Tag Archives: Enterprise Alabama tornado

Tornado Shelters – Are They Worth the Cost?

There is no doubt that a tornado shelter costs more than normal construction, both in design fees as well as the cost of the construction.  Many say that tornadoes occur so infrequently they it is hard to justify the cost.  Typically, those are people that have not been affected by one of the wind events, regardless of the intensity.  There are eight sets of parents in Enterprise, Alabama, and seven sets in Moore, Oklahoma that lost children to one of the events while the kids were as school.  Would they say that the cost of a tornado shelter would have been worth it?  You bet they would and they have.

So let’s put the shelter cost into perspective.  Currently, the FAA has established that when you step on an airplane, your life is worth $6.9 million.  When we design a school shelter for 600 occupants, per the FAA, the total amount of lives would be worth $4.14 Billion (with a “B”).  If this shelter has a premium cost of $500,000 – $1 million to protect $4.14 Billion, isn’t that a no brainer?

The need for tornado shelters is a proactive issue.  If one waits to support the construction of a shelter until they are affected by an event,…..well, it’s too late just as it was too late for those 15 students in Enterprise and Moore.  For some, the cost of a shelter is not worth it as long as it is affecting someone else.  Forget what the FAA says, look at it this way; what is YOUR life worth?  What is YOUR spouse’s or YOUR child’s life worth?  Isn’t that a no brainer?

Post by Corey Schultz, AIA, LEED AP BD+C

Public Tornado Shelters/Safe Room Management-Part I

During the week of April 28, 2014, there were a rash of tornado’s that cut swathes of destruction through several communities and took the lives of some 35 individuals. We continue to see more and more tornado shelters/safe rooms being constructed throughout the US. Many of those are private residential shelters/safe rooms but many are also community shelters, some are open to the public and some are not.

This latest round of tornadoes exposed many “chinks in the armor” regarding the operation plan and management of shelters/safe rooms that are open to the public. There are stories out there where shelters/safe rooms were supposed to be opened and were not, or members of the community could not find the shelter/safe room or did not know where the
entry to the shelter/safe room was located. These problems expose a lack of planning and a complete lack of understanding the extreme importance of managing public shelters/safe rooms regardless of the intent.

It is truly fortunate that none of the individuals that were unable to access or locate the shelter/safe room were killed. Tornadic events are NOT the time to work out the kinks in a shelter/safe room operations plan. These are peoples’ lives that were are dealing with and the general public does not want to be a guinea pig when it comes to the use of public shelters.

Opening a tornado shelter/safe room is to the public is admirable and at the same time a huge responsibility. In subsequent blogs, we will explore some of the issues to consider in a shelter/safe room operations plan.

Post by Corey Schultz, AIA, LEED AP BD+C

Public Tornado Shelters/Safe Room Management-Part 2