Business for ‘Safe Rooms’ in Tornado Alley Is Booming
- Posted on April 28, 2012 at 6:51am by
Liz Klimas
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Safe room business is booming in tornado-prone areas but experts say don't wait for a grant to pay for one. Freddie Wooten of Alabama build this one himself. (Image: AP video screenshot)
The onslaught of tornadoes in recent years has those in twister-prone areas building backyard strongholds more than ever. They’re called “safe rooms”, and the Associated Press reports companies creating these extreme reinforced rooms find business booming in the tornado alley.
Watch the report:
A professionally built, two-person tornado safe room by the company Tornado Safe Room, for example, costs just under $4,000 and boasts being strong enough to withstand 450 mph winds. Freddie Wooten built his own that could hold about a dozen people, saying it cost him $4,200.
This is an in-house, above the ground safe room. (Photo: AP/Sue Ogrocki)
This year has already been considered ripe with tornadoes, many of them coming earlier in the season that expected. Just this month, 75 tornadoes were reported to have touched down in the Midwest alone — during a 24 hour period.
(Related: See other coverage of tornado stories by the Blaze)
This Friday also marked the one year anniversary after more than 60 tornadoes tore through Alabama over a 1,000 mile stretch killing more than 250 people. Federal researchers recently completed a study on all these deaths to figure out if victims had received warning to take shelter and, if so, had they headed the advice. The conclusion was half of those who died had received the message and nearly all of those took shelter, which still didn’t save their lives.
AP states there are some grants available to help residents in these areas buy a safe room or build their own. The Federal Emergency Management Agency has guidelines available for those who want to build their own stronghold and instructions for how communities can obtain grants.
Still, one investigation by the Dallas-Fort Worth Texas, NBC affiliate found if you want funding you have to know how to ask for it. In its investigation, it reported FEMA has dished out about $540 million to help build these shelters in the last 13 years. Of the 16 counties a part of the North Central Texas Council of Governments, which includes the Dallas-Fort Worth (what NBC calls “the biggest metropolitan area in Tornado Alley”), only one county received funding to build shelters for 200 homes. This was because it was the only one who asked. There are other stipulations NBC reported, including having approved disaster mitigation plans in place. A spokesperson from the county who had received funding said it was a year-long process to obtain it.
Tucker Shaw of SmartSafe Tornado Shelters checks to make sure the bottom of the hole he has dug for a safe room in a customer's garage floor is level. (Photo: AP/Sue Ogrocki)
NBC reported researchers at Texas Tech stating those who wanted to build shelters for their own peace of mind should not rely on the government to get it done.
“I think that people should provide their own protection and not wait for a grant,” Ernie Kiesling, a professor at the Wind Science and Engineering Research Center, said to NBC.
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notreally
Posted on April 29, 2012 at 7:13amI just hope there’s a federal agency with union employees who make double what private sector workers make to control all of this activity.
Report Post »Zach
Posted on April 29, 2012 at 4:56am“Federal researchers recently completed a study on all these deaths to figure out if victims had received warning to take shelter and, if so, had they headed the advice. The conclusion was half of those who died had received the message and nearly all of those took shelter, which still didn’t save their lives.”
The tornado in tuscaloosa a year ago was just a couple blocks away and nothing but foundation and a ton of debris was left. Had it been a couple of blocks over I would be dead even being inside an interior bathroom on the ground level. I was in a house built specifically target towards college students. Do you really think they would build a basement? No, they are built as cheaply as possible otherwise it would be too expensive to live in. And it came through so fast you didn’t have time to seek shelter somewhere else. We saw it on tv outside, the cable went out and suddenly it was on top of us on the other side of town. Sometimes you just can’t dodge an act of god (using the legal term here, not a literal term) no matter how prepared you are. And anyone who uses tornadoes or deaths in a tornado to score political points ought to be ashamed of themselves.
Report Post »lukerw
Posted on April 28, 2012 at 7:30pmTornadoes — Yeh, Right!
Report Post »cdcats8
Posted on April 28, 2012 at 6:55pmWe bought a Tudor home in tornado ally that was built in 1926. It has a basement (wine cellar) as well as retro fitted in the 50′s with a bomb shelter. It is a great place and we go there not only for storms but to enjoy. Love this old house.
Report Post »lukerw
Posted on April 28, 2012 at 7:48pmYou are SET!
Report Post »Bill Rowland
Posted on April 29, 2012 at 7:15amI was raised in a small north Texas town in “tornado alley” and most homes had a storm cellar in the back yard. If you didn’t have one you neighbor did and you were welcome when the storms hit. This was in the 1950s
OMG 2012
Report Post »Walkabout
Posted on April 28, 2012 at 2:55pmA tornado shelter (some) can double as a bunker in times of civil unrest. I am surprised that ******** have not come out against these.
Report Post »LeadNotFollow
Posted on April 28, 2012 at 2:43pm…
Report Post »Mr. Wooten, great job. You are a fine example of the American spirit.
People like you, are what makes America great.
JohnLarson
Posted on April 28, 2012 at 2:42pmBeck doesn‘t live in tornado alley but he’s still building a paranoia bunker, go figure.
Report Post »eastham4
Posted on April 28, 2012 at 3:39pmSomeone does not know what they are talking about. North Texas gets tornadoes on a regular basis. It has always been considered a part of tornado alley. lifelong resident of area.
Report Post »lbyrd26
Posted on April 28, 2012 at 3:54pmTypical liberal here. Gets his MSNBC attacking points and without any facts,makes his personal attacks! Beck lives in tornado alley, you jackwagon!a
Report Post »Michael
Posted on April 28, 2012 at 4:47pmI was stationed at Sheppard AFB, in Wichita Falls, TX. You should do a google search on the massive destructive tornado that hit there…So yes Glenn is in tornado alley you idiot…
Report Post »Rayblue
Posted on April 28, 2012 at 9:01pmIn 1896, the worst storm to ever hit the Texas tornado alley area took 73 lives, blew one whole family away never to be found and injured hundreds. It was reported as far away as New York where the newspapers asked for volunteers to help the dying. It was estimated at F5 velocity. I personally surveyed the area in the ‘70’s. I had wondered how the old houses had washed down the slopes and only foundations remained. Now I know. Tornado alley is not to be taken lightly. I’ve seen at least five up close and did rescue work after three. The worst ones are at night when you can’t see anything. In the daytime you can at least get away or take shelter. There is no third alternative. To read more, google; “May 1896 tornado outbreak sequence”.
Report Post »toto
Posted on April 28, 2012 at 9:40pmOne would think any new construction (homes) would include a shelter. Have always thought if I lived there (again, grew up in tornado alley) I would build the bedrooms underground so when the storms came at night, all would be well.
Report Post »ENIGMA28724
Posted on April 28, 2012 at 2:35pmStorm shelters don’t have to be fancy. I‘ve seen some which were nothing more than buried 6’ galvanized culvert pipe sealed at one end and a secure entrance on the other. Anything beats being topside in one of these storms.
Report Post »dangergirl
Posted on April 28, 2012 at 2:27pmDomes are the answer. American Ingenuity domes in Florida and Monolithic domes in Texas manufacture domes of all shapes and sizes. They are guaranteed to withstand: tornadoes, hurricanes and earthquakes. They are fire proof and termite proof. They are incredible energy efficient because of their dome shape. FEMA’s evaluation of dome structures is on their website. A domes longevity is measured in centuries. They cost relatively the same to build and maintain as conventional buildings. Both Monolithic and American Ingenuity have pictures of many of their domes-and they are beautiful and unique. I cannot for the life of me understand why anyone living in a disaster prone area would not jump at the chance to own a dome. Basements only offer some protection from severe weather. Then if you live, you must rebuild or relocate. Imagine the jobs, money and energy savings, and businesses that could be created by replacing outdated conventional buildings with domes. It could literally, restart America. Oh, and save lives too. And domes have come full circle. St. Marks dome in Italy is still standing and still proving the value of this technology. Monolithic domes has a recent story about FEMA’s evaluation of domes. Please check out American Ingenuity and Monolithic domes on the net. They are good businesses with very helpful staff, who will answer your questions promptly. And no, I do not now, or have ever worked for either of these companies.
Report Post »Lt_Scrounge
Posted on April 28, 2012 at 9:00pmWhile monolithic domes may be very strong and their cost roughly the same as a conventional home, but that doesn’t mean that you can get a mortgage to build one. The more unconventional that a house is, the harder it is to get financed. Since most people don’t happen to have a hundred thousand dollars lying around, they have to have their home financed by a bank and the bank has to have a comparable appraisal to base how much to loan on it. Appraisals are based on comparable home sales within the local geographic area (normally within half a mile) so unless there are a number of domes selling in the area, the bank can’t get an appraisal of the value of the home. Therefore the owners have to have the money to build it, or at least a SUBSTANTIAL downpayment, or it won’t be built.
Report Post »Dabldo
Posted on April 28, 2012 at 10:11pmWooden Dome homes do shed wind very nicely but are still prone to destruction by flying objects ( 2×4s, cars, semi’s, neighbors house off its foundation). Prefer an under ground home. Even more energy efficient depending on construction style. Worst that can happen is windows get broken and you cant get out the front door cause a house got dropped there.
Report Post »dnewton
Posted on April 29, 2012 at 6:59pmLT_SCROUNGE is absolutely correct. A friend of mine who was an architecture student in the sixties found that an super energy efficient home could not be financed through the regular process for the same reason.
Report Post »Boycott the Media Let the People Decide
Posted on April 28, 2012 at 2:06pm“Just this month, 75 tornadoes were reported to have touched down in the Midwest alone”
I absolutely love how the media reports stories. There is a HUGE DIFFERENCE between “75 tornadoes were reported” and the actually truth “75 reports of a tornado”
Report Post »liberalescheisskopf
Posted on April 28, 2012 at 3:21pmInstead of using the word “assumed”?
Report Post »welovetheUSA
Posted on April 28, 2012 at 10:56amI cannot believe a house is built without a basement in these areas………in all the pictures after the storms..there was a block left……….A basement which saves lives…now people are spending thousands of dollars on so called safe houses. Where is the common sense, storm shelters should be built by the city and houses should have mandatory basements.
Report Post »Enough is Enough__Oath_Keeper
Posted on April 28, 2012 at 11:11am@ welovetheUSA
That is just what we need to do is have the government start mandating that people build basements for their homes. Ever hear of property rights?
Also as a FYI there is a reason most homes down there do not have basements. have you ever seen a basement built in a swamp?
Report Post »RJJinGadsden
Posted on April 28, 2012 at 1:52pmWELOVETHEUSA, Here we go again with that one size fits all attitude and you apparently do not understand the geographical location either. I literally cringe every time I hear somebody say “there ought to be a law….” ENOUGH IS ENOUGH__OATH_KEEPER is quite right about no more ridiculous laws and the rights of the property owners should be taken into consideration. I’ve lived in the north, out west in California and as far south as Tampa. I now reside not to far from the location of the man in the video. This area is super humid and the grounds remain very damp. Building a water tight basement can be accomplished but is very, very expensive to accomplish here. While I agree with you that basements can provide a lot of protection, there have been collapses of a structure into basements. I would much rather have a self standing safe room as this man has, and it is obviously built on a concrete pad, probably just like his house. And, most new structures in this area. BTW, not that it is impossible, but do you know anybody just a number of miles south of here in Florida who has a basement?
Report Post »Boycott the Media Let the People Decide
Posted on April 28, 2012 at 2:04pmI live in this area and most houses don’t have basements and there is a reason for that. A SINGLE story structure is STRONGER than a multiple story structure…..Idiots….
Report Post »Rayblue
Posted on April 28, 2012 at 9:50pmA lot of the Souths earth is composed of “vertisoil” and black gumbo. The vertisoil makes it unwise to build basements because of the constant shifting toward the lower plain or river or coast where the tides can damage even the upper strata. Shelter can be built but the damage over just one season can be substansial.
Report Post »SgtB
Posted on April 29, 2012 at 1:11amThere is a reason why basements aren’t prevalent in the great plains states. I am in Oklahoma and the ground here is not suitable for and there is no need for every home to have a basement. The dirt here is called clay. Ever heard of it? And I’m not talking like loose red dirt. I mean that in summer, without rain, your yard is as easy to dig through as a solid piece of pottery. Our ground also expands and contracts readily with the changes in humidity and that would place an extremely large burden on the foundation. It is more economical to grade, lay sand and forms, pour a foundation, and then build a small detached shelter later.
Report Post »dnewton
Posted on April 29, 2012 at 7:03pmYou don’t see many basements where there is high ground water or solid rock. I only know of one building in Miami that has a basement and it was built on a mound of sand placed before construction so that the basement floor remained over the water table.
Report Post »2Amendment
Posted on April 28, 2012 at 10:46amShipping containrs are not designed to be burried. The floors are not steel and the weight of few feet of wet earth on the container roof could collapse the roof. Containers are designed to support the weight on the floor and distribute the load to the cornors which are design to support the load.
If you must use a container, I would suggest that it is set so the roof is exposed at or slightly above ground level. Make sure you provide adequate drainage, a deep bed of gravel under and around the container with lots of drain piping. Eventually the container will rust through even with good painting before burial.
Report Post »THXll38
Posted on April 28, 2012 at 11:41amAre you an engineer? Or did you stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night?
Report Post »Rayblue
Posted on April 28, 2012 at 10:10pmSounds like a tight plan, 2amendment. It would also need to be anchored in some way. I had thought of using a container but knew it would not be as easy as just dropping it into the ground.
Report Post »SgtB
Posted on April 29, 2012 at 1:30amPlenty of trailer parks in my state are now installing conex boxes bolted down to concrete pads as a form of storm shelter for the residents. Not but a year or two ago, ~40 people were saved by utilizing such a shelter and nearly every single home was destroyed. Of course, it was a trailer park and the homes were not as sturdy as a brick and mortar home, but they are stronger than a person and they were all destroyed. I think that a good conex box would be better than nothing, whether it was sunk in the ground or not.
I’d also like to add that the structure of the conex box could be easily buried completely with only a few steps taken to reinforce the roof to support the > 18″ of dirt that you need to separate yourself from the radiation of a nuclear blast as well as provide above average tornado shelter. If you first paint the entire outside of the conex with an automotive undercoating or bed liner, it will withstand being buried for years and years. Probably longer than you will live. Also, your idea to build an impromptu kind of french drain by digging deep and back filling with crusher run or gravel is a good idea. Oh, and to ensure the roof stays up, weld a support plate to the top and bottom in the middle and then run a pole or I beam straight up the center. Either that or when covering the conex, lay down some corrugated sheet steel and concrete creating a load bearing solid surface above the roof. Such a structure routinely holds > 200 lbs/ft^2.
Report Post »dnewton
Posted on April 29, 2012 at 7:09pmPaint it with asphalt if you are going to do that but I agree a shipping container might not be a good idea.
Report Post »rancorkeeper240
Posted on April 28, 2012 at 10:44amWanting to move there just to have one
Report Post »poorrichard09
Posted on April 28, 2012 at 9:26amIt seems like one of those “containers” they load on ships might work if you buried it into a hillside or something. A short (a 20 footer) would be good. Containers are abundant since the econ is crap (thanx 0bozo) and fairly cheap. You’ve probably seen folks who have done amazing things with them.
Report Post »Razlord
Posted on April 28, 2012 at 9:03amBen Livingston – The Father of Weaponized Weather – A PrisonPlanet TV Exclusive – Part 3 of 3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LP2Da8Qv8TU
TRILLIONs SPENT ON CHANGING THE CLIMATE B4 RECORD BREAKING FLOODS AND CYCLONES….AUSTRALIA….
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBKm_rPoKIA
if you are not going to report the truth , what in the he77 are you doing…
Report Post »NHwinter
Posted on April 28, 2012 at 2:02pmThey are going to kill us one way or other. Thank you for the links
Report Post »Razlord
Posted on April 28, 2012 at 8:53amThe insider: chemtrails KC-10 sprayer air to air – The proof ====✈
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bSSWnXQsgOU
Government ADMITS secretly SPRAYING POISON on us!!! Also admit secret tests hundreds of times!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UiJ_R8JVpi4&feature=related
would really like to know when any media will report the truth.
Report Post »dam tired of the bs.
kentuckypatriot
Posted on April 28, 2012 at 8:46amAin’t capitalism great? Only problem, and I may be wrong on this, is it seems to me that the gubment is STILL getting involved because of the grants.
Also, wonder if those safe places will survive a nuclear attack?
Report Post »Razlord
Posted on April 28, 2012 at 8:32amlong island chemtrail trial.
Report Post »http://www.bing.com/search?q=long%20island%20chemtrail%20trials&pc=conduit&ptag=A22BA716E44EF4C57ADF&form=CONADR&conlogo=CT3210127&ShowAppsUI=0
BBReggie
Posted on April 28, 2012 at 7:33am“I think that people should provide their own protection and not wait for a grant,” – if you did not learn that lesson from Katrina, you will never learn. Folks in tornado prone areas used to all have root cellars or storm cellars and never thought of the Government providing them.
Report Post »Baddoggy
Posted on April 28, 2012 at 8:41amI live in tornado alley and have lived here most of my life. I have experienced an f5 and two other twisters. I have lost 2 homes and suffered damage in the third.I do not and will not have a shelter, especially one provided by the government. i would rather gouge out my eyes than steal tax money from other taxpayers for something so needless…Kinda like those free scooters for fat people that we pay for…Not me. I supply my own things. F the Government and FEMA…I will probably be living in one of their camps soon though..While I am under arrest and being re-educated.
Report Post »kentuckypatriot
Posted on April 28, 2012 at 8:47am@ baddoggy:
Report Post »Well said friend, and thank you!
Fubared
Posted on April 28, 2012 at 11:31amDoggy
Report Post »You just need one of these with firing ports.
PA PATRIOT
Posted on April 28, 2012 at 7:08amToto, We’re not in Kansas anymore.
I would hesitate to live there in the first place.
Report Post »kickagrandma
Posted on April 28, 2012 at 7:05amShovel-ready jobs, folks. If you/we live in tornado alley (which seems to be expanding), using some of that saved-up money for one of these shelters (doing it yourself) seems to be a good idea to me.
Report Post »Flyingfish
Posted on April 28, 2012 at 10:46amTornado alley is not expanding, but the number of people living in Tornado alley has been. Most tornadoes just hit empty farmland a centry ago. Now all those farms have been turned into suburban city sprawl and people are shocked to find out that nearly all the Midwest and a large portion of the South East are actually very prown to tornadoes.
“If a tornado knocks over a tree in the forest and no one is there to put the video on youtube did it actually happen?”
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