With all the horrible storms in the states....

[mac78]

I am wondering how many live in tornado prone areas of the states. Do you have a basement, storm shelter, safe room, etc. to go into. We have no basement. Live in a ranch on a crawl space. We are in some bad weather today and calling for storms throughout the week. Some days I want to get dig myself a hole. We tend to go into our interior bathroom, or else we also have a 8 x 10 bedroom that is an interior room with no windows. Just so scary especially. I feel so bad for those that have gotten hit by tornadoes this Spring.

[shabbychick]

It's sure sad to read about all the people killed or displaced by the tornadoes and floods. If I lived in tornado alley, I think I'd build a storm shelter before I even built a house. Here in the west, some people have bomb shelters from the cold war days, but we don't have to worry about the massive storms others do. In that we're lucky. Earthquakes are our issue here, but overall, I think we're less likely to sustain damage with those than others are with tornadoes. I hope all is well with all of you!

[vintage girl]

This was so tragic. I cannot even imagine what they are all going through. My heart and thoughts are with all who have lost so much.

[RoseMary]

Marie, we don't have a storm shelter, either, but we have been talking about getting one. The old 'cellars' that people used to use were so damp and 'snaky' that I wouldn't want that, but the new ones are nice--and expensive:eek:. We have a small interior closet that we stuff ourselves into. Thankfully, we haven't had a major tornado touch down since we've moved here--but, being seven miles from the OK border, we are smack-dab in tornado alley. (Which I've started noticing is about anywhere in the USA:eek:--Minnesota-Wisconsin???)

What happened in Joplin seems so unbelieveable. I feel so bad for them. We have friends a few miles east of the city and their yard and pastures are full of debris from the tornado. It is going to take a long time for that place to get back to normal. So many deaths--so sad.

Everyone be safe tonight and tomorrow night--a couple more rounds of storms are coming!

[shabbychick]

I read a comment to one of the online news stories on the tornadoes, and the poster said that Joplin and many other areas are sitting on bedrock, so digging a conventional storm cellar isn't even a possibility. I hadn't thought about that. They were saying that until building codes require builders to include safe rooms in houses in tornado country, people won't have much choice except to shelter the best they can in what they have. You'd think that there would be some kind of code to cover that just like there are codes for making homes earthquake-resistant in the west. It gets me to thinking that in all the cottage homes I've seen in magazines, I've never seen one where a safe room or a tornado shelter are featured. I'd like to see that sometime. Maybe if they become one of those "must haves" like spa baths and apron-front sinks, more people will want them and more companies will think of ways to make them cost effective. Cottage Living built a hurricane-resistant house in Galveston that made it through their most recent hurricane (it had one of those break-away bottom sections that lets the surge water pass under the house) so wouldn't it be kind of cool to feature a cozy cottage home that would be tornado-safe?

I wonder if the companies that built all those cute Katrina cottages for the folks in Louisiana will build something similar for the people in Missouri and Arkansas?

[RoseMary]

Although it is possible to put one in the ground in the area where we live, we have been checking into some above ground shelters. A company in Ok makes a steel above ground 'yard bunker' that is supposed to withstand an F5tornado. I think safe rooms are the way that most people are starting to go. I know several people with them.

Alot of schools have storm shelters now, so people living in towns can go there and wait out storms if they want.

[mac78]

I have been doing some research on them. I live in NW Ohio. I told Dave maybe we should start "selling" them, become a dealer.....Problem in our town is high water table, basements flood out. I just like the idea of being underground when one hits. It is so tragic what has happened.

I did purchase a NOAA weather radio last year after a tornado hit approx 60 miles from us during the night and a family was sleeping upstairs and a little boy, mom and dad all died, and the little girl survived. They went to sleep and were not aware of the storms. My radio sounds an alarm whenever there is a storm or tornado warning, starting the next county over.

[chyna]

When we had some tornadoes touch down near my city we went into the basement of the rental we lived in at the time and it was a toss up which would be worse. Blown away or drowning in the basement. The sump pump couldn't keep up with the water pouring in and since Laurel is pretty much built on wetlands we have a high water table. The only reason we even have a basement is for the furnace. :o

This house is pretty much the same thing though I think this place is more watertight so we wouldn't be huddling in the indoor swimming pool. :p

At the moment we're more worried about flooding, it has been pretty hairy in my area this week.

[shabbychick]

I heard about all the flooding in Montana. I'll keep my fingers crossed for all of you.

I heard someone interviewed on NPR who had buried a schoolbus in the side of a hill (he'd had a backhoe dig the hole in the hill, and then he'd driven a bus into the hole and but the dirt back) to make a storm shelter. He'd survived the recent tornado in the bus (along with his family and dog). His brother had done the same thing with a van and successfully used that. It's a clever idea, but it didn't say how he managed to keep the door shut when the tornado is passing by. One assumes the door is actually opens to the outside. I got to thinking that in places where the water table or bedrock prevents underground storm shelters, something like that would be a great idea. But you have to have the hill first, which is an issue, and then the vehicle. And I suppose in lots of places the local building codes would not allow it.

[Rory Bremner]

Its horrific! The articles on TV and in the papers show absolute carnage and devastation. Very sad for all involved :(

[RoseMary]

Tanya, I've been reading all the stories about the flooding in your state. I had hoped you were not near it~please take care and stay safe!

shabby, I can see that man's idea working. Like you, I wonder about the door, too. Old storm cellars had two door with a metal bar that fitted inside to keep the tornadoes from pulling them open. In April, during the tornado that destroyed Vilonia, AR, my cousin and her husband were trapped in their shelter for 3 hours. The trees in her yard uprooted and fell on the doors. Their son-in-law had to find people with chainsaws to get them out. But they were safe, while most of their home was destroyed.

[G Howard]

I live in Indiana, and we have had a lot of water, some tornadoes but nothing horrific. Thank goodness! I feel sorry for all of you who are having flooding issues, etc. Keeping you in my prayers!

[chyna]

So far so good in my town. I'm really sorry for the people in Roundup though. One of the news programs here interviewed a homeowner from there and he was talking about all these antiques in storage sheds out back behind his house and how all the furniture in his home is wrecked. But you know there has been no fatalities that I know of so we're certainly luckier than the South and all the flooding in say Memphis. Well except for a guy who was out trying to clear an irrigation ditch and then one of my mom's 2nd or 3rd cousins who slipped into a ditch on the way home from the post office. Not counting the people who decide to go boating on unsafe rivers. :(

We are still anxiously watching the mountains for snow melt. Sure shouldn't be complaining about drought this year!

[RoseMary]

Glad you are safe in your town, Tanya. It is so bad in so many places, right now. The heat has moved in here in the South, so maybe the terrible storms are over for this season. It was sad about the people killed in Mass. Guess there are tornado threats everywhere in the U.S.

Shabby, you were commenting about people not having storm shelters in the South. Even our local television meteorologist doesn't have one--but he is doing research and about to invest in one!

[shabbychick]

I'm beginning to think we should all get storm shelters. There were even tornadoes in California and in Washington in the last couple of weeks. They were small and didn't do any major damage or cause any injuries, but it sure makes you think.

[allen820]

Really, I would not have a clue what to do in face of an on-coming tonado! That is something extremely rare in this part of the world, yet such an event just happened in my hometown where several folks were killed and one of my friends had her home destroyed. As it was all happening, I thought about moving me, my wife, and three dogs into the crawl space, but, heck should the house just dissappear (i.e., Dorothy/Toto/Kansas), that would not be much help! Guess, a better plan is in order?!

[shabbychick]

Lots of people go to basements, interior rooms without windows, or hallways, which afford some protection but aren't a guarantee. I guess if everyone had a big walk-in freezer built into their homes, that might be the best protection available outside of true storm shelter.

[RoseMary]

Closets are a favorite hidey hole for tornadoes. Everyone used to get in their bathtubs when they were solid cast iron--but today they are fiberglass and not much use.

Allen820~did you just move to TN? They are quite common in areas of your state.

[allen820]

Hi, Rosemary. No, I've lived around this area for years. Thankfully, I live in the eastern part of the state which is somewhat "protected" by the mountains. Yet tornadoes do occur. A couple years ago, one ripped through a neighboring county and did considerable damage. And, a bit more than a decade ago, a tornado touched down in this county and at least tore up a bunch of trees. So, yes tornadoes can be a threat here, but not nearly so as compared to many other areas.

[RoseMary]

I'm glad you're in a part of the state that doesn't get them very much! Still--keep your eyes open when the weather's bad!