Safe rooms considered to be new haven for increase in weather disasters

Safe area arranged for storage and pets

Carol Forsloff - For regions impacted by severe storms, having a safe place in the house to go and wait it out, and potentially be away from harm, is critical according to experts, so if folks have to make a choice in a budget for remodeling, that safe room is important.

Pictures showing a terrible storm on April 3, 1974, which is referred to by experts as "the largest and most cataclysmic tornado on record for a single 24-hour period" was a surprise to the people of 13 states and one Canadian province, as the storm traveled across an area of 900 miles, killing 148 people. 


During the storm houses were crushed and landscapes devastated, but amidst all that, in what is said to be an "iconic photograph," one thing remained intact in a house:  the interior bathroom, the walls of which were not connected to the rest of the house.

Experts tell us the photo demonstrates how a single room can withstand the wrath of a tornado and serve as a safe haven as government officials and academics work to raise public awareness of how storm shelters can be life saving.

The team is a who's who of researchers and atmospheric scientists as well as government officials from a number of agencies who are setting up what they call the "Resilient Home Program" under revised guidelines by FEMA in the famous "tornado alley" of the Midwest.   This is where large numbers of the population are especially vulnerable, with many seniors and mobile homes.

"The Resilient Home Program isn't a 30-page report that winds up in a binder on a bookshelf," says S&T program manager Mike Matthews. "It's a roll-up-your-sleeves collaboration among many different entities — homeowners, builders, and insurers — that will help to fortify people's homes, lives and communities."

Matthews maintains helping people return to their homes can help whole communities.

The team is putting together this safety program by first assessing what type of homeowner will opt for a safe room and others go without.  Then they will begin an educational and outreach program.

"The more we understand about how people perceive safe rooms, the more success we'll have in increasing their number," says Matthews.

Certain patterns emerged in how people answered surveys relative to having safe rooms.  It was found homeowners know safe rooms can save lives but see little value in the investment in something that isn't used that much.  Finding that out, the researcher team decided to label safe rooms as part of ordinary home projects, as an extra bathroom, for example, or perhaps the remodel of a kitchen.

The idea is to find ways to ensure the safety of people during disasters and help them begin the process of returning home to rebuild communities.

Safe rooms are required to be designed according to certain guidelines outlined by FEMA.   It is defined by the disaster experts as a "hardened structure specifically designed to meet the Federal Management Agency criteria and provide near-absolute protection in extreme weather events, including tornadoes and hurricanes."

They are further described as having the type of guidelines that insure the room will allow its occupants to have "a high probability of being protected from injury or death."

The need for safe rooms is outlined as reasonable given the increased likelihood of weather disasters due to the impact of climate change. Predictions say next week will see a mega storm that will impact the East Coast in a very big way.

This past week the International Home Builders Association met in Las Vegas to share the new look for safe rooms.  The NAHB members were on hand to showcase the new designs for them.