DOES YOUR HOME HAVE A SAFE ROOM?

Homes that are in zones at risk for tornadoes and hurricanes may be subjected to wind speeds stronger than they are designed to withstand. Local building codes require new homes to be built to withstand specific wind speeds based on historical data, but even modern building codes may not protect your family from increasingly severe weather events.

The purpose of an extreme-wind safe room is to provide a space where your family can survive a tornado or hurricane with little or no injury. Safe rooms can be built in the basement beneath a concrete slab-on-grade foundation or garage floor or in an interior room on the first floor. Under certain conditions, a safe room may also be constructed on an elevated foundation.

For a room to provide near-absolute life-safety protection for its occupants, the room or space must be able to withstand the forces exerted by extreme winds and remain standing, even if the rest of the building is severely damaged. To do this, the room must have the following elements: 

(1) The safe room must be adequately anchored to resist overturning and uplift. 

(2) The walls, ceiling, and door of the safe room must withstand wind pressure and resist penetration by windborne debris and falling items such as trees and building elements. 

(3) The connections between all parts of the safe room must be strong enough to resist the wind forces without failing. 

(4) The safe room must be located outside of areas with a high risk of fooding or storm surge inundation.

For more information see FEMA P-361, Safe Rooms for Tornadoes and Hurricanes: Guidance for Community and Residential Safe Rooms, Third Edition, 2015.