Preparing for Tornado Season

Midwesterners in the United States are bracing themselves for tornado season as spring approaches. People in "Tornado Alley" ranging from Kansas and Oklahoma through Texas, Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, Illinois, Indiana and Ohio are starting to evaluate their safe room and emergency plans for what to do if a tornado strikes. Children are being drilled in the schools on where to go when a tornado warning is issued by the National Weather Service, or a local spotter sounds the alarm, and sirens once meant for air raid alerts during World War II are blare the warning over the countryside.

What is a safe room?
A safe room is one that is capable of withstanding the incredible winds generated by a tornado, which range from 75 miles per hour to over 400 miles per hour, and which can withstand the impact from flying debris traveling at such enormous speeds driven by the tornado's winds.

Valuable guidance is available from FEMA's website to help you plan your tornado safe room, and give you some assurance that your safe room is structurally capable of withstanding high winds and flying debris. Construction plans, location considerations, and tips on how to make your tornado safe room as safe as possible are all to be found on the site. In order to view and/or print the construction plans, you will need to download the Autodesk Viewer which allows you to view Autocad generated drawings.

If you are not inclined or have the skills to build your own safe room, several companies manufacture kits for easy installation prior to a tornado striking - or for inclusion in new home construction. Companies such as Steelco (Plano, TX), Storm Safe Rooms (Tulsa, OK), and Remagen Safe Rooms (Monteagle, TN) all manufacture a variety of safe rooms for installation in existing homes. All three bring the shelter to your home and install it.

The Federal government also offers a set of grants and funding opportunities for homeowners in states with a high incidence of tornado touchdowns, from individual grants from HUD as part of a redevelopment or rehabilitation package, to public shelter funding available to communities.