• Events and Training Calendar
• For Business
• For Citizens
• For Volunteers
• Municipalities Information
• Homeowner How-To's
• Important Links
• Publications and Forms
• 2009 Publix Stores with Generators
• Shelters

• Administration
• Logistics
• Operations
• Planning

Safe Rooms

Every year, tornadoes, hurricanes, and other severe windstorms rip through hundreds of towns and cities across the United States, injuring and killing people and causing millions of dollars in property damage.

You can protect your family from injury caused by the high winds and flying debris of a windstorm by constructing or installing a safe room in your home.

A safe room is different from the other rooms in your home because it has been specially designed and tested to withstand wind speeds of up to 250 miles per hour and the impact of a 15 pound 2 by 4 flying at a speed of 100 miles per hour.

Typically, the safe room should be located in a central, interior, ground-floor area of the home for additional protection as well as accessibility. The basement of a home can also be used as a location for a safe room.

A safe room can be incorporated into the construction of a new home, or it can be retrofitted into an existing home. The safe room can function year-round as a usable area, such as a bathroom, closet or utility room.

Safe rooms can be constructed out of reinforced concrete, reinforced concrete masonry or combinations of wood frame and steel sheathing or concrete masonry infill.

Safe rooms can also be manufactured, assembled and installed on site.

Here are some things to consider when constructing or installing a safe room:

Safe rooms must be structurally isolated from the main structure of your home.

Safe rooms must be securely anchored to the foundation.

Safe rooms installed in or over a crawl space must have a separate foundation.

Safe rooms must have adequate ventilation.

All components of safe rooms, including walls, ceilings, and door assemblies, must be designed and tested to resist the specified wind forces and prevent perforation by windborne debris.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has ready-to-use plans for homeowners to build a shelter in an existing house or in a new house.

Visit www.flash.org or call toll-free (877) 221-SAFE for more information about protecting your home from disaster.

• Events and Training Calendar
• For Business
• For Citizens
• For Volunteers
• Municipalities Information
• Homeowner How-To's
• Important Links
• Publications and Forms
• 2009 Publix Stores with Generators
• Shelters