What Factors Should You Consider Before Purchasing Tornado Shelters?

According to research, up to 1200 tornadoes occur annually in the United States. Such life-threatening natural phenomena destroy the properties and lives in most cases, especially in Edmond. That’s why the importance of tornado shelters are increasing these days.

Having safe rooms ensures that people and animals can save their lives during emergencies. But, before purchasing tornado shelters for homes, you should know about some essential features of the safe room to ensure the quality. Read this article to learn what factors you should consider.

The Size of the Tornado Shelters

While buying the product, you should be mindful of its size. According to FEMA, tornado shelters should have three to 10 square feet per person. That means your family remains safe in the shelter during the storm and people with wheelchairs can also access the shelter. The size factor is significant because you don’t know for how long the storm will rage.

Durability

Durability is the primary concern when it comes to the shelter or safe room. You should ask the tornado shelter companies whether the shelter door can resist wind-borne flying debris and withstand 250-mph winds. Do the doors have three deadbolt locks and are they anchored well to resist uplift and overturning?

Space for Emergency Supplies

Since house owners don’t know for how long tornadoes rage, it would be wise to keep emergency supplies such as nonperishable foods, fresh water, first aid boxes, torchlights, essential documents and equipment in the tornado shelters.

Accessibility

Also, be mindful of the accessibility while purchasing storm shelters. During a tornado, it is almost impossible to access the shelters if they are far away or have complicated entrance doors. You may get a few moments to get inside, so the accessibility ease is absolutely necessary. You should check if the door is wheelchair friendly or whether you can open the door inward or outward?

Weather Protected Anchor

In some cases, a tornado becomes so powerful that the wind speed reaches up to 300 miles per hour. As a result, the high wind can lift heavy cars or houses if they are not anchored to the ground firmly. The same goes for above ground tornado shelters as well. You should purchase the shelters, which come with heavy-duty hinges and are reinforced with steel rebar.

Reinforced Element

One of the essential factors is reinforced material which protects the entire structure during a tornado. In that case, carbon steel is one of the best materials to protect against extreme weather conditions. Also, it helps you to maintain tornado shelters for years to come.

Are You Protected?

These are the main features of safe rooms which you must consider. You can contact EF5 Tornado Shelters in Edmond to buy a quality product. Our shelters are Texas Tech Wind, Science, and Engineering & Debris Impact Tested and also followed FEMA 320/361 guidelines throughout the procedure.