But despite that success, states seem to be unwilling to require safe rooms in homes, businesses, schools or day-care centers. Those familiar with building codes couldn't cite any similar proposals in other states. Instead, safe-room technology is being pushed on a voluntary basis through education and grants. Building codes are a states' rights issue. And safe rooms do not come cheap.
Communities walk that line every day.
FEMA takes a neutral role when it comes to the idea of mandating safe rooms into state building codes, Oliver said. While the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration estimates the majority of tornado deaths occur in mobile homes or in automobiles, schools and day-care centers provide a chilling reminder of just how vulnerable children can be when separated from their parents. In Huntsville, Ala., a 1989 tornado leveled the Jones Valley Elementary School. No children were seriously injured, but the school has been rebuilt so that almost half the first floor is underground. The school's concrete hallways, as well as a row of rooms that serve as storm bunkers, are windowless.