Well, 16 years ago I married a Dutch guy who thought every siren was an emergency. They don't have tornadoes in the Netherlands. I was far too blasé, I now realize, because no serious damage had occurred near me up to that point.

My husband took some amazing pics and videos of the tornado. He had to walk into town because all the roads were blocked by police. Of course, he did all that work for free because I was still under the impression that my journalism calling meant my family and I should make every sacrifice. (I was an idiot.)

Growing up in a tiny town, we had no sirens. We had TV and radio, and if you weren't tuned into one of them, you'd have no idea. We did know to turn on the news if the weather looked threatening. I don't know what we would have done in any case, since we didn't have a basement.