Residential Sheltering:
In-Residence and
Stand-Alone Shelters
MAY 2007 TORNADO RECOVERY ADVISORY FEMA DR 1699 RA3
Intended Audience and Purpose
The purpose of this Tornado Recovery Advisory (RA) is to alert
homeowners, renters, and apartment building owners to the concept of
in-residence and stand-alone storm shelters.
This Recovery Advisory Addresses:
.
Considering the need for a shelter
.
In-residence shelter construction and retrofitting options
.
Recommendations for sheltering when you cannot place a shelter
within your home
See these 2007 Tornado
Recovery Advisories for
information about sheltering
from tornadoes:
Tornado Risks and Hazards
in the Midwest United States
(Tornado RA1)
.
Storm Shelters: Selecting
Design Criteria (Tornado
RA2)
.
.
Best available refuge areas
.
Emergency supply kits and weather radios
Consider the Need for a Shelter
The purpose of having a shelter (also known as a safe room) in or near your home is to protect you and
your family from injury or death caused by extreme winds. Shelters are designed to allow occupants to survive
tornadoes with little or no injury. To determine your exposure to tornadoes, refer to FEMA 320, Taking Shelter
From the Storm: Building a Safe Room Inside Your House (Second Edition, March 2004).1 FEMA 320 provides
information that can help you decide whether to construct a shelter
to protect you and your family from injury or death during a tornado.
Additional information is provided in the Tornado RA titled Tornado Risks
and Hazards in the Midwest United States.
After determining that you live in a tornado-prone region, it is important
to understand the risks. Most homes, even new ones constructed
according to current building codes, do not provide adequate protection
for occupants seeking refuge from tornadoes. Tornado winds can impart
wind and windborne debris loads on your house much greater than
those on which building code requirements are based. Only shelters
designed and constructed to standards well in excess of minimum code
requirements offer adequate occupant protection during a tornado.
These specially built shelters can be constructed inside your residence
or as stand-alone structures.
It is also important to
remember that shelters
offering protection against
high-wind events should not
be placed where floodwaters
have the potential to endanger
occupants within the shelter.
Consult your local floodplain
manager to determine whether
your home, or a proposed
stand-alone shelter site, is
susceptible to flooding.
In-Residence Shelter Construction and Retrofitting Options
Constructing a shelter inside your home makes it very accessible to your family. A shelter may be installed
during the initial construction of a home, or retrofitted. As long as the design and construction requirements
are followed, the same level of protection is provided by either type of shelter. Currently, a new shelter
standard is being developed by the International Code Council that will incorporate many of FEMAs shelter
guidelines.
1.
FEMA 320 is available online at http://www.fema.gov/library/viewRecord.do?id=1536. Hardcopies may be obtained at no cost by calling
800-480-2520.
Residential Sheltering: In-Residence and Stand-Alone Shelters
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In addition to constructing a
shelter using plans, such as
those provided by FEMA 320,
manufactured shelters are now
available.2 Among many different
manufactured shelter alternatives
now available to the public, some
are stand-alone units, while others
can fit into existing or new homes.
An association of manufacturers
called the National Storm Shelter
Association (NSSA) maintains
a Web site http://www.nssa.
cc/ProducerRoster.php where
information about members and
products can be found.
New Construction
FEMA 320 provides detailed
drawings and specifications
that can be used by a builder/
contractor to construct a shelter in
your home. The designs provided
are for shelters constructed of
wood, masonry, or concrete. All of
them are designed to resist 250
mph (3-second gust) wind speeds
and impacts from windborne
debris. Pre-fabricated shelters
are also available for installation
by a builder/contractor when first
building your home. The basic cost
to design and install a shelter
(site-built or manufactured) during
the construction of a new house is
approximately $6,000.
It is relatively easy and costeffective
to add a shelter when
first building a home. For example,
when the home is constructed
with exterior walls made from
concrete masonry units (CMU, also
commonly known as concrete
block, see sketch this page), the
protection level required by FEMA
320 can be achieved by slightly
modifying the exterior walls at
the shelter space by adding steel
reinforcement and full grouting.
The shelter is easily completed by
adding interior walls constructed
of reinforced CMU, a concrete roof
deck over the shelter, and a special
shelter door.
CMU was used for the exterior walls at this house under construction.
Sketch of floor plan showing location of shelter area in house.
View of an in-residence shelter under construction. Steel reinforced and fully grouted
CMU surround the shelter space.
2.
FEMA doesnt test, verify, or approve manufactured shelters. Materials to use in evaluating manufactured products are available from NSSA.
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Retrofitting Existing Houses
FEMA 320 provides general
guidance for retrofitting a
house with a shelter. Building a
shelter in an existing house will
typically cost 20 percent more
than building the same shelter
in a new house while under
construction. Because the shelter
is being used for life safety, and
because your home might be
exposed to wind loads and debris
impacts it was not designed to
resist, an architect or engineer
(A/E) should be employed to
address special structural
requirements, even if inclusion
of an A/E in such a project is
not required by the local building
department.
FEMA 320 also provides
designs for building shelters in
basements. Instead of assuming
that any area below grade can
provide protection, a dedicated
safe-room should be built into
the basement to be used for a
shelter. There have been many
instances of houses sliding off
their foundations and ending
up in the basement (as shown
in the photograph on the top
right). Without dedicated space
adequately walled and roofed for
protection, a house sliding into
the basement can injure or kill
inhabitants huddling under the
basement stairs or in a basement
corner.
FEMA 320 guidance for retrofitting
a basement shelter into an
existing home emphasizes the
requirement that the shelter
has its own separate roof and
support structure so the shelter
occupants are protected from
falling debris. Relying on the
floor of the house to protect the
occupants could mean injury or death (see photographs to the right).
Recommendations for Sheltering When You Cannot Place a Shelter Within Your Home
Many reasons may prevent homeowners or renters from installing or constructing a shelter inside their home.
These reasons may include: lack of permission (the resident does not own the home or does not have rights
to modify or change the home), lack of available space, or other technical or economic constraints. In such
cases, stand-alone shelters can be designed and constructed outside of a residence. These shelters can
provide the same level of protection against high winds and windborne debris as the in-residence shelters.
Residence that slid on its foundation and collapsed partially into the basement
(Greensburg, KS).
First floor of residence that shifted during a tornado, exposing the basement
(Greensburg, KS).
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Small Stand-Alone Shelters
Some site-built homes, and most manufactured homes, do not lend themselves to the structural modifications
and retrofitting required to install or construct an in-residence shelter. In these instances, a stand-alone
shelter may be constructed (either above grade, partially above grade [see photograph directly below],
or below grade) near the residence. Small stand-alone shelters can be constructed to accommodate the
occupants of one house, a few houses, or a small apartment building. The photograph below, from Wichita,
Kansas, shows how a manufactured home community provided small, pre-fabricated shelters as a refuge for
the residents. Each shelter can protect the occupants of several homes in the community.
Community Shelters
For information about community
shelters, refer to the Tornado
RA titled Storm Shelters:
Selecting Design Criteria. Many
different types of shelters can
be designed and constructed to
meet the needs of large groups
of residents. A shelter may be
a single-use building, or it may
be a multi-use building, such
as a clubhouse (at community
pools, golf courses, etc.), school
building, or recreation center.
Selecting the right type of
shelter is a collective decision
made by the residents, funding
agencies, and property owners
and managers. For information
on community shelters for larger
populations, including planning
and operational issues, see FEMA
361, Design and Construction
Guidance for Community Shelters
(2000).3
Best Available Refuge Areas
Occupants of dwellings that do
not have in-residence shelters,
or access to stand-alone or
community shelters, should
identify the best available refuge
area within their home before an
emergency happens. When people
identify in advance the best
available space for refuge inside
a building, they will be less likely
to suffer injury or death during
an emergency. However, it is
important to remember that best
available refuge areas are not
specifically designed as shelters,
so occupants will still be at risk
for injury or death when using
these areas.
3.
FEMA 361 is available online at http://www.fema.gov/library/viewRecord.do?id=1657. Hardcopies may be obtained at no cost by calling
800-480-2520.
View of a pre-fabricated shelter that serves a few manufactured homes (Wichita, KS).
View of remnants of an interior room of a house that survived a strong tornado.
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The following criteria should
be used in identifying the best
available refuge area in your
home:
.
Choose the lowest floor of
the residence (a basement is
preferable, or first floor if there
is no basement).
.
Choose a small interior room
without windows (i.e., none of
the rooms walls is an exterior
wall), such as a bathroom or
closet, preferably with only one
door.
.
Choose a room located away
from masonry chimneys, trees,
or power poles.
.
Keep the room relatively free
of clutter so you and the other
residents can enter and remain
in the room for up to several
hours.
Emergency Supply Kits and Weather Radios
FEMA 320 provides information on how to prepare a Family Emergency Plan and an Emergency Supply Kit for a
shelter. Remember, it is important for all individuals who live or work in tornado-prone areas to have a weather
radio within their home or place of work. For more information about weather radios, see the Tornado RA titled
Tornado Risks and Hazards in the Midwest United States.
Avoid selecting a refuge area that is near a masonry chimney (Moore, OK).
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