![]() Last May, Debbie and Darrell Nichols hunched inside their safe room in the garage as soon as the tornado sirens began blaring. In Joplin, the state's preference for community shelters leaves residents to pay for safe rooms out of pocket. Since 2009, nearly 16,000 people in Arkansas have received rebates of up to $1,000 to add residential safe rooms. "I don't know how many have been put in Smithville, but it seems like every house has one," Renee Seales said. They built a dome-shaped bunker buried in their yard. That was more requests than the program's $8 million could fund.Īmong those who received money were Renee and Larry Seales of Smithville, Miss., where 16 people died in a 2011 twister, including both of Renee's parents. No one was hurt.įollowing the 2011 tornadoes, nearly 6,200 applications were submitted to Mississippi's "A Safe Place to Go" program, which also uses FEMA funds. In January, more than 50 people sought safety in a dome-shaped public shelter as a tornado ripped through Maplesville, Ala. "If you have the opportunity to put something in your house, that's what we would encourage folks to do." "I wouldn't get my family into a car and run that risk," Joplin Assistant City Manager Sam Anselm said. Even with improvements in twister prediction, venturing out into a rapidly brewing storm is perilous. The downside of public shelters is getting there. Missouri's choice spotlights a debate in states seeking better tornado protection: Is disaster aid better spent on safe rooms in individual homes or on larger public shelters designed to protect hundreds or thousands of people? Twister Safe's spike in business is even more impressive in Missouri, which does not offer grant money for safe rooms, opting to use its share of federal disaster money for community shelters. "We're selling 400 to 500 a year now, compared to maybe 100 before." Eligible applicants for school safe room funding must apply through the State Hazard Mitigation Officer.įollow recovery updates in Missouri on Twitter and Get the latest information at Missouri's recovery website and FEMA's disaster webpage.įEMA's mission is helping people before, during and after disasters."Business has probably quadrupled, at least," owner Enos Davis said. Other school safe rooms in Missouri school districts, including those of Webb City and Eldon, were built since the 2011 tornado.įEMA pays for 75 percent of safe room costs through the Hazard Mitigation Grants Program or the Pre-Disaster Mitigation Grant Program-both administered by the state. Joplin school shelters took in 1,500-1,700 occupants that day. Significant severe weather threatened Joplin and other parts of Missouri on May 22 this year, the eighth anniversary of the 2011 disaster. Severe weather with tornadoes often hits Missouri from those areas. ![]() The school district opens shelters when the National Weather Service issues warnings, but they also open them, Sachetta says, when a tornado touches down in southeast Kansas or nearby Oklahoma. “Safe rooms open during the day after weather warnings, but community residents may come here also if they have no other place to go,” said Sachetta. Joplin’s safe rooms also serve the community. “Our safe rooms are used as gyms, an office area, a television production studio, wrestling room, an industry tech classroom and a locker room,” said Joplin School District Assistant Superintendent, Dr. The shelters, located in the school buildings, can be reached quickly and easily by occupants.ĭuring blue sky days the safe rooms serve other purposes. ![]() Doors and windows are protected by impact-resistant coverings. Made of reinforced concrete and impact-resistant walls and roofs, the safe rooms can withstand winds up to 250 mph. The safe rooms, constructed to meet Federal Emergency Management Agency specifications, provide near-absolute protection against injury or death in extreme weather events. – The Joplin School District has built 14 safe rooms since 2011, when a deadly tornado killed 161, to shelter students and community residents when the next tornado strikes. ![]()
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