Chapter Outline

The fact that Safe Rooms work has been proven by residents and local community support, and endorsed by both President Bill Clinton and his successor’s chief mitigation officer. Comparing Oklahoma tornadoes in 1999 versus 2003, government officials cited the success of safe rooms in protecting lives. Though safe rooms only exist in a relatively small proportion of all homes in “Tornado Alley”, it is easier to sell a home with a safe room – some people actually want to pay for these shelters. Granted, “tornadoes are low probability/high consequence events. Even in Oklahoma, the chances of an individual building or person being destroyed by a tornado are not very high and difficult to estimate,” as was described by Tulsa’s Ann Patton. But Texas Tech estimates that each year over three billion man-hours are spent in the United States under tornado watches. “In more than half the watches issued, a tornado occurs somewhere within the watch area.” People in tornado prone areas experience anxiety and loss of productivity unless a safe place is readily available. FEMA has determined that safe rooms, be they residential, community or school ones, best serve the people of “Tornado Alley” and beyond, to people in coastal regions who are under threats during hurricane season. The example of Moore, Oklahoma, best exemplifies the key ingredients for a successful mitigation project: community support, financial support (in its case, from the state) and leaders willing to push the issue. Four years after the 1999 tornadoes, lives were saved in Moore because of safe rooms. Yes, the political willpower must lead to an all-winds hazard program so the safe room concept can be more broadly exposed. Financial institutions and the government need to provide more incentives because at a cost of a couple of thousand dollars, the price tag scares some people away.

According to the National Weather Service, over 1,000 tornadoes are reported each year. Only a fraction of these produce F3-F5 conditions, but they do happen. One need only consider the cases of Xenia, Ohio, Jarrell, Texas, and Moore, Oklahoma, as well as many other communities in the Midwest, for proof. Tornadoes will occur in 2006, 2012, 2020 and every year in between and beyond. Meteorological devices have improved warning times, but ultimately the actual shelter makes the difference. It also comes down to cost, education and willpower to move forward and build a safe room. As one resident of Moore reflected after the 2003 twister that she rode out in her safe room, “It doesn’t matter what the cost, because in that case, your whole lives are depending on it”.

References

Associated Press. 2002. “More Schools Installing ‘Safe Rooms’ as Tornado Shelter.” November 11.

Associated Press. 2000. “State Promotes ‘Safe Rooms’; Tornadoes: $87,000 in Federal Money Will Help Build Shelters.” September 7.
Associated Press. 1997. “Texas Town Flattened By Rare ‘F5’ Tornado; 27 Are Killed.” May 27.
Associated Press. 2004. “Wichita Schools Build Safe Rooms to Withstand Storms, Tornadoes.” March 15.
Barnaby, Jacqlyn. 2001. “Tulsans Encouraged to Build Safe Rooms.” Tulsa World, April 18.
Chulindra, Warisa. 1999. “Killer Twisters Stir Interest in Safe Rooms.” The Topeka Capital-Journal, June 24.
Dallas Morning News. 1999. “Concrete-Encased Room Serves as Storm Cellar.” July 5.
FEMA 320. 1998. “Taking Shelter From the Storm: Building a Safe Room Inside Your House.” October.
FEMA 342. 1999. “Midwest Tornadoes of May 3, 1999: Observations, Recommendations and Technical Guidance,” Building Performance Assessment Report, October.
FEMA 361. 2000. “Design and Construction Guidance for Community Shelters.” July.
FEMA 431. 2003. “Tornado Protection: Selecting Refuge Areas in Buildings.” November.
FEMA. 2002. “Protecting School Children from Tornadoes: State of Kansas Shelter Initiative.” Mitigation Case Studies. August.
FEMA. 2003. “Safe Rooms Save Lives: State of Oklahoma Safe Room Initiative.” Mitigation Case Studies. January.
FEMA. 1998. “FEMA and Texas Tech Team Up for Tornado Protection in the Home.” News Release. August 18.
FEMA2. 1998. “National Tornado Forum to Focus on Safety Issues.” News Release. August 15.
FEMA Official. 2004. Personal Interview by Greg Licamele. April.
FEMA. N/D. “Timeline: In-Residence Shelter History.” http://www.fema.gov/pdf/mit/saferoom/netc_pdfs/netc_history.pdf.
Fox News.com. 2004. “Safe Rooms Increase Survival Rates in Tornadoes.” March 26.
Hannah, James. 2000. “Xenia Learns Another Lesson in Tornado Readiness.” Associated Press. September 28.
H.R. 3980. 2004. “National Windstorm Impact Reduction Act of 2004.” U.S. House of Representatives. March 17.
Haddow, George D. and Jane A. Bullock. 2003. “Introduction to Emergency Management.” Butterworth-Heinemann.
Hurt, Jeanette. 2000. “Public Housing to Have ‘Safe Room’; Low-Income Project to Include Disaster Shelter.” Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. August 25.
International Code Council. 2004. “New Safe Room Standard Will Save Lives When Tornadoes Strike.” News release. March 30.
Kissell, Margo Rutledge. 2000. “’74 Photo Inspires Shelter Concept.” Dayton Daily News. October 6.
Lawless, Margaret. 2004. Class Presentation. The George Washington University. March 29.
Lowe, Anthony. 2004. Testimony Before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Science, Subcommittee on Research, and Subcommittee on Environment, Technology and Standards. March 24. http://www.windhazards.org/pdf/Lowe-FEMA.pdf.
Luscombe, Belinda. 1997. “Nowhere to Run.” Time magazine. June 9.
McFeatters, Ann. 2003. “U.S. Looks to Curb Rising Cost of Natural Disasters.” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. May 7.
Moore, Dennis. 2003. “Moore Reintroduces Legislation to Mitigate Losses from Tornadoes.” News release. May 7.
National Storm Shelter Association. N/D. Web Site. http://www.nssa.cc.
NOAA. N/D. Web Site. http://www.noaa.gov.
NOAA 2. N/D. “Thunderstorms, Tornadoes, Lightning; Nature’s Most Violent Storms.” The U.S. Department of Commerce and the American Red Cross. www.nws.noaa.gov/om/brochures/ttl.pdf.
Patton, Ann. 2003. “Surviving the Storm: Sheltering in the May 2003 Tornadoes in Moore, Oklahoma.” Natural Hazards Research and Applications Information Center Quick Response Report.
Quaid, Libby. 2000. “FEMA: Study of Oklahoma, Kansas Twister Shows Damage Can Be Reduced.” Associated Press. March 28.
Ruble, Renee. 1999. “Keating Announces Rebates for Safe Rooms.” Associated Press, June 18.
Schmid, Randolph. 1998. “Government to Encourage Building Home Tornado Shelters.” Associated Press. August 19.
Spotts, Peter. 1998. “Trying to Blunt Twisters’ Destruction.” Christian Science Monitor. February 25.
Stout, David. 1998. “‘Safe Rooms’ Urged in Areas Prone to Tornadoes.” The New York Times. August 19.
TTU Wind Science. N/D. Web Site. http://www.wind.ttu.edu/.
Tulsa Project Impact. 2001. “Tulsa Builders Launch First Safe Room Subdivision, Legacy Park.” Newsletter article. February 6.
Waller, James and Ernst Kiesling. 2003. “Building Codes and Storm Shelter Safety.” The Building Safety Journal. August.
Watson, Traci. 1999. “Shelter Weathers Deadly Okla. Tornadoes.” USA Today. May 17.
Wolf, Richard. 1997. “Twister’s Wounds Run Deep.” USA Today. November.
Wynn, Kelli. 2001. “Project Impact Hits Home Today When Xenia Signs on Dotted Line.” Dayton Daily News. May 25.

Sidebar 3.3.1: The Fujita Tornado Scale

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