Tornado Safe Room On Display
Release Date: October 29, 2002
Release Number: 1433-28a
» More Information on Indiana Severe Storms and Tornadoes
 FEMA Mitigation Specialist Harry Nolan offers Indianans Information on Safe Room Construction |
Indianapolis, IN -- Shoppers at the Castleton Mall here this weekend saw a model of a Safe Room. State and federal disaster mitigation officers handed out literature and building plans free for the asking for anyone interested in adding such a wind resistant structure to their home.
"Safe Room displays are one way we use to reach out to people with information about wind-resistant construction techniques as they are rebuilding in the aftermath of the tornadoes and severe storms," Federal Coordinating Officer William Lokey, said. "Indiana has seen some terrible winds. These Safe Rooms save lives!"
A Safe Room is an in-home tornado shelter built to withstand extreme windstorms and wind-borne debris where a family can survive a tornado with little or no injury. The Safe Room exhibit will be traveling to other Indiana locations in upcoming weeks: Nov. 1 - 3 at Washington Square Mall; on Nov. 8 - 10 at the Circle Center Mall.
FEMA, in cooperation with the Wind Engineering Research Center of Texas Tech University, developed designs for wind shelters, like the Safe Room that will be on display, based on 25 years of field research. Visitors to the model Safe Room can learn how they can build a shelter inside their houses that will provide protection against winds of up to 250 miles per hour and windborne debris traveling at 100 miles an hour.
To order a booklet containing Safe Room construction plans and more information on sheltering from tornadoes, call FEMA Publications at 1-800-480-2520 and ask for "Taking Shelter From the Storm: Building a Safe Room Inside Your House," FEMA publication 320.
Last Modified: Thursday, 31-Jul-2003 12:03:39