Is your basement a safe place?
Many people in the Midwest believe that their basement is their safe place. Some of this belief is historical. Think back to root cellars as the place to shelter back in the day. A lot of that belief stems from advice that presupposes there is not an alternative purpose built shelter. We have all heard that the basement is safer than upstairs, an interior hallway upstairs is safer than a room with windows, if all else fails get in the bathtub and cover up to protect against debris! None of that is bad advice if you don’t have an alternative, but none of those options are as safe as a purpose built storm shelter. Basements that do not have FEMA compliant shelters are simply not as safe as an above ground shelter that is FEMA and ICC compliant, properly anchored to concrete and debris impact tested by an independent testing agency. FEMA estimates that thousands of lives would be saved every year with proper storm shelters.
Do above ground tornado shelters work?
On May 20, 2013, a large and extremely violent EF5 tornado struck Moore, Oklahoma, and adjacent areas, with peak winds estimated at 210 miles per hour. The tornado killed 24 people and injured 212 others, causing catastrophic damage and demolishing hundreds of homes. A review of above ground shelters following the tornado showed that all the above ground purpose built storm shelters that were FEMA and ICC compliant and their occupants survived. These shelters work!
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Service Areas:
Iowa and Nebraska
Guardian Tornado and Safe Rooms LLC
PO Box 485
Grimes, IA 50111