National Non-Profit Introduces Tornado Research Findings During 2010 National Severe Weather Workshop

NORMAN, Okla., March 4 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Federal Alliance for Safe Homes, Inc - FLASH® President/CEO Leslie Chapman-Henderson unveiled preliminary tornado safe room/shelter research findings in an address today to the 2010 National Severe Weather Workshop (NSWW).  The findings included insights into consumer interest and understanding of tornado safe rooms and shelters as life safety protection in severe storms and tornadoes.  The study focused on the Southeast where nocturnal tornadoes and vulnerable housing types combine to form a deadly trend.

The research initiative is supported by a collaborative of organizations with a goal to increase tornado safe room construction as a way to reduce the number of tornado fatalities in Southeastern states.  Surveys were conducted in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, South Carolina and Tennessee.  

"The good news is that the people we tested demonstrated high levels of awareness of tornado safe rooms and shelters as life safety options," said Chapman-Henderson.  "The bad news is that they indicated low levels of interest in constructing a safe room because of the low percentage chance of a tornado striking their home.  The solution is to find a nontraditional way to encourage families to build safe rooms so our work continues with a new approach."  

Research Highlights Included:

• High level of awareness of tornado safe rooms and shelters
• High level of concern for personal and family safety
• High level of awareness of tornado risk
• Low level of interest in having a safe room
• Higher level interest in new home buyers v. existing home owners
• Increased interest when the safe room was positioned as an added feature

During the presentation, Chapman-Henderson shared a new marketing approach to expanding safe room and shelter construction.  The new approach will be tested with consumers, homebuilders and remodelers during March and April.  A national public awareness campaign will be launched once the research initiative is concluded.

Typically, safe rooms, or shelters, consist of a small room in a house, but can also be built in a garage or outside area away from the home.  A safe room is different from the other rooms in a home because it is designed and tested to withstand wind speeds of up to 250 miles per hour.  Most often, a safe room will be located in a central, interior, ground-floor area of the home.  Larger, community shelters are constructed to provide safety in mobile/manufactured housing communities.  FLASH recommends construction of safe rooms that meet or exceed the guidance of the National Storm Shelter Association (NSSA) and International Code Council (ICC) Standard for the Design and Construction of Storm Shelters (NSSA/ICC-500). To watch a video on the proper construction and installation of a safe room, click here.  

The NSWW conference provides an opportunity for emergency management, National Weather Service meteorologists and broadcast meteorologists to meet and discuss the latest severe weather research, communication and mitigation strategies.    

The nonprofit Federal Alliance for Safe Homes, Inc. – FLASH® is a 501(c)3 collaboration of organizations dedicated to strengthening homes and safeguarding families from natural and manmade disaster.  Based in Tallahassee, FLASH is the nation's fastest-growing disaster safety education organization with more than 100 partners including the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Florida Division of Emergency Management, The Home Depot, International Code Council, National Weather Service, Renaissance Reinsurance, Simpson Strong-Tie, State Farm, USAA and WeatherPredict Consulting, Inc.  In 2008, FLASH opened the interactive weather experience, StormStruck: A Tale of Two Homes®.  To learn more about FLASH and access their free consumer resources, visit www.flash.org or call (877) 221-SAFE (7233).

SOURCE Federal Alliance for Safe Homes, Inc.