A room that normally serves another purpose, such as a bathroom or closet, and that has been strengthened (or “hardened”) to resist wind forces and the impacts of windborne debris.
A room specifically designed and constructed to serve as shelter space only.
An underground space created beneath the floor of a house or an attached garage.
In general, residential safe rooms can be built onsite in a new or existing home, or can be manufactured units delivered to the site and installed. A safe room can be built or installed anywhere in a house, but it must be a “room within a room.” That is, its walls, ceiling, and floor must be structurally separate from the rest of the house, so that even if the surrounding house is destroyed, the safe room will remain intact.
Properly designed and constructed in-residence safe rooms are preferable because they offer several advantages over exterior shelters:
The occupants of a house equipped with an internal safe room can reach the shelter without having to leave the house and risk exposure to high winds and debris, lightning, or other storm conditions.
An internal safe room can be reached more quickly and easily.
For those reasons, the occupants of a house with an internal safe room are more likely to protect themselves adequately.
In some situations, however, building or installing an exterior shelter may be the only practical choice. For example, incorporating an in-residence safe room into an existing house may be impractical when extensive modifications to the structure of the house are necessary.
For more information on safe rooms, visit the FEMA Website.
