disaster preparedness is having my bike helmet handy. I put it on when there's a tornado warning, whether or not I'm in the basement. Bike helmets would help protect you and your mom regardless of where you seek safety during a watch or warning.
Have you asked your mom whether she would be okay with you getting her to that safe place and then going to the basement yourself?
My mom has moderate stage dementia, so leaving her isn't an option.
The suggestion I always heard was the bathroom and sitting in the tub with something over you.
If there's a person in your household who is limited in mobility and uses furniture or a bed powered by electricity, have a plan for what to do if the power goes out. My mom was stuck in her rocking chair for an hour or so a few years ago when this happened.
Great reminder! After doing some research my sister recommended my father purchase a power bank which we kept charged up to have power to operate his hospital bed, alternating pressure mattress pad, etc. in case of an outage and it did come in handy a few times. We purchased an EcoFlow from Costco and it was approximately $900 as I recall. I still have it and it’s nice to have for peace of mind in an emergency (for example: hey, if the power’s out due to some disaster at least I can make a cup of coffee!).