General Discussion

brewens

(13,873 posts) Wed May 22, 2024, 07:58 PM May 22

How many people in these tornado prone area actually have a good shelter? The bathtub thing or other

measures sure don't cut it for me. I live in a solid place in Idaho and even the occasional bad storm with high winds has me a little nervous. I'd survive I'm sure but don't want to find out what happens if a big tree comes down on the place.

A program making sure everyone has a secure shelter to go to might make sense. If not yet, I have a feeling soon.

6 replies

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How many people in these tornado prone area actually have a good shelter? The bathtub thing or other (Original Post) brewens May 22 OP

Trailer parks, not so much. But single-family homes and apartments in Iowa will generally have basements or cellars. WhiskeyGrinder May 22 #1

Not in some tornado areas. Ms. Toad May 22 #3

the bathtub thing was from back in the day when people had cast iron bath tubs..... getagrip_already May 22 #2

Not sure what kind of program would work. Ms. Toad May 22 #4

I live in a rural area of northcentral WI where there aren't any warning sirens. Talitha May 22 #5

Dorothy's family had a storm cellar, and that was almost 100 years ago. dem4decades May 22 #6

WhiskeyGrinder

(22,723 posts)

1. Trailer parks, not so much. But single-family homes and apartments in Iowa will generally have basements or cellars.

Reply to brewens (Original post)

Wed May 22, 2024, 08:00 PM

May 22

Ms. Toad

(34,423 posts)

3. Not in some tornado areas.

Reply to WhiskeyGrinder (Reply #1)

Wed May 22, 2024, 08:27 PM

May 22

My cousin lives in Kansas in the path of a tornado a few years ago - their house (and many of the other homes in the area) were built on concrete slabs. Some of the homes in rural areas are trailers on concrete slabs (rather than in a trailer park). We had a root cellar at one home (in Nebraska), another was a trailer on a slab, and I'm pretty sure only one of the other two homes I lived in had a basement. And, yes (generally) trailer parks are an issue.

getagrip_already

(15,325 posts)

2. the bathtub thing was from back in the day when people had cast iron bath tubs.....

Reply to brewens (Original post)

Wed May 22, 2024, 08:18 PM

May 22

You could fire guns at those suckers and put a dent in them. They weighed hundreds of pounds empty.

Nowadays, a fiberglass tub weighs about 60 pounds and you could put a knee through one.

But no, I just have a basement. I live in new england though and we only get about one tornado a year, usually nowhere near me. I imagine that will increase, but for now pretty rare.

Ms. Toad

(34,423 posts)

4. Not sure what kind of program would work.

Reply to brewens (Original post)

Wed May 22, 2024, 08:30 PM

May 22

The shelter(s) would need to be on each property. Unlike hurricanes, the advance warning is minutes - not days. Properties aren't necessarily big enough - or the water table is too high to add a shelter (and it wouldn't be cost-effective, even if it was physically possible).

Talitha

(6,789 posts)

5. I live in a rural area of northcentral WI where there aren't any warning sirens.

Reply to brewens (Original post)

Wed May 22, 2024, 08:52 PM

May 22

But I keep myself informed about the weather. When things look dodgy out there or the forecast is bad, I head down to the basement. It's deep and fully stocked.

dem4decades

(11,372 posts)

6. Dorothy's family had a storm cellar, and that was almost 100 years ago.

Reply to brewens (Original post)

Wed May 22, 2024, 09:02 PM

May 22

And everyone has seen the movie, why doesn't everyone have one?

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