Free Republic

Wichita Falls tornado taught hard lessons that help save lives WICHITA FALLS (AP) — Walking through tornado-ravaged neighborhoods after a deadly storm 25 years ago, architect Charles F. Harper saw something strange: small closets or bathrooms that seemed to be rising from piles of debris. In many cases, the center room of a house or business — even a bank vault — was the only thing standing after a tornado up to a mile-and-a-half wide churned through town, hitting 5,000 houses and several apartments. Some 20,000 people — nearly one-fourth of the city's population — were homeless, while 42 were...

Your Home Is Your Fortress? Maryland Firm Bets a 'Safe Room' Boom Is at Hand By Ellen McCarthy Washington Post Staff Writer Monday, March 3, 2003; Page E01 You can keep your duct tape and your flimsy gas masks. Jeff Quante prefers steel. Several thousand pounds of it, actually, with reinforced screws and bullet-resistant glass. It should be big enough for at least two people, protected with high-security locks and attached to an air purification system. And if that steel is painted silver with black accents like a Cadillac -- well, all the better. The safe-room business is not big;...