Residential Articles
Want near absolute safety in a tornado or hurricane? Install a safe room or community storm shelter. That’s the advice from the Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA), which has established guidelines to make sure community members are safe during extreme-wind events. Those FEMA guidelines for the design and construction of community safe rooms are based…
It’s National Preparedness Month, but how prepared will you be when a tornado touches down in your area? As you may have read, the area known as tornado alley is changing, and tornados have touched down in all 50 states.If you live in an area where tornados are a common occurrence during parts of the…
Tornadoes are far deadlier than most realize. Until the Weather Bureau began tornado warnings in the 1950s, tornadoes caused triple-digit death tolls surprisingly often. It is estimated that during a bad year, such as 2011, total tornado deaths in the USA might exceed two thousand if warnings didn’t exist.While tornadoes have happened in all 50…
Tornado warnings and when it’s safe to come out. Being under a tornado warning is a stressful time. The thought of your home being damaged, eerie sirens screaming, and deep concern for your family by themselves is enough to get your blood pressure up. But, being in an unfamiliar location such as a bathtub, closet,…
One year ago, this month, Southwest Georgia area was caught off-guard by one of the sneakiest and most unexpected EF3 tornadoes. Of course, there were a total of eight southern states that were affected by the swarm of tornadoes.For our Survive-a-Storm team members, however, the tornado that struck Albany was a grim reminder that what…
Be prepared, lest we forget. Just ask the folks who live in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.Oftentimes after a tragedy occurs, we spend the next few years honoring those who may have fallen, or who may have been affected by said tragedy. As life goes on and we begin to heal, we move further away from the event…
Texas is a state that cares about its citizens. In fact, they care enough to put programs in place to help local citizens feel safe in their own homes. One such program, the North Central Texas Safe Room Rebate Program, is one of the storm shelter grants that the North Central Texas Council of Governments…
We live in a world with so much going on around us all the time. One commodity that we fight for is protection. We seek shelter from things that scare us or that have the capacity to harm us. Shelter seekers are often running from things like terrorist attacks, government corruption, economic collapse, home invasions,…
Residential storm shelters have come a long way in the last several years. These days, if someone is talking about their storm shelter, often, they are referring to an above ground structure that is located inside the garage or home for easy access. That’s not to say that the below ground shelters are becoming obsolete.…
We get this question all the time—what are the pros and cons of each? Let’s take a look:Below Ground Shelters: Pros:You are underground, so the chances of a tornado getting to you are nearly impossible.It doesn’t take up any of your “living space”Cons: Rain might seep in while you are hiding inside.Not ADA compliantBugs and other…
2017 kicked off the year so far with a scary record number of tornadoes. According to the NOAA National Weather Service, there were 138 recorded tornadoes in January 2017 and only 18 for the month of January 2016. There have also been 20 deaths so far, this year. Typically, tornado season begins March and carries…