It can be scary to watch 24-hour news and apocalyptic reflections on the History and Discovery Channel. This heightened fear may wonder if they should do more to protect themselves in their homes.
Can we make our own homes safe enough to withstand the strongest nature storms?
Hurricanes are intermittent. We saw that in 2004 and 2005 they hit the United States. We have seen, and many experienced, the devastating effects of these events. Homes today are built to withstand some very strong winds - although they are designed to meet the average storm events. To be honest, a category 4 or 5 storm can still destroy a house; even if they are built to today's standards.
Evacuation is still the best way to avoid the full impact of these mega storms. However, if you cannot get out, there is a way to provide some greater degree of security, namely, to create a safe room. They are also called storm shelters.
A safe room is a small, windowless room that has been reinforced to withstand the effects of wind pressure and wind debris caused by extremely harsh weather. They are becoming quite common in Florida and in other hurricane conditions.
A relatively cheap storm shelter can provide you and your family with a sense of security, knowing that there is a place in your home that will withstand the forces of the worst hurricanes. They can also act as a tornado shelter.
What is a safe room? As a rule, this is a small space inside the house, which has special walls, ceilings, fixing systems and doors and (in fact, an engineering term) is really strong. They can serve the vital purpose of providing security for you and your love during these terrible events.
I myself have developed a few for people who value life in a room, even if they never use it. Looks like insurance, right?
These rooms can be separate or can be part of a house, for example, a dressing room that is built like a cow house made of notorious brick. They must be isolated from the main structure, so that when the main house becomes alienated and turns into countless fragments, this small oasis of space remains unharmed.
The best way to do this above ground is to build a concrete storm shelter with walls that are reinforced with masonry, with all the cells (holes in the concrete block you saw) filled with reinforcing bars and concrete. As a rule, we form and fill the concrete slab above. It can be reliably inexpensive if you build your house - it’s easy to work in structure.
One of my clients made me design my master wardrobe and bathroom in a safe room. Its ceiling was designed to be concrete and to rest just below the truss chord. Farms can be blown away, and basically the whole house can collapse, but he and his family will remain safe.
FEMA has an excellent guide called FEMA320A "Storm Shelter: Building a Safe Room in Your Home." Any civil engineer can possibly create such a room for you.
As with insurance, a safe room can offer peace of mind - even if you never use it. Let it stand, life has its inherent risks. This is a way to effectively eliminate one risk immediately after the list.
