It usually is located in a basement, but can be built on a home's first floor or even outdoors, serving as a closet or storage shed. Bob Batcheller is the chairman of Concrete Products Company of Sioux City. His company has expertise in building reinforced concrete tornado shelters. Any homeowner, local government or private nonprofit located in a county which has been declared an emergency area and which has had primary residential property, critical government facilities or private nonprofit facilities either substantially damaged or destroyed by high winds or tornado activity in 1999 or 2000. The best protection during a tornado is in an interior room on the lowest level of the building, preferably a safe room.
Tornadoes strike with incredible speed.
Winds up to 300 miles per hour can uproot trees and buildings and turn harmless objects into deadly missiles. Injury or deaths related to tornadoes most often occur when buildings collapse, or when people are hit by flying objects or are caught trying to escape the tornado in a car. Tornadoes are most destructive when they touch ground.