Posted on 03/21/2006 1:44:58 PM PST by finnman69
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - With red flags flying high for the 2006 hurricane season, consumers who are thinking about sprucing up their homes this year may be better off adding a lifesaving "storm room" instead of that fancy whirlpool.
Chemical maker DuPont (Research), which invented such products as nylon, Teflon and the bullet-resistant Kevlar fiber, has been testing the market for pre-built storm rooms in the tornado-prone regions of Texas and Oklahoma for the past two years.
DuPont says its 'storm room', made of bullet-resistant Kevlar, can provide protection against wind speeds of up to 250 miles an hour.
The FEMA certified Kevlar storm room can also serve as a walk-in closet or a wine cellar.
"We worked with a few authorized distributors in those regions and found that the concept was well received," said DuPont spokesman Anthony Farina, adding that the company later expanded the pilot test to hurricane-affected areas like Florida.
"Farina said DuPont's storm rooms are certified by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) as a protective shelter against tornadoes and even a powerful category 5 hurricane.
Additionally, the walls and door are reinforced with Kevlar, the same material used in bullet-resistant vests.
According to company information, Kevlar is five times stronger than steel and provides a powerful and highly resistant barrier against wind borne debris, which Farina said is one of the leading causes of injuries in major hurricanes.
The pre-built storm room comes in two sizes of 4 feet by 6 feet and 4 feet by 8 feet but the custom-made sizes can vary, Farina said."
(Excerpt) Read more at money.cnn.com ...
I know. But we had to buy a house in one of those stupid HOAs and they don't like the explosive things. It would make life easier!
...oops! Thankfully our yard was already landscaped when we bought it. It was just that one shrub that was in a really strange spot.
Damm HOAs...
Um...do they float?
They showed on on the Extreme Home Makeover show a week ago. They built a house in Oklahoma. The one they showed didn't have a floor because they needed the air flow under the walls into the room. So I don't think they float. At least not that model.
You are probably right. In an F-5 underground would be the only place to be. But the shelter is better than nothing in lesser tornadoes where most people are killed by flying objects and not from being swept away.
Aunt Flo?
A 16" ceiling!!! Ya' have to be mighty short thar partner....
***Tennessee ain't Oklahoma,***
What do you mean! Remember the tornado that tore up down town Nashville?
But, in down town Nashville, who would notice?
I don't think I know anybody under 16" tall.
When a Category 5 Tornado hit La Plata Md. the only thing left of the bank was its concrete reinforced vault.
I'd have taken my chances with the tornadoes before I would have gone down in either of my grandmother's basements in Oklahoma. Spooky! Same with the one tornado cellar we had at one house we lived in there. I'm certain there are such things as F-5 spiders. I've seen their webs.
Why don't they just build the entire house out of this stuff?? That way, most of the world's worries about huricanes and tornado's would become a thing of the past!!
:)
Oh, so they fly, rather than float.
At least mobile homes, if nothing else!
LOL..you sound like my mom! She spent a lot of time out on a farm in Northern Oklahoma. The storms would come and everyone would go to the shelter but not her, she couldn't stand being cooped up underground.
They must be anchored somehow. But they said they had to have the space under the walls for air. Guess you don't want to suffocate while you wait.
They say they custom build.
I imagine if yout tried to ride out an F-5 in this shelter you would come out of the shelter as a liquid.
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