MILWAUKEE - Lots of new high rises are now in downtown Milwaukee, but are we ready if a twister does touchdown?

The ever-changing Milwaukee skyline is a sign of development and revitalization, but it's important to remember those big buildings can't always protect us if Mother Nature strikes.

Hundreds of thousands of people live and work near downtown Milwaukee. First responders need to be ready for disaster at all times.

“We have some of the best responders in the country, one of the best medical systems in the country,” Milwaukee Fire Department Battalion Chief Scott Grossman said.

The city's All Hazards Plan covers everything from a terrorist attack to severe weather, including tornadoes.

“Depending on the size or the length of time of the emergency, we may roll out our emergency operations center, for an all hazards approach, with all the different disciplines in there,” Grossman said.

Contrary to popular belief, tornadoes do hit big cities, and when they do, the damage is major.

One tornado twisted through downtown Miami in 1997. An even stronger tornado destroyed part of Fort Worth in March of 2000. It killed five people and injured over 100. The total cost was $500 million.

So what if one of these monsters hits downtown Milwaukee?

Richard DeVries is a professor at the Milwaukee School of Engineering. He says most of the city's newer high rises and skyscrapers are built to withstand very high winds.

“Every building is designed to resist winds, and every building pretty much exists to experience wind loads every moment, and in some ways the taller buildings are better for wind loads because they're designed to always have high winds on them,” DeVries said.

If you are trapped in a high rise during a tornado, the first thing you should do is get to the basement or underground parking garage. If you can't get down that far, there are other ways to protect yourself.

“Ideally would be to get to the middle of the building. Put as many walls as possible between you and the outside of the building, and away from windows,” Grossman said.

There is some good news. You know the myth that a tornado can't happen near the lake? Well, there's a little truth to that.

“If you have a T-storm teetering on the edge of barely having enough energy to produce a tornado, then that cool air off Lake Michigan will dampen the energy level of a T-storm,” Rusty Kapela from the National Weather Service said.

Most folks TODAY’S TMJ4’s Craig Koplien talked to said they aren't really worried about a tornado hitting downtown Milwaukee, but they know it could happen.

“It could happen, but I’m not too worried about it. I'm more worried about getting run over by a bus, or something like that,” Scott Leutenegger said.

“Hopefully we won't get it like Atlanta did, and I never knew too many tornados to touch down in the cities, but it did in Atlanta so...hopefully it'll miss us,” Wendel Eskridge said.

Be sure to check out TODAY’S TMJ4’s Weather Special “Safe From The Storm” Friday, April 18th at 7:00 p.m.