Safe Rooms
Safe Rooms
Existence to Safe Rooms
The school provides a safe room or storm shelter area.
From the supporting literature (linked), providing safe rooms (shelters) in school buildings against tornadoes is important. Providing tornado shelter that is easily accessible to students and teachers in school buildings is key to students safety especially in Oklahoma and other states that are prone to tornado disaster.
Recommendations
1. Ensure the provision of an easily accessible tornado shelter in every school building.
2. Ensure that the safe rooms provide thermal and acoustic comfort.
3. Provide frequent tornado awareness and ensure that students know how to use the safe rooms.
References
1. Coulbourne, W. L., & Miller, J. (2012). Performance of school buildings in the Joplin, MO, Tornado. In Structures Congress 2012 (pp. 989-998).
2. U.S. Department of Homeland Security. (2012). Mitigation Assessment Team Report – Spring 2011 Tornadoes: April 25-28 and May 22 (FEMA P-908). Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). retrieve from: https://www.fema.gov/media-library/assets/documents/25810
3. U.S. Department of Homeland Security. (1999). Building Performance Assessment Report. (FEMA 342). Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). retrieve from: https://www.fema.gov/media-library-data/20130726-1443-20490-7720/fema342.pdf
