4/30/12 Storm Shelter Surge

More and more families are staring to take matters into their own hands against dangerous storms by building their own storm shelters. Some people are hiring companies to do it for them, others are building them with their own bare hands.

Companies like Twister Safe, Storm Defend, Survive-A-Storm, and National Storm Shelters all have products that can be placed either in/under your garage, in a closet, or buried on their own plot of land. While sizes vary to the specific brand, most can fit up to 4 people. Before the Joplin, Missouri tornado of last year, one of those companies, Twister Safe, only had four employees. They now employ 20, and the company is still growing.

"Business has probably quadrupled, at least," owner Enos Davis said. "We're selling 400 to 500 a year now, compared to maybe 100 before."  Below is a picture of one of the newly-built shelters in Joplin, Missouri.

Many of these safe rooms feature thick steel or concrete walls and doors that can withstand winds up to 250 mph. Most of them have no windows, no light fixtures, and no electricity (many keep flashlights or battery operated lanterns inside). They are simply meant to be a small, reinforced place to ride out the storm. Depending on the company, and your geographic location, these shelters generally cost anywhere from $3,000 to $6,000.

FEMA has given funds to states like Alabama, Missouri, and Mississippi, just to name a few, to have community storm shelters built for people to go when storms are on the way.

Others have opted to build their own shelters, like Freddie Wooten of Henegar, Alabama (pictured below with his shelter). He decided to build his own after his community was hit by an EF5 tornado last April. He gathered the supplies and everything necessary to build it at his own cost.

Sources: Associated Press, Yahoo News