Protect Your Family with a Storm Shelter

A storm shelter serves as refuge from bad thunderstorms, hail and tornadoes. Most storm shelters are underground. The door above them is slanted for water runoff. Usually, a set of stairs leads down from the door (or roof, in this case) into the underground area. The underground area is usually reinforced with concrete to support the structure and provides strength during a storm. In some areas of the U.S., where it is not practical to put a shelter underground, an above-ground shelter may be more practical. These are made from strong material (often concrete) and are reinforced to withstand severe weather.

History

Ancestors of today’s storm shelters were bomb shelters, sometimes referred to as air-raid shelters which were built for protection from enemy bombing during WWII. They came also in the form of bunkers. Fallout shelters were similar to bomb shelters but were made with thicker walls to provide shielding from radiation were designed to be used by families in the event of nuclear attack in the 1960s and 1970s during the Cold War.

Preparation and Uses

Since bad weather is usually seasonal, a family can keep a storm shelter stocked during tornado season in case they need to use it. That way, if they need to stay more than a day, they will have food and water. In the event a tornado or severe thunderstorm warning is issued, they do not have to worry about taking anything with them--they can just head for the shelter. It might also be wise to make sure the shelter is equipped with a lantern, some extra candles, wicks and oil, or flashlights and batteries. A portable radio or weather radio is also recommended. During off-season, storm shelters are sometimes utilized to store canned goods.

Storm Cellars

A storm cellar, which is located under the main house rather than away from it, can be used for a storm shelter as well. If there are windows between the cellar and the house, they are usually considered basements. Storm cellars are sometimes used as wine cellars.

Safe Rooms

A storm shelter is different from a safe room in that safe rooms are generally associated with break-ins and are inside a main house. They are reinforced rooms that sometimes are equipped with solid steel doors that have deadbolts or other locks. The rooms have extra phones or other communications in order to contact police in case your home is broken into. It is conceivable since a safe room is usually an interior room of the house--and a central location is where it is recommended that you go in case of a tornado--that a safe room could also be used as refuge from a storm, particularly in the absence of a storm shelter.

Air Circulation

All forms of shelters have one thing in common. They are equipped with some sort of air circulation. A typical storm shelter has pipes leading to the outside with vents for air. Military bunkers frequently have generators that circulate air throughout the shelter. Cellars and basements often have ventilation from the main house in the form of vents.