A tornado is a violently rotating, funnel-shaped cloud of air that projects from a thunderstorm to the ground with spinning winds that can reach 300 mph. Tornado is catastrophic in every respect, even a mild one is very destructive. People have resorted to building tornado shelters. Although not every tornado shelter is recommended by experts, such one is the underground shelter. Experts say that underground tornado shelters are equally risky to the tornado itself. Many consider this a traditional mode of countering tornados and storms. They, however, recommend above ground storm shelters that are also prone to debris and strong winds. Looking at the types of storm shelter, they include.
1.Part of the house
This is a type of tornado shelter where an alternative structure is placed inside a house. They look like a bank safe since they are made up of reinforced concrete or steel. Such a structure also be used an extra storage space or room. This kind of tornado shelter should have stable anchoring, most preferred to a home’s foundation to avoid been carried away during windy conditions. And the reasons as to why people love this structure is because it requires less ground preparation in putting it up. It’s also easily accessible to people with disabilities and the elderly.
2.Prebuilt shelter
This is another type of above the ground storm shelter similar to the part of the house storm shelter. The only difference is that people have to purchase an already built structure to install inside an existing home. It is advisable that this prebuilt tornado structure be installed on the home’s first floor. Such as structure can be found in a range of designs: from steel box, prefabricated unit to steel panels and steel skeleton, and although it uses up spaces in the house, it is the most preferred tornado mitigation strategy.
But how do you know that the structure is safe from tornado and storms?. If you do create a safe house, it’s very crucial that it gets tested and approved by relevant authorities such as the National Wind Institutes. Rather building an entire tornado -proof home, to cut costs and maximizing luxury look, it’s wise to build a safe room or an interior area in your house that is tornado proof. In other instances, a tornado house can be luxurious built to have both the stylish element and tornado proof features.