Safe Room

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has made plans and specifications for building a "safe room" inside your house available on-line via the URL above. Developed in collaboration with the Wind Engineering Research Center of Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas, "Taking Shelter from the Storm, Building a Safe Room Inside Your House" and the associated construction plans draw on 25 years of field research by the Texas Tech researchers. Their work has included studies of the performance of buildings following dozens of tornadoes throughout the United States and laboratory testing on the performance of building materials and systems when impacted by airborne debris. The National Association of Homebuilders Research Center evaluated the designs for construction methods, materials, and costs. The shelters are designed with saving lives as the primary consideration.

I am quite familiar with the work done at Texas Tech in developing these designs. They are specifically intended for tornadoes which affect any particular house for a very short period of time and seldom reach winds over 200 mph. From what we are told about the winds associated with the pole shift, which will be much longer lasting and greatly exceed the normal tornado, I would not rely upon these designs for my personal shelter. I would be underground in a shelter which is fireproof.

Offered by Ron.